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We are looking to get out of Chicago due to the crazy cold winters and the cost of living. Currently considering to relocate to either Sugar land (Houston) or Alpharetta (ATL). Hoping to secure some insights/comparisons on both these cities. Appreciate your inputs.
1. Schools/Collages (we have three kids)
2. Cost of living
3. Crime rate (We are looking to live in the burbs not downtown)
4. Weather
5. IT Job market/career opportunities – Very Important – We don’t have anything lined up yet.
Last edited by Count David; 01-02-2015 at 01:34 PM..
Houston wins in job growth and a tad bit more diverse overall but Atlanta wins in every category to include....
Topography - We are hilly covered with trees. Houston is flat.
Entertainment- We have more concerts, festivals, music festivals, better nightlife, etc
Taxes - We have lower city and property taxes.
Toll roads - Atlanta has zero toll roads and Houston has several. (Expect for an idiot that doesn't know the difference between a hot lane and toll road to say we have a toll rd but we don't)
Climate - less humidity here.
Heavy rail - Our train system is better and covers a much larger area.
Airport - We have the largest airport in the world with the most direct flights. We are less than 2 hours from 80% of the US flight wise. We have better options for regional traveling
IT jobs - We have plenty and a large amount of them are in Alpharetta
..As far as both suburbs they are about the same. Both are great suburbs.
Last edited by JMT; 01-03-2015 at 08:46 AM..
Reason: inflammatory
I'd say we win on collages too. There are a couple cool ones that were put up as part of the Living Walls and Art on the Beltline projects.
Sorry, I had to.
Seriously though, Alpharetta is home to four of the top ten Georgia high schools. There are several great colleges in Atlanta. I know next to nothing about Houston but I'm sure you would be happy with Alpharetta. I believe it has more tech companies than any other southern city, including Atlanta. I remember hearing something like that. It has enough jobs that it's population goes from 60k to 120k each day when work begins.
Houston wins in job growth and a tad bit more diverse overall but Atlanta wins in every category to include....
Topography - We are hilly covered with trees. Houston is flat. Houston is closer to a beach, but I am not so fond of it.
Entertainment- We have more concerts, festivals, music festivals, better nightlife, etc Not sure this is accurate, and if you are looking to live in the Burbs, not sure it is relevant
Taxes - We have lower city and property taxes. BUT WE HAVE INCOME TAXES. TX doesn't.
Toll roads - Atlanta has zero toll roads and Houston has several. (Expect for an idiot that doesn't know the difference between a hot lane and toll road to say we have a toll rd but we don't) Atlanta has hot lanes, but will likely have more toll roads. I am a fan of toll roads as a traffic management tool.
Climate - less humidity here. Atlanta's summers, while not always comfortable, are generally MUCH more manageable than Houstons
Heavy rail - Our train system is better and covers a much larger area.
Airport - We have the largest airport in the world with the most direct flights. We are less than 2 hours from 80% of the US flight wise. We have better options for regional traveling
IT jobs - We have plenty and a large amount of them are in Alpharetta There are plenty of IT jobs in Houston.
..As far as both suburbs they are about the same. Both are great suburbs.
We are looking to get out of Chicago due to the crazy cold winters and the cost of living. Currently considering to relocate to either Sugar land (Houston) or Alpharetta (ATL). Hoping to secure some insights/comparisons on both these cities. Appreciate your inputs.
1. Schools/Collages (we have three kids)
2. Cost of living
3. Crime rate (We are looking to live in the burbs not downtown)
4. Weather
5. IT Job market/career opportunities – Very Important – We don’t have anything lined up yet.
1.)Sugarland/Houston has one of the better K-12 public school systems in the nation, FBISD. Although Sugarland/Houston has decent universities, like UH and Rice, Alphretta/Atlanta is better in the field, with Emory, and GA Tech.
2.)I think both cities have low enough cost of living to ease your worries.
3.)I'd go with Sugar Land for this one; It consistently ranks as one of the safest suburbs in America. It was ranked as the 12th Safest city in the US according to analysis of crime statistics by the FBI.
