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Pittsburgh is a nice city. I plan on moving back there in a few months time. I've been in Florida the last 5+ years and the first few years waste great, but I've definitely had enough. Fort Lauderdale is nice but it has gotten horribly expensive and urban sprawl has caused undesirables to start to appear in areas that were once nice. Decided to move to Tampa because I heard nothing but good things about it. Huge mistake. It's no different here. bad schools worse drivers and although I have met many good people during my time in Florida, (some friends for good)there is a ton of trash in both cities and it seems to be getting worse. So glad I have a short term lease. These last 6 months can't go fast enough! Pittsburgh may not be for everybody, but it's definitely a rising city and definitely better than Any city in Florida I've been to...
I'm sort of in the same position. I lived in San Antonio for a year and half and hated it. I moved back home to Illinois, but the winters are killing me. I have seasonal depression and I just don't function from October through April. So I'm considering a move back to Texas because the weather is great (in my opinion, i love hot weather), the cost of living is low, and I already know people there. The people in Texas are very friendly! However, that's where the likes end. I hate the Texas culture. I'm in my early 30s, and everyone I met there my age was married with at least one child. It's way too conservative, and as a person who loves hiking and the outdoors, it's not a good fit. People like to say the Hill Country is so beautiful and there is tons of hiking, but for people who are really into hiking, it's a joke. Any mountains are an 8 hour drive away, there aren't really any nice forests, and the beaches are awful. But as a person drowning in student loan debt, I can't really afford to go somewhere I really want to like California or Denver.
I think it all depends on your likes and dislikes. Lots of people move to Texas and love it! But it's just not for me, and it doesn't sound like it's for the OP either.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,604,784 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by illinois_nc23
I'm sort of in the same position. I lived in San Antonio for a year and half and hated it. I moved back home to Illinois, but the winters are killing me. I have seasonal depression and I just don't function from October through April. So I'm considering a move back to Texas because the weather is great (in my opinion, i love hot weather), the cost of living is low, and I already know people there. The people in Texas are very friendly! However, that's where the likes end. I hate the Texas culture. I'm in my early 30s, and everyone I met there my age was married with at least one child. It's way too conservative, and as a person who loves hiking and the outdoors, it's not a good fit. People like to say the Hill Country is so beautiful and there is tons of hiking, but for people who are really into hiking, it's a joke. Any mountains are an 8 hour drive away, there aren't really any nice forests, and the beaches are awful. But as a person drowning in student loan debt, I can't really afford to go somewhere I really want to like California or Denver.
I think it all depends on your likes and dislikes. Lots of people move to Texas and love it! But it's just not for me, and it doesn't sound like it's for the OP either.
You could do Phoenix, you say you don't mind heat, and it's pretty similar to California outside of summer
I moved to Miami to work at a hospital here do not like Florida or Miami at all, only thing I like about this city is the nightlife. The heat and humidity is bad, I miss the seasons. Nashville was hot but at least it cooled off by the end of October and had a nice fall. Cannot wait to get back to Nashville although I do have a place in Cincinnati as well my hometown.
I stupidly moved from TN to IA for about a 30% raise. Hated IA and moved back
Interesting. I would choose Iowa to TN, but, to each their own. I've moved several times, and while it's sometimes hard, at first, I'm able to find the positive. Sometimes, it's not the place, but the person.
If home ownership and saving for retirement are your top priorities, then Texas is a sensible choice due to its strong job market and relatively high salaries given the generally low COL. However, if outdoor recreational opportunities, jaw-dropping scenery, generally comfortable weather, and a progressive populace/culture are your priorities, then Texas would be a very poor fit.
Houston has excellent weather in the eyes of anyone from the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Are hurricanes and humidity really worse than Snowmageddon and -20 degree wind chills? If so, tell me why snowbirds flock to Florida.
As for scenery, was the Hill Country (i.e. Western Austin) not enough for you? Or what about the bayous, pine forests, cypress swamps, and spanish mosses in Houston? Or the pristine, white-sand beaches of South Padre Island, with warm, cyrstal-clear waters? Or the rugged Chihuahuan deserts of El Paso and the Big Bend?
For the record, Austin is a very liberal city. Ditto for Dallas proper (Dallas suburbs are conservative, but face it, the suburbs of most American cities outside of the West Coast are conservative.) Houston is a bit less liberal, but still fairly liberal. The only major city liberals might not like is Fort Worth.
I use to live in DFW and I hated it with a passion. I moved away and recently visited the state again, but different cities this time (San Antonio, Austin, Houston). Out of those cities I liked Houston the best, and I've been offered a job there that pays well and that's just a few miles away from an apartment that I was looking at and really liked.
The thing is, it's Texas... I really hate Texas, the people, the drivers, the weather, the Texas flags that are obnoxiously plastered all of the damn place, the history, pretty much everything Texas stands for...
But it's practical with it's cost of living and good job market.... Does anyone know what I'm talking about and have you ever been in a similar situation?
Crazy thing is Austin is more liberal at least socially than many East Coast Cities at least IMO.
This is true
Quote:
Originally Posted by LongNote
Either you're choosing to be ignorant or your reading comprehension isn't up to par. I never said that I didn't like Texas because other people dislike Texas. I hate Texas, I found that out just a few short months after moving there. It just so happens that most people happen to agree with me.
THE BAD
It has the most executions out of any state year in and year out, the most wrongful convictions of any state, and the most miscarriages of justice regarding it's executions of any state.
It has obnoxiously and clumsily placed tollways plastered all throughout it's two largest cities.
The police are among the most corrupt in the nation.
It probably has the worst history of any state in the U.S.
It has a huge bug problem.
It's one of the worst driving states in the U.S. and is among the leading states in traffic fatalities and drunk driving.
It's among the top states with the worst natural disasters.
Did I mention the drivers?
It's the only state that I've ever been to where they feel the need to put their state flag up every quarter mile or so.
It's full of ignorant bigots who believe they know it all.
It's among the leading states in it's number of obese people.
It's one of the few states that's making absolutely no effort to enlighten the pubic about GMO's.
It's the only state that still threatens to secede from time to time. (DO IT ALREADY!!)
It doesn't have any labor law requiring employers to give their employees lunch breaks, or any breaks.
THE GOOD
Low COL
Solid job market.
When I stated that you and I belong to completely different demographics, your reply was something along the lines of, "You don't know me."... If you're an European American woman, I know all I need to know. You and I couldn't possibly relate to one another concerning most real world situations in our day to day lives. I wouldn't and couldn't possibly expect you to be able to comprehend or relate to all the reason(s) that I hate Texas and all that it stands for.
**EDIT** Either way, I think I'm done replying to you, as you seem to have quite the delusional love affair with Texas.
In some people's minds, if you don't worship Texas, you don't get it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by USNomad
Yep, I understand what your saying. I too, learned to soak it up wherever you land. Also, if we're not at Peace with ourselves, then we cannot truly be a Peace with anyone else. This is part of each individual's "Journey." As we journey to our destinations, we soak up life experiences and we are "tested" through hard times, good times, relationships with others, while learning more and more about ourselves.
Some people really "love" or enjoy living in places such as Texas and that's ok. A buddy who moved to Texas from California finds Texas to be the best place he has ever lived. I've acknowledged the positives in this state however, I told him that its not home for us, no matter how "practical" others find it to be. He cannot understand why I don't love it here the way he does. My only issue is when "some" folks here try to convince me that this is the best place for me. I simply tell them, "everything, ain't for everybody."
I believe we should trust our intuitions, and follow that feeling. If/When we do that, I believe that we know when we are in the right place.
Yeah, very common attitude among Texans.
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