African-American family searching for the "Good Life" (Houston: home, job)

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by junation

This forum is hyping Houston pretty strong. I'm an African-American who moved here with nothing and has managed to make a good living so I can't knock this area for the practical advantages. However, I had to wade through an awful lot of garbage along the way. I've seen a lot of blatant job discrimination, the type that my mom and dad used to tell me that they experienced when they were younger. For example, it almost seems to be a regular practice among the employers here to hire people without posting the job opening internally and that always seems to be to the benefit of someone not African-American. On a daily basis, I'm exposed to people who speak and make assumptions about African-Americans based upon an ignorant, stereotypical thinking. If I had a dime for everytime someone clutched their purse when I was nearby, I'd be happily retired. And it's not just me that I've seen these things happen to. I've regulary seen coworkers and friends lose job opportunities to less-qualified people who were not African-American. I've lived in Boston and I visit L.A. frequently and though those places, are far from perfect, the difference in the way people approach me (whether or not they're friendly) is almost palpable. There's almost always more respect for me as a person and fewer stereotypical assumptions. What Houstongal said is typical of the attitude that I encounter here.

I can't knock the practical advantages of living here for anybody, and that's why I'm here for now. However, it almost seems like a lot of the bragging about Houston here seems more about hometown pride than objectivity.

Where did you come from?

I lived in North Carolina for a year and came back - NC today is like coastal Texas 30-40 years ago in terms of racial attitudes.

[junation]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Where did you come from?

I lived in North Carolina for a year and came back - NC today is like coastal Texas 30-40 years ago in terms of racial attitudes.

I don't doubt it. There are plenty of places in the South that are even worse than Houston, especially in the rural areas. I'm actually from the Carolina area myself and I can't call where I from especially enlightened as far as racial attitudes go, but no one tried to pretend otherwise. I've also lived in and visited other major cities around the country, Boston, St. Louis, L.A., San Francisco, Phoenix, New York. No place is perfect. Houston is a lot more practical place to live than these other cities but socially, I see as least as much and in many cases more hostility towards African-Americans as any of those places. I don't recall hearing in the other cities stories like the one a couple years back about the black Harris County deputy who was harassed by his coworkers and even had a noose strung up in his presence. That seems to be a regular thing down here.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by junation

I don't recall hearing in the other cities stories like the one a couple years back about the black Harris County deputy who was harassed by his coworkers and even had a noose strung up in his presence. That seems to be a regular thing down here.

I do recall hearing about very similar allegations coming up at the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation - the most ineffective state-level governmental entity I have ever had dealings with, but that's beside the point...there was a complaint that is almost exactly what you described with the deputy. Then the men who filed the complaint (there were several) were caught on tape coming in after hours and stringing up a noose, to make it look like a particular co-worker did it. Turns out they were ultimately after money from a resulting discrimination lawsuit.

Not saying that the Harris County case with the deputy did not happen or was not legitimate, but sometime's there's more to stories you hear.

For disclosure purposes, I am a white male - I live in an apartment building where my fiancee and I are the only white residents (not in the whole complex though). But people here are as friendly to us as they are to anyone else. In North Carolina I would commonly hold open a door in a store or a restaurant for a black man or woman and get a reaction as if I was obliged to extend that courtesy to them, or treated with outright distrust if not hostility. Everyone in the "old South" still revolves around race, on both sides. Houston's status as being "in the South" is sometimes a subject of debate (especially in the Carolinas, Georgia etc.) but that mentality is here too among a rather noisy (and sometimes, unfortunately, influential) minority group of people of all races and ethnicities.

[DeltaSigmaTheta]

Hello! I am a 31 y.o. single African-American Professional female. Based upon what you stated, I would suggest Pearland. This suburb is roughly 15 mins from Houston's center but traffic is heavily congested b/c everyone is moving here. The city is quickly expanding (new home construction, mall, hospital, ets. The city has a website. I can't recall the actual address but if you search, you will find to learn more about median incomes, taxes, etc. here. For eg. I earn a 6-six salary and my home is worth $172,000 (3/2/2 all brick). However, taxes are up there... 3.5 % Good luck!

[Texas Mack]

You got that right, DeltaSigmaTheta! I don't get down to Pearland as much as I used to (maybe five times a year, if that) but every time I go, it seems like they've built another 300 or 400 new homes, a new shopping plaza has opened and traffic is that much worse.

That said, I've always liked the general asthetics of Shadow Creek Ranch. There's a lot of diversity in the prices and it looks as if the community will endure for quite some time. It's a solid option, indeed.

And if you want to have quick access to some African American culture and amenities, you're less than a 15 minute drive from it.

[INOR]

Originally Posted by madlion7

Thanks for the input. We've been hearing a lot of good info about Cypress/Fairbanks. Can you give us a comparison with Spring? Also, how is Austin in terms of affordability and quality of life? ANY info is greatly appreciated as we have no family, friends or associates in Texas at this time. As you can imagine, it will be a very BIG move.

