Houston vs Miami for quality of life? (Victoria, Post: big house, neighborhoods)

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by irwin

One other warning I would give is that many on here are recommending neighborhoods that are not urban what-so-ever. Houston is not an urban city and is more like LA as far as city design (actually even more spread out than LA). That is the biggest downfall for Houston in my mind. Even the "urban" areas of Houston will seem very suburban as compared to Moscow. Montrose is probably the closest you will get, but even there it feels suburban. One thing to remember - public transportation and walking is still largely unknown to people in Houston.

Houston is not more spread out than LA. I leave from Los Angeles in three hours (three hours until we have to leave for the airport), and it is Los Angeles is more spread out. The thing about LA sprawl is that it does not skip parcels of land, and is continuous all the way through. That is one reason why it is denser than New York's urban area.

The urban areas of Houston do not feel suburban at all. The Texas Medical Center and Downtown especially. It gets suburban as you start heading further away from I-610, though. Urban also does not mean skyscrapers. There are plenty of urban spots in Houston. Some you do, and some you don't want to move to. The densest part of the Houston metro is actually southwest Houston near the Southwest Freeway and Beltway 8. Not a desirable area, though.

[pwright1]

Originally Posted by sgd

Houston is truly an international city, with populations from every corner of the world. It seems like you are interested in a semi-urban location for you and your family. You should consider the inner-loop neighborhoods (area codes 77005, 77006, 77007, 77008, 77027 and 77019). They all have their flavors, too, but they will bring you closest to the museums, downtown, the Galleria area, and the best dining -- in other words - all the stuff that makes Houston a great choice considering your requirements.

I don't know any Russians, personally. But I can guarantee you they are here, too! A Consulate was opened here in the last 8 yrs, so there's got to be a sizeable diaspora.

For the 6 things they are looking for this is an excellent answer.

[markas214]

Originally Posted by Vicman

If you have a lot of money, you could move into the West University and Bellaire areas of Houston. If you have a TON of money, you could move into the River Oaks, Uptown, and Southampton areas. The River Oaks/Bellaire/West U/Memorial area is very opulent, majestic, and wealthy.

Also, the Houston ISD and Spring Branch ISD schools that serve the areas (i.e. Lamar HS and Bellaire HS in HISD and Memorial HS in SBISD) are seen as the best comprehensive schools in their districts.

If you want to live further out in the west, but do not want to be in the suburban school districts, SBISD has Stratford HS and HISD has Westside HS. The Westside HS is not considered to be as good as Stratford, but housing is more affordable in the Westside HS zone.

For the suburban districts... wow... there are a lot...
* Alvin ISD
* Fort Bend ISD (All Sugar Land proper schools, Elkins HS in Missouri City, Travis HS in unincorporated Fort Bend County)
* Clear Creek ISD
* Conroe ISD
* Most of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
* Humble ISD (Atascocita HS, Kingwood HS, Kingwood Park HS)
* Katy ISD
* Klein ISD (Everything EXCEPT Klein Forest HS)
* Pearland ISD
* Tomball ISD

Do not even consider North Forest ISD.

Spring ISD is declining due to new low income housing and squabbles between some voters and the school district.

Alief ISD and Aldine ISD are a lot like HISD - Except that there are no "rich" enclaves like West U/Bellaire/Meyerland. While Alief ISD has Royal Oaks Country Club (an expensive subdivision along Westheimer), not too many people there send their kids to Alief ISD schools.
Many of the areas of Houston ISD have mediocre or poor schools. If you really like an area zoned to some bad schools, look into magnet programs.

Pasadena ISD is inner city low income to the north (Pasadena HS, South Houston HS, Rayburn HS) and lower-middle class to the south (Dobie HS, Pasadena Memorial HS).

Galena Park ISD is more or less inner city low income, although I believe the North Shore HS zone is wealthier than the Galena Park HS zone. GPISD has more or less an industrial flavor, though.

Half of Spring Branch ISD is mostly wealthy and upper middle class (I.E. Stratford HS and Memorial HS), while the other half has mainly low income inner city apartment dwellers (Northbrook HS and Spring Woods HS).

Great info on the Schools. Thank you.

[houstonman]

Originally Posted by nmejia71

.....................
In general, I don't think one city is better than the other one long as you have a well paying job that will allow you afford the lifestyle you want to live.

...............................

But, remember if you have low paying job...you will probably be miserable in both places.

.........................

One of the best ever quotes on this forum

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Houston is not more spread out than LA.
...

Houston is 579 sq miles with a population of 2.0 million while LA is 469 sq miles with a population of 3.8 million. I would call Houston more spread out.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by HonieB

Hi,

I, too, am moving from SoFL to the Houston area (Weston). I agree with everything JJnino has said above and would like to add a few things.

