Kentucky natives or former residents who have moved to Texas (Possible move from KY to TX)... (Houston: appointed, fit in)

[EclecticEars]

What do you think of Texas? How would you compare Kentucky to Texas?

I need some help to completely affirm that Texas is the place for me. I went there in 2001 and only for a week, but I fell in love with it immediately and just fell in love with the culture, scenery, cleanliness, and genuine friendliness of folks in Texas. It obviously left a lasting impression on me. So, I'm strongly considering a move to Texas, and particularly Houston. Please consider factors such as people and friendliness, arts and culture, and general quality of life.

My conceptions, as they are, are these:

• People: most Texans I've met have been considerably friendlier than folks in any place I've ever been to in Kentucky. Hands down, except for Dallas, where the Dallasites appear to think quite highly of themselves. Aside from isolated parts of east Texas, there appears to be more truly genuine country people in Texas as opposed to just the all-out white trash rednecks that are abundant even in where I live, the wealthier, more "educated" and more "progressive" central Kentucky. (I've traveled very extensively throughout Kentucky, particularly, so I know a lot about this state.)
• Arts and culture: Louisville does great in this category considering its size. I can't really complain. Neither does Fort Worth, it holds its own. Dallas and Austin could do better, but I don't turn my nose up at them. Houston has the most public-friendly, expansive, most compact, and cheapest arts and culture scene of any city in the two states, and one of the largest arts districts (Houston Museum District) on earth.
• Quality of life: housing is cheaper in Texas, but property and sales tax rates are more expensive. Texas has great healthcare facilities and research centers, universities and colleges, and state parks. Kentucky does not have the best universities, but the Louisville Medical Center has some well-respected hospitals nationwide, and our state parks are nice. I know these are not all exclusive factors of QoL; generally speaking, though, I'd put Texas slightly ahead.

So, what do I want? I want to live in a safe, urban neighborhood that is singles-friendly, unpretentious, and clean. I appreciate neighborhoods shops and restaurants and would rather frequent those places, but I still like Target and Costco. I'm almost 22, single, male, and a soon-to-be college graduate, politically conservative (but not "Bible thumper" and "holy roller.") I'm a church goer and not a huge partier (I do it sometimes,) but would like a place where it is a little easier to meet singles. I'd also like to earn my law degree and MBA in Texas, but would first like to establish residency and/or, if anything else, some friendships and good contacts.

Dallas is OUT of the question; Ft. Worth, Austin, and (especially, once again) Houston strike my fancy more. Any help is appreciated.

[ButterfliesAreHalfPrice]

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't think Texas is ahead of Louisiville in the areas mentioned. I lived in Cincy, not Louisville, but I felt Louisville was ahead of Cincy and no way is Houston ahead of Cincy, except in terms of warm weather. In fact, it's similar in terms of problems with the races not getting along and it's worse in terms of crime.

I didn't find Houston friendly. That may be because I have experienced also living in Minnesota, living in lots of other cities and countries, etc. I live in Midland Texas right now and you cannot get politer than here unless you wake up in Heaven. But hell yes, it's way friendlier than when I had to live in Baltimore, in Falls Church Va (by DC), in Orange Beach AlaBAM. Are they not friendly in Louisiville?

If you don't like white trash rednecks, and geez other than their own ilk who does???, then watch out because east Texas has its share, there is a lot of lingering resentment between black and white in those areas, yes in Houston, and now you must throw the dislike of illegal aliens into the whole mix, something you don't have in Louisville yet...

I liked Houston in terms of it being a vibrant place. You can get anything, you can find the weirdest shops, you can run around all night long. I can even remember when they tried to air-cool the parks to hold concerts with giant air conditioners (ONLY IN TEXAS, YEE HAW). But I can also remember that property crime was just so exhausting, theives even stole my flowerpots off the porch, they busted my car windows numerous times.

I lived in Montrose, that's the gay section, at the time undergoing a big revival and it also has a really great elementary school, Poe. Well I guess I'm a hick in a small way because I am now rushing to type "but I'm not gay myself" into the post, why is that?

That said, I think you'll like Houston. There is Rice there, there is U of Houston (not as good as U of Louisville). There is a lot of opportunity for a young man there.

Remember what a famous denizen of your state said: "A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." That would be Abe Lincoln, and he's right. I think if you THINK you'll like Houston, you will! Maybe it will be a perfect fit! My brother just loved it to pieces! Best thing is, if you DON'T like it, you can move.

