I grew up in a suburb outside of Houston. Scott Womack likes to call my hometown of Friendswood “Pleasantville.” So anyway, in Pleasantville we were far enough away from Houston that we didn’t discuss on a daily basis our proximity to the downtown area.
But if you live in the Houston city limits, I’m willing to bet that at least once a day—and maybe up to a dozen times—you say or hear the L-word. I know because whenever I talk to people from Houston this comes up constantly:
“So where do you live?”
“On San Felipe…inside The Loop.”
“What did you do last night?”
“Oh, just went to some bars inside The Loop.”
“What do you feel like eating tonight?”
“Anything…as long as it’s inside The Loop.”
This almighty Loop is really just a highway—610. And guess what, Houstonians: nobody else cares how close or how far you are from it! Now if you want to tell me where you live in relation to the Galleria, that I get. If you want to say you live Downtown—have at it. But saying whether or not you live inside The Loop is just like adding, “It’s okay; I’m cool” to the end of all your sentences:
“I live on Bellaire Blvd…it’s okay; I’m cool.”
“Oh, schwoo. You must live inside The Loop. What a relief.”
When Frank and I went to Atlanta last month we learned that they are guilty of worshipping a circular highway as well, except they call it “The Perimeter.”
I was telling my friend Kim we were over on such-and-such street but she had never heard of it. I said, “But it’s like two streets away from you, surely you’ve passed it before.”
She said, “This is gonna sound silly but I don’t know it because it’s outside The Perimeter.”
Outside The Perimeter? And we were there? Is there a place I can go wash my hands?
Maybe I’m just bitter because while we don’t have a Loop or a Perimeter in Dallas, we do have 635 (which is technically a circle but a really giant one). And I live North of it. People will ask, “So do you live in Addison? Plano?” and sometimes even “Frisco?”
“Oh, no!” I answer, defensively.
“I live in Dallas, the City of Dallas. I swear. It says so on my trash can!”
And then sometimes, just in case they still look suspicious, I add, “It’s okay; I’m cool.”
6 comments:
I never got the loop thing in Houston. Houston is MASSIVE and to say you live inside the loop didn't mean anything to me. Like "Ya...so?"
I've lived on both sides of the Perimeter!
I call 635 the loop sometimes...I think. Or maybe I just use 635. But I am guilty of using 'the Bubble', which cuts off at NW Hwy.
Here on Granbury Dr. we say "Upper Granbury" and "Lower Granbury."
P.S. Lower is cooler :)
As someone who lived inner-loop and then moved outside the loop. . . I liked it much better on the outside! There wasn't as much traffic, and it was more convenient because I worked just outside the loop too.
Now that I'm in durango we don't have a loop. . . just Main Street. But it's ok; I'm cool too.
I am guilty of saying I live "inside the loop at San Felipe". But it does describe where I live, since I am so close to the loop!
I also work inside the loop in the "Upper Kirby" district. They are trying to make it fancy!
Inside the loop just means the real estate is over priced!
Just living anywhere in Durango is cool!
Houston Loop: What's funny about it is that you could live on the very edge of the Loop (like by the Galleria, for instance) and you're JUST outside...so you're shunned!
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