The price of gas has more than doubled since 2000; but for the family in Channelview the cost of transport has risen only 23 percent. I would be scratching my head and asking why only 23 percent and not closer to 100 percent? People in Channelview have been making substitutions already. What interests me is the substitutions they made already to keep fuel costs down that much.

If you have ever lived in Houston, you do not want to walk, ever, except for a couple of weeks in April and a couple of weeks in October. The rest of the year it is either hot and sticky, hot and pouring rain or cold and pouring rain.

I lived in Montrose and the walkability stats are somewhat disingenuous. Yes, Montrose has homes and businesses mixed up so you could walk if you want to, but again, you do not want to. Only the vagrants and panhandlers walk in Montrose. Nobody walks in Montrose because the sidewalks are all broken and the city does not repair them and the homeowners and businesses don’t repair them either because then the vagrants would have a place to stand. Because the sidewalks are in such poor repair, Houstonians, especially in Montrose, are forced to walk in the street.

You are right though, the bus and rail service inside the loop is good though.

I stopped paying city wage tax and my car insurance dropped by more than 50% when I moved out of Phila. Those numbers need to be factored in as well.

We could also throw in some more subjective issues: crime rates, flash mob incidents on Phila streets. SEPTA strikes that take the whole region as a hostage (not often but it does happen).