Houston scores surprise spot in new ranking of top summer travel destinations for 2023

SUMMERTIME blues

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We now know that Houston has seen one of the biggest gains in new residents in the U.S. But how high does the rest of the nation rank our fair city as a place to visit?

Perhaps not as high as we may think, per a new list of the best places to visit in the summer. Houston comes in at a surprising No. 38 out of 100 of the largest metro areas in America, according to the 2023 edition of WalletHub’s report.

The report compared the cities across 41 metrics, including number of attractions.

Taking the top spot in Texas San Antonio at No. 11, with Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown at No. 14. Behind Austin and San Antonio in the 2023 rankings is El Paso (No. 18), Houston (No. 38), Dallas-Fort Worth (No. 45), Corpus Christi (No. 62), and McAllen (No. 86).

Dr. Susan Weidmann, assistant professor in the department of recreational management and physical education at Appalachian State University, said in the report that summer 2023 is going to be a “good season for travel” despite recent economic downturns that have many worried about a recession.

“Coming out of Covid, I think many people have taken these last few years to really evaluate what they want out of life, and for those that love travel, I think they have probably put it at the top of their list of things to do,” she said. “As far as economics are concerned, many may have saved their traveling money from the last multiple years, so will have money to spend. That being said, after the airline chaos of last year, many people may be thinking about domestic travel over the long-haul, just to alleviate many of the concerns that airlines, especially in Europe, are still grappling with, such as reduced staffing leading to flight cancellations.”

Dr. Weidmann predicts the time period between July and early August will be the most popular season for National Parks, like Texas’ Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains.

Despite none of them being in Texas, the top 10 destinations in WalletHub’s report are all popular cities worth a glance in sun-friendly states like Hawaii, New York, and Florida.

The top 10 best summer destinations are:

No. 1 – Atlanta
No. 2 – Honolulu, Hawaii
No. 3 – Washington, D.C.
No. 4 – Wichita, Kansas
No. 5 – New York City
No. 6 – Chicago
No. 7 – Tampa, Florida
No. 8 – Orlando, Florida
No. 9 – Richmond, Virginia
No. 10 – Springfield, Missouri

The full report can be found on WalletHub’s website.

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Houston area hit with 7th highest inflation rate in U.S., new report says

WEALTH WOES

As if living comfortably in Houston wasn’t already hard enough to afford in 2023, now a new report says inflation is rising more quickly in the city than in other parts of the United States. Unfortunately for Houston, the news seems to be a little worse than it was last year.

Financial experts at WalletHub compared 22 of America’s largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with Consumer Price Index data to measure inflation trends in two categories: last March and year-over-year changes.

"Though inflation has started to slow slightly due to factors like the Federal Reserve rate hikes, the year-over-year inflation rate was still a whopping 5 percent (nationally) in March," WalletHub says. "This high inflation is driven by a variety of factors, including the continued presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and labor shortages."

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked No. 7 in WalletHub's new list of cities where inflation is rising the most. The Consumer Price Index change in March when compared to two months prior showed a 1.9 percent increase, while inflation increased 5.2 percent last month, since March 2022.

The current inflation woes continue with the knowledge that the region seems to be faring slightly worse than it was last year. The latest ranking is a three-place jump from WalletHub’s last report, when Houston was saddled with the 10th highest inflation rate in the U.S., at 9.5 percent, year-over-year.

Roosevelt University Associate Professor of Finance and Real Estate Dr. Henry I. Silverman says in the report that rising interest rates are the traditional tool that banks use to fight inflation, but aren’t necessarily cost effective for consumers.

“Unfortunately, not only do higher rates make it more expensive for consumers to borrow money and thus afford many of the things we would otherwise purchase, but they also make it more costly for firms to expand and produce more goods and services which might otherwise help lower inflation,” he says.

Houston wasn’t the only Texas metro area to make WalletHub’s top 10. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranked three places lower at No. 10, with inflation rising 1.3 percent in March from January, but nearly six percent greater year-over-year. Last year’s report put Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 5, with year-over-year inflation for August 2022 at 9.4 percent.

Silverman warns that inflation and true economic growth are “not negatively correlated,” but many economists are predicting a recession this year.

“[H]igher inflation tends to be associated with lower real economic growth in the future,” Silverman says. “Undoubtedly, this is in part due to the higher interest rates that often follow higher inflation rates which inevitably slow economic activity, consumption, investment, etc[etera].”

