Moving to Houston from Rhode Island (Dallas, San Antonio: appointed, transplants, neighborhood)

[mjm8082]

Originally Posted by curbur

So as someone who studied computer science and loves Houston/grew up here, I have to ask why would you choose Houston? There's probably more software engineering gigs in other states or even cities within Texas, (namely Austin and north Dallas). Don't get me wrong, there's some really well paying tech jobs in this city that are great careers, but those opportunities are not as in abundance here as elsewhere, especially for entry level jobs. Its changing, but there's still not a whole lot of established tech companies, and the big consulting service companies have only recently moved in. I wish you the best in any case though, and Houston is great for the cheap lifestyle and thus higher quality of life vs the same paycheck somewhere else, vast diversity, and the lack of bitter cold days with snow.

I've been traveling a lot for my company in the past year. NYC, San Diego, Houston, etc. And I loved Houston. The palm trees and weather just makes like so much more relaxing. It has a little bit of everything in Texas. The suburbs are beautiful, and then you have the huge city. And when you want to get away you have a massive state where you can just drive and get away. Rhode Island is SO small, and it gets a little claustrophobic sometimes. The winters can get really depressing. I was also thinking about moving out west but I don't want to be that far from family. Texas already seems far enough. Florida/Miami was also another big choice, but Houston is still number one at the moment.

[mjm8082]

Originally Posted by Emers1234

Houston offers a lot more job opportunities and pay is pretty competitive. Also, you will not be paying state income tax so that is a plus. I would recommend posting your resume on LinkedIn and chatting with some recruiters even before you move. We don't have to deal with the cold, but the summer heat is pretty extreme. Since you are coming from RI and prefer to live in the suburbs, I would recommend Kingwood. It's on the far NE side of Houston, beautiful homes, a lot mature trees, miles and milesof walking/biking trails in the woods, very safe, low crime, and much less congested than other parts of Houston. Also, there is a metro bus that runs from KW to downtown Houston every 10 minutes during rush hour M-F and there are no stops in between. The first thing you will notice is that Houston has a lot of traffic and the city alone is the size of CT. I wish you well. I'm a Houston transplant originally from Westerly.

Is Kingwood good for a 26 year old though? It sounds/looks more like a nice place to raise a family. The houses are beautiful though. The prices up here in Rhode Island are crazy for houses. A Raised Ranch goes for like $300,000. But, I'm not really planning on looking into houses for at least another 5 years. Around 30-32 years old. How long would it take to get into Houston on a Friday night in Kingwood?

[DSL_PWR]

Originally Posted by mjm8082

Florida/Miami was also another big choice

This...

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by mjm8082

Thanks for the response. I guess that's probably my best option right now, i'll have to make some calls and see what they offer.

I would try and get a job down there first but I wanted to have time to relax, get familiar with the area, etc before I start working again. How's the dating life like down there? I'm a 26 years old, white, male. Is there a lot of single girls in Houston? I know the population is huge there, just wasn't sure what the male to female ratio is.

How your dating life is depends more on you than on the city you. If you had trouble meeting enough like-minded women to date where you are then you'll definitely have more opportunity in a big city. Houston and any other large, diverse metro should enough single women of all sizes, colors and background for even the pickiest person. If you have trouble dating because you don't know how to talk to women then you'll struggle here too.

[mjm8082]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

How your dating life is depends more on you than on the city you. If you had trouble meeting enough like-minded women to date where you are then you'll definitely have more opportunity in a big city. Houston and any other large, diverse metro should enough single women of all sizes, colors and background for even the pickiest person. If you have trouble dating because you don't know how to talk to women then you'll struggle here too.

Thanks. I'm an outgoing person, but I wasn't sure if people there are open minded and like new faces or do they just have their inner circles and not really open up?

[jenfarm_]

Originally Posted by mjm8082

Thanks for the response. Did you guys make friends when you moved there? Also, where is the best places for singles to go out? Is there a lot of people living in Houston solo? (I find it harder to meet people that already have an established friend base.) A lot of people don't like to open up their inner circle. I lived in Manhattan for a year and it was a blast meeting new people. Not sure what Houston's nightlife is like compared to NYC though.

We moved here from Oregon and I did make friends when I moved here. I'm actually a very introverted person and it was harder for me to get myself out there to meet new friends than it was to actually make them once I did. I've found the people here to be very friendly and open. There are a lot of meet ups that you can participate in. If you're athletic and into sports, there are groups that get together for kick ball, volleyball, etc. I actually made a lot of friends through a social bowling league at the Lucky Strike bowling alley downtown. The nice thing about Houston is there are a LOT of people that move here for work or other reasons, just like you. I've been here for three years now and I can say the majority of the people I've met are not from here. They've moved here for work mainly. So, you have a lot of young professionals that are in the same boat as you that are looking to meet people too. Midtown, Montrose, the Heights, Upper Kirby... All good places for young professionals. Lots of cool bars and patios to hang out with groups. And again, lots of meet ups where people can go to meet new friends.