[ButterfliesAreHalfPrice]

By the way, the medical care, barely a factor IMO, my brother -- the one who loved Houston -- died of a MEDICAL ERROR, as did my mother -- two different hospitals, well respected, two different years, different docs -- it happens -- medical care, I swear it's a crapshoot.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by ButterfliesAreHalfPrice

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't think Texas is ahead of Louisiville in the areas mentioned. I lived in Cincy, not Louisville, but I felt Louisville was ahead of Cincy and no way is Houston ahead of Cincy, except in terms of warm weather. In fact, it's similar in terms of problems with the races not getting along and it's worse in terms of crime.

I didn't find Houston friendly. That may be because I have experienced also living in Minnesota, living in lots of other cities and countries, etc. I live in Midland Texas right now and you cannot get politer than here unless you wake up in Heaven. But hell yes, it's way friendlier than when I had to live in Baltimore, in Falls Church Va (by DC), in Orange Beach AlaBAM. Are they not friendly in Louisiville?

If you don't like white trash rednecks, and geez other than their own ilk who does???, then watch out because east Texas has its share, there is a lot of lingering resentment between black and white in those areas, yes in Houston, and now you must throw the dislike of illegal aliens into the whole mix, something you don't have in Louisville yet...

I liked Houston in terms of it being a vibrant place. You can get anything, you can find the weirdest shops, you can run around all night long. I can even remember when they tried to air-cool the parks to hold concerts with giant air conditioners (ONLY IN TEXAS, YEE HAW). But I can also remember that property crime was just so exhausting, theives even stole my flowerpots off the porch, they busted my car windows numerous times.

I lived in Montrose, that's the gay section, at the time undergoing a big revival and it also has a really great elementary school, Poe. Well I guess I'm a hick in a small way because I am now rushing to type "but I'm not gay myself" into the post, why is that?

That said, I think you'll like Houston. There is Rice there, there is U of Houston (not as good as U of Louisville). There is a lot of opportunity for a young man there.

Remember what a famous denizen of your state said: "A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." That would be Abe Lincoln, and he's right. I think if you THINK you'll like Houston, you will! Maybe it will be a perfect fit! My brother just loved it to pieces! Best thing is, if you DON'T like it, you can move.

Thanks for the honest opinion!

There's only one way to find out if I'll like living there, and that is to just move. I don't know of any other way. I love Texas and the culture very much. As one of my favorite sayings goes, "Different strokes for different folks." Texas is for many, and it is not for many.

I've lived in Louisville and metro Cincinnati (Highland Heights, KY). It took me 9-12 months to even begin to adjust and attempt to appreciate what Louisville has to offer; it's a great city and has the best quality of life of any place in the Commonwealth, but there's a very small-townish, closed-minded, almost sour aura about the town. I find most Kentucky to have those interpersonal dynamics though, which I'll never understand even as a native. The city, as a perk, is very beautiful, has an incredibly large park system, and is nationally-renowned for having a "comeback" downtown. I thought I would possibly like Louisville; instead, I developed a "like-love-hate" relationship with it, leaning more toward hate.

In Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky, on the other hand, I fell right in to place, and just fell in love with Newport, Eden Park, the Cincy Art Museum, CAC, Cinergy Field, and Florence Mall. And the opera and symphony in Cincinnati? World class! Many of the locals were so exuberant, if you will, in showcasing and telling about how great their region is and how well they like it. It was a happy feeling! The city is so beautiful, also; I hope Over-the-Rhine can continue its slow but persevering comeback and be a nice, safe, liveable neighborhood again. I knew I would like metro Cincinnati, and I really did.

While Houston doesn't have the historic architecture and preservation that Cincy has, it has the funky vibe, diverse arts, culture, and parks system vastness that Cincy has, except on a larger scale (with it being a larger city, obviously.) I'm hoping to recapture some of that, while getting a feel of a different climate, pace, environment. I'll put it this way: I know I'll like Houston.

[ButterfliesAreHalfPrice]

Well good honey, you go on down there and live there, and I bet you will fit in very well indeed. ATTITUDE is half the battle; the other battle is just a good fit. You seem to have both in one place, so I am hoping it will be a very happy place for you. Houston I felt was very forward-thinking in many ways. I know what you mean about sour aura, some places have a very prissy vibe and who needs that? Good luck to you.

