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Houston, TX

ameslurker

ameslurker

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2013
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Have a possible job opportunity in Houston if a few things fall into place. I was curious if any of you fanatics live in, or know of the Houston area and could provide with a few pros/cons. I know about the heat and long summers, so no need to go into that :cool:

Any information would be appreciated.
 
Certain areas smell like refineries in action. Check out Galveston area for living.
 
Traffic is a nightmare, or at least where my company's office is located down there.
 
Houston is Great! The women are attractive (assuming you're into that). It's no hotter or humid than what Iowa is like in the summertime, yet the winters are much nicer! The Woodlands area is a nice place to live if you're mid-30's or older (also very easy access to airport), otherwise look to live near downtown. AND REMEMBER... the best thing about living in TX is ZERO state income tax!
 
Never lived there but have been there multiple times.

Traffic is some of the worst I've ever seen.
Has a very high number of lifted ridiculous looking trucks with truck nuts hanging.

Those are the two main things I remember from Houston.
 
CtownCyclone said:
Where you going to be working at? Galleria? Downtown? Energy corridor? Elsewhere?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, yet. My company will be opening a few different locations down there and I was asked if I would be willing to relocate if the price was right. They could very well already have people lined up to run these locations but they said it would be a possibility. It never hurts to keep options open, I figured, rather than just say no. I was just asking this because while I've traveled a lot, I've never been there.
 
just spent 10 days there for work.
Traffic is ridiculous. But probably depends on where you work. I was going from reliant stadium to Downtown every day.

talked to a cop one day and he said they have the worst accident ratio in the country. Like 300 serious / Fatal accidents per day. that is not counting the countless regular accidents.

Pros:
Warm
Pro Sports
Near the Gulf but not on it.

Cons:
Population explosion
Traffic


Knowing Spanish will help
 
TXCyclones said:
Houston is Great! The women are attractive (assuming you're into that). It's no hotter or humid than what Iowa is like in the summertime, yet the winters are much nicer! The Woodlands area is a nice place to live if you're mid-30's or older (also very easy access to airport), otherwise look to live near downtown. AND REMEMBER... the best thing about living in TX is ZERO state income tax!
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My in-laws live in Sugar Land and it's a nice area. Jump on 59 and you're a straight shot to downtown. Another hour further from Iowa than the Woodlands is, but once your drive to Iowa is 14 hrs, what's another hour.

I agree that the humidity is no worse than the worst i have felt in Iowa...it just never stops in Houston.

Traffic is never good anywhere in Houston, as in any city. You get used to it and/or learn to avoid it.

The guy that said to live in Galveston may have forgotten his :psmile: or he just really like the beach area no matter how crappy. No one in Texas speaks highly of Galveston.

I just realized CtownCyclone's location is Houston...I will defer all further info as he clearly is a better source.
 
TXCyclones said:
Houston is Great! The women are attractive (assuming you're into that). It's no hotter or humid than what Iowa is like in the summertime, yet the winters are much nicer! The Woodlands area is a nice place to live if you're mid-30's or older (also very easy access to airport), otherwise look to live near downtown. AND REMEMBER... the best thing about living in TX is ZERO state income tax!
Click to expand...

I never appreciated the no state income tax as much as I should have. That's a big bonus! Throw in reasonable housing and those are two strong reasons to live in Texas.

Texas does have a different feel and a culture that sure is Texas. Like living in a different country....only different
 
I've visited a couple of times. My impressions:

-It's much more "Southern" than other parts of Texas.

-There is no zoning. This may sound like an odd complaint, but when you get down there you start wondering things like "why are there homes mixed in with gas stations, factories, auto repair places, and schools in the same block?" or "Why is there a Wal-Mart in the middle of a housing development 5 miles from any kind of major highway?". It's just weird, and makes the whole area seem disorganized, IMO.

-The road system is ******* awful. Houston (and much of Texas) doesn't have standard exits on the controlled access highways. They have short lines that attach the interstate to frontage roads that line both sides of the interstate. The frontage roads are 2 lanes/bi-directional, so in order to exit or enter the interstate, you have to cross over a lane of traffic going in the opposite direction. It's basically pinball at 65+ MPH.

-They have What-a-Burger. This is a good thing.

-Hoot County is one of the most ridiculous (in a good way) bars I've ever been to. Track it down. You won't regret it.