If you're outgoing at all and were able to make friends in NYC, I don't see how you'd have any issues here.

[mjm8082]

Originally Posted by jenfarm_

We moved here from Oregon and I did make friends when I moved here. I'm actually a very introverted person and it was harder for me to get myself out there to meet new friends than it was to actually make them once I did. I've found the people here to be very friendly and open. There are a lot of meet ups that you can participate in. If you're athletic and into sports, there are groups that get together for kick ball, volleyball, etc. I actually made a lot of friends through a social bowling league at the Lucky Strike bowling alley downtown. The nice thing about Houston is there are a LOT of people that move here for work or other reasons, just like you. I've been here for three years now and I can say the majority of the people I've met are not from here. They've moved here for work mainly. So, you have a lot of young professionals that are in the same boat as you that are looking to meet people too. Midtown, Montrose, the Heights, Upper Kirby... All good places for young professionals. Lots of cool bars and patios to hang out with groups. And again, lots of meet ups where people can go to meet new friends.

If you're outgoing at all and were able to make friends in NYC, I don't see how you'd have any issues here.

Thanks for the concise reply. You said a lot of the people there are not from Houston, does that make it lose it's Texas feel? Also, I heard race is very diverse in Houston, is that true? I like having different races/cultures around.

Not sure how much you have traveled in Texas but would you recommend Houston over Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas? As far as being young, single, and a computer engineer?

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by mjm8082

Thanks for the concise reply. You said a lot of the people there are not from Houston, does that make it lose it's Texas feel? Also, I heard race is very diverse in Houston, is that true? I like having different races/cultures around.

Not sure how much you have traveled in Texas but would you recommend Houston over Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas? As far as being young, single, and a computer engineer?

You don't get as much of the Texas feel in Houston as compared to Austin, Dallas and definitely San Antonio. You would however get constant reminders that you're in Texas from events like the Rodeo.
Houston is very diverse and international so you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy food and culture from just about every part of the world.

Austin is better if you want to hang out with a lot of cool, young and single computer industry types. Like another poster mentioned Houston has not attracted as many first tier tech company and talent, so if your ambition is to work for Google one day then Austin is a much better place for you to learn and network. Austin however is probably the least diverse of the major Texas cities.

[jenfarm_]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

You don't get as much of the Texas feel in Houston as compared to Austin, Dallas and definitely San Antonio. You would however get constant reminders that you're in Texas from events like the Rodeo.
Houston is very diverse and international so you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy food and culture from just about every part of the world.

Austin is better if you want to hang out with a lot of cool, young and single computer industry types. Like another poster mentioned Houston has not attracted as many first tier tech company and talent, so if your ambition is to work for Google one day then Austin is a much better place for you to learn and network. Austin however is probably the least diverse of the major Texas cities.

This. I LOVE Austin. San Antonio is nice too. I just love the hill country in general. I wouldn't mind living in the country if we lived there. (My husband would love a chunk of land in the country, but unfortunately I'm not crazy about that commute. Haha.) But Austin a great young person city too. We live in Houston because my husband has family here, but if that weren't the case, I'd have pushed for Austin. Plus, it reminds me of back "home." (Oregon. Austin is just the Texas Portland, basically. Though I know Austinites hate to hear that, I'm sure. Lol.)

Houston is still not bad though. I do enjoy it here. Like PP said, Houston is very diverse and international. I definitely agree with this. And I've been lucky enough to have found other people as open and interested in meeting people of other backgrounds, as well. I've had a good experience with it here. There are a lot of young professionals here in Houston. Most in positions somehow related to oil and gas, not surprisingly.

[mjm8082]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

You don't get as much of the Texas feel in Houston as compared to Austin, Dallas and definitely San Antonio. You would however get constant reminders that you're in Texas from events like the Rodeo.
Houston is very diverse and international so you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy food and culture from just about every part of the world.

Austin is better if you want to hang out with a lot of cool, young and single computer industry types. Like another poster mentioned Houston has not attracted as many first tier tech company and talent, so if your ambition is to work for Google one day then Austin is a much better place for you to learn and network. Austin however is probably the least diverse of the major Texas cities.

Working for Google sounds so stressful. At least at this point in life. I'm more into the smaller companies. I work for MetLife as a Software Developer, which is a big company. So I would be coming down there with a solid resume. I'm not too worried about finding a job as I'm pretty confident in what I do. I just want to have more of a life outside of work, and that's tough to have in Rhode Island, as there is not much to do in this little state. I would definitely like to go to the best city there that is going to offer the most outside of work. The diversity and population in Houston is why I'm leaning more towards it.