Hometown Glory

The city of second chances? Houston named the best place to start over

If you need a new start in business, Houston could be the place.
Courtesy photo
Houston, the city of second chances

New Yorkers may say that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere, but maybe Houstonians should add that if it doesn't work out, you can always come back here and we'll take you.

After all, when The Daily Beast compiled their list of the best cities in which to start over, they named Houston number one.

As ironic testament to this, they illustrated Houston with an image of the most infamous part of our skyline: The Enron building. If even that monument to corporate greed and excess can have a second chance at holding legitimate Houston business (Chevron currently owns one tower and leases another), then surely anyone can.

With the economy pushing people forcefully out of their professional comfort zone, there's never been a more popular time to try something totally new.

"If you've lost a job, have accepted an early-retirement package, or are a retiree or soon-to-be retiree facing significantly smaller retirement accounts, what's stopping you? A turn of events is an unexpected opportunity to reinvent your own career. You may never have a better chance, or reason, to do so — to get excited about work once again," writes list author Kerry Hannon.

So to find the best places to make a change, Hannon analyzed the economic data: what cities have a high rate of small business growth, low unemployment, high incomes, and a low cost of living, support charities and non-profits (a large part of new businesses) and have access to higher education (important for retraining).

Houston came out on top, followed by Omaha and Dallas.

Houston's small business growth rate of 0.8 percent doesn't sound too impressive, but with small businesses hit hard by the recession, it's one of the few cities on the list that has a positive rate at all (only No. 6 Seattle is higher, with 1.2 percent growth).

Houston also earned high marks for its combination of relatively low unemployment (8.7 percent), high per capita income (just over $43,500) and a cost of living index score of only 91.2 (100 is the national average). Combine this with our number two ranking by Charity Navigator as a non-profit-friendly city, and Houston has all the factors in place to successfully start the career people always dreamed of.

unspecified

don't get burned

Talented performers fire up new store and training facility in Houston

Supplies for fire performances to open in Houston in 2025.

Photo by Matt Hellman

Kira Bailey performs with fire fingers.

Have you ever wanted to juggle, swallow, or dance with fire? Houston will soon be home for a place that sells the gear and offers lessons in that art.

Chris and Kira Bailey of the Solar Rain Performance Troupe have been firebending for audiences for more than a decade, as well as running their own online store for tools of the trade, TheOddPropShop. In 2025, they plan to open a combination storefront and workshop for Houstonians to enter and practice the fiery arts.

"Having a physical location allows us to connect with our customers on a more personal level that can’t be replicated online — which is especially important for building props that performers must trust with their lives," the Baileys wrote in an email. "Because of that, we’re building this workshop to become a space to create and test products, and invite our customers in when they want custom-made props. We go through a long trial-and-error with each of our new ideas, often using affordable items from Temu to build our prototypes, and then improve our designs until they’re ready to sell."

The space will be located in Kemah and is scheduled to open in the second half of the year. It will be a combination storefront, living space, and workshop area that will serve aspiring fire performers in a variety of ways. The Baileys will sell their signature fire bubblers, fire jump ropes, and sun wheels that are perfect for both professionals and hobbyists.

The brick-and-mortar OddPropShop will serve as a hub for greater Houston's performance community. Interested first timers will be able to take classes, while established performers can try out new routines and equipment. According to the couple, Houston is home to a significant community of fire artists.

"We wanted to be in a city that not only has a great arts scene and supportive creative community, but is also in a location where we could quickly and easily get the materials we needed to build our props," the Baileys wrote. "Houston was the only place that checked all those boxes. We were also personally drawn to Houston because many of our friends and fellow performers live in the city. In many ways, Houston already felt like home."

In addition to the tools of the fire trade, TheOddPropShop will sell costumes and accessories such as leather and stone jewelry. These small pieces of flair help add to the pagan ambience of the overall fire package.

performing-arts shopping fire performers