Houston/Atlanta similarities & differences?? (Dallas, San Antonio: home, neighborhoods, university)

[arokisbobcat]

Hello All,

I currently live in Atlanta and was wondering how you would compare the two cities. A company contacted me for a position in Houston and so I might be flying out there for the interview but wanted to do some research first as to what Houston is like.

I think the things that I'd like about Houston from what I know are its diversity, proximity to the coast, and to New Orleans (my favorite city).

The things that concern me are the sprawl of Houston, lack of community (ie. gated communities, not many walkable neighborhoods), and pretentiousness. These are all things that really make Atlanta not so appealing to me.

Anyways, I wanted to get the boards opinion on how you would compare Atlanta and Houston.

Thanks,

Matt

[BrooklynTx]

Originally Posted by arokisbobcat

Hello All,

I think the things that I'd like about Houston from what I know are its diversity, proximity to the coast, and to New Orleans (my favorite city).

The things that concern me are the sprawl of Houston, lack of community (ie. gated communities, not many walkable neighborhoods), and pretentiousness. These are all things that really make Atlanta not so appealing to me.

Anyways, I wanted to get the boards opinion on how you would compare Atlanta and Houston.

Thanks,

Matt

I speak as a former Houstonian, but the diversity of Houston certainly trumps that of Atlanta. Much greater ethnic diversity and that certainly translates to a variety of things including a much greater variety and range of food options.

Houston does sprawl as do all Sun Belt and western cities, including Atlanta. In terms of finding a "community", that really depends on how you "define" community. Houston's walkable neighborhoods are few, that is not to say none exist, but so are Atlanta's. In terms of overt pretention, Atlanta undoubtably trumps Houston in that department. Historically, Dallas has always been much more "pretentious" than Houston in the state. Houston is much more easy going and organic.

[Guerilla]

Atlanta has the hills, but both cities have the trees. Houston is larger, more diverse, and less sprawled out than Atlanta. Atlanta sprawls to the Alabama border (no lie).

[AK123]

Houston is only an hour from the beaches (Galveston). Atlanta is much more inland.

Houston is not pretentious at all, save for a few specific areas (River Oaks, maybe a few others) but nothing like Atlanta or Dallas.

Business and accomplishments (like in medicine) are king in Houston. We don't care as much about what you wear or drive. People looking for cures for cancer or who start their own successful business are more respected than socialites or the fashion-forward.

Like Atlanta, there is sprawl here too.

New Orleans is a 5-6 hour drive.

The walkable neighborhoods are Montrose, West University, a few others inside the Loop.

[KerrTown]

A better comparable to Atlanta is DFW since borth are about the same latitude and inland. Houston is very different because it is a few degrees lower--more warmer--and closer to the coast--more stable weather.

You will live between the two out of the four unique cities in the USA, New Orleans, your favorite, and San Antonio. Houston is after all the city in between.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

A better comparable to Atlanta is DFW since borth are about the same latitude and inland. Houston is very different because it is a few degrees lower--more warmer--and closer to the coast--more stable weather.

Not really. Houston & Atlanta are both very green and lush as one would expect since they each have about the same amount of annual precip -
it rains a lot in each city as anyone can testify to if they spenct time in those areas. Atlanta is a southeastern as is Birmingham, Charlotte, NOLA, etc. and Houston really is to.
On the other hand, as flat as the DFW area is, Houston's coastal plains are even flatter so its nothing like the very hilly Atlanta in that respect.
But DFW is southern prairie country like OKC, Abilene, Wichita, etc. with much less vegetation that Atlanta & Houston.
Now on the climate, Atlanta has a bonifide 4 seasons climate with nice Fall colors and some real winter weather some years. But the "Hotlanta" summers are not as brutal as DFW, and Houston summers are even worse with the Gulf Coast humidity making the long May-Sept, stretch tougher than anything in Atlanta or even DFW. And you have some verability in the Atlanta summers, whereas in Texas (certainly including DFW & Houston), it gets hotter than hell in the May-June period and no variation until sometime after Labor Day. Houston winters moderate & comfortable with no ice-storms like in Atlanta & DFW, though their winters for the most party are user-friendly.

[houstoner]

I never felt much difference between Houston and Dallas summers. I've suffered from sunstroke in both cities, no lie. I think they even out because while Houston has more humidity it also has more trees for shade, whereas Dallas may have less humidity, but all the asphalt and concrete makes for summers just as hot as Houston's. New Orleans didn't seem as hot as Houston to me. It certainly felt just as humid (and it probably is even more so because they're right smack-dab on the water), but they've got lots of trees and not nearly as much concrete and asphalt to soak up the sun and heighten the temperature.

That said, you can survive the heat and humidity. The key is to use your common-sense and stay hydrated.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by arokisbobcat

Hello All,

I currently live in Atlanta and was wondering how you would compare the two cities. A company contacted me for a position in Houston and so I might be flying out there for the interview but wanted to do some research first as to what Houston is like.

I think the things that I'd like about Houston from what I know are its diversity, proximity to the coast, and to New Orleans (my favorite city).

The things that concern me are the sprawl of Houston, lack of community (ie. gated communities, not many walkable neighborhoods), and pretentiousness. These are all things that really make Atlanta not so appealing to me.

Anyways, I wanted to get the boards opinion on how you would compare Atlanta and Houston.

Thanks,

Matt

Now that I think about it, I don't think there are too many similarities between the two cities. Except for the religious culture, maybe. Otherwise, they're two very different places.

[metroplex2003]

Yes Houston and Atlanta are completely different MSA's.

Houston has much more diversity than Atlanta. This is why Houston can support a much larger Chinese district than Atlanta. Houston also has more corporations in their MSA than Atlanta. Houston has a lower cost of living than Atlanta.

OVerall, would choose Houston hands down over Atlanta.

[markdalton]

I live about 4 hours from Atlanta now but lived about 80 miles away a couple of years ago. Although I am closer to Atlanta than Houston, I like Houston better. When I was in Houston for business, one afternoon I drove down to the beach. Although Atlanta looks more home (more green and hills), I feel more comfortable in Houston. I can't really explain why though. I've also been warned about driving in Houston, but I never really experienced a big problem. Atleast when I was there, the traffic seemed to flow better than Atlanta and I didn't see as much craziness as I see on Atlanta's highways.