Those of you from the Northeast now living in Houston... (Austin: fit in, rent)

[houston-nomad]

Houston is a happening city and the cost of living makes life here pretty easy. However, I must say that after 6 years here, I am longing to return to the northeast. It is just plain U-G-L-Y here and I miss the lovely scenery of the northeast. But it took that long. There's enough to distract you so you might not notice there are no hills, not enough trees, and too many billboards.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Houston is a happening city and the cost of living makes life here pretty easy. However, I must say that after 6 years here, I am longing to return to the northeast. It is just plain U-G-L-Y here and I miss the lovely scenery of the northeast. But it took that long. There's enough to distract you so you might not notice there are no hills, not enough trees, and too many billboards.

Not enough trees? Now I know Houston is alot of things? But not enough trees is not one of them.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Houston is a happening city and the cost of living makes life here pretty easy. However, I must say that after 6 years here, I am longing to return to the northeast. It is just plain U-G-L-Y here and I miss the lovely scenery of the northeast. But it took that long. There's enough to distract you so you might not notice there are no hills, not enough trees, and too many billboards.

Guess you never heard of Piney woods or even been to north Houston....

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

Houston is a happening city and the cost of living makes life here pretty easy. However, I must say that after 6 years here, I am longing to return to the northeast. It is just plain U-G-L-Y here and I miss the lovely scenery of the northeast. But it took that long. There's enough to distract you so you might not notice there are no hills, not enough trees, and too many billboards.

woah. that took a while. I figured that one out when i drove from the airport going to Cypress. I was convinced that it is by the time I got to route 6
Houstonians really dont have an idea when they say 'green and lush', amongst other things

[theSUBlime]

Originally Posted by Wysiwyg

woah. that took a while. I figured that one out when i drove from the airport going to Cypress. I was convinced that it is by the time I got to route 6
Houstonians really dont have an idea when they say 'green and lush', amongst other things

I think few of these previous posters has seen Google maps. I mean if you even go look over certain metro areas, you realize that the natural trees in certain urban areas have been completely raped to make way for urban development. (You will also realize that sprawl is not a problem exclusive to Houston; I will admit other cities have managed it better though.) It's one of the few things Houston has over other urbanized areas--because of Houston's undevlopment (and consistently humid weather) trees and greenery really thrive here. I would like to see what people in cities like NYC, Boston and DC (even though I like them) think "lush and green" is because, trust me, a tree (or park) stuck in the middle of a concrete slab perfectly at coordinates (1, 7) is NOT it.

Google it.
Google>Maps>Sattelite view

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by theSUBlime

I think few of these previous posters has seen Google maps. I mean if you even go look over certain metro areas, you realize that the natural trees in certain urban areas have been completely raped to make way for urban development. (You will also realize that sprawl is not a problem exclusive to Houston; I will admit other cities have managed it better though.) It's one of the few things Houston has over other urbanized areas--because of Houston's undevlopment (and consistently humid weather) trees and greenery really thrive here. I would like to see what people in cities like NYC, Boston and DC (even though I like them) think "lush and green" is because, trust me, a tree (or park) stuck in the middle of a concrete slab perfectly at coordinates (1, 7) is NOT it.

Google it.
Google>Maps>Sattelite view

you mean a satellite view is the way to see the trees. hmm people use roads and this is where the point of view is taken. if you've seen the major highways of the northeast? Garden state parkway? New York State thruway? LI parkway? even route280 to NJ burbs are nice. only gas/service stations on the side of the road for miles if any and you might actually miss it. the tree line in these roads are quite spectacular in times, and it screens the subdivisions and businesses from view. sometimes you have a cliff face or a view of a valley.
Bloomfield/North Newark, NJ (and DC) has the largest concetration of cherry blossoms in the US, complete with flowing creeks. Its like a holiday there when they bloom, mostly asians drive from all over. wedding pictures are taken in advance/retaken with the whole cast, with limo. just to give you an idea.
the northeast makes no excuses when it comes to preservation. if you think humidity makes (some)things bloom, you should see how the 4 seasons does its magic on them

[cubssoxfan]

What I noticed on my visit is:
1) The part of town you are in effects the density of greenery. More north towards Woodlands/Conroe and Piney Woods and less west of Katy where it seems like land was more grazing and farming with fewer trees.
2) Except for some MPC's the developers seem to be allowed to come in and bulldoze everything, including the trees and shrubs. So the edges of the sub-division have trees but the middle of it is mainly newer trees. So unless there is zoning (I know that's unpatriotic despite the many benefits to the people at large vs. the pocket-book of the developer) or the builders discover there is a cost advantage to building around the trees, this will continue. In all fairness this is not unique to Houston. And I did see some developers who did build around the trees-Graystone Hills in Conroe for example.
Now you want to see an area truly devoid of consistent greenery just look at the new developments north of Dallas or far out from Chicago, just built on a cornfield. Yuck.
Oh well, thanks for letting me throw my $.02 in.
Enjoy the warm weather, I'm going out to snowblow the 6" of snow we got. Please send some warm weather this way and I'll try to send some "Lake Effect" cooling down there during the summer.

