I never knew how much I loved my hometown until I left it. Once I left Houston for college, I realized how much the city had to offer! Houston taught me so much more than I thought.

1. Houston Driving is Tough.

I know that if I hadn't learned to drive in Houston, then I would be a much worse driver than I already am. I had to drive on freeways to get basically anywhere around Houston, so I learned quick how to drive on the highway. Also Houston may not have the best drivers, so I also learned how to deal with that issue.

2. There is a big difference from the city of Houston and its suburbs.

When I went to college I learned quickly that when people said that they were from Houston, they usually didn't mean Houston Houston, but a suburb. While I thought of going to Rice Village or The Galleria as a normal day activity, people who lived father out of Houston would make an entire day of it.

3. There are way more shopping options than anyone needs.

The Galleria, Rice Village, Highland Village, Riveroaks Shopping Center, all the boutiques and shops in Montrose & the Heights. Houston is an amazing city that has so much to offer (especially when it comes to shopping).

4. We have such a diverse population.

Houston is filled with a ton of different people everywhere you go. It is very evident in Houston how we have so many cultures that have come together and created the city that we call Houston!

5. Houston has amazing restaurants.

Wow oh wow I did not realize how amazing the food was in Houston until I lived in Waco (sorry Waco, but the city is not adding a lot of new restaurants). We have amazing Tex-Mex, there are tons of greek food options, there are great Italian restaurants all over the city. Also, we have some pretty spectacular nice restaurants that are so amazing you can *almost* forget that they are so expensive.

6. Westheimer is one of the best streets ever.

This street is about 20 miles long and goes through multiple areas of the city. The best part of the street is in Montrose. Here it house amazing restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and is an antique wonderland. You can walk down the street and find almost anything you want from great food to fun boutiques.

7. No, I do not know anyone that you know who lives in Houston.

If you weren't aware, Houston is the 4th largest city in America. So it is highly unlikely that I will happen to know someone you know, even if they did go to my 3300 person high school.

8. Rice has one of the prettiest campuses.

I grew up knowing Rice as one of the best places to go for a run and if you want a scenic walk to walk around or through the beautiful campus. I also knew it as the place where sports camps happened during the summer and with all this sometime forgot it was even a college campus. I went to a university with a beautiful campus, but I also learned that not everyone has a beautiful campus near them.

9. Everything is at least 20 minutes away.

Unless you are going somewhere less than a mile away from your house it will feel like it takes forever to get there. Houston has a ton of traffic so somewhere that is 5 miles away come sometimes take over 20 minutes to get there. Depending on what time of day you are driving to your destination you could get caught up in this horrible traffic and spend a lot longer in the car than you estimated.

10. It is nice to have a beach less than an hour away, even if it isn't the prettiest.

Galveston Island is about 45 minutes to an hour away depending on where you live in the city. While it may not be the clear beaches of Florida, it is still an amazing place to go for a day trip to escape the real world for a couple of hours. Galveston has a ton of tiny communities, and elegant hotels to stay in and also offer a variety of restaurants and a pier full of games and rides.