This year cPanel has chosen its home base of Houston, Texas as the location for its annual conference. What makes the city so great? Let me tell you the ways!

The Music!

In his seminal 1998 Hip-Hop classic “Tops Drop,” rapper Fat Pat extolled on the virtues of living in the south Texas city of Houston- including its particular blend of “3rd Coast” hip-hop, the “Slab Culture” and the other general braggadocios claims made about the city. Houston is a city of many nicknames: Space City, Screwston, Hustle Town, Clutch City, the Bayou City, or my personal favorite, Crush City. Houston itself is known for a number of different reasons, either for its eclectic mix of famous musicians (Beyoncé, ZZ Top, Robert Earl Keen, Paul Wall), the world-famous cuisine, or it’s status as the most diverse city in the country, there’s a little something for everyone in the city cPanel calls home.

Going back to Houston, Houston, Houston

Aside from being the home of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston is also the home of the largest medical center in the world. The yearly Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is not only the biggest rodeo in the world but a very successful concert series as well. Houston is the home of one of the largest museum districts in the country (20 museums!) including the number 1 rated children’s museum in the country. The Houston Zoo is the second most visited zoo in the United States.

Let’s also not forget, Houston is the home of the 2017 World Series Champions– the Houston Astros.

At the Little Taste of Paradise On Telephone Road

The great thing about Houston’s cuisine is that it comes from its diverse population – 145 different languages are spoken in the city. If you’re looking for some genuinely authentic Houston food, you can’t go wrong with real Tex-Mex at the Ninfa’s, some amazing beef brisket at Gatlin’s BBQ, or a steaming hot bowl of delicious Phở from Pho Binh.

Are you looking for a refreshing adult-beverage after a long day at work? Houston is home to dozens of breweries serving the most excellent beer in the country! My personal favorites include Brash Brewing (NSFW), Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Buffalo Bayou Brewing, and Karbach Brewing. Many of these brewers will provide a tour of the facilities (see where the beer is made!) and have a beer garden to meet with friends and hang out.

Oh, Houston You Got to Keep On Keeping On

(AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

There are a lot of great things about the City of Houston, as I have mentioned. The culture is wonderful and diverse, the weather (when it doesn’t feel like hot soup outside) can be gorgeous, and the city skyline is as impressive as you can imagine. Above all of those things, the people of Houston are strong and resilient. After the 2017 disaster of Hurricane Harvey, the people of this great city rallied around to help and lift each other up in the face of devastating adversity. The greatest strength that the City of Houston has is its people, and willingness to help each other out.

If you’re looking for something to do in the downtime of the cPanel Conference, or while staying here in Houston, by all means, ask any of the cPanel staff you’re acquainted with, or get to know one! And being a big fan of the City of Houston myself, I’d be happy to suggest where the best Vietnamese Gastropub is (Hughie’s!), which venue to catch a live band at (White Oak Music Hall) or who has the best fast food burger (it’s Whataburger, and it’s not even close). Come and find me at the 2018 cPanel Conference and let’s talk Houston! I’ll be wearing a Houston Astros cap, like usual.

Don’t forget to also check us out on Slack, Discord, or Reddit!

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Header image John Chandler, Flickr