Tell me about living in Houston.

[robby]

I was born in Houston, lived there until I was 7 years old, lived all over growing up as an Army brat (Germany, California Bay Area, Tennessee, and Chicago suburbs), then came back to Houston for college. Since college, I’ve lived in Florida, upstate New York, and New England for the last 15+ years. I think it’s safe to say that I have a good basis on which to make comparisons between Houston and the rest of the country.

Some thoughts:
–Houston is actually pretty well laid-out compared to the much older cities here in New England. The highways in most New England cities (e.g. Hartford and Providence) are terrible. They were dropped into place on top of heavily developed urban areas, and it shows. They are windy and don’t go where you want them to go. The highways in metro Boston were so bad that they just spent billions of dollars burying them below ground.

–Houses, development, and construction in general is far cheaper in Houston than New England. Things actually get built in Houston in a reasonable time period. Construction projects in New England take forever and cost orders of magnitude more. My vinyl-sided 2,700-sq ft house here in Connecticut cost over $400K. I could get the same house in Houston for half that amount.

–Winters suck in New England. In Houston, while summers are hot, you get used to it, and there is A/C everywhere. You rarely need a coat or jacket.

–There’s more of everything in Houston. In Connecticut, there are about 2 grocery chains in the whole state, and the variety of restaurants is just pathetic. (If I never see a low-end Italian joint or a Dunkin’ Donuts again, it would still be too soon.) Houston has a different grocery store every block or so, and the variety of restaurants is just fantastic.

–For what it’s worth, Houston is very unlike people’s stereotypical view of Texas. It’s much more cosmopolitan than most people would suppose.

If my wife wasn’t from New England, I’d probably move back there.

BTW, I’m a Rice University alum, and have fond memories of the Rice Village and the Gingerman.

[lieu]

Another “Ginger man” checkin’ in, although we spent a lot more time at its sister bar, the Volcano.

Make a Houdopefest if you can sometime, sturmhauke. We’ll look forward to making your acquaintance and can pepper your Houston questions with more details and even some of those anecdote thingys.

lieu - apparently a “pig-people”

[Jackknifed_Juggernaut]

I lived in Houston from '96 to '98, to get my Master’s at Rice. Coming from the NYC area, I was quite depressed for the first couple of weeks. But I quickly fell in love with the city. There are so many things to do if you just try to find them. It is the 4th largest city in the America, after all. I was big underground club-goer back then, and I discovered a very under-rated nightlife. The people are generally friendlier than in northeast cities. I’m of Indian descent and never once experienced any racism or discrimination there. Plus, the weather. I hate the cold weather. It’s hot in Houston, but every place is air-conditioned. Make sure your car has good A/C.

Since it is such a spacious city, there is alot of room. I noticed that restaurants and bars are so much larger and provide much more breathing space than those in denser cities. To this day, whenever I go to a nice NYC restaurant, I get irritated at the lack of space. This reduces my enjoyment of good food. Houston has excellent and affordable food (except that the pizza sucks). It’s also cleaner than any northeast city.

And then there are the women. Houston is filled with gorgeous women of all ethnic backgrounds. And IMHO, they’re more open and approachable than their equals in NYC. Women who were raised in the urban northeast have a natural (and understandable) mistrust of men. I didn’t find this to be the case in H-town.

While I lived in walking distance from Rice Village, I spent most of my time away from there. I wasn’t a big beer drinker back then, so the Gingerman wasn’t my cup of tea. It only serves beer and wine. But now when I visit there, I seem to gravitate towards Rice Village and the Gingerman.

[Bridget_Burke]

@faithfool

I…So I now look at places like Houston as having that melting pot that isn’t completely stirred and I think I wouldn’t mind being a part. I mean hell, they had Ikea first and that funeral museum looks awesome…

The thing about most of Texas–Houston, especially–is that it’s not finished yet. The Greater Houston area reaches toward the Gulf, but there’s little of that scenery stuff (mountains, bodies of water) to restrain growth. So the area has an ungainly, adolescent feel–including a few blemishes. But people keep moving here from all over the world, bettering themselves & bettering us. (& opening restaurants!)

More Houston sites: The Art Car Museum. The Beer Can House–recently restored by the folks who run The Orange Show. Want more serious art?

Then, there’s the exquisite Menil.