The top 10 metro areas where inflation is rising the most are:

No. 1 – Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
No. 2 – Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
No. 3 – Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale
No. 4 – Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
No. 5 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell
No. 6 – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
No. 7 – Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land
No. 8 – San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward
No. 9 – Baltimore-Columbia-Towson
No. 10 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

The full report can be found on wallethub.com.

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Frazzled Texans are the 9th most stressed-out people in America, new report says

BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT

From a global pandemic to rising inflation and interest rates, there are plenty of things to be stressed about in 2023. And when they say everything is bigger in Texas, that includes the stress levels.

Texas was ranked the ninthmost stressed state of 2023, according to the latest report from personal finance website WalletHub. WalletHub compared all 50 states across 41 metrics to determine every state’s worries on certain issues, such as work, money, or family-related stress. The report is timed to April as National Stress Awareness Month, as designated by the National Institutes of Health.

In the overall work-related stress category, the Lone Star State ranked No. 5. Texas employees specifically have the highest stress levels in the nation when it comes to their average hours worked per week. That probably includes Houston, which was named the No. 1 most stressful city to work in. Two fellow Southern states – Mississippi (No. 4) and Louisiana (No. 3) – had higher work-related stress levels, while Wyoming (No. 2), and Alaska (No. 1) earned the top two spots.

Texas also ranked No. 5 in overall family-related stress. The states that have higher family-related stress include North Carolina (No. 4), New York (No. 3), Nevada (No. 2), and New Mexico (No. 1).

In the category of health and safety-related stress, Texas ranked just outside the top 10 at No. 11. Most Texans aren’t quite feeling it when it comes to financial stress, ranking in the middle of the metaphorical stress road at No. 23. However, Houstonites are feeling that financial squeeze if they want to live comfortably in the city.

The good news? Texans aren't quite as stressed as they were in spring of 2021, when the state placed No. 6 in the same study. (At that time, COVID-19 was still raging, and vaccines had just become available.)

Leah C. Hibel, a professor of human development and family studies at the University of California, Davis, says much of the financial stress individuals experience is a result of systemic issues, not because of how an individual lives his or her life.

“[It’s] due to rising housing costs, rising food costs, and stagnant wages,” she explained. “Individuals can try to live in places where the cost of living is lower and wages are higher, or where food, child care, and other expenses are subsidized through state programs. Individuals can take on additional work and cut extra expenses, but sometimes these fixes are beyond what an individual can do.”

The top 10 most stressed states are:

No. 1 – Mississippi
No. 2 – Louisiana
No. 3 – New Mexico
No. 4 – West Virginia
No. 5 – Nevada
No. 6 – Arkansas
No. 7 – Alabama
No. 8 – Kentucky
No. 9 – Texas
No. 10 – Oklahoma

The full report can be found on wallethub.com.

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Texans pay the 6th highest real estate property taxes in the U.S., new report finds

deep in the heart of taxes

It’s that time of year again where Texas homeowners grimace at their tax bills. But here’s some consolation – did you know the Lone Star State doesn’t have the highest property tax rate in the U.S.? Personal finance website WalletHub’s 2023 report says there are five states paying higher property taxes than Texas.

In the report, Hawaii comes in first place with the lowest property tax rate out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia – 0.29 percent. With a median home value of $662,100, that means the average Hawaiian is paying $1,893 in annual property taxes.

Toward the bottom of the list (meaning states with the highest property tax rates), Texas sits at No. 46. The median home value in Texas is $202,600 with a property tax rate of 1.74 percent, which means the average Texan pays $3,520 in property taxes.

States paying higher property taxes than Texas are Vermont at 1.90 percent, New Hampshire with 2.09 percent, Connecticut at 2.15 percent, and Illinois with a 2.23 percent tax rate. Coming in at No. 51 with the most expensive property tax rate on the list is New Jersey, sitting at 2.47 percent. At that rate, New Jersey homeowners pay $6,057 on a median home valued at $355,700.

Dr. Alex Combs, assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia, says people should consider how much they could pay in property taxes when making the decision to move.

"After all, people are sensitive to price, and the property tax is a visible cost of homeownership that funds generally desirable government services like education and public safety," he explains. "If they have the opportunity, people are going to seek the biggest benefit for their property tax buck."

The 10 states that pay the lowest real estate property taxes are:

No. 1: Hawaii – 0.29 percent
No. 2: Alabama – 0.41 percent
No. 3: Colorado – 0.51 percent
No. 4: Nevada – 0.55 percent
No. 5: South Carolina and Louisiana (Tied) – 0.56 percent
No. 7: District of Columbia – 0.57 percent
No. 8: Utah and Delaware (Tied) – 0.58 percent
No. 10: West Virginia – 0.59 percent

While Texas homeowners will feel the sting of their property taxes, at least they can find some comfort in not having to worry about vehicle property taxes. Texas vehicle owners do have to pay a 6.25 percent tax rate on the purchase price of a car with their local tax assessor-collector, but they do not have to pay annual vehicle property taxes.