Don't know about Cypress/Fairbanks...but AUSTIN is a superb place to raise a family! The Homes are moderately priced and the place is just downright comfortable....it's located to access just about anywhere easily...it's a place that will grow on you and crime? I was there for 5 years before moving to DALLAS for a job and I really hated to go, and didn't feel in danger at all. All in all, I vote it a a GREAT place an option for a family without any hesitation!
Be prepared to enjoy.

[v2four]

Pearland, and areas around it (Manvel, Iowa Colony, Rosharon, Fresno) is becoming the new hot spot for professionals and middle class people to live. I remember Pearland when it was nothing but a small spot on the map with all of the businesses and homes centered around HWY35(main st) and fm 518. The area started exploding with growth once Silverlake was built and then exploded with the development of Shadow Creek Ranch. Pearland started this decade with about 20,000 people, and the latest Houston Chronicle estimate forecasted around 65,000 residents in Pearland now.

With all that new development, Pearland still had only one high school because the city was split among three school districts (Alvin, Fort Bend and Pearland ISD's), but Pearland will open two new high schools in the next few years to deal with rapid growth.


I actually live on the border of Pearland. Not actually in the city, but I will reap all the benefits(and pitfalls) when all of that mass development is finished around 518, beltway 8 and the feeder roads of 288.

I think Pearland is going to experience even more traffic, especially when the outdoor mall and the new HEB grocery store(the largest one in Texas) is finished on fm 518 and 288. Traffic is already horrible in Pearland, especially during rush hour in the morning and evening, and heck traffic is horrible on saturday and sunday afternoons. If you are trying to get any shopping done at walmart or target, you better do it early in the morning or late at night, similiar to any other suburb in the houston area.

The home prices are fairly decent, and like any other place, the closer you are to the freeway or the retail development, the more you are going to pay.

[karnival96]

Originally Posted by bap_diva

Hi, I'm originally from NY, have lived in CA and now live in MD and I too am considering Houston. I'm responding to the part of your post about Austin. My girlfriend is originally from San Antonio and livedin Austin for years and she absolutely loves it, but, she is Mexican. After doing some research on Austin, I found that Austin may be one of the worst cities for African Americans to relocate to. Do a search and you will come upon a report created by a city official in which he is basically saying that Austin sucks for AAs, but, that the city is trying to make some changes to be more accomodating. Apparently, there are no opportunities for us to go out and socialize. The city is something like 9% black, the income disparities are awful, housing is great, but, unless your idea of entertaining or being entertained include sitting on your fabulous front porch watching the grass grow, i'd stick wtih Houston, a city consistently rated as one of the best in the US for AAs.

A have to respectfully disagree with you about Austin being one of the worst cities for African Americans. I have lived in Austin for over 20 years and it is really a wonderful place to live for me and many other African Americans who happen to live here. Austin's black community is more dispersed than you would find in places like Houston or Dallas, and this does lead to a lower concentration of African American oriented entertainment and culture, but a social heartbeat can certainly be found here. The black community here does tend to be more family and professionally oriented, so even though the numbers would indicate that there should probably be more black nightclubs and the like, the black community here does not patronize such establishments enough to make it a thriving industry.

And while the report highlights a large income disparity, it also points out that African Americans in Austin on average make more than African Americans in places like Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, etc. It also fails to mention that the income disparity is so large in part because Austin is overall a high income city due to its large high tech sector. So you will find that African Americans here tend to do very well compared to African Americans in other cities, but since whites and others in high tech (where we tend to be underrepresented) tend to make very high salaries, the disparity here is a little higher than in other cities. As an example, I work in the high tech sector and I probably earn more than most people I know, white or black.

Many people would say that Austin is probably not the best place for young single African Americans and there may be some truth to that, but I met and married my African American wife here (she's from the east coast). I also know many other black couples who met, dated and married in this city, so I know it can be done.

Here's my overview on Austin's advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

1. Great economic climate provides wonderful opportunities for career oriented people.

2. Wonderful environment with parks, lakes, hills and many nearby places to explore for those who enjoy getting outdoors.

3. Good social climate for black people. Very little overt racism and segregation tends to be along economic lines not race. Your success here is only limited by your ability.

4. Good school systems in Austin and the surrounding suburbs.

5. Very low violent crime rate. Every time I read about some poor kid being shot at a high school football game or in a gang drive-by in Houston or Dallas, I thank God for the opportunity that he gave me to raise my children in a community where such incidents remain rare.

6. Austin is a very vibrant city with a very active downtown area and many events and festivals occur throughout the year. Even though these events and activities may not specifically cater to African Americans, they are open to everyone to enjoy.

7. Close proximity to many interesting places such as San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, the Hill Country, etc.

