Houston...Ft. Worth...Chicago...Atlanta? (crime, movie theaters, school)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm looking at things such as cost of living, ease of navigating the city (not on freeways but by walking or using public transportation or side streets,) friendliness of the citizens, crime rate, cultural and arts amenities, local pride, and population of 20-somethings.
I'm 22, male, single, currently live in a small town in Kentucky, and just graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree.
So far, my top pick is Houston b/c it has many things Chicago or NYC offer but with a cheaper cost of living in addition to Texas hospitality. My second pick is Chicago b/c of the incredible local pride and "the sky's the limit" outlook for the future by its citizens. Houston and Chicago have had by far the most helpful citizens to me on this forum (also San Antonio, but I think I've ruled that city out.)
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
4,084 posts, read 12,677,804 times
Reputation: 1974
Well, I don't know about everything. NYC and Chicago are much larger and offer tons more than Houston. But I get what you're saying... Houston does all right, considering.
Tough choices there. I don't know which I'd pick... probably Chicago has the most complete package of what you're looking for. Public transportation might be the dealbreaker with the other three. Not too familiar with Atlanta, but I've heard mixed reviews of MARTA. Houston is working on its PT, but we ain't there yet.
If you choose Houston, live inside the loop! You'd be centrally located and most of Houston's arts and culture is concentrated in this area, which means more events, restaurants, clubs, and bars, i.e. more things to do. Living in the suburbs isn't what you want at your age.
Last edited by houstoner; 06-16-2008 at 07:18 PM..
Of those, Chicago will offer the most in terms of variety and public transportation (as it is the largest city), but it will also be the most expensive by far, and the people tend to be down-right bitter during the winter months (yeah, most residents aren't fond of the climate).
Houston could be a really good option for you. There's always lots going on and plenty of things to do, and it's a pretty inexpensive place to live. I don't know about public transportation, though. Atlanta will likely be similar (although I'm tempted to say that Houston is the younger city, out of the two).
Fort Worth, although a city, has a smaller town feel, if that's what you want. It has a strong local vibe (lots of "old west" undertones) and it's overall a pretty nice place. Affordable, too. Plus, the even larger Dallas is basically connected, offering two cities in one. I'd still say that the other three are more cosmopolitan, though.
Chicago is by far the "coolest" town. A real big city with an old school big city vibe. Give you six months and you'll be talkin' out'a the side of your mouth and callin' everybody from south of I-80 hillbillys.
Chicago has everything, I mean how many Polish, Bohemian and Lithuanian restaurants you gonna find in Atlanta? Do they have a South Side Irish parade in Houston? Does Buddy Guy have a joint in Dallas? Where you gonna find a decent pizza, hot-dog, Polish sausage or Italian beef in any of those towns?
You can easily get all around the city on the Els and buses.
If you want to go back to Kentucky to see family it's not a bad drive, I get to Chicago from here in 6 and a half hours.
Atlanta has more universities than either Houston or Fort Worth, there are something like 200,000 college students in Atlanta. Many (if not most) of those college students stay in the area after they graduate. It's definitely a young city.
If you want good public transportation, avoid suburbs at all costs. However, Atlanta's MARTA is pretty good within the I-285 perimeter. I use it all the time when I go to Atlanta. I just park my car at the Dunwoody station (next to Bloomingdale's) which costs something like only $3/day and leave it there while I'm in town. MARTA also has a stop at the Atlanta airport (busiest airport in the world) so even when you fly out of town you don't have to use your car.
Atlanta's IKEA is right in the middle of the city, as are department stores, movie theaters, and of course all kinds of parks, restaurants, and entertainment districts, most of which are within walking distance of a MARTA station.
Chicago, obviously, would have more of everything just because it's so much larger than any of the cities you mentioned. If you want something completely different from rural Kentucky you might want to consider Chicago. Otherwise, Atlanta's a great option and isn't too far from home. Plus it's an easy drive from Atlanta to the Smoky Mountains or to the Atlantic Ocean.
And in Chicago you can gaze at that Glory of Western Civilization, Renoir's "Two Sisters (On the Terrace)" I would stare at it for an hour.
I was gonna post an image but the copyright thing, ya know.
That's very true. It's hard to beat Chicago's museums.
However, Atlanta's High Museum is the only one in America with a direct partnership with The Louvre and for the last couple of years has been hosting exhibits of works that had previously never before left France. That's not the same thing as the impressive permanent collections in Chicago, but it's nothing to sneeze at, either.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.