Moving to Houston from Rhode Island (San Antonio, Austin: apartments, lease, month to)

[txdemo]

Austin is a great city but it gets small really fast.

[jenfarm_]

Originally Posted by txdemo

Austin is a great city but it gets small really fast.

Yeah, I could see this to be true. After living in Houston for a couple years. Houston is huge.

[marcsails]

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.

I am from Houston but have the spent the past 10 summers in Rhode Island (Newport and Bristol) so know both places pretty well.

I think you will find that Houstonians are much more open to new friends than RI. The reason is most everybody is from somewhere else and at some point picked up their lives and moved to Houston, so they were forced to make new friends. Whereas in Rhode Island, most people are from the area and have had the same friends most of their life.

Montrose, Midtown and the Heights are good areas but have gotten extremely expensive. I would look to the near East side (Eado is what some call it) if you are on a budget. It is up and coming with a young crowd and some newer, affordable bars and restaurants along with old cschool, family owned and excellent taquerias. If you look hard you may be able to find a garage apartment or something for $700 a month. All of that said, that area is currently gentrifying, so there are nice parts and not so nice parts and they are all mixed in together. If you aren't the pioneering type, you may have to spend a lot more money to be inside the loop or go outside the loop.

There are lots of young, single people in Houston and it has a very cool artsy, international vibe once you get to know it. The heat and humidity suck in the summer, but that's what AC is for. Of course the winters are much better than New England, so it's a trade off.

[mjm8082]

Originally Posted by jenfarm_

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.

What is the shopping/food like in these cities compared to Houston? Also, have you been to Dallas?

[mjm8082]

Originally Posted by marcsails

I am from Houston but have the spent the past 10 summers in Rhode Island (Newport and Bristol) so know both places pretty well.

I think you will find that Houstonians are much more open to new friends than RI. The reason is most everybody is from somewhere else and at some point picked up their lives and moved to Houston, so they were forced to make new friends. Whereas in Rhode Island, most people are from the area and have had the same friends most of their life.

Montrose, Midtown and the Heights are good areas but have gotten extremely expensive. I would look to the near East side (Eado is what some call it) if you are on a budget. It is up and coming with a young crowd and some newer, affordable bars and restaurants along with old cschool, family owned and excellent taquerias. If you look hard you may be able to find a garage apartment or something for $700 a month. All of that said, that area is currently gentrifying, so there are nice parts and not so nice parts and they are all mixed in together. If you aren't the pioneering type, you may have to spend a lot more money to be inside the loop or go outside the loop.

There are lots of young, single people in Houston and it has a very cool artsy, international vibe once you get to know it. The heat and humidity suck in the summer, but that's what AC is for. Of course the winters are much better than New England, so it's a trade off.

Wow, thanks for this reply. It's nice getting someone's perspective that has lived in both places. Rhode Island summers are beautiful. The only time worth living here is about 2 months out of the entire year. But after being here 25 years, I've seen it all a long time ago. I'm looking for something around $800-900 a month, close to the city but not actually in it. Girls in their 20's, etc. I heard the girls in Houston are really into their careers though, and that's all they care about. How true is this? I mean nothing wrong with that, but I rather not be surrounded by workaholics.

[jenfarm_]

Originally Posted by mjm8082

What is the shopping/food like in these cities compared to Houston? Also, have you been to Dallas?

Austin does have some great food and decent shopping... But Houston definitely has great food and shopping covered. Back in Oregon, I lived in a very small town. That wasn't my whole life (family from Seattle) so I don't really have the "small town mentality" that a lot have back there so it hasn't been hard for me to adjust to a bigger city. Though, I do say (and other friends of mine kind of feel the same way) Houston has ruined me to good food. The food opportunities and quality here are fantastic. My husband and I enjoy trying new foods every time we go on vacation, but since moving to Houston, I'm finding I'm more often disappointed elsewhere. (With the exception of Hawaii, where everything was delicious. Lol.) This could be a personal preference of mine... but like I said, a few of my friends have mentioned the same thing. If you've lived in NYC, you may feel a similar way. I've never been to NYC, but I've heard Houston's food scene compared to NYC in good ways.

[jenfarm_]

Originally Posted by marcsails

I am from Houston but have the spent the past 10 summers in Rhode Island (Newport and Bristol) so know both places pretty well.

