What can y'all tell me about Houston?
- Thread starter kotori
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Spinaroonie
LOOK WHAT I FOUND!
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Well... the best advice I can give you would be to not live in houston. But then you would have to suffer through houston's traffic. So I don't know what I can say.
The rest of TX is good. Try a suburb
The rest of TX is good. Try a suburb
Starblayde
5pointboy
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She's one nasty pornstar, i mean did you see the Houston 500?
ewwwww
ewwwww
Silverluna
That's Professor to You!
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I'm in Clear Lake texas....a small suburb of houston...right next door to NASA....its real quaint here....
Nora
Dirty Pomegranate
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I grew up there, but I admit freely that I haven't lived there in some time. I'll tell you what I know, though.
Houston's one of those places that's "a great place to live, but you wouldn't wanna visit there."
It's huge and sprawling with G-d awful traffic and 3 million people. That's both good and bad. Good cuz you can find anything you could ever want there. Bad cuz you're competing with the other 2,999,999 other people for the same parking spot.
Their museums, symphony and libraries are all top notch.
The schools...eh. There's better and worse. Mostly depends on the area. I don't know if you have kids, if you do I'll expound on that more. I'm a product of HISD (Houston independent school district) so...you can do with that information what you like. *grin* Excellent colleges abound and in-state tuition is reasonable.
There's TONS to do. Plenty of clubs, bars, movie houses, restaurants, parks and other outdoorsy stuff (in town and in the viscinity).
Did I mention the traffic?
Your car will never rust. However, if you don't keep your dash armor-all'ed it will crack from the heat.
Oh yah, the heat. Hotter than a bitch in heat in the summers. Muggy, too...the air feels so thick you can scoop it up with a spoon. Can't forget the mosquitoes on steroids, either.
Conversely, you won't be shovelling snow, and if you rent an apartment on the 2nd floor or better or buy a house on higher ground, you don't have to worry about flooding. Hurricanes lose most of their strength before they hit Houston. Usually.
The cost of living is fairly low. No state income tax. When last I looked sales tax is about 8.25% (may have gone up..no clue) and does not apply to food items. Apartments are cheap (especially compared to Austin *grumbles*). Housing in general is affordable.
We do not ride our horses to work. You will be hard pressed to find anyone wearing a cowboy hat outside of a kicker bar (boots are another story). Houston's a relatively well-educated city that has seen an influx of people from all over the country and the world. It's extremely multi-cultural. You are not required to drive a pick-up truck, but you may prefer a tank for highway driving.
Houston's one of those places that's "a great place to live, but you wouldn't wanna visit there."
It's huge and sprawling with G-d awful traffic and 3 million people. That's both good and bad. Good cuz you can find anything you could ever want there. Bad cuz you're competing with the other 2,999,999 other people for the same parking spot.
Their museums, symphony and libraries are all top notch.
The schools...eh. There's better and worse. Mostly depends on the area. I don't know if you have kids, if you do I'll expound on that more. I'm a product of HISD (Houston independent school district) so...you can do with that information what you like. *grin* Excellent colleges abound and in-state tuition is reasonable.
There's TONS to do. Plenty of clubs, bars, movie houses, restaurants, parks and other outdoorsy stuff (in town and in the viscinity).
Did I mention the traffic?
Your car will never rust. However, if you don't keep your dash armor-all'ed it will crack from the heat.
Oh yah, the heat. Hotter than a bitch in heat in the summers. Muggy, too...the air feels so thick you can scoop it up with a spoon. Can't forget the mosquitoes on steroids, either.
Conversely, you won't be shovelling snow, and if you rent an apartment on the 2nd floor or better or buy a house on higher ground, you don't have to worry about flooding. Hurricanes lose most of their strength before they hit Houston. Usually.
The cost of living is fairly low. No state income tax. When last I looked sales tax is about 8.25% (may have gone up..no clue) and does not apply to food items. Apartments are cheap (especially compared to Austin *grumbles*). Housing in general is affordable.
We do not ride our horses to work. You will be hard pressed to find anyone wearing a cowboy hat outside of a kicker bar (boots are another story). Houston's a relatively well-educated city that has seen an influx of people from all over the country and the world. It's extremely multi-cultural. You are not required to drive a pick-up truck, but you may prefer a tank for highway driving.
