The Truth About Houston (Orange, Rice: car insurance, violent crime, home)

[HoustonNTheRearViewMirror]

I've read many threads on here from people who are planning to move to Houston. I've been here 28 years and let me tell you what you're getting into:
360 days of hot humid weather (think of a sauna - you'll have the idea).
Cockroaches as big as housecats, year-round. Some even fly and land on you.
Mosquitoes and fleas in your yard year round - your dog will need flea and heartwoorm treatment 12 months per year.
Maddening traffic nightmares on the freeways, on the side streets, and in your neighborhood. Not just at rush hour, but at almost any time of day or night.
Trash pick up one time per week, even when it's 100 degrees outside.
Huge illegal immigrant population - they're becoming the majority here. They don't speak English, don't have driver's licenses or car insurance, but they think this is their country and WE are the trespassers.
No scenery (unless you count the 50 feet tall billboards for gentlemen's clubs and vasectomy reversal).
Violent crime in abundance, especially where the 150,000 Katrina refugees settled.
Air pollution that has been proven to cause high incidence of cancer. You can see the air here.
At any redlight, you'll see people emptying their car ashtrays out onto the road. In parks and areas frequented by illegals, you'll find an abundance of dirty diapers thrown on the ground.

On the other hand, Houston offers:
A low cost of living.
An abundance of jobs.

I guess I will receive many scathing replies from dyed-in-the-wool Houstonians and/or Texans, saying what a wonderful place Houston is, and maybe I should get the heck out. Save yourself the trouble. I am getting out, and that will be a happy day for me.

[KrisluvThreePrinces]

I think you for your honesty.

I have never been to Texas and have no idea what to expect. I am a Californian, and we are trying to decide between jobs in Denver and Houston.

Anyway, I appreciate your point of view-it's nice to hear both sides.

cockroaches...ewwwwwwwwwwww..........

[HoustonNTheRearViewMirror]

I would pick Denver in a heartbeat. You'd be just a short drive from mountains, it's a smaller city, you'd have actual seasons.

[Nanner]

I've found that if you try to look for the negative, you'll find it. Equally, if you try to look for the positive, you'll find it.

Every city and town has its negative points. I have to say that probably 90% of what you mentioned is true. I won't deny that. But to only list cost of living and abundance of jobs as the positives, you're missing out what we "dyed-in-the-wool Houstonians" love about this place.


*Honestly friendly people (as long as you're not in your car driving in traffic)
*Nice mild winters
*Great mix of cultures
*World-class ballet, symphony and theater groups
*Beach within 1 1/2 hours' drive (sure, the beaches aren't gorgeous, but it's better than being land-locked), and bays and lakes even closer
*You can see every major American pro sport played here
*Great communities for children to grow up in
*Several universities and colleges, including prominent and highly selective Rice University
*World-class shopping

...among other things.

[Mr. Football]

Agree about the illegals, they're horrible litter bugs. They throw their trash out wherever they see fit and don't even blink an eye.

I wish our government would do with them, what they do to our landscape - I'd love to throw them out of the country.

[honeyinhouston]

Originally Posted by HoustonNTheRearViewMirror

I've read many threads on here from people who are planning to move to Houston. I've been here 28 years and let me tell you what you're getting into:
360 days of hot humid weather (think of a sauna - you'll have the idea).
Cockroaches as big as housecats, year-round. Some even fly and land on you.Mosquitoes and fleas in your yard year round - your dog will need flea and heartwoorm treatment 12 months per year.
Maddening traffic nightmares on the freeways, on the side streets, and in your neighborhood. Not just at rush hour, but at almost any time of day or night.
Trash pick up one time per week, even when it's 100 degrees outside.
Huge illegal immigrant population - they're becoming the majority here. They don't speak English, don't have driver's licenses or car insurance, but they think this is their country and WE are the trespassers.
No scenery (unless you count the 50 feet tall billboards for gentlemen's clubs and vasectomy reversal).
Violent crime in abundance, especially where the 150,000 Katrina refugees settled.
Air pollution that has been proven to cause high incidence of cancer. You can see the air here.
At any redlight, you'll see people emptying their car ashtrays out onto the road. In parks and areas frequented by illegals, you'll find an abundance of dirty diapers thrown on the ground.

On the other hand, Houston offers:
A low cost of living.
An abundance of jobs.

I guess I will receive many scathing replies from dyed-in-the-wool Houstonians and/or Texans, saying what a wonderful place Houston is, and maybe I should get the heck out. Save yourself the trouble. I am getting out, and that will be a happy day for me.