8. Austin has some qualities that are difficult to quantify, which definitely add to the desireability of the place, such as the general attractiveness and cleanliness of the city.

Disadvantages:

1. Limited cultural opportunities for African Americans. Austin does have its share of poetry slam events, R&B concerts, old school bands, hip-hop artists, parties and a quality radio station in KAZI, but it can't come close to competing with Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc. on this front.

2. Very few cohesive middle-class African American residential communities. Our people are scattered throughout the city and its suburbs.

3. Negative perception by many African-Americans who don't live here, due to bad publicity generated by the aforementioned report. This makes the report somewhat self-defeating, but I'm holding out hope that this effort will eventually bear positive fruits.

[junation]

Originally Posted by jfre81

I do recall hearing about very similar allegations coming up at the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation - the most ineffective state-level governmental entity I have ever had dealings with, but that's beside the point...there was a complaint that is almost exactly what you described with the deputy. Then the men who filed the complaint (there were several) were caught on tape coming in after hours and stringing up a noose, to make it look like a particular co-worker did it. Turns out they were ultimately after money from a resulting discrimination lawsuit.

Not saying that the Harris County case with the deputy did not happen or was not legitimate, but sometime's there's more to stories you hear.

For disclosure purposes, I am a white male - I live in an apartment building where my fiancee and I are the only white residents (not in the whole complex though). But people here are as friendly to us as they are to anyone else. In North Carolina I would commonly hold open a door in a store or a restaurant for a black man or woman and get a reaction as if I was obliged to extend that courtesy to them, or treated with outright distrust if not hostility. Everyone in the "old South" still revolves around race, on both sides. Houston's status as being "in the South" is sometimes a subject of debate (especially in the Carolinas, Georgia etc.) but that mentality is here too among a rather noisy (and sometimes, unfortunately, influential) minority group of people of all races and ethnicities.

In my experience, most incidents of racism on the job go unreported. It takes some nerve to do something that raises the type of ruckus that may cost your job and keep you from getting another one. An event like you described in N.C. would be rare.
To clarify, there's no debate on my part that Houston is more progressive than the rest of the South, except perhaps for Atlanta. I agree. Some comparisons were made earlier in the forum to racial attitudes in large cosmopolitan cities around the country. I think Houston still has some substantial catching up to do in that respect.
Let me give you some examples of why. I lived in Boston earlier in my life. Boston is by no means a perfect city when it comes to racial relations. However, I can recall one day where some friends of mine went shopping in a local mall. One of my friends wanted to check some leather accessories in an upscale store. The white saleswoman who helped him out acted like she had no assumptions about the limits of our spending power. She behaved as though we might potentially be some of her best customers and she was ready to do business with us, three casually-dressed young black men. This was more the rule than the exception when I lived there. Here in Houston, I had some trouble buying the model of car that I now currently own because at at least one dealership, I could not get anyone to show the car to me. It seems as though some assumption was made about my ability to purchase the car without anyone asking me what I did for a living and what my income was. After I eventually bought my car, there was another time where I was sitting in the repair shop after my car was ready, but no one called my name because I was the only person there waiting and they "thought" that it was not my car. I encounter these types of situations more frequently here than in other large cities. Incorrect assumptions are made and acted upon when questions could have been asked.
In Boston and the other cities, it wasn't necessarily that they loved African-Americans more, but rather the realization that in a city that large, the next person that you meet could come from anywhere in the world, any type of background and that it could negatively affect your livelihood to make incorrect assumptions about them. Quite frankly, I love living in that type of environment. My guess is that Houston has not been a big city long enough for everyone to have that type of street-smarts.

[pentalarc]

Originally Posted by madlion7

Thanks for the input. We've been hearing a lot of good info about Cypress/Fairbanks. Can you give us a comparison with Spring? Also, how is Austin in terms of affordability and quality of life? ANY info is greatly appreciated as we have no family, friends or associates in Texas at this time. As you can imagine, it will be a very BIG move.

Between Austin and Houston, I would suggest Austin. I've lived here for a bout a year and a half, and while I don't have as much experience with Houston, I do have some. Generally, Austin has a lot more to do (especially since your family seems to be rather outdoor/sprots oriented) plus, Austin has always just seemed "friendlier" to me, for lack of a better term. I've always found the people in Houston to be a lot less friendly and a lot more hurried. THere's a lot more of the "keep up with the Joneses" drive in Houston.

For Austin or the Austin area, though, I would suggest the city itself, or at least Travis county itself. A lot of people tend towards the suburbs and nearby towns in Williamson, but it's a lot less unique, and a lot more "just like everywhere else." It's also a lot less. . .accepting and diverse. . .let's say, than Travis County or Austin itself.

Still, it's all what you're looking for. If you like a faster pace and a more corporate outlook, then you might want to go with Houston, but generally, I think there would be more of what you're looking for in Austin

Pentalarc