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I’ve lived all over the world on several continents, for work, school and curiosity. Some of the places I’ve lived haven’t been particuarly desirable, but most have been.
Most places, I’m able to adapt to within a couple of months. Most recently, for example, Los Angeles. I still adore that city, and miss the energy, pace, vibe, diversity of lifestyles, and general “don’t give a damn” attitude. Not to mention, L.A. is a culinary paradise, only rivaled in this country by NYC and the SF Bay Area. I don’t miss the toxic management at work, but my coworkers were beyond amazing and engaging. Even as an introvert, I made friends in L.A., almost without trying—many through work. I don’t miss California’s liberal politics, but life shouldn’t be, and is never, all about politics anyway. I had a great life there overall (it helps that I had nothing to do with the collectively narcissistic entertainment industry) and knew I’d miss aspects of it when I moved.
Well, by contrast, I’ve fairly recently moved from L.A. to Houston for work and even to be around more conservatives. For all the talk of Southern hospitality, I find the women far less approachable and more b**chy, the coworkers far less social and sociable (they’re polite but distant), the people in Meetup groups less engaging, and the Texas collective-cultural mindset one of strange braggadocio about the state (Texas isn’t the only state with an incredibly rich history and to have once been an independent country, you know). Not to mention, the city isn’t particularly attractive, downtown is dead after 6pm, and even the park system here is rather grungy and poorly maintained. The nearby Gulf coastal areas are some of the truly ugliest coastal-front areas I’ve seen anywhere on the planet. Many of the drivers are absolutely incompetent and unnecessarily impatient (they can be impatient, but extremely skilled and competent, in L.A.) Customer service in general here is less customer-focused and more aloof than back in California or other places, be it in a restaurant, grocery store, furniture delivery, etc.
I guess...at least the Tex-Mex is good...?! And, Austin, somewhat overrated in its own right, is 2-2.5 hours away...?! Oh, the Houston skyline is at least attractive.
Anyway, I don’t want to write Houston, and Texas, off just yet, as I’m still relatively new here, but my patience is also waning rather quickly, already. I want to see why Houstonians and Texans love their home as much as they seem to, and that they’re as friendly as they purport themselves to be. However, I’m just not “getting” it so far.
Please help.
Last edited by AmericaBravoCharles; 01-18-2019 at 04:04 AM..
What did you expect?
Houston is a true Babylon, with lots of transplants from other states (mostly California) and other countries. More than 145 different languages are spoken in here.
So the attitude you're experiencing is not necessarily native, or Southern.
Downtown is nice but dead after business hours or during the weekends, although lots is going on there - check https://www.thrillist.com/entertainm...-do-in-houston https://www.visithoustontexas.com/ev...-this-weekend/ https://365thingsinhouston.com/thing...ekend-houston/
and check the forum sticky for other resources.
There are great bike trails.
Fantastic food and pretty vibrant bar scene.
What are your hobbies or interests? What did you explored so far?
I’m a rare native. Newsflash: Most of Houston has always been a sh*t hole. There is also a big culture of stupidity here too. But my family is here and I can afford a better lifestyle here than any other place and that’s why generations stay. Sounds materialistic, and it probably is, but it is also familiar. I have moved away twice, but came back as quickly as I could despite its issues.
First of all, this city is a sausagefest. That info is widely available and due to the predominant industries here. And... all the good women here are spoken for. There is a lot of semi decent sloppy seconds out there looking for a semi decent man with a good income, and just about every likable nerd I work with (and there are many) seems to find someone worthy by age 30. So maybe take a close look at yourself. If you’re just looking to get laid, you may need to expand your search radius, go check out the blue collar bars but remember they won’t just throw the p*ssy at you like they do in SoCal or NYC. More Conservative, remember? Isn’t that what you want?? Btw I feel for you because it sounds like your work environment here is absolute rubbish. Sounds like you got sold a bill of goods there.
Customer service here is like it is because in my experience a large %age of the working poor is involved with drug dealing. The $9/hr job is just for the record. Make too much and the IRS won’t give you that earned income credit. The remaining cash is tied up in occasional extracurricular activity so they gotta keep looking over their shoulder. People here will blast me for this comment but I am intimately familiar with this. You want better service, head to the outskirts where the kids work. There are also 600,000 illegal immigrants in the city keeping their heads down & watching over their shoulder for Donald Trump to capture & send them back home. Illegals are not coddled here like in California.
The rest of the stuff I can’t help you with. Downtown Houston (and Dallas) is dead after 6, Texas beaches suck compared to SoCal, no sh*t. What else do you want to know?
Simple question...did you do ANY research at all into Houston before moving here? Sounds like you didn't, nor have you done any other research as to where the nightlife is, and what the different parts of town offer. I don't know what help we can give you if you haven't bothered to do any research or looking yourself.
In few words,
sounds to me like you want the best of both World in the same place.
You seem to like liberal California public parks, clean beaches, etc, etc.
