You're in your early 30s, you're set financially, you're moving to Texas. Which city do you go to? (Houston: power lines, house)

[joqua]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Austin would be too boring for someone that comes from a city the size of London. I'm from Chicago and love living in Houston.

I would argue with that assessment. I've lived in London twice for several years, and in Austin once for 12 years - but the latter was 14 years ago. I can think of NO WAY to compare London to any other major metro area in the USA.

One major difference: a person living in London has no need for owning personal transportation. Their public transit is one of the most extensive and reliable on earth. And Brits are used to carrying their groceries from neighborhood markets on a daily basis -vs- Americans who often do their grocery shopping only weekly and have large parking lots in which to park while doing that shopping. Traffic congestion in both places is problematic, but that is true of any major metro area.

Similar to London, Austin has a very nice system of central town lakes, walking and biking trails, and park spaces "somewhat" similar to London's. But even in the more suburban areas of London, one is never far from a small park in which to relax and enjoy whatever is flowering. Austin has attempted to maintain "green space" in many of their newer subdivisions, some with walking trails along the larger drainages and small creeks and is therefore "like" London in that respect.

[hoffdano]

I kinda like that Austin has low brow culture instead of "high culture."

I also like that we have no big league pro sports. I am perfectly happy that those things are not far away in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.

[Oildog]

The city you can find a job in.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by Bobby Davro

Wife is American, I'm English. Having lived in London for three years together we decided that we wanted to move to the states. My wife is currently in Austin and I'lll be joining her once my visa gets processed.

Having lived in and around London most of my life I am a confirmed city boy. I don't like small towns, I do like to get out and enjoy nightlife and my wife is no different. That said I come from somewhere that has a summer that lasts all of maybe two weeks so I have every intention of enjoying an outdoors that isn't soggy or grey most of the year.

Both my wife and I can work remotely from anywhere, but wife wants to stay in Texas as her mum lives there.

So if you were 30 something, financially ok (but not rich), and enjoyed city living, where would you go in Texas.

Cheers!

I would recommend San Antonio or maybe Fort Worth.

Houston is miserably hot and summer lasts from late march through October, I doubt you'll want to spend much time outside.

Dallas is really obnoxious.

I would say Austin but I'm guessing you're probably over the college partying.

Fort Worth is a nice, laid back town surrounded by pretty countryside. Nightlife is somewhat limited compared to Dallas, Houston or San Antonio but there is still fine dining and fun to be had.

San Antonio is a good compromise all around.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by Oildog

The city you can find a job in.

...And this.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by jimboburnsy

Houston is miserably hot and summer lasts from late march through October, I doubt you'll want to spend much time outside.

In all seriousness, this is hardly limited to Houston and is true of all of the major Texas cities. Though Houston is more humid, Austin and San Antonio are only slightly less so.
Even so, we spend plenty of time outside during most of that time... July and August are usually the only months when there are no pleasant days.

[AlGreen]

Generally speaking, San Antonio is no better than Houston when it comes to the heat. It's been miserable here in SA the past few days, and it doesn't appear to be going away any time soon.

It still amazes me how I'm able to survive summer after summer here without having a mental breakdown.

[cBach]

I work with folks from the UK everyday due to the company I work in. I've had some of them visit Texas and here are there observations. They find Houston to just be plain ugly and industrial but they like the pubs there, they find Dallas to be a strange fairy tale city that they can't understand, this sprawling mess where it takes two hours to go across town to see a baseball game, where there's great shopping and good food at cheap prices with cowboy culture in Ft. Worth to boot, but they find Austin is just right.

What they say is Austin is vastly different than what they get in the UK, but in a good way. They can experience BBQ one night and TexMex another, yet on another night hit a cool Euro bar or an English style pub that makes them feel at home. They like that you can walk around downtown to all the main night spots which you can't do in Dallas or Houston. They love enjoying the natural areas of Austin and partaking in our beloved swimming holes. They absolutely love Schlitterbahn and they enjoy hitting the German beer gartens in the Hill Country.

I think the OP should go to Austin and see how that works since his wife will be there anyway.

The only way I'd recommend another city is if the OP is into high culture, then Houston with its symphony, etc.. will be the way to go.

Also, Austin will have F1 next year, so that will make the OP feel right at home. The rest of Texas is more NASCAR oriented, especially in the Ft. Worth area.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by AlGreen

Again, I disagree. Tyler to Houston? I'll pretend you didn't say that.

Density does not necessarily make a place feel larger. An example I've given before is the French Quarter in New Orleans: far more dense than anything in Houston, yet I'd doubt that many would say they felt as if they were in a much bigger city. If you're standing in the middle of a suburan residential street, sure. But I wouldn't doubt that the Cedar Springs area of Dallas or even the most busy intersections of the Galleria area in Houston feel more big city than parts of London. Just my opinion.

Houston and Dallas are just different versions of what a big city is. Once again, density does not necessarily make a place feel bigger. Atleast not for everybody.

It would be awfully hard to find any place in Houston or Dallas to look and feel more big city than any part of London. I don't think any part of Houston or Dallas have any areas that feel bigger than NYC which is the little brother of London.

[Lakewooder]

".. they find Dallas to be a strange fairy tale city that they can't understand, this sprawling mess where it takes two hours to go across town to see a baseball game"

Most everything in Dallas that would appeal to Londoners (IMO) is within a two-to-three mile radius around Downtown Dallas. No need to traipse two hours around the suburbs. Dallas has the big city amenities but also East Dallas and North Oak Cliff adjacent to downtown for the Austin laid-back friendly and mom-and-pop nature vibe.