Given the chance, would you live in SLC or Houston? (Salt Lake City: home, school)

[jaxtigers]

Hey guys,

I am in a dilemma. I recently got two job offers, one from Salt Lake City and one in Houston, TX. I am 23 years old and I currently live in Tampa, FL. I have been wanting to move for a while now, and I am not quite sure how to assess where I would be happier. The jobs are both in the same industry and the pay is nearly identical too. I like the outdoors, forests, state parks, and mountains. I have never done skiing or anything like that just because I have never lived in an area with any snow. I know SLC is a pretty good place for outdoor activities.

I am not a huge party person or anything like that, but would like to have a decent social scene around me. I do like to go out on the weekends. One thing that makes me hesitant about SLC is the fact that I am non-LDS. I am actually a minority (Pakistani) and from what I have heard SLC is not too much of a cultural place or that diverse. I think I would love the outdoors aspect of SLC but I am reluctant because of not being LDS or things I have heard about it not being a really lively city. Before Tampa, I lived in a really small town though and it can't be anything like that, haha. Thoughts?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by jaxtigers

Hey guys,

I am in a dilemma. I recently got two job offers, one from Salt Lake City and one in Houston, TX. I am 23 years old and I currently live in Tampa, FL. I have been wanting to move for a while now, and I am not quite sure how to assess where I would be happier. The jobs are both in the same industry and the pay is nearly identical too. I like the outdoors, forests, state parks, and mountains. I have never done skiing or anything like that just because I have never lived in an area with any snow. I know SLC is a pretty good place for outdoor activities.

I am not a huge party person or anything like that, but would like to have a decent social scene around me. I do like to go out on the weekends. One thing that makes me hesitant about SLC is the fact that I am non-LDS. I am actually a minority (Pakistani) and from what I have heard SLC is not too much of a cultural place or that diverse. I think I would love the outdoors aspect of SLC but I am reluctant because of not being LDS or things I have heard about it not being a really lively city. Before Tampa, I lived in a really small town though and it can't be anything like that, haha. Thoughts?

Well, I've never even been to Houston, so I can't really comment on it except to say that it's much, much larger than SLC. Most of what I am going to tell you concerns SLC, as I've lived here all my life.

You could not conceivably find a better spot in the US for outdoor recreation than SLC. And you're young and active, so if you did move here, you would almost certainly want to take up either skiing or snowboarding. That would also be a good way for you to meet people.

Salt Lake is not extremely diverse, but it's getting more so all the time. You definitely would not stand out as "different" or anything like that. On my street alone, there are Asians, Middle-easterners and Hispanics. And eight out of the twelve households on my block are not LDS.

The nightlife here is almost certainly less than in Houston, but I can assure you that there is a decent social scene. You wouldn't have to sit at home watching TV every weekend. If you come from a really small town, it might actually be easier for you to adjust to life in Salt Lake City (which is a mid-size city) than to life in Houston (which is a large city).

Good luck in making your choice!

[kletter1mann]

I know Houston well. Salt Lake City wins by a mile, it's not even close. For the life of me I can't imagine anybody actually wanting to live in Houston unless they grew up there and had never been anywhere else. No mountains, no ocean, horrible weather, utterly flat. Just make sure you live in SLC proper, not out in the endless suburban sprawl.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

I know Houston well. Salt Lake City wins by a mile, it's not even close. For the life of me I can't imagine anybody actually wanting to live in Houston unless they grew up there and had never been anywhere else. No mountains, no ocean, horrible weather, utterly flat. Just make sure you live in SLC proper, not out in the endless suburban sprawl.

Lets take it back a step.

First off, I love SLC. I travel there for work a few times a year and I always enjoy myself. I find the people friendly and the scenery is breathtaking.

That said, lets not pretend Houston doesnt have quite a few things over SLC too. Houston is a much more international and diverse city, the food and culinary culture in Houston is far superior to SLC, and Houston is much more cultural than SLC.

The OP mentions he is Pakistani. Houston has the 2nd largest Pakistani population outside of NYC if that is a big deal to him. We have an entire street with nothing but Pakistani businesses on the Southwest side of town.

And for the record, Im from Los Angeles. I choose to live in Houston. I could just have easily stayed there or moved to SLC, Denver, Seattle, or wherever.

I think it depends on what the OP really craves. If its a city with tons of things to do out of doors and with beautiful scenery, SLC is better. If its an ethnically diverse city with world class food and culture, Houston is better.

[tim_data]

The weather is going to be a giant factor. Although I was in Dallas, many trips to the "city of humidity" Houston proves that moisture is the enemy. This was a primary reason for leaving the South, too.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Lets take it back a step.

First off, I love SLC. I travel there for work a few times a year and I always enjoy myself. I find the people friendly and the scenery is breathtaking.

That said, lets not pretend Houston doesnt have quite a few things over SLC too. Houston is a much more international and diverse city, the food and culinary culture in Houston is far superior to SLC, and Houston is much more cultural than SLC.

The OP mentions he is Pakistani. Houston has the 2nd largest Pakistani population outside of NYC if that is a big deal to him. We have an entire street with nothing but Pakistani businesses on the Southwest side of town.

And for the record, Im from Los Angeles. I choose to live in Houston. I could just have easily stayed there or moved to SLC, Denver, Seattle, or wherever.

I think it depends on what the OP really craves. If its a city with tons of things to do out of doors and with beautiful scenery, SLC is better. If its an ethnically diverse city with world class food and culture, Houston is better.

Of course. I'm from NY, not exactly a cultural backwater, and I too could go where ever I want. Different strokes and all that.

[slomofo]

I would go to Houston even though the cost of living seems to have doubled in the past decade. Even with the increased housing costs, it's still cheaper than SLC. I think Houston is superior to SLC in almost every single way, but there are a few downsides that I'll list below:


Scenery as mentioned before - There is none.

Weather - If you're in Florida, it may not bother you as much, but it might because in the summer it can be 105 degrees with 99% humidity. Imagine running on a treadmill that's inside of a steam sauna and that's the perfect way to describe walking down the street on the 4th of July.

No basements - When it's hot as f*ck in SLC, you can go down to your basement and it's a lot cooler down there. No basements in Houston, but there's no basements in Florida either, so again, it may not affect you.

Rain - When it rains, it POURS, and you won't see the sun for a week. Since the water table is so high down there, flooding isn't uncommon.

Traffic and urban sprawl - Houston and SLC are set up very similarly in their city layout where everything is urban sprawl, so you'll have to drive everywhere and since Houston is a little more than 10 times the size of SLC, there's a whole lot of cars on the road trying to get from one urban sprawl to the next which means you'll be stuck in traffic, a LOT. Everyone in Utah complains that Utah drivers are the worst on the road, well, Houston and SLC drivers must have gone to the same driving school because the drivers behave exactly the same and it's just bad.



Outside of that small handful of cons, everything is better in Houston.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by slomofo

Outside of that small handful of cons, everything is better in Houston.

Outside of those trivial things, huh?

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

Outside of those trivial things, huh?

Mere trifles. And no mention of hurricanes either.

[slomofo]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

Mere trifles. And no mention of hurricanes either.

Did you ever take a moment to notice the OP's location?