Does Houston sound like the right city for me? (Austin: fit in, rent)

[HermioneGranger]

I apologize if this is long, My friend told me about this site, so I figured I'd see if anyone could help me.

I'm a black 21 year old female, who recently graduated from LSU. I have a business degree and I have a job offer if I want it, but I'm not sure if Houston is good fit for me. If I moved to Houston it would be a permanent move, as I want to live in the same place and not move around a lot. My ideal price of rent would be around 1,000/1,500. I'd be willing to pay more, but I don't want to. I'm from New Orleans so the fact that Houston isn't too far from home is great, but I heard that people in Houston weren't too happy with people from New Orleans coming during Katrina and I don't want it to be awkward when people ask where I'm from.
I want to live in a city where I can have fun while I'm young, but once I get married, I can settle down and raise my kids in the same city.

Things I'm looking for are/Thing I think are important:
Good weather year round-I'd rather it be extremely hot than below 0
Fun Nightlife- Bars, music, stuff like that
Entertainment within walking distance- I don't mind driving, but I'd prefer to be able to walk to different places
Good for interracial dating- My boyfriend is white, and I don't want us to feel out of place or uncomfortable
Safe for running early in the morning
Good schools- More than likely any kids I have will be in private school, but I'd like good public schools to be an option
Diverse- I like meeting people from different places, and I'd like a place where any future kids I have would be able to grow up around people of different cultures
Politics/religion- My boyfriend is a conservative republican and I'm a democrat..things never get boring,lol. I'd like a city where people are open-minded about other's beliefs and neither side is too extreme.. I'd also like a city where people are open to different religions are people tend to get along.
Can anyone tell me if any of this fits Houston? I think it's the city I want to be in, but I don't want to move there and hate it.
Thanks in advance to anyone that helps me

[HoustonTradeTraining]

Sounds like you two will fit in just fine.
There's plenty of everything you mentioned.

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by HermioneGranger

I apologize if this is long, My friend told me about this site, so I figured I'd see if anyone could help me.

I'm a black 21 year old female, who recently graduated from LSU. I have a business degree and I have a job offer if I want it, but I'm not sure if Houston is good fit for me. If I moved to Houston it would be a permanent move, as I want to live in the same place and not move around a lot. My ideal price of rent would be around 1,000/1,500. I'd be willing to pay more, but I don't want to. I'm from New Orleans so the fact that Houston isn't too far from home is great, but I heard that people in Houston weren't too happy with people from New Orleans coming during Katrina and I don't want it to be awkward when people ask where I'm from.
I want to live in a city where I can have fun while I'm young, but once I get married, I can settle down and raise my kids in the same city.

Things I'm looking for are/Thing I think are important:
Good weather year round-I'd rather it be extremely hot than below 0
Fun Nightlife- Bars, music, stuff like that
Entertainment within walking distance- I don't mind driving, but I'd prefer to be able to walk to different places
Good for interracial dating- My boyfriend is white, and I don't want us to feel out of place or uncomfortable
Safe for running early in the morning
Good schools- More than likely any kids I have will be in private school, but I'd like good public schools to be an option
Diverse- I like meeting people from different places, and I'd like a place where any future kids I have would be able to grow up around people of different cultures
Politics/religion- My boyfriend is a conservative republican and I'm a democrat..things never get boring,lol. I'd like a city where people are open-minded about other's beliefs and neither side is too extreme.. I'd also like a city where people are open to different religions are people tend to get along.
Can anyone tell me if any of this fits Houston? I think it's the city I want to be in, but I don't want to move there and hate it.
Thanks in advance to anyone that helps me

I love people from Nawlins. I think most people in Houston had a problem with the criminal element that came from New Orleans because of Katrina, but that has since died down. And Yes I think Houston would work for you.

[swopoe]

I think you guys sound like a great fit. Welcome!

[crono_clone]

Houston was the city that welcomed the people of New Orleans, and many of them stayed here. I think you'll find that Houston retained a little bit of the New Orleans flavor that the expatriates brought with them. Of course, there were a few people who were unhappy at the arrangement, but from my experience the good has vastly outweighed the bad.

The great thing about Houston is that it really is a place where you can be young but also grow old in (you can't really do that in Austin). Party it up in the city and then move to suburbs once you start a family.

Everything in your list fits except for maybe the walking part. Cars are king here, and if you want to live in the walkable districts like Midtown or Montrose then expect to pay more money for it.

Houston is very live-and-let-live, so you won't find many problems politically here unless you're the type to picket soldier's funerals. We have a lesbian Democrat for a mayor, if that tells you anything.

As for diversity, it's the #1 most diverse city in the country, officially beating NYC in 2010.

I would say the best thing is for you guys to come down and give Houston a visit, and let us know so we can recommend some places for you to go to.

[bluelion_ms3]

houston definitely sounds like the place for you guys....just like 14bricks stated, houstonians saw a spike in crime right after katrina, but it really did die down quite a bit....since then, so many people have moved here from different parts of the country that if you mention you're from N.O, they will think you've been here since katrina and you're houstonian now....

[Johnhw2]

Move to Houston and you wont want to move back!

[HermioneGranger]

First, I want to say thanks to everyone that has answered my question so far, ya'll have been so nice! As for Visiting, we were planning on visiting sometime in August, probably the 2nd or 3rd week, so if you know anything going on then, or any places we should check out, that'd be helpful. I didn't know you guys had a lesbian mayor, that's so cool, and the fact that ya'll are more diverse than NYC has me officially excited

[crono_clone]

August is a perfect time to visit, as that's when Houston Restaurant Weeks is happening!

Basically most of the city's best upscale restaurants put out special menus at $20, $35, and 45$ for a 3-4 course meal, and the proceeds get donated to the food bank. Read about it here: Houston Restaurant Weeks: Benefiting the Houston Food Bank

It's basically the only time of the year a bum like me can eat at one of these places, where $20 is usually the cost of just one salad, but at this event you get several courses plus you're helping donate to charity to boot!

I recommend that you guys check out any of the Perry's steakhouses on the list (if you go, you absolutely MUST choose their pork chop entree), as well as Del Frisco's (American food), Indika (Indian fusion), or Tango & Malbec (South American) as a list of places to start with.

[bayoubengal1982]

Houston has so much more to offer than Baton Rouge and NO, Ive lived in both. You will fit in fine here. There is a huge populous of LSU grads. Cmon over and GEAUX TIGERS!!