Galveston Mardi Gras, like kicks ass. Not all commercialised like NOLA (or maybe). Watch out for the 5 foot waves at Stewart Beach, they can knock you down. Traffic is bad, so live in a self-sufficient suburb. Speed-limit is knocked down to 50 on the freeways, prolly a good thing since my friends used to time themselves from ___ to ___ going Steve McQueen speeds. COPs used to not patrol the big roads. If you see a yield sign, that doesn't really mean you yield (unless a dually is getting off going 95mph).
Nora
Dirty Pomegranate
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Houston's HUGE. I mean truly huge in area. There is a public bus system that's actually pretty damned good. You can get where you need to go and almost invariably get dropped off within a couple of blocks of your destination.
The problems? Navigating the routes is difficult. Also, with the frequent stops a cross-town bus trip can run you two hours of travel time, easily.
Personally, I don't recommend Houston for bus-takers, walkers or bike riders.
The problems? Navigating the routes is difficult. Also, with the frequent stops a cross-town bus trip can run you two hours of travel time, easily.
Personally, I don't recommend Houston for bus-takers, walkers or bike riders.
Austinites hate 'em both, I side with Austin. Houston's attempt at a new image is like painting a barn with fingernail polish. Find a good suburb and don't go into town unless absolutely necessary. I had to move since I was a 'man of the people', that position required way too much time in the big bad place.
Nora
Dirty Pomegranate
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True. I've lived in Austin for 14 years now. I really loathe going back to Houston and Dallas I only visit under duress.
The problem with the 'burbs is that...well, they're the 'burbs. If you're young and single, avoid them like the plague. If you're married with kids, they're not too ghastly, I guess. The other problem with the 'burbs is commuting. UGH.
The problem with the 'burbs is that...well, they're the 'burbs. If you're young and single, avoid them like the plague. If you're married with kids, they're not too ghastly, I guess. The other problem with the 'burbs is commuting. UGH.
Nora
Dirty Pomegranate
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kotori said:It once took me over an hour to drive from 47th Street to the Lincoln Tunnel (40th Street), but that was a holiday weekend. I'm big on busses, walking and biking. You're not being very encouraging.
I didn't realize you were in NYC. Ok...differences. When you're in Manhattan and you look up, all you see are buildings. When you're downtown in Houston and you look up, you see a big-as-hell blue sky.
When you look down in Manhattan you see rubbish and homeless people. When you look down in Downtown Houston, you see clean streets and homeless people.
Honestly? You will be most comfortable if you drive yourself. The money you save in rent and other expenses will pretty much cover the cost of a car, insurance, maintenence, etc.
The traffic patterns are different, too. Most of the drivers will seem courteous to you. To an Austinite they're asshole-drivers. *shrug*
The "I hate NY" thing doesn't come into play much anymore. The only time you'll feel it is if you (and I'm not saying you would) cop a 'tude about southerners/Texans. We hate that. It chaps our hides something fierce!(<--gratuitous Texasism).
someplace
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SOME of the above is true. Houston has over 4 million people now, but the area is the same as some small states -- don't let it fool ya. My son is an architect. MOST of the architectural firms are in the Galleria area or downtown -- both are accessible by public transportation. I take a Park & Ride to work from a northern suburb (30 miles away) to the downtown area. It costs $3 a trip in rush hour and takes less than 30 min to be dropped off at the door of my building. I'm 10-15 min from my house to the park & ride (depending on whether I'm stopped by a train or not). It's not a bad commute. There are high volume lanes on all major freeways (shared by buses and cars). At the present, most of downtown is torn up for the constructing of a light rail system. First leg is from downtown to the medical center. Should be completed in 2 yrs.
Houston is in the midst of a huge redevelopment of its downtown and near downtown areas. There are new loft-style condos and apts popping up all over the place. I know several people who live in these and actually walk to work. There's a FREE trolley system connecting the near downtown and downtown areas -- very cool.
A couple of years ago the arts area on the edge of downtown received a shot in the arm with a whole cadre of new restaurants and night clubs across from the Opera House, designed to stimulate after-hours nightlife downtown.
