Tex in the City: Houston exudes a cosmopolitan and down-home vibe.

Houston takes that "everything's bigger in Texas" thing to great lengths. Around here - and yes, we're slightly biased - it's a whole lot better, too.

Don't take our word for it, though. Just last year, H-Town landed on a number of impressive "best of" lists like "Best City to Live, Work and Play" by Kiplinger's Personal Finance, "Best U.S. City to Earn A Living" by Forbes.com, and "Best City for Recent College Grads" by Forbes magazine.

Locals know this place is about more than a paycheck. For Houstonians, it's about living in a city that's rich in culture and diversity - evident in the award-winning restaurants that populate each neighborhood. One night it's sipping an icy lime margarita on the patio of El Tiempo and the next you're hanging with hipsters at Upper Kirby's new Kata Robata sushi bar.

Of course, the climate might be another element that has Houstonians enamored and visitors return for more. What's not to like about an average winter temperature of 55 degrees, being able to golf 365 days a year, or enjoying an evening bike ride inone of the city's more than 650 parks?

Perhaps it's that Houston is also a city that knows when to take itself seriously and when to kick back.

Locals and visitors converge on H-Town's beloved Museum District for afternoons exploring the Museum of Fine Arts, The Health Museum, The Menil Collection, and the newly expanded Children's Museum of Houston. The district has 18 institutions within a 1.5-mile radius, with plans for a 19th - Asia House designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, the architect for the expansion of New York's Museum of Modern Art.

But just when you think all art in the city leans toward the serious and sophisticated, the Orange Show enters, paying homage to the citrus fruit and also to kitschy-cool folk art.

Houston's performing arts are world-class, too - one of few U.S. cities to boast resident companies in all major performance disciplines (symphony, ballet, opera, and theater). On any given night, it's a safe bet that there's a show to see somewhere in the Theater District.

And on the same night, only minutes away, you can hear faithful supporters cheering on the home team. From Astros baseball and Rockets basketball to Texans football and Dynamo soccer, Houston is a city that loves sports.

Even big business loves Houston, which ranks No. 2 in the United States for the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in town. Twenty-nine call the city home. Over many years, Houston has emerged as a leader in oil and gas industries (Chevron and Shell are based here) and space exploration (NASA sits in nearby Clear Lake.) Plus, Continental Airlines is headquartered here, as is the Port of Houston, which generates a statewide economic impact of more than $117 billion.

And there's the Texas Medical Center - the largest medical complex in the world with 13 hospitals and two specialty institutions, including M.D. Anderson (the world's top cancer research hospital) and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital (recognized as a top 10 U.S. hospital for heart surgery for two decades).

The reasons to love Houston seem plain as day: Amid winding bayous and tree-lined streets is a city that blends cosmopolitan and country in world-class style.