Houstan research (to potentially move here)

[pmizell]

Here's my take. I am a mid 40's professional. Lived here my whole life, but I have traveled quite a bit.

The people are friendlier here. People say hi; people waive when you let them in your lane (well, mostly); when you get on an elevator with a stranger he will say hi; people are happy to help.

The city is very diverse, and everyone pretty much gets along with everyone else. No racial friction here. I would venture to guess that we are probably one of the best big cities in the country on this point.

Probably the most unique thing about Houston is that no one cares if you are not from here. Most people aren't from here. And people who aren't from here have just as much chance to advance than people who are from here.

There is no neighborhood that I would be afraid to venture in late at night.

Traffic sucks in the suburbs. But if you work downtown and you live inside the loop, it isn't an issue.

If you like trees, you will like Houston. Lots of big giant live oaks everywhere.

The heat and the humidity suck. You never get used to it. If anything, it gets worse the older you get. It is noticeable starting in late May, oppressive starting in late June, through, well, sometime late October (it was about 90 today here). BUT -- our AC works better than anywhere. I went to NY this summer in the heat, and I have never been so hot. The cabs were hot, the restaurants were hot, the hotel was hot. Here, it is cold inside. Freezing. Everywhere. The hotter it is outside, the colder it is inside.

If you play golf, you can play in shorts in December. There are maybe three days a year that it is too cold to play.

Our restaurants are great. I mean, really really great. We have great barbecue and great seafood. There may be some nicer fancier restaurants in New York, but we have better casual restaurants than New York. And everywhere else.

So, in sum, you are making the right decision, if these things are important to you.

[cjester]

It’s really weird that people who move to a semi-tropical area such as where Houston is located expect to go skiing in April and gripe because there is no white Christmas. I guess they want to play God with Mother Nature.

Changing the subject, One thing that the city of Houston allows the majority of its citizens is the ability to own a house. Even people working in menial jobs can own a house. Something that SF fails with a big F, (the majority of S. Franciscans rent, one has to be making six figures to afford one). In addition, there is no state income tax here; which is not the case in SF.

Almost everyone with a small amount of capital and an idea can start a business here, something that can't be done in SF since rents are so high and there are so many obstacles to jump. For example SF forces the restaurant owners and other small businesses to pay vacation, overtime, pregnancy leave etc. etc. to all of the employees, including the waiters, the dishwashers and cashiers making eating out expensive, but most importantly it’s very hard to stay in business paying all that overhead.

The supermarkets here are super huge, full of all kinds groceries from all around the word at very decent prices. Very different from the average Safeway in SF. There is more but I think I’ll quit here.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by pmizell

Traffic sucks in the suburbs. But if you work downtown and you live inside the loop, it isn't an issue.

Opposite of my experience. Traffic can be bad all over, but the worst traffic in all of Southeast Texas is inside loop 610, from downtown to uptown, on 59 and the city streets not far from it

The exurbs that grew before the infrastructure was put in place aren't far behind as far as distance vs time goes, but with much smaller volume. Some established suburbs free-flow 23-24 hours a day.

[AnotherExPat]

This is all good information. Thanks everyone. I'll just have to digest what's been said. The biggest niggling thing for me the humidity. I've never lived in a high humidity environment so I don't know how well I'd deal with it.

Again anyone here who has experience please share. Especially going from dry desert environment like CA or AZ to a high humidity tropical environment.