Austin vs Houston: Which to pick for a disgruntled northerner (Dallas: violent crime, home)
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I'm considering moving, so please help me out with your insights and opinions.
The weather. The taxes. The cost of living (in addition to the taxes). The roads. And especially, the people.
I'm not from the city (NYC) by any means, so don't think of me as a Manhattanite or anything. I'm from Albany, the state capital, that's much smaller and very different. Also, I'm not a liberal (in the economic sense anyway), so I'm not one of those NY'ers coming down to change the Texan way of life with the NY jive. I'm ready to leave the NY way of life in NY and forget it.
Myself: Male. I'm still young (I hope) at 26. I have a Masters degree in tech (Information Science). I've got three years of professional tech under my belt (and still employed here) but I'm ready to get out. Currently I'm a tech professional at a large teaching hospital. I'm single. I plan on renting instead of buying real estate. I prefer to live in the city than in a suburb.
I've narrowed it down to Texas or Oregon. For Oregon, Portland is the one and only choice. For Texas, it's between Austin and Houston. I'm leaning towards Texas for it's clearly superior job market (especially in tech).
First of, things I liked about NY (Albany):
- The state capital region was fairly protected from the job losses, due to the strong government, healthcare and university systems in the area.
- Tons of good places to eat, especially Italian. Nothing like NYC or Montreal, but damn good for a city its size.
- Rather diverse people who are neither too liberal or too conservative.
Things I am leaving behind:
- We're neither New England nor NYC; we have no identity. People's attitudes tend to be the worst of both worlds, though. We have that NYC-type snobbery with New England style reserved attitudes.
- It's f**king cold here. It's not dry cold, either, we get snow by the foot every week of winter. We have like 8 months of winter, and four months of "warm spring." For two weeks in July, we have unbearable humidity.
- Due to the weather and the poor government budgeting, we have potholes the size of craters.
- It's too expensive. Taxes are ridiculous. Other costs like food, rent, utilities, etc are also expensive. Real estate is pretty much out of the question for me here.
- Have to drive to get everywhere. Bad public transportation system and can't walk anywhere.
- It's too spread out. "Albany" is actually a set of three cities (Albany, Schenectady, Troy) with suburbs in between. There's no identity in just Albany alone.
So basically, I'm looking into Austin and Houston. I can't tell which is better for me, you both seem really good. I'd like to know how Austin compares to Houston for the following:
- Good job market, especially tech
- Low cost of living (compared to NY! I'll be renting, by the way)
- No snow (Texas, I think you have this covered)
- Humidity (I know Texas has it. Which city has less?)
- Needs to be bigger than Albany, but not over-crowded like NYC
- Can get around without a car (walk, bus, etc). I do have a car, though.
- I'm not too big on nightlife but I don't wanna be bored, either
- Good places to eat (Italian & Chinese especially, but also good CHEAP eats)
- Needs to be non-hostile towards gays
- If it matters, I identify as a Libertarian. I'm economically conservative, but am in no way a social conservative. I get along with everyone and keep my ideals to myself (not outspoken). My best friend here is a total "Bush-Republican" (yes we have those in NY).
I'm not looking for a comparison between Texas to Portland, I know the difference there, LOL. I only want the insight between Houston and Austin.
Also, I'm neither too big into the live music scene or the sports scene (which I know Austin and Houston greatly differ on). So neither Austin's big music scene or Houston's sports scene are going to be a factor for me.
Also, I hope one of you has chain restaurants like Bob Evans, Chick-Fil-A, Krispe Kreme. We don't have those in NY, but I've gone to them while visiting down south and loved them. All we have are McDonalds, Wendys, KFC and Dennys. We mostly have lots of mom-n-pop restaurants, especially with the big Italian population, which are very nice for dining but no good when trying to get good, cheap eats.
Sorry for my rant. I hope I didn't annoy anyone.
- Fan of Texas from upstate NY
For your age and the degree you have and the job you want, Austin is a good match. Although its liberal, the nicer people and good quality of life are really good. And there's lakes close by. Austin was recently ranked as the 'friendliest' and most 'hip' and most 'fit' city in the country, and a growing job market. The night life is really good, with the University of Texas-Austin in the middle of town.
