All photos courtesy of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

General Sam Houston would no doubt be surprised to see what has become of his namesake city in the 21st century. From its humble, dusty beginnings, the former capital of the Republic of Texas has grown into the fourth-largest city in the US, and one of its most technologically advanced. Also known as Space City USA, Houston’s future is as bright as a rocket’s tail.

The Texas Medical Center is a sprawling complex that covers nearly 700 acres of Houston real estate.

On Duty

You may have heard that everything is big in Texas, and that’s certainly true of Houston’s healthcare system. One facility alone, the Texas Medical Center, covers nearly 700 acres. The medical center is home to six general care hospitals, seven specialty hospitals, four schools of nursing, two medical schools, a dental school, a public health school, two colleges of pharmacy, various health science programs, and even a magnet high school. The center boasts more than 6,000 beds, employs more than 61,000 people, and logs more than 5 million patient visits each year. What’s more, the facility is expanding and plans to create 50% more jobs in the next eight years.

But the Texas Medical Center is by no means the only employer in the area. Houston has more than 85 acute-care and general hospitals within its boundaries, and is home to more than 9,000 physicians. Seven of the area’s hospitals made the 2002 U.S. News & World Report “America’s Best Hospitals” list, including The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, Memorial Hermann Hospital, and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

In addition, four Houston hospitals — The Methodist Hospital, the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, and Texas Children’s Hospital — received the Magnet Award, the highest award granted for nursing excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. To receive it, hospitals must meet or exceed high standards in nursing administration, education, clinical practice, research, and quality.

Houston has become an epicenter of life sciences research, especially in the area of biotechnology and nanotechnology. Many healthcare facilities are taking advantage of the expertise available through NASA’s Technology Transfer and Commercialization program, located at nearby Johnson Space Center. One particularly impressive invention spawned by the initiative is a miniature ventricular-assist device that is based on technology used in space shuttle engine turbopumps.

The Texas Workforce Commission sponsored a study in 1998 that pegged the number of Houston healthcare workers at 747,000. The same study forecast that the need would expand to 916,650 by 2008. To meet the coming demand, area hospitals have established a wide variety of incentive programs. Some offer signing bonuses of anywhere from $2,000 to $7,500 and offer several flexible scheduling options. Others are piling on more benefits, such as in-house childcare or childcare stipends, as well as increased educational allowances.

And you don’t have to look far for educational opportunities in Houston. You’ll find 47 colleges, universities, institutes, and technical schools in the area, as well as three major community college systems. “The educational system is really in tune with the community,” says Russell Bevil, operations director at Manthra Healthcare Staffing. “Many of the hospitals are paying nurses’ tuition to upgrade their degrees and taking a critical look at leadership for nurse managers, paying for management training, as well. Some two-year colleges have formed partnerships with four-year schools, offering classes that enable nurses to get their four-year degrees in a night setting and work during the day.”

Bevil also notes myriad clinics are available where nurses can work 9-to-5 jobs with full benefits and no weekend work. Physician’s offices, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities offer even more options. “You can have any kind of lifestyle you want in Houston,” he says, “unless you’re into snow. Some of my nurse clients drive into the city to work at some of the larger hospitals, then come home to a 20-acre ranch with horses or a house on a lake.”

Houston is a great place to relocate for another reason, as well, Bevil says. “Sometimes when a married couple moves to a new city, one of them ends up being underemployed. That’s not the case in Houston. We even helped place one nurse’s husband who was a farm manager.”

More than 2 million people visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science Museum every year, making it the fourth most visited natural science museum in the US.

Off Duty

Houston has a little something for everyone, whether you’re looking for thrilling rides, mind-expanding museums, or sensational shopping.

Culture and dining. Houston’s reputation as a technological center extends to its museums, as well. The Houston Museum of Natural Science is the nation’s fourth most visited, as well as the most highly attended attraction in Texas with more than 2 million visitors annually. It contains more than a dozen permanent exhibits, a planetarium, an IMAX theater, a butterfly center, and it educates and delights space fans both young and old with its Challenger Learning Center.

Of special interest to nurses is the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science. The museum is dedicated to communicating health and wellness information and includes 61 interactive video and audio kiosks devoted to a variety of healthcare topics. Also included are a 22-foot backbone, a 27-foot walk-through intestine, and a 10-foot brain to explore, all of which prove that things really are bigger in Texas.