We have a new football stadium for the new football team, we have a new baseball stadium (formerly Enron Field, now Minute Maid Park), and a new basketball arena in progress. Houston will host the 2004 Super Bowl.
There is one of the finest medical centers on the planet here.
Houston is incredibly culturally diverse. I think something like 80 consulates are located here.
I'm sure I'll think of more later, but ask questions if you'd like.
Houston is in the midst of a huge redevelopment of its downtown and near downtown areas. There are new loft-style condos and apts popping up all over the place. I know several people who live in these and actually walk to work. There's a FREE trolley system connecting the near downtown and downtown areas -- very cool.
A couple of years ago the arts area on the edge of downtown received a shot in the arm with a whole cadre of new restaurants and night clubs across from the Opera House, designed to stimulate after-hours nightlife downtown.
We have a new football stadium for the new football team, we have a new baseball stadium (formerly Enron Field, now Minute Maid Park), and a new basketball arena in progress. Houston will host the 2004 Super Bowl.
There is one of the finest medical centers on the planet here.
Houston is incredibly culturally diverse. I think something like 80 consulates are located here.
I'm sure I'll think of more later, but ask questions if you'd like.
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Don't be afraid to cop a 'tude at a southerners/Texans. If you never pull that card out Lav, Spin, and myself will be very upset. The lit persona Texan seems like a character to outsiders...I see at least one every day. You'll recognise them (just look for the big hats and the bigger guns).
someplace
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the Gun thing ("thang")
My former mother-in-law (a citizen of the UK) FREAKED when she visited Houston and saw the gun racks in back windows of pickups driving on the freeways. I swear she thought they were all terrorists. Truly, you don't notice it after a while. But I believe I heard something like 50% of the women here carry a pistol in their purse. I wouldn't be surprised if that's true. I know many many more people here who own guns -- and know how to use them. It's just a fact of life.
My former mother-in-law (a citizen of the UK) FREAKED when she visited Houston and saw the gun racks in back windows of pickups driving on the freeways. I swear she thought they were all terrorists. Truly, you don't notice it after a while. But I believe I heard something like 50% of the women here carry a pistol in their purse. I wouldn't be surprised if that's true. I know many many more people here who own guns -- and know how to use them. It's just a fact of life.
Nora
Dirty Pomegranate
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YAY! Thanks Someplace for the corrections! Like I said, it's been 14 years since I lived there!
I didn't know they were putting that light rail system finally! KICKASS! It's about damned time!!
Kotori. Go there. Check it out for yourself before deciding one way or the other. And keep an open mind.
I moved there in 1978 from a small town in Massachusetts. Now I'm like a born-again Texan willing to preach it's merits to anyone who'll listen (and I get meaner than a skillet full o'rattlers to those who won't! lol).
Other benefits of Houston:
4-5 hours from New Orleans.
2-3 hours from Austin =)
3 hours to South Padre Island
3-4 hours to Mexico (think cheap tequila...bring me a bottle while you're at it, k?)
Sunshine mostly all year long
Incredibly nice people.
I didn't know they were putting that light rail system finally! KICKASS! It's about damned time!!
Kotori. Go there. Check it out for yourself before deciding one way or the other. And keep an open mind.
I moved there in 1978 from a small town in Massachusetts. Now I'm like a born-again Texan willing to preach it's merits to anyone who'll listen (and I get meaner than a skillet full o'rattlers to those who won't! lol).
Other benefits of Houston:
4-5 hours from New Orleans.
2-3 hours from Austin =)
3 hours to South Padre Island
3-4 hours to Mexico (think cheap tequila...bring me a bottle while you're at it, k?)
Sunshine mostly all year long
Incredibly nice people.
OK maybe SOME has a couple valid points, I'll qualify my previous statements by saying, I just might like the central texas high school football towns better than the Westheimer and Heights scene. Being a native that has overlooked downtown Houston since birth, the transformation seems forced and phony to me. I also think I might like Dallas proper better than Houston proper. That's saying something. But if you're one of those people that like to hang around hillbillies pretending to like the opera...