Houston is just too big for its good. Not to mention a high crime rate and really bad air. Altough you still may find Houston superior to NY state.
i was expressing my personal opinion based on his profile. sounds like you dont like Austin or have had a bad experience. if so, thats too bad. but I'm sure not everybody shares your story or opinion--or mine. he asked for our opinions, so I am just providing my two-cents. good grief. chill, man. geez.
currently, i can second the post about the absolutely terrible air quality in houston. the city stuck me as a mess of ugly sprawl, polluted air, and gridlock traffic. and the humidity is just as bad if not worse than anything in the northeast.
in my opinion, austin is the perfect size, aesthetically is far nicer, and has easy access to some great outdoors activities, including swimming. i honestly dont think there's any comparison between the two. austin is the clear winner. i think i'd actually look to san antonio before houston.
As a social liberal....I need to correct this poster's inaccurate comment. Austin is not socially liberal, it is conservative. It might be considered a little liberal when compared to a backward Arkansas hillbilly village. I wouldn't say the people are nice, however, catty, political minded, and secretive (having something to hide) are much better words. LOL I'm not sure what the big secret is though.
Most people are interested in drinking or smoking pot only, not so much into dancing, karaoke, or other nightlife activities.
Well have fun
Quote:
Originally Posted by krock1dk
Although its liberal, the nicer people and good quality of life are really good. And there's lakes close by. Austin was recently ranked as the 'friendliest' and most 'hip' and most 'fit' city in the country, and a growing job market. The night life is really good, with the University of Texas-Austin in the middle of town.
Houston is just too big for its good. Not to mention a high crime rate and really bad air. Altough you still may find Houston superior to NY state.
Ha ha I know right. Austin is conservative as conservative comes unless you are moving there from some racist hick village then it is only slightly more liberal when you compare and contrast.
Seriously, Houston is a great city minus the hurricanes and tropical storms that attack every summer. Other than that, puny little Austin can't touch it with a ten foot pole.
You will find that same reserved and snobbish attitude in Austin. They all have the back off vibe especially when they find out you're a homosexual. It's not going to be pretty for you if you move there. I'm telling you.
Houston and Dallas are a whole other story. There are millions of people that bring in variety and progressive out of the box attitudes that you will not find in backward old Austin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elranzer
I've grown to find northeasterners to be too reserved and snobbish. Everyone up here has a "back-off' vibe even when they seemingly want to be social.
I'll try and make it to Austin and Houston this summer.
Am I limiting myself to these two cities? Based on my original post, are there others I should be looking into?
I'm attracted to Texas due to its cost of living, taxes, weather and job market. But I know that many parts are completely different. Houston and Austin are just the most well-known up where I'm from.
Should I be looking into Dallas, Fort Worth, Irving, El Paso, etc? I've heard good things about Fort Worth, like it's also hip and up-coming but not as congested as Austin.
elranzer - please ignore Artsyguy. For some inexplicable reason every possible bad thing happened to him during his short time in Austin.
I think some very good and objective posts have been made in this thread. Except for Artsyguy.
Austin is more liberal overall than most of Texas. Travis County has been solidly Democratic for some time including a big edge for Obama in the last election. But Austin isn't liberal like San Francisco.
I contend that just about anyone can live comfortably in Houston or Austin - no matter what their religion, color, or sexual preference. There are ALWAYS intolerant people but that is true anywhere. I find many San Francisco diehards shockingly intolerant.
Houston does have beauty. Some of the areas like Memorial, West U, etc. are heavily treed, with beautiful homes. But these are not likely areas for a 26 yr. old without a fair amount of money. Houston is HUGE both in population and geographic size. Houston is flat. Some of the roads just pitch up and down because the concrete sections shift in the soft earth. Houston also has some real ugliness - roads with one strip mall after another.
Austin is more obviously easier on the eyes because of the hills. But Texas Hill Country is not Hawaii. So the green we see now will be brown in July and August during the heat. But the lakes are beautiful all the time and the water quality is very high. Austin traffic can be awful.
I think general IT job hunting would be better in Houston. More companies, more computers, more networks. But if you want to work for companies where IT is the business (make a profit from IT) Austin is a better choice. But competition for jobs is high.
Another city worth considering is Fort Worth. It is smaller than Austin, but not small. It has changed significantly from the days where it earned itsreputation as a cow town. Downtown FW has changed significantly and there is a growing number of things to do. Close enough to Dallas if you need true big city amenities.
BTW - I lived in Houston from 1981-1984 and travel there regularly, sometimes more than 30 times a year.
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