Which City? (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: best city, health insurance, find a job)

[leavingIL]

My girlfriend and I presently live in colorado springs. We had planned to move to Phoenix Arizona next year, but are willing to consider some other options.

Right now, our two most important factors are availability of jobs, and opportunities for career advancement (good universities if she wants to pursue a Master's degree, large distribution centers if I want to pursue management / operations, etc.). Secondary concerns for us are cost of living (since nowhere in Texas is really out of control expensive) and outdoor activities. Tertiary concerns are the diversity of the crowd living there and the weather (I think I'd prefer the dry-er San An to a humid and sticky Houston).

She works presently at an ABA clinic as a behavior clinician, although she's open to a career change if there's money to be made and personal satisfaction to be had. I work in logistics, with experience in shipping, receiving, inventory, etc.

Utilizing this knowledge, and considering the opportunity for advancement, what's the best city for us? It seems like the economies in all 5 of the big Texas Triangle cities are so robust, that we really couldn't make a terrible decision. That said, here's my reading of it.

Dallas - Fort Worth is probably the best chance for me to find a job in warehousing, because there are SO many distribution centers.

San Antonio appears to be the best place for her to look for a job, because of the healthcare industry (to which ABA is loosely tied) and because of the military presence (most government health insurance covers ABA therapy for children).

San Antonio is also attractive to me because it appears to have the brightest future in terms of growth, and I figure that getting in somewhere before the population continues to explode means you'll be in the area when the bigger and better opportunities open up. I also like the hill country.

I can speak fluent Spanish, she can speak conversational Spanish. I think if we moved to San An, we'd both get way better at that. If we moved to DFW, Houston or Austin, would it be as big of a deal?

Hit me with whatever you got.

[Restrain]

I would tend to discount San Antonio. Lots of distribution in Dallas area, especially up towards Denton and the Alliance Airport Industrial area between Ft Worth and Denton. As to universities, plenty in the area, including UNT and TWU in Denton, both state schools.

[joqua]

What's wrong with Denver? There is no shortage of regional distribution centers there - and many other warehousing operations. Along with several good school options, not the least of which is U of Denver.

[curbur]

Originally Posted by leavingIL

San Antonio is also attractive to me because it appears to have the brightest future in terms of growth

How do you figure that?

[mikeyyc]

I don't see how it's not Houston. Largest number of research hospitals in the region, and Houston and the Port of Houston are among the busiest in the country. There are multiple distribution hubs in and around the bay, sea, land and rail.

[CptnRn]

I think San Antonio is a good choice. I prefer it by far over Houston on DFW. Warmer climate, lots of things to do there, close to the coast. relatively safe from hurricanes and tornadoes.

[Johnhw2]

Houston is the Career choice, if you can handle the climate, primarily the humidity. Operations management is necessary in the plants in Houston which are significantly more complex operations than logistics stuff in DFW. San Antonio is a nice town but on a much smaller scale career wise than either of the other two.

[Gunion Powder]

San Antonio certainly seems like the best compromise. But the population there is more Tejano than Mexican, so you won't have much need for Spanish.

[rynetwo]

Originally Posted by mega man

San Antonio certainly seems like the best compromise. But the population there is more Tejano than Mexican, so you won't have much need for Spanish.

It always baffles me that people think you need to speak Spanish to live in San Antonio. Most of the Mexicans that live here are not first generation and do not even know Spanish.

[Yn0hTnA]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I think San Antonio is a good choice. I prefer it by far over Houston on DFW. Warmer climate, lots of things to do there, close to the coast. relatively safe from hurricanes and tornadoes.

This post makes no sense. Houston's climate is warmer year-round than San Antonio's; winters in Houston are milder, allowing for a warmer annual temp than San Antonio. Houston is by far closer to the coast than San Antonio, and there are far more things to do in Houston vs San Antonio.