But then you want to live in a conservative state (business and profit are more important than "people's happiness)
I’ve lived all over the world on several continents, for work, school and curiosity. Some of the places I’ve lived haven’t been particuarly desirable, but most have been.
Most places, I’m able to adapt to within a couple of months. Most recently, for example, Los Angeles. I still adore that city, and miss the energy, pace, vibe, diversity of lifestyles, and general “don’t give a damn” attitude. Not to mention, L.A. is a culinary paradise, only rivaled in this country by NYC and the SF Bay Area. I don’t miss the toxic management at work, but my coworkers were beyond amazing and engaging. Even as an introvert, I made friends in L.A., almost without trying—many through work. I don’t miss California’s liberal politics, but life shouldn’t be, and is never, all about politics anyway. I had a great life there overall (it helps that I had nothing to do with the collectively narcissistic entertainment industry) and knew I’d miss aspects of it when I moved.
Well, by contrast, I’ve fairly recently moved from L.A. to Houston for work and even to be around more conservatives. For all the talk of Southern hospitality, I find the women far less approachable and more b**chy, the coworkers far less social and sociable (they’re polite but distant), the people in Meetup groups less engaging, and the Texas collective-cultural mindset one of strange braggadocio about the state (Texas isn’t the only state with an incredibly rich history and to have once been an independent country, you know). Not to mention, the city isn’t particularly attractive, downtown is dead after 6pm, and even the park system here is rather grungy and poorly maintained. The nearby Gulf coastal areas are some of the truly ugliest coastal-front areas I’ve seen anywhere on the planet. Many of the drivers are absolutely incompetent and unnecessarily impatient (they can be impatient, but extremely skilled and competent, in L.A.) Customer service in general here is less customer-focused and more aloof than back in California or other places, be it in a restaurant, grocery store, furniture delivery, etc.
I guess...at least the Tex-Mex is good...?! And, Austin, somewhat overrated in its own right, is 2-2.5 hours away...?! Oh, the Houston skyline is at least attractive.
Anyway, I don’t want to write Houston, and Texas, off just yet, as I’m still relatively new here, but my patience is also waning rather quickly, already. I want to see why Houstonians and Texans love their home as much as they seem to, and that they’re as friendly as they purport themselves to be. However, I’m just not “getting” it so far.
Please help.
OP when you talk to people do you immediately start to compare Houston with L.A. , because if you do, let me tell you, that is a real turn-off. It puts people on the defensive. Don't start off conversations with , hey I'm from the capital of cool , where are you from ? I don't know what part of town you live in or what kind of work you are doing, so these factors could have an impact on how workers relate to each other, for example there is still a every man, or woman, for themselves attitude in the O&G sector due to the recent oil bust. Different people from different parts of town are having different conversations with each other, be aware of this.
With that being said, I too am a rare native who does feel that Houston's and Texas's in general, friendliness has probably always been over rated. The amount of hospitality you get, is probably more correlated to the amount of business one is bringing with them from out of town. With that being said, Unlike other detachable and self hating Houstonians I don't think Houston is a ****hole and will tell you that if we ever speak.
I've heard many people, in pretty much the same situation as you, say they started out hating Houston, but eventually figured out that Houston grew on them, and ended up really appreciating Houston for what it is, not for what they thought it would be. But that's not Houston's fault, because unlike L.A. or even Austin, Houston's national media imprint is not strong , so any misconceptions you had coming in are not from the horses mouth.
OP when you talk to people do you immediately start to compare Houston with L.A. , because if you do, let me tell you, that is a real turn-off. It puts people on the defensive. Don't start off conversations with , hey I'm from the capital of cool , where are you from ? I don't know what part of town you live in or what kind of work you are doing, so these factors could have an impact on how workers relate to each other, for example there is still a every man, or woman, for themselves attitude in the O&G sector due to the recent oil bust. Different people from different parts of town are having different conversations with each other, be aware of this.
With that being said, I too am a rare native who does feel that Houston's and Texas's in general, friendliness has probably always been over rated. The amount of hospitality you get, is probably more correlated to the amount of business one is bringing with them from out of town. With that being said, Unlike other detachable and self hating Houstonians I don't think Houston is a ****hole and will tell you that if we ever speak.
I've heard many people, in pretty much the same situation as you, say they started out hating Houston, but eventually figured out that Houston grew on them, and ended up really appreciating Houston for what it is, not for what they thought it would be. But that's not Houston's fault, because unlike L.A. or even Austin, Houston's national media imprint is not strong , so any misconceptions you had coming in are not from the horses mouth.
Houston is an acquired taste.
And you don't know Houston well if you don't understand its a culinary match for LA and perhaps its superior. Its not Chicago or New York, of course.
As for the people, I can't think of a place in the entire country with more rude people than LA. That attitude you describe pervades everything. Houston people are pretty nice. But when you're older, its harder to make close friends anywhere. People have their comfortable niches.
And Texas IS better than any other state. You'll learn!
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