A little advice from transplants? (Houston, Sugar Land: lease, townhome, neighborhoods) - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

jfre81 · 05-26-2008, 10:28 AM

[QUOTElatetotheparty]i suspect that the biggest issue for you moving to houston will be the traffic.... i know we all complain (and rightly so) about 270 during the rush hours, but THAT is a piece of cake compared to what you will find in houston.[/quote]

That is unless you live close to work and everything you need, which is doable here.

Learn your way around and know all the different ways to get from any two points and you will sit in less traffic than most people who know nothing but the freeways.

houstoner · 05-26-2008, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfre81

That is unless you live close to work and everything you need, which is doable here.

Learn your way around and know all the different ways to get from any two points and you will sit in less traffic than most people who know nothing but the freeways.

So true. The only time I had a problem with traffic was when I was living in the Museum District and working on FM 1960 near TC Jester. That was hellacious. Never again. Other than living as close as possible to home and work, if you figure out best times to travel and discover alternate routes, you'll be all set.

latetotheparty · 05-26-2008, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfre81

[QUOTElatetotheparty]i suspect that the biggest issue for you moving to houston will be the traffic.... i know we all complain (and rightly so) about 270 during the rush hours, but THAT is a piece of cake compared to what you will find in houston.

That is unless you live close to work and everything you need, which is doable here.

Learn your way around and know all the different ways to get from any two points and you will sit in less traffic than most people who know nothing but the freeways.[/quote]

both excellent points....

but coming from st. louis, it is still going to be something that he will have to adjust to...... we do have our traffic issues but this area is not NEARLY as spread out and congested as houston is.... and until you have been in houston long enough to figure those things out, it will be difficult to maneuver ..........

jfre81 · 05-26-2008, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by latetotheparty

.... and until you have been in houston long enough to figure those things out, it will be difficult to maneuver ..........

I can tell you anything you need to know about getting around here. I've been doing it professionally for years.

texas7 · 05-26-2008, 04:56 PM

I'm not a transplant but based on your age and interests - I would definitely consider renting in Midtown. Not sure where you will be employed but at least Midtown is somewhat centrally located. I am a native Houstonian so I love my hometown; however, I also love Austin. Austin is getting quite congested these days as it is quite popular to live there but all in all a cool place to live. You should probably come take a Texas vacation and spend a bit of time in both places looking at parks, outdoor activities, golf, etc. and see what you think.

houstoner · 05-26-2008, 05:12 PM

Rice Military and along Memorial Drive/Allen Parkway is a good area, too. What are they calling the area between downtown and Montrose that was once 4th Ward these days? Is that part of Midtown? Look there, too.

Topaz · 05-26-2008, 06:33 PM

I like them both. I lived in Austin for 10 years and I still visit there all the time. I live in a suburb of Houston now and I really like that, too.

For us, the decision was made because Houston is a much easier job market. Austin has a lot of underemployment for many careers...the stereotype is that your average cabbie in Austin is likely to have a Ph.D.

Houston traffic is bad but Austin traffic is no picnic, either. Both cities have hot weather with Houston being more humid. Austin is probably more scenic overall but Houston has its nice areas, too.

In my opinion, either one is as excellent choice if you have a good job or some other source of income.

ManFromMissouri · 05-27-2008, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfre81

I'm not a transplant, but bring a couple pizzas from Imo's when you come down. They might be a little cold by then, but I've gotta microwave...

It can get a little cold here (rarely below 30s) at the peak of winter. Houston's January is something like St. Louis' October. I've experienced the upper deck at Busch Stadium in late September and I thought it felt like Christmas down here

Frozen stuff out of the sky is rare on the Texas coast; less so further north in Texas.

I'm not going to delve too deep into a Houston/Austin comparison myself since I've only lived in Houston and visited Austin somewhat frequently. Visiting a place and waking up every day in that place can often be two different things. Austin can get humid; Houston moreso (up to 100%). You've been warned.....

Some rentals accept dogs, some only small dogs, some no dogs at all and some no pets at all. In almost any case there will be a pet deposit, at least as far as apartments go.

As for where to live - where do you figure you'll be working, and what kind of thing interests you? What part of St. Louis do you live in? (I'm only somewhat familiar with STL City and I've never been in STL County but maybe I could draw a sort of parallel.)

Well, it's really hard to say where I'll be working at this point. From what I understand, IT jobs are to be had in a lot of different parts of town. But, from what I'm hearing, Midtown may be a wise decision being that it is fairly centrally located.

"what kind of thing interests you?" I love the outdoors, I love to golf, I love to garden. When I was there last, I went around to Memorial Park and really liked the idea of people jogging, walking their dogs, etc.. Where I live, you see some of that but only when it is nice which is the equivalent of about 3 months or so.

"What part of St. Louis do you live in?" I live in Webster Groves right now. It's great and one of the only areas that I would even consider living in St. Louis. I believe that it somewhat compares to your River Oaks? Did I get that right? Although, i must say that I am not wealthy by any means. I do good for my age as a software engineer.

I'll work on getting you those IMOS when I come back next month...

By the way, did you know that you can get those delivered to you? It's true, they deliver them on dry ice. Check this out! -->

Original St. Louis Style Pizza - Imo’s Pizza & Products

ManFromMissouri · 05-27-2008, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Topaz

I like them both. I lived in Austin for 10 years and I still visit there all the time. I live in a suburb of Houston now and I really like that, too.

For us, the decision was made because Houston is a much easier job market. Austin has a lot of underemployment for many careers...the stereotype is that your average cabbie in Austin is likely to have a Ph.D.

Houston traffic is bad but Austin traffic is no picnic, either. Both cities have hot weather with Houston being more humid. Austin is probably more scenic overall but Houston has its nice areas, too.

In my opinion, either one is as excellent choice if you have a good job or some other source of income.

"In my opinion, either one is as excellent choice if you have a good job or some other source of income."

That is a big reason for me swaying towards that of Houston. Jobs, jobs and more jobs for what I do. I was thinking Orlando because of the nice beaches nearby but, you just cannot look past their lack of employment compared to Houston. I talked with some recruiters last week in Houston and told them that i was thinking of moving their and they said, oh, yeah based on your resume, call us when you get here. We could submit you to some places but you'd have a job in less than 3 days and probably before you would end up moving here! That's a good feeling to have moving somewhere with no job lined up exactly.

houstoner · 05-27-2008, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ManFromMissouri

Well, it's really hard to say where I'll be working at this point. From what I understand, IT jobs are to be had in a lot of different parts of town. But, from what I'm hearing, Midtown may be a wise decision being that it is fairly centrally located.

"what kind of thing interests you?" I love the outdoors, I love to golf, I love to garden. When I was there last, I went around to Memorial Park and really liked the idea of people jogging, walking their dogs, etc.. Where I live, you see some of that but only when it is nice which is the equivalent of about 3 months or so.

Rice Military is right next to Memorial Park, which has a 600-acre golf course. Midtown is a light rail ride away from Hermann Park. It has a 400-acre golf course. I'd look for rentals in either area if I were you. And River Oaks/Upper Kirby.