Possibly becoming a refugee from Seattle & moving to Houston (Austin: 2014, how much)

[victorianpunk]

I'm originally from NJ and I moved to Seattle a few years ago and, aside from the way the people can be at times (unfriendly, too PC, passive aggressive) I do like it. However, I may be forced to leave Seattle forever...

Thing is, Seattle (I live in town just north of Seattle and work there) just elected a communist city council woman...no, I am not a crazy Tea Party person who calls everyone to the left of Alan West a communist, I mean a LITERAL, TROSKYITE SOCIALIST has been elected to the city council:

Socialist sworn in as Seattle City Council member

So this crazy woman is on the council and her big issue is raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour for everyone. As psychotic as it sounds, this already passed in the airport town of Seatac, just south of here: Highest Minimum Wage In US Takes Effect In SeaTac | KUOW News and Information

And those idiots are trying to get it done in Seattle too...and they just might win. If that happens, I will be out of a job, as the restaurant I work in, like every other restaurant in town, will have to close if we have to pay everybody from the bus boy to the dishwasher, fifteen dollars and hour. But, because my restaurant is nation wide, I will be able to transfer to another location in the worst case scenario...and Houston is most likely where I will end up.

My restaurant, btw, is a high class place and I'm a manager/sommelier (wine geek)

I've been to Austin and through the pandhandle on my way to Oklahoma, but I have never been to the gulf coast of Texas. Some questions I have are:

Is it very ghetto? One of the things I like about Seattle is that its "ghetto" is a place where people don't recycle tin and our local "thugs" make Martha Steward look like Pablo Escobar.

How bad is the heat? And is the air really as smoggy as I've heard it is?

Are there any woods within a reasonable drive? I mean, I love hiking, hunting, fishing etc and one of the things I like about Seattle is all of that is close by. I would hate to go back to a New Jersey situation where the only wildlife to be found is on the guido beach.

And what are the good, walkable neighborhoods? I am not a fan of having to drive everywhere and would like at least some things, like stores and shops and restaurants, within a nice walk of where I live.

And no, I am not the typical Seattle person: I care about the environment, but I am not going to recycle toilet paper or trade my car in for a incline bike to commute to work. I am not nor will I ever be a vegetarian (if God did not intend for us to eat animals he would not have made them out of meat) and my political views are all over the place (pro-gun, pro-gay marriage, anti-abortion in most cases, pro-single payer healthcare, anti-welfare etc) so I am not a typical Seattle hippie.

My general philosophy when moving is that one should accept the that a place is not going to be 100% the way it is where one lived before hand. Ultimately if I have to move, I will adapt...eventually.


But I will say this: women in Texas are leaps and bounds preferable to Seattle women...or what passes for a women around here. Seattle was once ranked below only San Fransisco for city where women don't shave their legs.

Sorry, but I am all for women's rights, but what does being so harry you look like Chewbacca's illegitimate daughter have to do with women's rights? And the attitudes of some of these far-left, ultra-hippified politically correct women is getting on my last nerve. I made a joke about how much I love bacon at a bar once and several of the local females responded to my admission that I eat meat as if I had said I'm a member of NAMBLA. That is something I'm sure won't happen too often in Houston.

[crono_clone]

I guess it depends on what you think ghetto means. There are bad parts of town for sure, and a lot of suburbanites on here will throw around the word "third-world" as seen from the balcony of their cruise ships, whenever they're forced to leave the safety of their bubbles; while others will tell you that the bad areas here are nothing compared to cities in the north or northeast.

The heat can be brutal in the summer. Never had to deal with smog, they only give out ozone warnings from time to time. The Hill Country is about 3 hours away, and there's plenty of lakes and the Gulf nearby for fishing.

And even though I don't bat for your team, the women here are definitely pretty.

[Neo45]

I don't know why you would think there's not ghetto parts in a huge city. Is the whole city ghetto? No. There's million dollar mansions here. I agree with crono, take everything on here with a grain of salt. A lot of people who live In suburbs way outside of the city who are obviously scared to drive through the dirtier side of the city.

[Kiovo]

Houston is a very large city and very spread out. There are areas where you can walk to the store/restaurants etc inside the city. Montrose and parts of Midtown come to mind. For the most part, if you're within the city you can take the bus, but IMO a car is needed down here. Houston is not walkable overall, its hot 10 months out of the year, so when it's 90+ degrees, everyone wants to be in the AC. Everyone has a different definition of ghetto and you will see pockets of it driving thru the city. Of course there are nice areas and bad areas of town, and they can be divided by one street or freeway. Most people here have a live and let live attitude, you'll find the more religious conservatives out in the suburbs. Lots of fishing and hunting down here. From your post, I think you'll like it in Houston, as long as you can take the hot weather!

[Meyerland]

I think Austin will be a better fit for you. Better weather than Houston and a more middle class vibe overall. It sounds like you do not appreciate an international vibe, and Houston has lots of that. (I certainly love that about Houston, but to each their own.)I think the move from Seattle to Austin will be a smoother transition for you.

If you must live in the Houston area, try the Woodlands or Conroe.

[Mr. Krinkle]

I wouldn't say it's hot 10 months out of the year, maybe compared to Seattle, but certainly not 90+. The temps will reach in the 90's May - Sept, but it's great weather the other months. Austin is actually hotter than Houston, but Houston is more humid.

There are walkable neighborhoods, but you will most likely need a car. Montrose and Midtown are the more trendy walkable neighborhoods.

If you are in the restaurant industry, you will like the food scene in Houston.

[theSUBlime]

I don't think you would like it as much. While politics is important, I don't think you should let one extreme city-level official deter you from being where you like to live. We have plenty of crazies here. Ever heard of Sheila Jackson Lee or Helena Brown? Google 'em.

I'm wondering if you work at a seafood restaurant because if that's the case, seafood from the Pacific is far superior to what you could get here, IMO. We also like to fry things here. So, food will be quite a be different from what you're probably used to.

When I visited Seattle, I really liked the fact that they required trash, compost, and recycle bins. I'm not a fanatic environmentalist by any means, but I certainly like doing my part, just like you.

All in all, Seattle is a fantastic city, great for everything you like it for. Your choice.

[chris_ut]

So you think all restraunts in Seattle are going to go out of business and no one will eat out anymore? This is seriously how you think things will play out? Were you around last time they raised the minimum wage a few years back?

[texas7]

In reference to title of thread - Speaking of politically correct, a few years ago Houston had to change the word refugee to evacuee due to PC.

[Neo45]

Yeah but Houston is really nothing like seattle in terms of political correctness. Its only real white bread cities that are like that since there's no minorities to talk bad about haha!