Montrose

Montrose remains the eccentric, beating heart of Houston, a four-square-mile patch where the city’s lack of zoning laws manifests in its most chaotic and charismatic form. Once the epicenter of the LGBTQ+ movement and the 1970s counter-culture, the neighborhood now blends high-end residential luxury with grit-flecked history. Turn-of-the-century bungalows sit adjacent to towering modern townhomes, while blue-collar dive bars compete for sidewalk space with James Beard-recognized bistros. The residents are an intentional mix of legacy artists, oil and gas professionals, and those who prioritize proximity to the Museum District over suburban sprawl. While rapid gentrification has polished many of its rougher edges, the neighborhood maintains a defiant independence. It is a place where one can buy a mid-century vintage jacket, visit a world-class art gallery like Hooks-Epstein, and end the night at a leather bar like Ripcord—all within a ten-minute walk. This is the Houston of the imagination: eclectic, humid, and unapologetically strange.