These museums are just part of the city’s famed Museum District, which covers 17 blocks in the heart of downtown. There you’ll also find the Children’s Museum of Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum, the Holocaust Museum, the Houston Zoo, and many more fascinating places that will keep you browsing for days on end.

When it’s time to eat, you won’t have to leave the Museum District to find a restaurant. Many fine dining establishments are located either in or near the district, including La Mora, a romantic Italian eatery set in an elegantly remodeled home. On nearby Montrose Boulevard, you’ll find the trendy Aries Restaurant, with its polished hardwood floors and subdued lighting, and The Black Labrador, a cozy little English pub with a stuffy — and fake — palace guard standing watch outside.

If those don’t strike your fancy, don’t worry because Houston has one of the most diverse restaurant scenes in the country. “Within an easy walk from my office I can have Yugoslavian, Mediterranean, Honduran, Columbian, Cuban, and — of course — Mexican food,” Bevil says.

Frommer’s recently listed the best 23 restaurants Houston has to offer. In the inexpensive category are Butera’s, Fiesta Loma Linda, Luling City Market, Pig Stand #7, This Is It, and Treebeards. Up a notch with moderate prices are Baba Yega, Fred’s Italian Corner Restaurant, Goode Company Texas Barbecue, Jalapenos, Kim Son, La Mexicana Restaurant, Lucinda’s, Mai’s, Sammy’s Lebanese Restaurant, and Thai Spice. You’ll pay upscale prices at Backstreet Café, Churrascos, and Liberty Noodle, and the expensive category includes Americas, Brennan’s, Lynn’s Steakhouse, and Mark’s.

Space Center Houston displays a whole galaxy of attractions about America’s space program.

Fun in (and out of) the sun. If you’re looking for something exciting to do in your spare time, Houston is awash in recreational activities. SplashTown, a 45-acre water park set in a shady wooded area just a half-hour from downtown, is a great place to spend a warm day. The park is extensively landscaped, with Victorian lampposts and brick walkways adding a dash of class to the water park experience. More than 40 rides, from high-speed flumes to a lazy river, guarantee fun for everyone.

Too moist for you? Then Six Flags AstroWorld could be just the ticket. The theme park features thrill rides like the 2,000 foot-long Viper, a huge steel roller coaster that sends screaming riders through a 360-degree loop and a tunnel. Then there’s the Texas Cyclone, patterned after the classic 1927 Coney Island Cyclone. Of course, because this is Texas, it’s higher and faster than the original. Does being dropped from 230 feet in the air sound like your idea of a good time? AstroWorld has you covered with the Dungeon Drop, guaranteed to take your breath, if not your lunch, away.

If that’s too extreme for a lazy weekend, Houston and its suburbs have many calmer venues that still offer fascinating entertainment opportunities. Among the best is Space Center Houston, the official visitor center of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Its exhibits not only trace the evolution of America’s space program, but detail current projects in space and what may be in store for the future. Taped audio tours narrated by such astronauts as John Glenn and Shannon Lucid are designed to give you insight into how the real space pioneers made the dream of space flight a reality.

The San Jacinto Monument is a towering structure that commemorates Sam Houston’s 1836 victory over Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

If history is one of your passions, visiting the San Jacinto Battleground will take you back to one of the most significant events in Texas history. In 1836, some 1,500 of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s Mexican forces were defeated near the San Jacinto ferry crossing by an army of 820 Americans led by General Sam Houston. Today a 570-foot limestone monument rises at the site, topped by a 220-ton star symbolizing the birth of the Lone Star Republic. An observation tower at the 489-foot level offers a spectacular view of the historical site.

Children of all ages will enjoy George Ranch Historical Park, where visitors don’t need a time machine to experience a slice of Old Texas. The 23,000-acre working ranch and farm is a living re-creation of life in Texas more than a century ago, when cowboys drove cattle to market and spurs and stirrups came from the local blacksmith. Costumed interpreters recount the ranch’s history as you stroll through the majestic live oak trees and prairie grass stands that grace the property.
Most large cities have a zoo or two, but Houston Zoological Gardens has recently established a new public/private partnership that aims to make its facility one of the finest in the nation. The zoo is home to the only eastern lowland gorilla in North America — one of only three in captivity in the world. M’Kubwa (“big” in Swahili) recently turned 50, making him the oldest male gorilla in North America. The zoo also built a new habitat for its Andean spectacled bears, a critically endangered species native to South America. The zoo also features a reptile house, a children’s zoo, and much more.

The slugging Houston Astros are always contendors, and their home field, Minute Maid Park, is one of the most interesting in baseball.