I was born and raised in NYC and know the true meaning of cosmopolitan. Miami is NOT cosmopolitan in my opinion. It's got a very heavy hispanic population, but not much else. If you want to live near a wide variety of cultures then Houston is your better bet. It's a larger city, being the 4th largest in the US and houses some amazing arts venues....it's own symphony, resident opera and ballet troupes, has great live theater, museums, etc.

I can hardly wait to move there and take advantage of all these wonderful things that Miami hasn't been able to offer me.

Pollution in Houston? Well, I guess it's there...but compared to NYC or Los Angeles (where I also lived for 3 years), I don't think it's that bad. Schools....MUCH better rated than any schools (public) in FL, period.

I have always loved the feel of urban living, but now that I have children there's an appeal in living in suburbia, but still close enough to a large urban place. We're moving to The Woodlands, which is north of Houston. It's beautiful, has affordable living to those coming from out of state, great schools, shopping, restaurants, parks, recreation facilities and on.

On the other hand, though Houston cannot come near the beaches of Miami, or any other part of FL for that matter, you are still a driveble distance away if you feel the urge to spend a long weekend or so in FL or take the kids to Disney, etc. Americans love road trips so to us those long drives are part of the vacation fun.

Now, as far as assimilating into an environment, Houston is probably also your better bet. You won't find many Russian speaking people in Miami, and although I'm not sure what the Russian population is in Houston, I do know that there are several Eastern Orthodox churches around, which would indicate some sort of Eastern European population. My husband is originally from Greece and I've had to research the orthodox churches for him, so this is how I know.

Hope this helps you in your decision!!!

actually, there is supposed to be alot of russians in mee-ami now...

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by cdelena

Houston is 579 sq miles with a population of 2.0 million while LA is 469 sq miles with a population of 3.8 million. I would call Houston more spread out.

I thought he was meaning metro area. Oklahoma City has larger land area than Houston.

[Cougar31]

Originally Posted by smo123

Lately I've been on the Miami forum, as my wife and I had been planning on moving there from Russia with our three-year old daughter this spring or early summer. The negativity there is incredible. There's also so much negativity in other forums, including the Miami Herald.

While South Florida's overall economy looks strong, Houston is a city that might have more employment opportunities in my line of work (editorial, with lots of experience in oil and gas). I have a good chance of continuing my job in Moscow on a remote basis, but in the event that arrangement doesn't work out, Houston would probably have a lot more job opportunities, but I'm not sure it would have the quality of life that Miami has or supposedly has.

What my wife and I are looking for, among other things:

• interesting and cosmopolitan place to live and raise a child
• cultural diversity (including a place that has a large number of Russians-my wife is Russian, and I would like to have Russian friends in the U.S.)
• good schools
• relatively safe
• strong and diversified job market
• reasonable cost of living

Everything that I've been reading on this forum suggests that Houston is a lot more cosmopolitan than the stereotypes suggest (and people on the Miami forum say the opposite is the case for them).

My only big concern about living in Houston is the air pollution. Is it really that bad? To people who have spent lots of time in Moscow, how does it compare? To me Moscow is bad, by the way, but not to the point of being unbearable.

Where would be the best places to live in Houston that are still relatively urban but have lower levels of air pollution?

As for the heat, well, the cost of living savings would probably help offset the high electricity bills over the summer.

Any and all thoughts welcome!

there s no comparisson. I give houston an A+ and Miami a C+.
Now if you have a yatcht, you will miss the clear waters of South Florida.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by cdelena

Houston is 579 sq miles with a population of 2.0 million while LA is 469 sq miles with a population of 3.8 million. I would call Houston more spread out.

Houston is 601 sq mi now

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by irwin

I am a native Texan and have been to Moscow twice (liked it there).

I would agree with many people here that Houston is probably more diverse than Miami, but I think Miami has a more international feel to the city. I think that is mainly do to the almost Hollywood-style atmosphere you get in Miami. I personally hate that stuff. I like cosmopolitan and international, but hate the idolization of celebrities you get in places like LA, Vegas, and Miami. But, that whole style does put Miami on the map. To each his own.

One other warning I would give is that many on here are recommending neighborhoods that are not urban what-so-ever. Houston is not an urban city and is more like LA as far as city design (actually even more spread out than LA). That is the biggest downfall for Houston in my mind. Even the "urban" areas of Houston will seem very suburban as compared to Moscow. Montrose is probably the closest you will get, but even there it feels suburban. One thing to remember - public transportation and walking is still largely unknown to people in Houston.

How do you figure that Houston is not urban. Houston is very urban. It just goes OUT instead of UP, and old southern ruin makes it appear to be country. But it is very urban with slums and gutters all over the place. METRO is expanding, and the city is undergoing a makeover to make it more urban accessible. The only reason cities like Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia are so smushed and crammed together and feel more urban is because there's hardly anywhere else to go but up.