Has anyone lived in an area that feels 'cursed'?

As far as any metaphysical weirdness associated with a whole city, I have no idea. It might be that the general area just doesn't agree with you very much. Divination?

Roguebiologist - I moved to Melbourne in '99 from south-west WA (Bunbury, specifically) and the moment I set foot in the CBD and said hi to the place, ze grabbed me up in a hug and said welcome home. Flying into Melbourne, when I see hir, I actually tear-up in relief at being back where I belong. Going back to Bunbury, we're like old friends, hir and I, but ze isn't my home. I don't work with the fae though so maybe that has some bearing? Although, it just occurred to me that maybe if you work with the 'imported' fae, the land spirits might be a bit miffed? There's something for me to ponder

Redeseeker - the only advice I have is to be very polite to the city, and to ask hir what ze wants of you. Divination time maybe?

Fearlesslyonwards - Oh, that's interesting! I guess ze's a city that brings out strong responses in either direction then. :-) As for working with imported spirits and fae, that's true for some but not all of them. Some of them are attached to the city rather than the land, and so likely were born after the city came into being, and so would likely ping as very foreign to those from outside the city. Nearly all of those I work with are very territorial too - magpie for example. That said, I don't have that sort of reaction in other cities, just Melbourne, so I'm suspecting shenanigans because of the Adelaide-Melbourne rivalry. I can't think of what else it'd be to be honest.

Can't say I have, no. Usually when I feel uncomfortable it has nothing to do with the area and everything to do with how I'm responding to the area.

Honestly, form what I read on your post I don't think Houston is cursed. I think that there is a dissonance and an uncomfortableness generated in your heart by the fact that there are far fewer Pagan and Polytheistic resources in your location. It makes us (as human beings) very uncomfortable and maybe a little sad to experience feelings of being in the minority with little to no back-up, representation, or support in the area. I think we would all be keen to examine if there are any possible reasons other than going 'it must be cursed' that would be more likely. If you can't put it to that point, figure out if it is the land spirits that you aren't getting along well with (some people are sensitive to their presence after all.) I know one woman who outright refuses to enter desert regions because the land spirits (however you call them) of desert like regions tend to have a very </i> tense <i> relationship with her.

Pthelms, I remember I went to Detroit about a year and a half ago and the whole place is just gloomy and sad. Having a wretched economy for years does that I guess.
I must say though, rural Michigan in the winter is quite beautiful.

Thank you all for your insight and advice. I am a Northern Traditionalist in a non-Northern location. The Vaettir/Land Spirits may be 'vibing' at a different frequency.

Houston's pagan scene was very big back in the 90s--Pagan Pride Day was (apparently) huge, and more like Gay Pride than our modern PPD, which is more like an excuse for Wiccan-esque folks to take over a restaurant and sell gemstones to one another in secrecy. In the late 90s/early 00s (basically right before you got here, redeseeker), there was apparently a huge falling out, and the pagan scene here pretty much imploded.

It hasn't come back too much, mainly because all of the old leaders are still too reticent to get involved again, and everybody else is too afraid of losing their jobs to be out and open about who and what they are (which has always made me question the "pride" in Pagan Pride Day).

So it's not so much a curse as it is history. There are a few "pagan" shops--the Magick Cauldron in the Montrose is one (though the guy who owns it isn't pagan, and actually started the place so he could sell swords to the renfaire crowd, and the pagans just kept going there as well); Pixie's Intent is a small place on I-10W just outside the Belt, and is run by a friend of mine who is sort of a quasi-Wiccan/general pagan eclectic.