I live in Houston and have only seen 3 cockroaches in my home in 10 years. The illegal immigration situation is getting bad, but it's not unbearable. Maybe you should move to the nicer suburbs.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by HoustonNTheRearViewMirror

I've read many threads on here from people who are planning to move to Houston. I've been here 28 years and let me tell you what you're getting into:
360 days of hot humid weather (think of a sauna - you'll have the idea).
Cockroaches as big as housecats, year-round. Some even fly and land on you.
Mosquitoes and fleas in your yard year round - your dog will need flea and heartwoorm treatment 12 months per year.
Maddening traffic nightmares on the freeways, on the side streets, and in your neighborhood. Not just at rush hour, but at almost any time of day or night.
Trash pick up one time per week, even when it's 100 degrees outside.
Huge illegal immigrant population - they're becoming the majority here. They don't speak English, don't have driver's licenses or car insurance, but they think this is their country and WE are the trespassers.
No scenery (unless you count the 50 feet tall billboards for gentlemen's clubs and vasectomy reversal).
Violent crime in abundance, especially where the 150,000 Katrina refugees settled.
Air pollution that has been proven to cause high incidence of cancer. You can see the air here.
At any redlight, you'll see people emptying their car ashtrays out onto the road. In parks and areas frequented by illegals, you'll find an abundance of dirty diapers thrown on the ground.

On the other hand, Houston offers:
A low cost of living.
An abundance of jobs.

I guess I will receive many scathing replies from dyed-in-the-wool Houstonians and/or Texans, saying what a wonderful place Houston is, and maybe I should get the heck out. Save yourself the trouble. I am getting out, and that will be a happy day for me.

Though there is some truth in this it is highly exagerrated. Especially on the weather and the bugs. The other things you bring up sound mostly like what someone would observe spending half their life in Houston on the freeways. Of course the freeways have traffic, are ugly, billboards, etc.... but the neighborhoods are not like this. Which is why I do think it is important if you live here, to live within a reasonable commute from your job -- very important.

And in posting about about the "truth" about Houston, your forgot to mention the great restaurant scene, top-notch culture/arts, and abundance of things to do ranging from pro sports events to museums to festivals. Houston is also very lush and green (I consider that scenery of a sort) and has a bay area with boating and fishing recreation and nearby beaches... not something just every city has.

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Originally Posted by HoustonNTheRearViewMirror

I've read many threads on here from people who are planning to move to Houston. I've been here 28 years and let me tell you what you're getting into:
360 days of hot humid weather (think of a sauna - you'll have the idea).
Cockroaches as big as housecats, year-round. Some even fly and land on you.
Mosquitoes and fleas in your yard year round - your dog will need flea and heartwoorm treatment 12 months per year.
Maddening traffic nightmares on the freeways, on the side streets, and in your neighborhood. Not just at rush hour, but at almost any time of day or night.
Trash pick up one time per week, even when it's 100 degrees outside.
Huge illegal immigrant population - they're becoming the majority here. They don't speak English, don't have driver's licenses or car insurance, but they think this is their country and WE are the trespassers.
No scenery (unless you count the 50 feet tall billboards for gentlemen's clubs and vasectomy reversal).
Violent crime in abundance, especially where the 150,000 Katrina refugees settled.
Air pollution that has been proven to cause high incidence of cancer. You can see the air here.
At any redlight, you'll see people emptying their car ashtrays out onto the road. In parks and areas frequented by illegals, you'll find an abundance of dirty diapers thrown on the ground.

On the other hand, Houston offers:
A low cost of living.
An abundance of jobs.

I guess I will receive many scathing replies from dyed-in-the-wool Houstonians and/or Texans, saying what a wonderful place Houston is, and maybe I should get the heck out. Save yourself the trouble. I am getting out, and that will be a happy day for me.

I've lived here 30 years and you get an amen from me! Especially on the weather part, and no scenery. I'm also getting out and heading for either North Carolina or Tenn in the mountains.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by HoustonNTheRearViewMirror

360 days of hot humid weather (think of a sauna - you'll have the idea)..

Unless it's usually in the low 90's and muggy most of the winter I don't think I'll notice.

(Stayed in Jamaica for two weeks, even in bright midday sun I never really felt hot)

[sallybell]

I guess it's all relative.

Some of what the poster said is true. Some I disagree with. I love the heat, but again, I relocated from somewhere very very cold where I could never go outside six months out of the year. I froze my a-- off and cried every day because it took ten layers of clothes to go outside and walk my dog.

I have only seen two cockroaches in my home in two years and they were small.

The city is pretty ugly but there are parts that are breathtaking. I live in an old neighborhood with huge live oaks and magnolias so I enjoy their greenery ever single day.

I love being able to garden almost every day of the year.

The people are very very friendly in Houston. I like being able to chat with the person at the grocery store or having my neighbors bring over a gift basket for the Holidays. Again, though, where I came from this was non -existent.

The negatives are: Mosquitos: they will carry you away. Drivers: we call it demoliton derby Heat: the summers will knock your socks off.

Again it's all in your frame of reference.