[BobTex]

I'll say this. For Law school I think Austin might be better ... but you can move ....U of H law school is respected. I don't live in Houston and never would. BUT, if someone put a gun to my head and said pick one ... it would probably be Houston! Good luck!

[KY Filly]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

I've lived in Louisville and metro Cincinnati (Highland Heights, KY). It took me 9-12 months to even begin to adjust and attempt to appreciate what Louisville has to offer; it's a great city and has the best quality of life of any place in the Commonwealth, but there's a very small-townish, closed-minded, almost sour aura about the town.

Please don't take this the wrong way - not trying to appear as defensive. What exactly do you mean by "sour aura"? I'm very curious. I've lived in Louisville for 38 years and will soon be relocating to San Antonio, TX. Looking forward to the adventure and all that, but sad to leave the wonderful friends (and family) we have here. Back to my point.....I've found Louisville to be a wonderful place to live and the people to be friendly...for the most part. I'm an upbeat, positive person and do notice that there are folks who always look on the "bad" side of things or who frequently want to complain. I just figure that's the way it is everywhere....some people want to have a half empty glass rather than a half full glass. So, is that what you mean or something else? I just found it to be an interesting statement.

[Back2TX]

Hello fellow Kentuckian!
I have lived in Louisville for almost 5 years now and grew up in TX. (I am moving back to TX this summer.) I feel the people here are friendly, maybe not as much as Texans, but they made me feel welcome.
If you are looking for culture... I think someone your age would appreciate Austin. It has lots of music and arts influence. If you are into the night life... you would enjoy 6th street. Austin is a major college town. Ft. Worth is another "happening" place. There are lots of face lifts going on in downtown Ft. Worth. I prefer Ft. Worth over Dallas.
I have family in Houston and my brother used to live there 3 yrs ago. He got sick and tired of the traffic jams in Houston and sick of the heat. It gets miserably hot there in the summer. The heat here in Louisville is nothing compared to Houston. If you can live with those 2 cons... then maybe thats the place for you.
If you have never visited San Antonio.... I would consider looking there and see what you think. I love SA... lived there for 7 years. There is lots of culture there! I will admit that it has been awhile since I've been to SA. I grew up mostly a west TX girl, in Lubbock.
Anyway.... happy hunting!

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by BobTex

I'll say this. For Law school I think Austin might be better ... but you can move ....U of H law school is respected. I don't live in Houston and never would. BUT, if someone put a gun to my head and said pick one ... it would probably be Houston! Good luck!

Austin is gorgeous and I even fell in love with it at first sight. But, considering how fast the city continues to grow, I can't help but wonder if its subculture is being totally ruined.

Houston, on the other hand, strikes me as a place where the friendliness of the people makes you feel right at home and want to stay. It also strikes me as a place where the humidity can truly sometimes seem, well, repulsive. However, through those two things, it might take some time to really dig in past the grit and into the "unadvertised" elements of the city: 300 or so different kinds of cuisine, many multiethnic neighborhoods, countless lifestyle choices, well-kept and vast urban parks, great walking and jogging areas (yes, they do exist.) Houston, while not nearly as historic as Louisville and Cincinnati, possesses the positive "artsy" elements of Cincinnati and "eclectic" elements of Louisville--except on a larger scale, of course, since it's a bigger city. Also, except that Houston's dwellers have, in my experience, been friendlier (okay, Cincy's not really unfriendly, but Louisville is generally unfriendly.) Yes, Houston is growing tremendously, but its "scene" can only become more lively and diverse because of the mass sum of people moving there.

Oh yeah, UofH has both good law and MBA programs. Rice U. and UT-Austin both have excellent MBA programs there in the city.

I saw it best put by a poster on Yahoo! Answers once: the charm of Houston is that you can't put your finger on it.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by KY Filly

Please don't take this the wrong way - not trying to appear as defensive. What exactly do you mean by "sour aura"? I'm very curious. I've lived in Louisville for 38 years and will soon be relocating to San Antonio, TX. Looking forward to the adventure and all that, but sad to leave the wonderful friends (and family) we have here. Back to my point.....I've found Louisville to be a wonderful place to live and the people to be friendly...for the most part. I'm an upbeat, positive person and do notice that there are folks who always look on the "bad" side of things or who frequently want to complain. I just figure that's the way it is everywhere....some people want to have a half empty glass rather than a half full glass. So, is that what you mean or something else? I just found it to be an interesting statement.