[coog78]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

What I noticed on my visit is:
1) The part of town you are in effects the density of greenery. More north towards Woodlands/Conroe and Piney Woods and less west of Katy where it seems like land was more grazing and farming with fewer trees.
2) Except for some MPC's the developers seem to be allowed to come in and bulldoze everything, including the trees and shrubs. So the edges of the sub-division have trees but the middle of it is mainly newer trees. So unless there is zoning (I know that's unpatriotic despite the many benefits to the people at large vs. the pocket-book of the developer) or the builders discover there is a cost advantage to building around the trees, this will continue. In all fairness this is not unique to Houston. And I did see some developers who did build around the trees-Graystone Hills in Conroe for example.
Now you want to see an area truly devoid of consistent greenery just look at the new developments north of Dallas or far out from Chicago, just built on a cornfield. Yuck.
Oh well, thanks for letting me throw my $.02 in.
Enjoy the warm weather, I'm going out to snowblow the 6" of snow we got. Please send some warm weather this way and I'll try to send some "Lake Effect" cooling down there during the summer.

Can you go ahead and put that "Lake Effect" on layaway for us until say mid-August? Great, thanks!

[PennsylTexan]

Good luck to you in your search. My wife and I moved to Cypress, which is 18-20 miles Northwest of Downtown Houston, from the Central PA area last August. We bought in a master planned community called Bridgeland due to the future build out, parks, and abundance of trees, lakes, and walking paths. Master planned communities are completely different from what you will find in the Northeast. A few things for you to consider...

- Not sure where you are working, but commuting is a nightmare here. If you have the ability to work from home, do so. Houston has a Metro bus line/Park & Ride system, but the city was not built for mass transit like NYC or Philly. The 290 Corridor, which I have the pleasure of spending 1.5 hours per day (this is a good average), is one of the worst commutes I have ever experienced. This is partially our fault for buying in a community that is in Houston suburbia, but to each his own.

- If you are an authetic pizza, hoagie, cheesteak, bagel lover - get your fair share before you leave. These "joints" are hard to find and almost non-existant here. The Mexican food, if you like it, makes up for it though.

- You're a Steelers fan and there is a place off of I-45 North near the Woodlands that is deemed as the Steelers of Houston Area fan club. I don't remember the name of the place, but their pizza is actually decent and they broadcast the games on mulitple TVs. It gets crazy there on Sundays, but being a die-hard Eagles fan, we have Direct TV.

- Money seems to go just a little further in the overall cost of living, but not by much when you add in property taxes and local taxes. The good thing is that there is no state income tax that is directly taken off of your paycheck.

- Not sure where some people get their data from, but the schools here are outstanding. Do some Internet research on the best schools in the country and you will find some here in the Greater Houston area.

- The addage about everything being bigger in Texas is true...highways, homes, strip malls, car dealers, trucks, and schools seem to have a bigger presence than back in the Northeast.

- Winter weather is superb. There is no "great depression" period that you will find in the Northeast (you know that time period from the end of the NFL season to mid-March) and you can actually go golfing in the Winter. The Spring to Summer season is unbearable and if you have a yard, you need to start at 9AM or hire someone (labor is cheap here) to do it to avoid heat stroke. There are days when you walk outside and you feel like you are just swallowing an armpit. Sometimes, depending on where you are at, it even smells like an armpit.

Hopefully this gives you a little more insight on what a Northeasterner would experience. We love it here, but our family is all back on the East Coast, so that would be the only reason for us to move away from Houston. Other than that, this is an ideal place to be.

[Zhang Fei]

Originally Posted by PennsylTexan

The 290 Corridor, which I have the pleasure of spending 1.5 hours per day (this is a good average), is one of the worst commutes I have ever experienced.

I assume this is round-trip. That might be a terrible commute for Pennsylvania, but is pretty decent for someone commuting into New York City from the burbs by driving to the train station or bus stop, and then using mass transit. Heck - it's a decent commute compared to someone heading to Wall Street by taking the standing-room-only packed-like-sardines subway car from Queens.