From Miami to Houston, what can I expect? (Dallas, El Paso: apartment complex, home)

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by latinaqbana

I just moved to Katy (close to Houston) from Hialeah ( close to Miami ) and I can tell you that you can't compare one to the other. They each have their own attributes and flaws. What do I love about Miami? The tropical ambiance, the food, the different cultures and fashion. The beaches of course and it's close to Orlando (Disney, Universal, etc.) and other cities (Cape Coral, The Keys, Tampa, Naples,etc.) that have attractions and very nice homes that are far more affordable than Miami.
On the other hand, you get very rude and snobby people, superficial people that care more about their homes, cars, and clothes than their childrens education or retirement fund. Horrible traffic with the rudest drivers. Expensive housing and outrageous prices for homes with rooms you can't even fit a king bed set in. Life is hard and expensive and not worth the work for the sun and some nice palm trees. Hence why we move to a more relaxed country setting, like Katy, Texas.

Katy is beautiful and homes are super cheap and very nice. The school district is highly acclaimed. Education and family is high priority here. Lots of fun activites for families. People are very nice and friendly. Traffic can get heavy at times but people drive normal. It can get hot (106 read my vans temp) but it's hot in Miami too.

What I havent gotten accustomed to I guess is the lifestyle here is different and so the food..like that for breakfast I cant just go and have a pastelito or tostada w/ cafe con leche... here you get spicy tacos, Kolaches (similar to pigs-in-a-blanket) or some other Mexican finger food. Dont get me wrong, I like Mexican food. As a matter of fact.... I was born in Miami Beach, Florida ... but my parents moved to Los Angeles, California when I was 1 yrs old. I lived there (w/ Mexicans) until I was 9 and then my parents moved back to Miami. So I know how to live with all types of people and cultures, but I dont want a freakin taco for breakfast !!!! I miss my black beans -n- rice with pork , tostones and papa rellena, and croquetas.
You just cant find that here .... If all goes well... I plan to open a CUBAN BAKERY... Im sure I will make it big, its something good and different and Im sure it will BLOW Katy away.... well that is if IKE doesnt first !!!

Nice response.

A point to consider, though, is that it hasn't been 106 in Katy since the great heat wave of September 2000. Then again, you might have been sitting in an asphalt parking lot, which doesn't give a temperature you can compare with another city unless the temp in the other city is also measured in an asphalt parking lot. Temperatures measured by sensors in vehicles are notoriously erroneous.

Sorry to ramble...again, very nice, interesting response!

[CMDallas]

They're basically the same except:
Florida Beaches are better...heh... The gulf is sort of murky...I think that is due to the Silt from the Mississippi.
Houston is more family orientated, not so much party...overall its pretty boring comparatively.There IS great and fun stuff to do, but Miami is more of the Fun. If you have a family Houston is better.
Houston has less Cubans and More Mexicans and African Americans.

I think that about covers it, all in all pretty similar. Might get a little hotter in the summer, and maybe a few less palm trees.
Less old people...but I think that is More Texas Vs Houston in general.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by CMDallas

Houston has less Cubans and More Mexicans and African Americans.

Houston has more of every ethnicity than Miami except Cubans, Dominican Republicans, & possibly Jamaicans. People who think Miami is diverse obviously have no clue what diverse really is. Good luck finding a Chinatown in Miami.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Houston has more of every ethnicity than Miami except Cubans, Dominican Republicans, & possibly Jamaicans. People who think Miami is diverse obviously have no clue what diverse really is. Good luck finding a Chinatown in Miami.

Miami has a much more diverse hispanic community than Houston and it isn't close. Miami has the south's largest Columbian, Panamian, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, etc. etc. I know Houston is more than Mexican but the Mexican still the solid majority. Miami also has a slightly more diverse black community as it is close to the islands. Miami has the largest Jamaican, Haitian,and Bohemian population in the south. I say slightly because Houston has more West Africans by a large margin.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by blueberryd

WOW! me and u are in the exact same position...i'm a black/native american student in miami now trying to decide b/w houston, atlanta, and ny! I'm feelin you on the 'bilingual preferred' requirement in miami, the 'different type of racism' present in miami, andddd I HATE TRAFFIC TOO! lol...But, driving miami's 95--even at rush hour was really not that bad for me. Driving 95 in dc/md/va is HELL--the beltway sucks! Anyways, I hope some more people post b/c i, like u, need some insight before making the big move!

CUrious what you and UrbaneProspect chose!

[robertobaggio]

Originally Posted by Spade

Miami has a much more diverse hispanic community than Houston and it isn't close. Miami has the south's largest Columbian, Panamian, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, etc. etc. I know Houston is more than Mexican but the Mexican still the solid majority. Miami also has a slightly more diverse black community as it is close to the islands. Miami has the largest Jamaican, Haitian,and Bohemian population in the south. I say slightly because Houston has more West Africans by a large margin.

Miami has also tons of Europeans (French, Italians, and Germans). More than any other city in the country probably, definitely more than Houston.

Miami also has more jews than Houston, probably the highest concentration after NY.

[robertobaggio]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Houston has more of every ethnicity than Miami except Cubans, Dominican Republicans, & possibly Jamaicans. People who think Miami is diverse obviously have no clue what diverse really is. Good luck finding a Chinatown in Miami.

You are wrong. Tons of Europeans in Miami. More than any other city in the country on a percentage base. Also way more Jews.

[EasilyAmused]

Just because Miami doesn't have a Chinatown doesn't make it NOT diverse. Sheesh. White people are rare there. They hide at their Country and Yacht Clubs and live deep in Coral Gables, Down off Mangrove Roads around Old Cutler, and parts of Coconut Grove.

Miami might get hot in the summer, but it has a breeze and afternoon storms that cool it off. It never has days of 100 degress and still air. Houston's summer is FAR rougher.

[robertobaggio]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Just because Miami doesn't have a Chinatown doesn't make it NOT diverse. Sheesh. White people are rare there. They hide at their Country and Yacht Clubs and live deep in Coral Gables, Down off Mangrove Roads around Old Cutler, and parts of Coconut Grove.

Miami might get hot in the summer, but it has a breeze and afternoon storms that cool it off. It never has days of 100 degress and still air. Houston's summer is FAR rougher.

Miami is a World Class City. Only NY and San Francisco are visited by more tourists each year. Now where is Houston in that list?

[tstone]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Just because Miami doesn't have a Chinatown doesn't make it NOT diverse. Sheesh. White people are rare there. They hide at their Country and Yacht Clubs and live deep in Coral Gables, Down off Mangrove Roads around Old Cutler, and parts of Coconut Grove.

I think you mean Woodlands & Memorial style "whites" are rare there.
(Non-Hispanic white.)

Believe it or not, there are Cubans & South Americans, which for census purposes are still considered "white". Many from Cuba, Peru, Colombia and Argentina certainly look ''non-diverse.''

I'm reading one stat that puts Miami at roughly 66% white... but 55% of the Hispanic variety. So yeah, that 11% is a pretty small number.