Anyone moved from Bay Area to Houston ! (Dallas, San Antonio: rent, homes)

[Premont]

I've been to California and I'd say L.A. has similar roads to Houston. Same sprawling freeways, same traffic and idiot drivers, same potholes. The pothole problem is really exaggerated. You also can't judge the entire city by I-45. Scenic beauty and beaches are much better in California, but we do have many nice parks in Houston. There's all kinds of nice areas outside and inside the loop. Saying there's The Woodlands and 2 or 3 other places is ridiculous. That's like telling someone who's moving to L.A. to only consider Malibu. People who say we have no culture and restaurants tend to be snobs who think only California and New York are worth living in.

[Premont]

Lol, if only we could match this -

[tstone]

I-45 may be the goofiest freeway in town, but traffic flow is definitely not the worst. Try 59 inside 610 from roughly Uptown to Downtown during afternoon rush hour, both ways. Same for the west part of 610. Those stretches may just rival one of LA's average freeways. 290 is pretty bad as well.

From my limited experience as a tourist, road conditions are generally bad in CA compared to Texas, more comparable to Louisiana. Emergency pullover lanes also seem scarce in CA, understandably.

And if one of the previous posters can't find a great restaurant or cultural event in the whole of Houston (and dare I say, even in the Clear Lake Area), they aren't even trying to look. So much for that famous open-mindedness. I guess "no culture" really does mean "not Hollywood" or "not NYC."

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of love for California as a visitor. But it sounds like we still have people escaping the funny farm for Texas in droves, only to turn around and whine about it when they get here because it is different.

[EasilyAmused]

Houston can be pretty fantastic, and has a lot of urban fare/entertainment to offer if you get out of the satellite burbs, have sense of adventure, and have happy personality.

People pigeonhole themselves way outside the loops, coming from more urban areas, and then constantly complain about the lack of "stuff." Don't do that. If you want the big,cheap house 30 miles out, do understand than pretty fantastic stuff can be found if you are willing to drive in.... I really don't think places in Cali are all that much different.

Regaurding the above picture: 610 between 290 and west of Bellaire looks like that everyday. Avoid Avoid.

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by sairamss

Hi,
We currently live in the Bay Area and are planning a move to Houston. I have visited this website so many times now that I have a very good idea on what Houston has to offer other than hot summers and cheaper homes.
I wanted to find out if there are any - who moved from the Bay Area and what is your perspective about Houston !

Personally , the thought of getting a chance to live without mortgage is too enticing and that is driving us to move to Houston.

This website is really awesome and there is so much information here !

Thank you all !!

Bay Area to Houston !

I moved from San Jose To Houston back in 2003.

[alphajet]

"From my limited experience as a tourist, road conditions are generally bad in CA compared to Texas, more comparable to Louisiana. Emergency pullover lanes also seem scarce in CA, understandably."

I'm sorry - which area in California were you in?? Maybe Bakersfield, Modesto or parts of Metro L.A. - those areas may have lousy roads...but you must have not spent a whole lot of time driving up the 101 from Ventura up the coast to Santa Barbara and on to Carmel --Or down the 405 & 5 south from Newport Beach to Del Mar & La Jolla into San Diego, I will take those roads any day over the roads in TX...San Antonio roads?? Austin?? and Houston?? the 290 and 45 are some of the ugliest roads every made -And why does it take forever to fix or widen the roads in a MSA of almost 6 million people.

In regards to the majority of Houston this really is a place where creativity and imagination go to die. The fact is Houston is - too humid, too polluted, too congested, too industrialized, too few free thinkers, too many trucks on the roads, too spread out, too commercialized, too focused on oil and the chemical industry (last one not really that bad)

I still love your Texas BBQ - The River Oaks area, The Houston Galleria, Memorial Heights, Museum district, Discovery Green, Rice Village, Hermann Park.....but really for a city of 6 million - spend some additional tax dollars on fixing up the roads and what about that metro!!!!

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by Premont

Lol, if only we could match this -

I hope Houston doesn't have roads that contain traffic like this!

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by alphajet

...but you must have not spent a whole lot of time driving up the 101 from Ventura up the coast to Santa Barbara and on to Carmel

You mean 1, not 101, yes? In defense of the Bay Area, I love it and would move in a heartbeat if my company decided to locate there... but I work for an Oil and Gas company... we'd be kicked out of town by now from the Bay Area.

[alphajet]

Yes, thank you -- Highway 1 is Pacific Coast Highway ---The 101 Freeway runs parallel most of the way to the 1 up the coast but doesn't have the same feel obviously as PCH..

[Texas User]

The only thing I don't like is the summer humidity and heat. Everything else is nice.