[OneCentStamp]

@Bridget Burke

More Houston sites: The Art Car Museum. The Beer Can House–recently restored by the folks who run The Orange Show. Want more serious art?

Then, there’s the exquisite Menil.

No, they’re second-rate, all of them. And run by porcine illiterates to boot. :mad:

I’m kidding. I love the Museum District, and have the good fortune to work two blocks from MFAH, where I sometimes take a long lunch break on free Thursdays.

[InLucemEdita]

@sturmhauke

I’d appreciate if you could elaborate on why you feel it was such a huge mistake.

You’re welcome.

@sturmhauke

Just because you don’t like a place doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with it. It rubs you the wrong way, that’s fine. That doesn’t mean Texas is entirely populated by assholes.

Right. Enjoy your weekend visits to the Beer-can House.

[joyfool]

Thanks for the list Bridget! I’d truly be interested in checking out the Menil and The Orange Show rocks!!

[Ice_Machine]

@sturmhauke

I have job possibility brewing up in Sugar Land, and want to know what living in the area would be like.

I’ve been in Houston for a decade now, the last several years in Stafford right next to Sugarland and in fact plan to move into Sugarland proper in the next year or so.

Just how bad are the summers? I’ve been in New Orleans in July, is it comparable to that?

Yes, they’re bad. I’m originally from Toronto and am still not used to the summers but I think the great winters make up for it.

How’s traffic? Around here, driving generally takes about twice as long as you’d expect just by looking at the distance.

Traffic can be really bad depending on when you’re driving. If you work and live in Sugarland you’ll have no problem at all and pretty much whereever you live driving to Sugarland will be opposite traffic. 59 is actually a pretty decent Hwy. Stay away from I-10.

How’s public transportation? The Bay Area has a bunch of separate transit systems with limited overlap, so it can be a huge pain in the ass if you’re going very far.

Pretty much non-existent. Only feasible if you work/live downtown or medical center and use METRO.

What’s the housing market look like? Prices are bound to be cheaper than here, but how much? Is there a lot of new development, or is it mostly older houses? Do they tend to have large or small lots? (San Francisco houses, for instance, have tiny lots.) Are there a lot of those ugly 50s tract houses all over the place? Are prices crashing like they are here?

Excellent prices as long as you stay outside of the innerloop (610) and even the outer loop (Beltway 8). I’m just outside Beltway 8 and my house would be twice the price just outside 610 and three times in some other central areas. Size of lots, age and type of houses can vary signifcantly but certainly the further outside you go the houses and lots get bigger, the houses are newer and the prices cheaper.

What’s the state of the high tech industry? Here, there are a crapload of jobs, but an even bigger crapload of skilled people, so competition is stiff. If I ended up getting this job but losing it in a year or two, what are my chances of getting something else in the area?

No idea bout high-tech. Austin would probably be much better.

What’s there to do for fun? Museums, concerts, game stores, restaurants, funky neighborhoods, natural sights, whatever.

Since Houston is something like the 4th largest city in the U.S. it has everything. Sugarland itself is more family oriented so you’ll need to go into Houston proper for most things. I think Houston has one of the largest densities of restaturants.

Perhaps most importantly, will I, a long-haired, half-Filipino, atheist, fairly leftist Democrat, Bay Area native, and my wife, an agnostic Jew and even more leftist Democrat, suffer from fatal culture shock?

I’m an extremely liberal (Democrats are too conservative for me) atheist and my wife is more agnostic/spiritual but far from religious. Sugarland, I think also has the largest Asian population in the Houston area and my wife happens to be Taiwanese. We survive just fine here but I’m not very vocal about my atheism or political leanings and my long hair had to go before I landed my first job here.

[mariposalabrown]

I have been lurking at this site for about 6 years now, I can’t believe this is the thread that caused me to post for the first time. First of all, InLucimedita’s post saying “Enjoy your weekend visits to the Beer Can House” just made me actually snort out loud. That thing is cool once when you are 16 and stoned. There is no need to ever see it again, but that first time is pretty cool.

