Tell me about Beaumont (Houston, Baytown: 2010, apartment, rentals)

[briansgi]

My son may be moving to the Beaumont area after graduating college to work for one of the large oil companies. How is the Beaumont area, decent place to live? Is a 22 year old going to be bored to death in this area? My daughter said it's a horrible place to live, she once dated a guy from Orange Texas.

[Pawdog]

Lived in the area for about 5 1/2 years, and didn't really care for Beaumont itself. The chemical plants do smell, sometimes worse that others. Depends on what he enjoys doing as to whether he'll be bored or not. Plenty of fishing, both salt and fresh water. There is some nightlife in Beaumont, of all types of music, dependant on what he likes.

My oldest and his family still live there and like it. We left after Hurricane Ike wiped us out last year. Went through three hurricanes there in three years. Never again.....

Beaumont does have quite a few apartment rentals and a few houses, kinda on the high side due to so many displaced families after Ike last year.

Crime tends to be mainly property drug related, thefts, burglaries, although last winter they had a problem with home invasions. I believe they did catch the thieves though.

Houston is only about 1 1/2 hours drive away, as well as Galveston, for more entertainment such as sports, concerts, etc. Also, about a 45 minute drive to Lake Charles if he cares to hit a couple of casinos.

[BobTex]

Pawdog nailed it. I live 50 miles north of Beaumont but work there in one of the hospitals.

I wouldn't live there but I have. I have, and also lived south of there in Port Neches. Having lived there I'll say that after a while I didn't notice the refinery smells.

What does your 22 year old do for entertainment?

Personally I wouldn't worry about being bored if I had a positive job opportunity. At 22 there should be a good degree of maturity! Unfortunately that is becoming a rarity in todays younger set!


I'll second the statement on the fishing ... it can be outstanding and gets little press (a good thing). Also when I lived in Port Neches I regularly made the 45 minute drive to the Calcasieu (La.) ship channel for outstanding red, speck, and flounder fishing. Also cast netting for shrimp.

[stillkit]

Beaumont isn't any different from towns its size. There's criminal neighborhoods and decent neighborhoods.

Overall, it's a pleasant little town which is heavily dependant upon the oil/gas industry and it's port facilities. It also has a vibrant college community as well.

Bottom line for you, Mom? Your son will be as well off there as any place else AND he'll be the son you raised, for good or ill. He's as competent to live his life successfully as you were at 22. If he makes mistakes (as you did), he'll learn from them and move on.

Let go. Untie the apron strings and let boy-wonder spread his wings. Beaumont isn't the worst place for him to do that.

[moddestmike]

Born and raised in Beaumont and moved to Houston first chance I got after college. Oila and Gas industry is good but a 22 year old will be bored to death. Just being honest. Houston is an about 80 miles away and so is Galveston (maybe a bit less). But he WILL eventually move to Houston. Nothing in Beaumont for young grads/professionals except marriage, work and kids. I work for a major player in the natural gas exploration field btw. It not about being mature, even older folks chose entertainment as one of their top 3 reasons to live somewhere. If I were him I make my staple at the job he will be starting and then move to a Houston office or another company. Pay is usually more here also.

[scarmig]

Beaumont?

Take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by moddestmike

Born and raised in Beaumont and moved to Houston first chance I got after college. Oila and Gas industry is good but a 22 year old will be bored to death. Just being honest. Houston is an about 80 miles away and so is Galveston (maybe a bit less). But he WILL eventually move to Houston. Nothing in Beaumont for young grads/professionals except marriage, work and kids. I work for a major player in the natural gas exploration field btw. It not about being mature, even older folks chose entertainment as one of their top 3 reasons to live somewhere. If I were him I make my staple at the job he will be starting and then move to a Houston office or another company. Pay is usually more here also.

Best opinion so far.

I think the whole area suffers from the ''brain drain'' phenomenon, along with everything that goes with it. Every one of my college friends from the Golden Triangle who got their 4 yr degrees hightailed it to the Houston area and have no plans to return. Surf C-D for (formal) education levels around the area for more info. The area is good for people in certain trades & industries, but a fresh university grad... no way.

[briansgi]

Nothing is definite, he's graduating with a Chemical Engineering degree and had a very good interview with Exxon/Mobil for a position at either their Beaumont refinery or Baytown. He was asking me on which location if he was fortunate enough to get an offer. I told him I didn't know but maybe Beaumont might be better, sounds like maybe Baytown would be a better choice. He's very mature, and by May of 2010 when he graduates will be 23. I'll relay to him the info gathered from you kind folks! Thanks everyone!

[stillkit]

Oh, Lord. Baytown is MUCH worse than Beaumont! There's nothing there BUT Exxon. It dominates everything.

[centexguy]

I know several people who work at a chemical plant in Baytown but live in the Humble area and they say the drive isn't that bad. Just because you work at a chemical plant doesn't mean you have to live next to it. I also grew up in the Beaumont area and after college I moved to Houston so I could get a job in the computer field. There's no comparison between a 400K metro area and a 5+ million metro area, but I visit the Beaumont area a lot and and see a lot of positive changes there.