In the end, Houston is way too sprawled out and disjointed to really have a cohesive feel to me and be a place I would personally want to live. My buddy who lived down there (reason I visited) took the first job out of there he could, and ended up in Dallas. He absolutely loves the Dallas area, and I definitely prefer it to Houston. Houston isn't without it's redeeming qualities though.
 
Al_4_State said:
I've visited a couple of times. My impressions:

-It's much more "Southern" than other parts of Texas.

-There is no zoning. This may sound like an odd complaint, but when you get down there you start wondering things like "why are there homes mixed in with gas stations, factories, auto repair places, and schools in the same block?" or "Why is there a Wal-Mart in the middle of a housing development 5 miles from any kind of major highway?". It's just weird, and makes the whole area seem disorganized, IMO.

-The road system is ******* awful. Houston (and much of Texas) doesn't have standard exits on the controlled access highways. They have short lines that attach the interstate to frontage roads that line both sides of the interstate. The frontage roads are 2 lanes/bi-directional, so in order to exit or enter the interstate, you have to cross over a lane of traffic going in the opposite direction. It's basically pinball at 65+ MPH.
-They have What-a-Burger. This is a good thing.

-Hoot County is one of the most ridiculous (in a good way) bars I've ever been to. Track it down. You won't regret it.

In the end, Houston is way too sprawled out and disjointed to really have a cohesive feel to me and be a place I would personally want to live. My buddy who lived down there (reason I visited) took the first job out of there he could, and ended up in Dallas. He absolutely loves the Dallas area, and I definitely prefer it to Houston. Houston isn't without it's redeeming qualities though.
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In regards to the bolded section, that's only out in the sticks. I refer to those as "Suicide Exits" because that's what they are. Always an adventure, but on the flip side, not many people are driving on those roads in those locations.

It's not for everybody, but as been mentioned previously, housing prices are very low, gas is cheap (energy capital of the world), and there's no state income tax.

I'd disagree with 300 accidents a day. It may seem like a lot, but there's not that many of them. The key is to know the traffic routes. Currently, I have to commute across the city for work. Not advisable, but if you have a job that provides some flexibility in work hours, you can negate a little bit of the traffic problem.

It is a very spread-out place, and the lack of zoning laws does create some interesting situations.

You'll love the winter and laugh at the people who panic if the temperature drops below 40 (oh mah gawd, mah tender plants!).
 
Thanks for the replies. Like I said before, I'm just trying to get a feel for what it might be like if I did end up moving. At this point, it's nothing but words here in the office.

Which are some of the nicer areas (green...not just a concrete jungle, not as much crime, etc)?
 
ameslurker said:
Thanks for the replies. Like I said before, I'm just trying to get a feel for what it might be like if I did end up moving. At this point, it's nothing but words here in the office.

Which are some of the nicer areas (green...not just a concrete jungle, not as much crime, etc)?
Click to expand...

What's your situation? Married? Kids? Fresh out of school? Unless you work on the east side, you probably shouldn't plan to live on the east side. Not much going on over there except refineries and chemical plants. Sugar Land is really nice, but the population has exploded there and the major infrastructure to get into Houston is taxed during rush hour.
 
ameslurker said:
Thanks for the replies. Like I said before, I'm just trying to get a feel for what it might be like if I did end up moving. At this point, it's nothing but words here in the office.

Which are some of the nicer areas (green...not just a concrete jungle, not as much crime, etc)?
Click to expand...

The Woodlands area (north of the city) truly is green, and it's pretty amazing how many Cyclone Alumni are in that area! Also, the Katy area is pretty nice too, which is straight west of the city on I-10. But pretty much any area North, West, & South are going to be fine.
 
I lived in the Clear Lake area (south of Houston proper) from 1996-1998. It was pretty nice and didn't have the traffic issues of the city. Overall it wasn't bad, the heat is oppressive but the winters are great. Of course it's been almost 20 years so I'm sure things have changed!
 
CtownCyclone said:
What's your situation? Married? Kids? Fresh out of school? Unless you work on the east side, you probably shouldn't plan to live on the east side. Not much going on over there except refineries and chemical plants. Sugar Land is really nice, but the population has exploded there and the major infrastructure to get into Houston is taxed during rush hour.
Click to expand...

Not married, no kids. The girlfriend would be coming with eventually but that's about it.
 
Texas is great. We are living the Kingwood area which is in North Houston. Great schools here. There are other great places to live here in North Houston...Woodlands, Katy, Tomball come to mind. People are very friendly. Great place to live and raise your family. No state income tax, high salaries, nice winters, conservative are just a few of the reasons we love it here.
 
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