What can you tell me about Houston, again? (Austin, Sugar Land: apartment, foreclosures)

[rgb123]

Ha, I am sure this has all been asked before, but I am in a time crunch and I just can't seem to get a good picture in my mind here.

I have two job prospects. I expect I am going to get an offer early this week for a great job out in the desert in California working for the Marines....what does that have to do with Houston...well...(besides the fact I am not sure I want to live in the desert)

I have an interview in Houston on Friday. I was thinking I might not even go to it (free flight and all) if I get the California offer. But the Houston thing is nagging at me. I don't want to waste the employers time and money in Houston if I am not seroius.

The pay would be better in Houston, but the job not neccessarily better.

I'm 31, single female. I keep hearing how hot and humid it is there, but it seems like it might be a fun place to live....and everyone seems to be so nice. I have spent some time in Austin but that is about it.

I also have been told by my future possible employer that its on the Soutwest side and they told me to look in Katy and Sugar Land.

Any thoughts? I am from the Chicago area by the way.

[modster]

Not to diminish the hot and humid thing, yes, it is hot and humid, but it is not like you have to shovel the humidity just to get your car out of the garage. I think the whole weather thing is a little over blown. Its not like we don't have A/C. Chicago's weather is far more brutal than ours.

If the pay is better in Houston, I would also think the cost of living would be cheaper than CA. So even though the job isn't any better, unless it is a whole lot worse I definitely think it would be worth your time to check it out.

[Bike4Life]

Ditch California and also Katy and Surgar Land. Houston is it!

[HTownNearNative]

For a single female, I would recommend living either inside 610 Loop or in the Galleria area (north of Westheimer Rd) for an easy commute. Also, other singles live in these areas as well. Katy and Sugar Land are family oriented suburbs. People live there because they want a large house for less money and because they want good public schools for their children. Therefore, they sacrifice by commuting an hour or so each day to their jobs so they can have the big house and the public schools for the kids. Needless to say, there is no reason to live out there unless you really want to buy a house in the suburbs for yourself.

[Wysiwyg]

seriously, its not fun here in houston if youre single.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by modster

Not to diminish the hot and humid thing, yes, it is hot and humid, but it is not like you have to shovel the humidity just to get your car out of the garage. I think the whole weather thing is a little over blown. Its not like we don't have A/C. Chicago's weather is far more brutal than ours.

This is ENTIRELY a personal preference about which people may feel very differently. I lived in Houston for many years and hated -- I mean HATED -- the heat and humidity. I never got used to it and despised the weather from May to October. I'll take four seasons and snow over 6 months of heat and humidity. And, no, I did not grow up in a place that was snowy and seasonable--I grew up in the sun belt and still hated the Houston heat.

The OP could come to Houston and like the weather; they could also arrive in the Bayou City and hate the sauna-like conditions. They're from Chicago and have experienced hot, humid weather--I've spent quite a bit of time in the Windy City and I know that it gets hot there in the summer. So, to the OP: you know those dog days of July in Chicago when the mercury at times goes into the upper 90's? Houston has weather like that for months at a time, and it happens every year. If you handled those days just fine, then you won't have a problem with Houston weather. If, on the other hand, you had a week of 90's heat in Chicago and found yourself yearning for the temperatures to dip back to the more seasonable 80's or 70's, then the Houston heat will likely be a tough sell for you.

Setting aside weather for a moment, Houston does have one big thing going for it : a vibrant, growing economy. The OP could arrive in H-town and not like her job, but the strong economy means that she would probably have a good chance of landing something else in town if the first job didn't work out.

[basketcase33]

Well there are a lot of people who despise 4 seasons, especially when some seasons last for like 1 day, but I understand where you are coming from.

I could also see how Houston wouldn't be fun for a single person who is:

A) Unattractive (If this is you, just get really unattractive friends...it'll make you look better in comparison)
B) Lives outside of the loop (It's getting RELATIVELY expensive, but it's worth it)
C) Just realized they are married (Ooops!)

Otherwise, I think Houston suits the needs of a single person quite fine.

[BEVH]

I currently live in CA and the cost of gas, living etc is not worth it. The home prices are out of site and too many foreclosuresto invest wisely. We are moving to Houston to get out of this area. If you are talking about Barstow, Mohave, etc. Yikes it is a dust bowl and only people there are there are those that have to be.

[Supermac34]

I happen to be married, but most of my friends are still unmarried. They tend to lead pretty exciting social lives. They also tend to be able to afford pretty high standards of living for being young and single. There is enormous potential for fun if you go to the right parts of town during the social hours. There is also enormous potential to meet people.

[rgb123]

Thanks everyone. I do get the feeling people in Texas tend to be more social anyway (just in my experience, from meeting people from all over the place). I think I will at the very least go to the interview, cause it seems too good to pass up. I am kinda unsure if I would like the job, but it is a good point that I could probably find another one fairly easily in my field, if not in Houston in another one of the Texas cities. I could probably last at least a year in a miserable job just about anything sounds better than the one I am trying to get out of right now I know when its time to move on and I've been waiting on the perfect job to bail me out for ohh...about a year. I'd settle for something just plain different at this point if it gets me out of my little apartment in in Illinois!

The cost of living is definitley attractive. Plus it seems like Texas would give me some new terrain and cities to explore. I have spent a lot of time in California already. Though I am still torn.

As for the weather...well I would be lying if I said I was not scared!!!!! I am not a huge fan of heat and humidity, but in Illinois its annoying cause some places are not air conditioned and I used to have an older car that was not air conditied. So I hated the humidity.

I have a new car

I also lived in southwest florida and I was reasonably okay with it though my skin broke out more there and my hair seemed to turn into astro turf after a few hours out. I have long hair and would hate to cut it off due to humidity issues!

In florida it was fine though, the ocean breeze made the air feel clean. I am guessing that is not the case in Houston! At least I am prepared for it that might make all the difference.

I am not a fan of winter though...so that is good.

As for being unnatractive, well I think I hold my own so hopefully no problems there!