I was born and raised here in Houston. I was born in shit town La Porte, moved to weird asian gangland Alief when I was 6, and then spent years 11-18 in Memorial. Once I graduated Memorial High, I tailed it out of here to go to UT, spent my four years in Austin, got sick of it, and moved to LA, vowing to never live in Texas ever again. Then I got sick of LA, so I came back to Houston and moved to the Heights. And what do you know? I freaking love it. I’m 28 and single and love the music and bar scene, so it just works for me. However, my parents also moved from Memorial to the Heights and they love it too! Great places to eat, cool bars, fantastic vintage shops on 19th street, I don’t want to live here forever, but it’s great right now and the only place in Houston I could stay sane. Rent is a little under Bay Area prices in this area though, it’s not cheap. I’ve been looking to buy, and I can get a crackhouse for around 200k.

Traffic is a bitch. Sugarland sucks, but if you have a young family and want to buy a nice house for cheap as hell, then go for it. I would suggest moving in town and doing the commute like the others have said. Your commute won’t be bad at all. The Gingerman has an excellent selection of beer, but I never go there anymore, I stick to the Montrose bars like Poison Girl and Catbird’s. The selection of food is fantastic here, except for the fact that most taqueria’s that people say are so awesome are really only good at 2 in the morning when you are drunk.

I forget that most of Houston is big fat people. The people I am around are skinny hipsters that came back from Williamsburg because they were sick of sleeping in a closet there for 800 bucks. The art scene is great, the music scene is awful, but there are a couple decent bands, Spain Colored Orange and the Medicine Show are two of them. I was laughing at the pig people comment because I found myself at a Wal-Mart in Pasadena over the weekend (don’t ask) and we were actually counting how many other “regular people” were there. There were 9 at last count.

For what it is, I find Housotn to be very very tolerant, much more than you would expect. Obviously, I live in the “cool” part of town, and am not privvy to the secret mutterings going on in Cypress or League City, but even the people I meet from those parts are nothing but nice and polite. The only place I really don’t like is Midtown, because it’s only about getting laid, and every single guy is wearing those buttondown shirts that look like they have tattos all over them with their stupid fauxhawks, Diesel jeans, and black dressy shoes. The girls are always way hot, and you can actually approach them, although you better have a nice car if you want to keep their interest.

Overall, Houston is cool. Stay inside the Loop as much as possible. Oh. And yes, Houston is pretty ugly, the Zoo is depressing, but the Contemporary Art Museum and Art Car Parade are awesome. Two weekends ago, I was sitting on the patio of Onion Creek and a parade of skateboarders, roller bladers, and crazy art cars with flames shooting from the top and everyone had crazy lights all over them strolled by. The kind of thing I would expcet to see in Venice Beach. Sorry for the big ole paragraphs.

[mariposalabrown]

I’m sorry for misspelling Houston and the word “expect” wrong. I got all excited and started typing too fast. Also, want to say that I didn’t mean offense with “big fat people”. Most of Houston is not. However, the people at that Wal-mart were indeed mostly morbidly obese with animal like faces and I’m mainly talking trash because there was poop on the ground and the masses of unsupervised kids would not get out of my way when I was the only one that actually had money to buy Super Mario Galaxy. Oh, and I came off like a bitch because I was in Wal-Mart in the first place. Never again.

[InLucemEdita]

I just remembered!!!

Tom Delay is one of the pig-people!!!

http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050908/050908_tomdelay_vmed.widec.jpg

You don’t have to be fat to be a pig-person…but it helps.

[Clothahump]

Native Houstonian here. I’ve lived in several foreign countries: Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, The People’s Republic of Austin, et. al., and I keep coming back because Houston is where it’s at, baby!

@sturmhauke

I have job possibility brewing up in Sugar Land, and want to know what living in the area would be like.

Just how bad are the summers? I’ve been in New Orleans in July, is it comparable to that?

N. O. is actually worse than Houston. SWMBO was born and raised there; she says Houston summers are a cakewalk compared to N. O. Mind you, for someone not used to heat and humidity, it will still be hard. But your complexion will be smooth and wonderful, that’s for sure.

How’s traffic? Around here, driving generally takes about twice as long as you’d expect just by looking at the distance.

If you live more than about 5-10 miles from work, it will be a monumental pain in the ass. Especially if you have to use a freeway. If your job is in the Suger Land area, you’re golden. If your job is in downtown Houston, you’re in a world of shit.

How’s public transportation? The Bay Area has a bunch of separate transit systems with limited overlap, so it can be a huge pain in the ass if you’re going very far.