If you’re a sports fan, your choices are many in Houston. The newly minted Texans recently debuted in the NFL, and baseball fans cheer the Astros over at Minute Maid Park. The Rockets are two-time NBA champs, and the Comets have won the WNBA championship four times. If hockey is your game, the minor-league Aeros may be your team of choice.

Shopping. If you’re looking for an excuse to go shopping, Houston’s Galleria provides a good one: It’s the fifth-largest mall in the US. You can easily get lost in the Galleria’s 2.4 million square feet, but you probably won’t mind. Its 350 stores and restaurants, including Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor will keep you happily entertained.

You can truly shop until you drop at Galleria with its 2.4 million square feet of retail opulence.

At 1.3 million square feet, Katy Mills Mall might seem a bit tiny in comparison, but it’s still large enough to contain 200 well-known manufacturer and retail outlets. The shopping center is complemented by a 20-screen state-of-the-art movie theater, and with attractions like the Rain Forest Cafe and the NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, neither adults nor children are likely to get bored.

Bargain-hunters take note: You may need comfortable shoes and more than a day to explore Traders Village, the largest open-air market on the Texas Gulf Coast. Spanning more than 105 acres, this outdoor shopping center attracts more than a million visitors each year and also hosts a series of concerts and other events.

Living Well

Apart from the lack of snow, this Sun Belt city affords residents a wide variety of living arrangements, from urban to suburban to rural. Even better, Houston is consistently ranked as one of the least expensive places to live in the US. According to the 2002 ACCRA Cost of Living Index, housing costs are 44% below the national average for 25 metropolitan areas with more than 1.7 million people.

Houston’s location just 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico helps to moderate its temperatures, so the average winter low is just 40 degrees. Summers are warm, and even then the average nighttime low is a balmy 72 degrees.

Getting around is a breeze thanks to the city’s METRO bus system that provides service to 1,285 square miles of the Greater Houston area. The city is encircled by Interstate 610, which is known locally as The Loop. Interstate 10 intersects it and links Houston to San Antonio to the west and New Orleans to the east. Interstate 45 runs north to Dallas and south to Galveston.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport, located 23 miles north of the city, offers nonstop service to 152 cities around the world. The airport is currently undertaking a large-scale expansion project that includes an additional international terminal building and new federal inspection building for international arrivals. William P. Hobby Airport, the area’s other major air facility, is also undergoing renovation that will include a new 24-gate central concourse. Because of its location closer to the city, the airport is particularly popular with business travelers.

Approximately 61 public and 400 private and parochial schools serve the Houston area, making a basic education easily accessible in any part of the city. For students interested in the healthcare sciences, the Michael E. DeBakey high school located at the Texas Medical Center offers an attractive alternative to traditional schools. Since its opening in 1972, the high school has received numerous awards from both local and national agencies including the National Science Foundation.

What You Can See For a C-Note

You’ve been working hard and now you finally have a day off. Best of all, you have $100 to spend. Don’t worry, Houston can show you a very good time for your c-note. Begin your day at Space Center Houston ($16.95), which is just south of Houston in the Clear Lake area off I-45. Catch a space-themed IMAX movie in the center’s theater, then check out the spacesuits near the theater entrance, which date all the way back to the Mercury project. Watch the riveting feature On Human Destiny in the Starship Gallery, then marvel at three actual capsules from the space program’s early days.

Back in town, park in the Theater District parking garage and you won’t have to move your car for the rest of the day. Head over to the Hard Rock Café for lunch ($12), where you can admire Elvis Presley’s blue jacket from Speedway and Elton John’s Statue of Liberty costume while dining.

After lunch, stroll through the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science ($5), where you can walk through larger-than-life body parts and enjoy the museum’s video and theater presentations. The Museum of Fine Arts ($10) is next, with its more than 45,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present. At the nearby Contemporary Arts Museum, you can browse through galleries of works by such artists as Robert Raushenberg and Yoko Ono. And you won’t even have to take out your wallet because admission is free.

Catch a Broadway show at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

For dinner, try Benjy’s restaurant ($25), where dishes such as crunchy chicken with pecan and tortilla crust will tempt your taste buds. To end the night, head over to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts and catch a Broadway show, such as Chicago ($30).

Whether your desire is a superior education or a fulfilling career in a modern, vibrant city, Houston beckons. Its numerous colleges and universities could support several lifetimes of learning, and its healthcare opportunities are too numerous to count. In the great constellation of Sun Belt cities, Houston truly is a shining star.

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