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Been to all the cities except Seattle. Visited Houston extensively in the past and in the process of searching for employment in that area. Here is my take:
Out of the metro areas that you mentioned show me where you can get a 3500+ sq ft 5 br home with a huge lot for roughly 200k and have access to professional sports teams, the arts (more theaters in Houston than any place besides NYC), mostly warm weather (Dallas blizzard notwithstanding), diversity, family activities, the beach within a reasonable driving distance, JOBS JOBS JOBS (more fortune 500's in Houston than any other city besides NYC), world class dining and top notch shopping, major concerts, major sporting events (super bowls, all star games), world class health care (TEX Med ctr), access to great colleges and universities, 2nd lowest grocery prices in the USA (out out of the top 20 metro areas).......sure its humid as hell.... but I will just kick back in the air conditioned gameroom of my 3500 sq foot house while i marvel at how much of my check is still sitting in the bank AFTER the mortgage payment....Seattle/Chi/Minneapolis are nice in their own right but of the four cities you mentioned I prefer Houston....
Maybe a large home and some of the other advantages are not important to you however in a nutshell you get most of everything (save for the snow) in Houston that you get in the cities that you mentioned but with a much lower cost of living all around....
Were you being serious with the cost of living being that low?? Does it rain a lot in houston?
Were you being serious with the cost of living being that low?? Does it rain a lot in houston?
Of the four cities in this thread, yes, Houston has the highest rainfall. However, it falls more in downpours, unlike Seattle where it is spread out in drizzly days. Houston's climate is not for everyone. Compared to Minneapolis and Seattle, it is night and day...the humidity from May through October is worse than anything Minneapolis and Seattle can offer even during the worst of summer. But, yes, AC is commonplace in Texas, where it is hit or miss in northern climes.
I like Chicago the best. Its has such a large metro area that there is a community for any type of person and income level. That being said, the standard methods do apply: the richer the area, the better the schools will be. One drawback is that Cook County's taxes are crazy high, so you may want to venture into one of the nearby counties.
Lots of stuff to do with kids, a great nightlife, great sports teams, amazing food. Lots cool things w/in a days drive. And the people are generally nicer than in some of the bigger cities on the East Coast. But the best thing is that it has so much culture. People actually live in the central city, rather than just work there as is the case in some of the other cites you mentioned.
Only big drawback is of course, the cold, but I think Chicago makes up for the less-than-ideal weather in so many ways.
But you just have to balance what is personally important to you
Minneapolis hands down, I don't know about Houston but Minneapolis is a great city it also has St.paul right there. I've been to Seattle its very nice there but way more expensive then here in mn chicago is more expensive then mn but its a nice place to get away only being a 9 hour drive. But Minneapolis is a nice place, lots to see, and if you want to see more the St.Paul is only a 5-10 drive away. Great schools, affordable,good jobs ETC I can go on with this all day.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cbaum07
Were you being serious with the cost of living being that low??
No. Unless way out in the suburbs... or if in town it would not be a great area for a house that size at that price. The "cheapness" of Houston proper (not suburbs) is much a myth...
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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The city I wouldn't recommend on that list is Houston. It's still a Southern city in terms of it's culture and people so I find to be quite backwards personally. THere is a lot of racism there and it's pretty close to Louisiana so they have a significant Deep South feel to it. There is also nothing to do there as it is flat and has no natural geographic terrain or really anything fun. The only fun city that is in driving distance from it is New Orleans.[/quote]
I currently live in both Austin and Houston. Have lived in Houston all my life. I'm Indian (Asian) and I have a lot of friends of different backgrounds. Throughout childhood I have NEVER encountered racism here in Houston. To be honest much like yourself, when I was growing up, I would always think to myself that it's only a matter of time until Houston's racism comes out and surfaces but it never did. Even on election day 2008, where you'd think that majority of Houstonians would be angry, no one displayed any racism.
As for things to do in the Houston area, they're building the largest theme park in Texas in the North Houston area. Called Earth Quest Adventures. Galveston, a seaside town, also counted as a suburb of Houston, has theme park Schlitterbahn (I think I spelled it right?) There is the beach, there is Kemah board walk, there is Moody Gardens. Downtown you have 3700 restaurants underground in the food tunnel, which compromises the total area under all of downtown. You have Lake Conroe to go boating in.
Houston is ranked to have one of the top 5 theater districts in the country (source via new worldbook online) and I do have to admit it doesn't have as many clubs as you'd hope, but there are still plenty to get you entertained. As for shopping, the largest mall in the state is located in Houston and it's the fourth largest mall in the country.
As for finding attractions nearby to stimulate your "thrill" there are places MUCH closer than a 6-7 hour drive to New Orleans to have fun. Austin, Texas is the Music capital of nation. It has many performances by huge artists. (Not that Houston doesn't, it's just that Austin is even bigger on music) San Antonio, which is 2 hours 45 minutes away has Sea World, the largest Schlitterbahn in the nation, and 6- Flags Fiesta Texas theme park, not to mention a tourist River Walk Front, and the historical Alamo. You can go river rafting right outside of San Antonio at the San Marcos river.
Haha, there's quite a lot to do. Houston is a very diverse city, and though it has it's conservative regions, it has enough liberal regions as well to balance the city out.
I think you are mistaken, this is a German word (meaning gliding ride or something like that), it certainly is in Germany, not in Galveston? (or else is the owner/operator a German?)
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