Metro is a joke, and not a very funny one at that.

What’s the housing market look like? Prices are bound to be cheaper than here, but how much? Is there a lot of new development, or is it mostly older houses? Do they tend to have large or small lots? (San Francisco houses, for instance, have tiny lots.) Are there a lot of those ugly 50s tract houses all over the place? Are prices crashing like they are here?

Not crashing, but if you take your time, you can get a good deal on just about any kind of house you want.

What’s the state of the high tech industry? Here, there are a crapload of jobs, but an even bigger crapload of skilled people, so competition is stiff. If I ended up getting this job but losing it in a year or two, what are my chances of getting something else in the area?

Houston’s job market is usually strong. There have only been a couple of bad market stretches in the last 20 years; most of the time, employers are yelling for people.

What’s there to do for fun? Museums, concerts, game stores, restaurants, funky neighborhoods, natural sights, whatever.

All of the above. Natural sights we’re a little short on, but we’ve got the coast less than 50 miles away in Galveston. We’ve got pro sports if you into that as well.

Perhaps most importantly, will I, a long-haired, half-Filipino, atheist, fairly leftist Democrat, Bay Area native, and my wife, an agnostic Jew and even more leftist Democrat, suffer from fatal culture shock?

Nah, but the sooner you learn how to decline “y’all”, the better.

[flickster]

Been here since 2004 but live in the far northwest burbs (Cy-Fair area). Quiet neighborhood, but almost too quiet. Too bad there’s not a neighborhood tap within walking distance (my Wisconsin roots are showing). Would go into the club section of town more often but don’t want to deal with the 20 mile drive home after a night of enjoyment at places like the fabled Gingerman.

As for making the rare trip to Wally World, I learned early on to pick locations and time wisely. You would have to beat me with a crowbar to visit Walmart at Hwy 529 & Hwy 6, much less go on Saturday. It’s not the aforementioned pig-people (hell, my years and plus sizes are creeping upwards as well), it’s the people that have no concept of personal space and the hoards of uncontrolled kids that drive me crazy. Don’t even get me started on the nut jobs driving around the parking lot…

Typically, our restaurant and entertainment $$ are spent in the northwest quadrant bordered by Hwy 290, Beltway 8 and Westheimer. I know, boring, but it works for us.

Thankfully we at least have Spec’s out in the burbs to help keep our wine rack filled (except on Sunday that is).

[Bridget_Burke]

@mariposalabrown

I’m sorry for misspelling Houston and the word “expect” wrong. I got all excited and started typing too fast. Also, want to say that I didn’t mean offense with “big fat people”. Most of Houston is not. However, the people at that Wal-mart were indeed mostly morbidly obese with animal like faces and I’m mainly talking trash because there was poop on the ground and the masses of unsupervised kids would not get out of my way when I was the only one that actually had money to buy Super Mario Galaxy. Oh, and I came off like a bitch because I was in Wal-Mart in the first place. Never again.

My late Mom & I went out to eat a couple of times a week. We found that, when eating Inside the Loop, we sometimes felt a bit tacky next to the hip & chic patrons. But if we dined Outside the Loop–hey, we realized we were quite svelte! There’s good food all over–civilization is spreading even to darkest Outside The Loop!

I’ve never liked WalMart. And they just built a Target about a mile from my house. (Which is just about a mile from Onion Creek–in the opposite direction.

[Tabula_Rasa]

Molly Ivins said that Houston is Los Angeles with the climate of Calcutta.

To be fair, I thought highly of the Houston Galleria when I was fourteen, especially the ice rink. A big chunk of ice in a highly air conditioned environment is a welcome hangout in Houston in the summer.

[beowulf573]

@Tabula Rasa

Molly Ivins said that Houston is Los Angeles with the climate of Calcutta.

Having been to Calcutta, she’s not far off. But our traffic and air quality are better. Believe it or not.

[sturmhauke]

Well, it seems my job lead in Houston has dried up and died. My contact there hasn’t responded to numerous calls and emails, so I don’t know what the hell the story is. Thanks for the input though, Dopers.

[pravnik]

Bummer. Sorry to hear your job lead went south.

[OneCentStamp]

@pravnik

Sorry to hear your job lead went south.

Where, Galveston?

(sorry, sturmhauke)