Plus, it’s not just Texas – WalletHub determined 23 other states and Washington, D.C., also do not have vehicle property tax rates. Louisiana has the lowest rate out of the remaining states who do pay vehicle property taxes, at 0.10 percent. The state with the highest vehicle property tax rate is Virginia, at 3.96 percent.

The full report and its methodology can be found on WalletHub’s website.

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Texas scores top ranking among best states for dating, says new report

Not-so-Lone Star

Couples, step aside – this Valentine’s day is for the unattached. Personal finance website WalletHub released their report of this year’sBest and Worst States for Singles, and the Lone Star State claimed the No. 1 spot in two out of six categories. Coming in at No. 4 overall, Texas ranked behind California (No. 1), New York (No. 2), and Florida (No. 3).

The report’s findings were determined by comparing dating economics, opportunities, and romance and fun across all 50 states. For date opportunities, the top four overall winners tied for No. 1 in the most restaurants per capita category, while Texas and California also tied for highest number of movie theaters per capita

Other categories in the report include online and mobile dating opportunities, median annual household income, share of single adults, gender balance of singles, and crime rate.

Besides holding a No. 1 spot for most restaurants and movie theaters per capita, Texas received the following rankings in other categories:

Ninth – Median annual household income (adjusted for cost of living)
17th – Mobile-dating opportunities
23rd – Online-dating opportunities
30th – Percentage of residents (aged 12 and older) who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19

With the soaring popularity of virtual dating during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, one expert believes it gives people a better understanding of a potential partner before meeting face-to-face.

“People might go into in-person dates with more knowledge about the person and more confidence about who they are,” according to Dr. Andrew High, associate professor and Director of Graduate Studies at Pennsylvania State University. “Still, online dating is only one way to meet people, and there are plenty of opportunities to meet people in person.”

Individual Texas destinations also ranked highly for singles in another recent report from WalletHub comparing 180 U.S. cities. In that study, Austin earned the No. 7 ranking for single people, with Seattle taking the lead. Houston came in at No. 69, with San Antonio taking No. 83 and Dallas coming close behind at No. 87.

The full report and its methodology can be found at wallethub.com.

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Texas ranks No. 3 best state to start a business in U.S., report says

Calling all entrepreneurs

For years, Texas has been lauded for its business climate being welcoming to new businesses and startups. A new study shows that the Lone Star State has yet again made the list.

Texas ranked third in personal finance website WalletHub's recent report, 2023's Best & Worst States to Start a Business, with a score of 56.85 points. Texas ranked behind Utah, No. 1, and Florida, No. 2, and just ahead of Colorado. Idaho, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and California make up the rest of the top 10, respectively.

The study looked at 27 key indicators of startup success across all 50 states. Texas was recognized for these factors in particular:

No. 10 – average growth in number of small businesses
No. 30 – labor costs
No. 10 – availability of human capital
No. 4 – average length of work week (in hours)
No. 14 – cost of living
No. 13 – industry variety
No. 31 – percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Source: WalletHub

Richard Ryffel, professor of finance practice at Washington University in St. Louis, noted the importance of policy in making a state a good place to start a business.

"Established businesses looking to expand might expand or relocate entirely based on the relative favorability of the local business climate," Ryffel says. "Recently, Texas, for example, has been the beneficiary of some significant business relocations based on its business-friendly policies."

The methodology of the study focused on three key dimensions — business environment, access to resources, and business costs — and 27 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and then each state’s average across all metrics was used to calculate its overall score.

In fall 2022, Dallas ranked No. 8 on 42Floors' list of best U.S. metros to start a business.

Earlier that year, WalletHub named Farmers Branch one of the best small cities in Texas for starting a business. It appeared at No. 102 on the list overall, and No. 2 in Texas. Other DFW cities in the survey included Haltom City (No. 406), The Colony (No. 436), Grapevine (No. 457), and Flower Mound (No. 733).

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This article originally appeared on our sister site InnovationMap.

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Whataburger weighs in as healthiest cheeseburger in the nation

THEMS EATIN' WORDS

With its love of greasy enchiladas, gluttonous fried steaks, and fat-speckled brisket, Texas isn’t always known as a healthy eating mecca. But it turns out that one locally beloved dish isn’t as unhealthy as one might think.