I think you will find that Houstonians are much more open to new friends than RI. The reason is most everybody is from somewhere else and at some point picked up their lives and moved to Houston, so they were forced to make new friends. Whereas in Rhode Island, most people are from the area and have had the same friends most of their life.

Montrose, Midtown and the Heights are good areas but have gotten extremely expensive. I would look to the near East side (Eado is what some call it) if you are on a budget. It is up and coming with a young crowd and some newer, affordable bars and restaurants along with old cschool, family owned and excellent taquerias. If you look hard you may be able to find a garage apartment or something for $700 a month. All of that said, that area is currently gentrifying, so there are nice parts and not so nice parts and they are all mixed in together. If you aren't the pioneering type, you may have to spend a lot more money to be inside the loop or go outside the loop.

There are lots of young, single people in Houston and it has a very cool artsy, international vibe once you get to know it. The heat and humidity suck in the summer, but that's what AC is for. Of course the winters are much better than New England, so it's a trade off.

Good points. I always forget about Eado over there. There are some gems, but you're right. It's hit or miss a lot over there at the moment...

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by mjm8082

I'm looking for something around $800-900 a month, close to the city but not actually in it. Girls in their 20's, etc. I heard the girls in Houston are really into their careers though, and that's all they care about. How true is this? I mean nothing wrong with that, but I rather not be surrounded by workaholics.

When you say close to the city you have to realize that Houston is over 600 square miles. I'm guessing you're meaning not in downtown? $900 will not get you a nice apartment in any highly desired area. It will get you a decent apartment outside of the 610 loop.

Anything you hear about dating in Houston is going to be purely anecdotal. There's no way to generalize it as there are thousands and thousands of 20 somethings in Houston.

[marcsails]

Originally Posted by mjm8082

Wow, thanks for this reply. It's nice getting someone's perspective that has lived in both places. Rhode Island summers are beautiful. The only time worth living here is about 2 months out of the entire year. But after being here 25 years, I've seen it all a long time ago. I'm looking for something around $800-900 a month, close to the city but not actually in it. Girls in their 20's, etc. I heard the girls in Houston are really into their careers though, and that's all they care about. How true is this? I mean nothing wrong with that, but I rather not be surrounded by workaholics.

Girls in their 20's, you need to be inside the loop, which will be tough on $800-900 a month, but again you may be able to do it on the East side (Eado) if you are OK with a neighborhood that was very recently run down and in some ways still is.

You may also check out Westchase/City Center area on the Westside. There are some single people out that way, but nothing like in the Loop. Still not sure $800-900 gets it done, but rents are coming down and if you go 3 miles from City Center (Don't be fooled by the name, it's 15 miles from the center of the city, at least) there are some cheaper places.

I wouldn't say Houston girls are workaholics. I mean, that's a pretty big generalization, some are, some aren't. It is certainly not like Manahatten where everyone is working 60+ hours a week. Houston does have a very commercial nature about it, but 6PM any Thursday or Friday the happy hours are packed, so people aren't working all that late.

Open up your Tinder app while in Houston and it will go crazy. Like a kid in a candy store.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by marcsails

Girls in their 20's, you need to be inside the loop, which will be tough on $800-900 a month, but again you may be able to do it on the East side (Eado) if you are OK with a neighborhood that was very recently run down and in some ways still is.

You may also check out Westchase/City Center area on the Westside. There are some single people out that way, but nothing like in the Loop. Still not sure $800-900 gets it done, but rents are coming down and if you go 3 miles from City Center (Don't be fooled by the name, it's 15 miles from the center of the city, at least) there are some cheaper places.

I wouldn't say Houston girls are workaholics. I mean, that's a pretty big generalization, some are, some aren't. It is certainly not like Manahatten where everyone is working 60+ hours a week. Houston does have a very commercial nature about it, but 6PM any Thursday or Friday the happy hours are packed, so people aren't working all that late.

Open up your Tinder app while in Houston and it will go crazy. Like a kid in a candy store.

The singles scene in the Westchase/City Center area does not compare to what's available inside the loop at all in terms of quality and quantity. If OP can up his budget by a few hundred bucks he can live in the desirable areas. Given his resume he can easily afford to do so.

There's no such thing as "Houston girls" - young single professionals are more likely to be transplants than locals and the city as a whole has a more laid back feel to its work culture than the East Coast.