4.) Sugarland has the more desirable climate, especially since you are trying to escape winter. Average winter lows are in the 40s, as opposed to Alphretta's, which is below freezing. Sugarland can sustain sugarcane plantations, and grow citrus, as well as lots of palms ( Like these in the Town Center). Alphretta can't. You can figure out which has the better winter weather. On the flip side, summers are warmer in Sugarland, but with plenty of thunderstorms, along with the sea-breeze, you will still feel the comfort.
5.)For IT, I think Alphretta would be better for that, though Sugarland decent as well.
My vote would go to Atlanta.. Houston's economy is more dependent on energy sector and with the current drop in oil prices the local economy may cool off a little bit.. Atlanta on the other hand is coming back really strongly from the recession even though it was a little late in picking up..
Schools and colleges and Cost of living and Crime Rate is a tie..
Atlanta wins when it comes to weather.. Houston is too humid and hot for my liking..
My vote would go to Atlanta.. Houston's economy is more dependent on energy sector and with the current drop in oil prices the local economy may cool off a little bit.. Atlanta on the other hand is coming back really strongly from the recession even though it was a little late in picking up..
Schools and colleges and Cost of living and Crime Rate is a tie..
Atlanta wins when it comes to weather.. Houston is too humid and hot for my liking..
Alpharetta is much prettier and has 4 seasons, very close to the mountains, and beaches that are not full of oil residue.
My vote would go to Atlanta.. Houston's economy is more dependent on energy sector and with the current drop in oil prices the local economy may cool off a little bit.. Atlanta on the other hand is coming back really strongly from the recession even though it was a little late in picking up..
Schools and colleges and Cost of living and Crime Rate is a tie..
Atlanta wins when it comes to weather.. Houston is too humid and hot for my liking..
The cool-off from an oil price drop would be just that, a cool off; Houston's economy will still remain quite robust and active, just less so than when oil prices were high. Houston's dependency on oil has decreased to a point that other sectors have larger roles in driving Houston's economy than they did previously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigstick
Alpharetta is much prettier and has 4 seasons, very close to the mountains, and beaches that are not full of oil residue.
If escaping "crazy-cold" winters is all the OP wants weather-wise, then Houston would be a far better option climate wise than Atlanta; Atlanta still gets frequent winter weather events, while such weather is a matter of generations in Houston. Also, Houston may not have mountains or hilly topography, but it does have the lush, exotic, subtropical evergreen Gulf Coastal landscape, quite attractive to many, and actually has beaches and other such coastal scenery (which are not full of oil residue).
The cool-off from an oil price drop would be just that, a cool off; Houston's economy will still remain quite robust and active, just less so than when oil prices were high. Houston's dependency on oil has decreased to a point that other sectors have larger roles in driving Houston's economy than they did previously.
If escaping "crazy-cold" winters is all the OP wants weather-wise, then Houston would be a far better option climate wise than Atlanta; Atlanta still gets frequent winter weather events, while such weather is a matter of generations in Houston. Also, Houston may not have mountains or hilly topography, but it does have the lush, exotic, subtropical evergreen Gulf Coastal landscape, quite attractive to many, and actually has beaches and other such coastal scenery (which are not full of oil residue).
About the cool off point, ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, Chevron, National Oil Varco, Baker Hughes, BP America and Anadarko are among the top 15 employers in the Houston metro area.. When 7 out of the 15 biggest employers in the area are cooling off and are going through budget cuts and hiring freezes if not lay offs, think about the impact it would have on the economy of the metro area for the coming years. I can already feel the palpable fear when I talk to my friend working in the IT department of one of these Energy companies..
Atlanta gets cold during some days of the year but that's mostly limited to a few weeks of cold spells otherwise most of the time the weather is bearable compared to Houston. I had to travel several times to Houston in one of my previous gigs and the humidity there is unbearable and 6 months in an year the weather really sucks.
Also once you are in Houston you are stuck in the middle of nowhere transportation wise unless you are willing to fly..Atlanta on the other side is within driving distance to Florida, several parts of the midwest and the east coast..
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