Inspired by February’s American Heart Month (albeit belatedly), Gambling.com decided to dig deep into which fast-food burger was best for the ticker and the body overall. What that has to do with online slots is anyone’s guess, but perhaps open-heart surgeries are not conducive to risk-taking.

Surprise, surprise, surprise! Local favorite/ food cult Whataburger took the top slot, earning honors with its standby cheeseburger. Assumably, the gambling site considered the mustard-slathered original, eschewing calorie bombs like bacon slices and creamy pepper sauce.

Where’s the fun of Whataburger if you can’t get it just like you like it?

To arrive at the rankings, Gambling.com analyzed each burger for sugar, fat, salt, and calorie content per ounce. Each metric was given a one to ten score that factored into the final report card shared with content-hungry food journalists everywhere.

Coming in a close second was In-N-Out’s cheeseburger, a comforting fact for Texans who enjoy complaining about Californians. Rounding out the top five were Checker’s Checkerburger with Cheese, Culver’s ButterBurger Cheese, and Del Taco’s del Cheese Burger.

For those trying to make better eating choices, that list should give some pause. Yes, Whataburger beats out other fast-food faves, but it was competing against a chain that literally toasts all their buns in churned cream. Health is a relative concept.

Elsewhere on the list was another Texas darling, the No. 6 ranked Dairy Queen. Apparently, all that “hungr” is being busted by a hefty dose of sodium. Yes, we will take fries with that.

Upscale new Japanese restaurant serving sushi, robata, and more docks in familiar River Oaks District space

ouzo bay replacement revealed

Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group has revealed its plans for the former Ouzo Bay space in River Oaks District. The company will bring Azumi, an upscale Japanese restaurant, to the development this winter.

Named for a Japanese word that means “safe harbor,” Azumi will serve a mixture of modern and traditional Japanese dishes. Similar to its sister location at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, the menu will include sushi, tempura, robata, and more.

Atlas Restaurant Group’s executive concept chef Alisher Yallaev plans to move to Houston to open Azumi, according to a press release. He’ll oversee menu development that will utilize premium ingredients such as wagyu beef, freshwater soft sell crab, and fish that’s flown in from Japan. An extensive beverage program will include cocktails, sake, and Japanese whisky.

Designer Patrick Sutton will lead the transformation of Ouzo Bay’s dining room into Azumi. Look for a 130-seat main dining room, a private room for omakase tastings, and a 78-seat dining room.

“We’re excited to bring the culinary artistry of Azumi to Houston’s vibrant dining epicenter, River Oaks District, and look forward to creating lasting memories for guests,” said Alex Smith, President and CEO of Atlas Restaurant Group. “At Azumi, our focus will be the presentation of a sophisticated and immersive Japanese dining experience that finds harmony and balance in both the traditional and innovative.”

Ouzo Bay, Atlas’s European-inspired seafood restaurant, closed April 30. The company still operates Loch Bar, an East Coast-inspired seafood tavern, and Marmo, an Italian steakhouse.

Azumi will join a dynamic mix of restaurants in River Oaks District that includes Steak 48, Spanish restaurant MAD, and Vietnamese restaurant Le Colonial. The district recently welcomed two new arrivals: Bari, an upscale Italian restaurant, and Ojo de Agua, an all-day cafe with locations throughout Mexico.

Courtesy of Atlas Restaurant Group

Azumi will open this winter.

Eat a delectable dessert from this sweet Houston cafe and donate to help kids

Crepes for a Cause

This summer, Coco Crepes & Coffee wants you to indulge for a great cause.

During the entire month of June, the popular creperie/neighborhood cafe will donate a portion of its sales from the Banana Split Crepe to Texas Children’s Hospital. Eat gelato to help children? Okay!

This sweet move is in response to International Children's Day on June 1. Being a noted family-friendly eatery, Coco Crepes & Coffee decided that one day simply wasn't enough, so it's helping future generations for the entire month.

Ready for details on the featured crepe? It boasts chocolate sauce-covered banana slices nestled inside a sweet crepe, all drizzled with vanilla, chocolate, and caramel sauces, and then finished off with your favorite flavor of gelato.

But there's no rule that says you can't sample the rest of the menu while you're there. Take your pick from a wide range of dishes that includes sweet and savory crepes, gourmet coffee drinks, salads, paninis, waffles, and smoothies.

Special for summer is the dragonfruit smoothie, a mouthwatering mix of dragonfruit, banana, and mango.

All locations, including the newest one in the Greenway/Upper Kirby area which is set to open in mid-June, are participating in the featured crepe give-back.

So get ready to satisfy your sweet tooth this June while eating for a bigger cause.

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