First, great success to you in San Antonio. I agree, it's a great city. Of course, it's in Texas, so that makes it all the better!

Second, I'm glad you should bring the "sour aura" point up. I learned this the hard way just in the 9 months I lived in Louisville, plus the 2.5 years I commuted to Louisville for college from my parents' house one hour outside of the city.

When I moved to Louisville, I moved there neither excited nor dreadful, to be honest. I went for the experience. What I found was three different churches; I found one I liked, but have since moved from Louisville and haven't been able to attend it. In the other two I found plenty of nasty, vile, snippy people who have little friendliess or courtesy for others. And many that were friendly were a very fake friendly. Examples include one college girl at church who I had never met just slammed a doughnut in my hand one day and told me to "hold it for her." No please, thank you, smile, anything. I was shocked, speechless, and later p*ssed. That was the last time I returned to that church (initials CCBC) after visiting plenty of times.

Before that, another example is the time I went on a trip to the Smokies with CCBC in their college group, and we were tubing in a river. Following the natural course of the water, I just drifted in to part of the group. No big deal, right? This one girl completely kicks my tube as hard as she could so as to not be in "her" little circle of 10 people or so. W-T-F? I never snubbed her. I was always polite, smiling, and pleasant toward and around her. I wish I was making this up, but I'm not. Once again, I was shocked, speechless, and later p*ssed.

As a student at the University of Louisville or a shopper out in the community at Oxmoor, St. Matthews, whereever, whenever I would hold a door for a lady, I'd only receive a "thanks" or something about 25% of the time. Sometimes, I just got cold stares or smart a** remarks.

The three worst service experiences I've ever received while dining out were not in NYC, Atlanta, Florida, Pennsylvania, or other northern or large urban locales. They were in Louisville.

I took my laptop, which was under warranty at Circuit City, to the store in St. Matthews. From the first second I dropped it off to the last second I spent picking it up, all I ever got from the customer service associates was ZERO personality. Now, I understand everywhere that people don't enjoy their jobs and that may be reflected in the way they treat other people. But, what cited was wrong with my computer was that a virus had gotten into it and the hard drive had to be completely cleared. No big deal under warranty, right? My warranty said it would cover that. NOBODY in the store would let me leave with my laptop until I paid a $30 "service" and "shipping and 'assessment'" fee. W-T-F? After some "polite" argumentation, I paid it. I never "showed myself." I asked for a receipt, and they even acted figety about that. No thank you, as you can imagine.

Now, I did not go up there looking for the "bad." I did not try to find "bad" people to hang around. I like to consider myself a friendly, outgoing, and (you might find this hard to believe) positive person. I know bad experiences can be found anywhere and that nice and mean people exist everywhere. I know no place is a perfect place to live. But in Louisville, bad experiences seemed to have found me. Sure, at first I made friends and good acquaintences, but they were not from Louisville. (Maybe this was God's way of telling me I should've attended college elsewhere, lol.) Now, I have friends from actual Louisville, but it took three years to find and/or make those friends.

I attended university functions and games, organizations, and searched for the right church. I didn't go there with a negative attitude. Louisville's not a "big, bad, mean city." It's not that big, the crime rate is not very high, and it's not a rushed or pushy city. I don't mind those traits at all. I really like many urban areas, what they have to offer, and the great contributions they make to their states' economies. But, I was sorely disappointed in my experience in Louisville. The unfriendliness itself is one half of it. The other half was the unfriendliness in spite of Louisville's banters that it's a charming, friendly, charitable city. For the positives, I love the historic neighborhoods and great, hole-in-the-wall restaurants. I love the fact that Louisville is not a cookie-cutter city. I love the beauty of the UofL Belknap campus. I like the fact that the quality of life there is much higher than most places in this rural hole that is Kentucky. I like the large arts scene there considering it's a small metropolitan area. So, this paragraph states why I have a "like-love-hate" relationship with Louisville, leaning more toward hate.

For the terminus ad quem of my ramble, I also find most of the state to have the "sour aura" thing going on, where if folks in communities don't know you, you'll just have a heck of a hard time finding a niche. I'm a Ky. native, but have lived in four different communities across the state, so I know what I'm talking about. Kentucky is not the state for me, except for horse farms, Ale-8-1 and mutton BBQ (which are things I'd miss.)