Dallas vs. Houston?

[AmberGretchen]

Hello my lovely PS''ers. Some of you may remember my post a couple of weeks ago asking for dust for a job I really want. Well, I still don''t have an official offer, but things are looking promising. If I do get an offer, I''d have a choice between Dallas or Houston. I didn''t want to jinx anything, but since the company are asking for slightly more firm office preferences, I wanted to get some advice here from those who have lived in either Dallas or Houston.

In addition to my job, DH also wants to start a master''s degree in Computer Science, which he could do in either city. So far, this is my list of thoughts:

Dallas:

pro''s - better weather, smaller, less traffic, closer to the airport, larger office for company would mean more exposure to higher-ups at the company for me

Houston:

pro''s - smaller office at company would mean better opportunity to really get to know people there, have already really bonded with two people who work in that office, better university for DH for his degree, larger city + more diverse

Other lifestyle factors we want to consider would include a dog-friendly (and animal friendly in general city), good shopping, dining, hopefully some theater and museums, decent social scene for 20-somethings, and anything else you can think of.

Insights on either or both cities from those of you who have been there or live there would be fantastic - I''ve not spent a lot of time in either.

 

[meresal]

Date: 11/14/2008 2:23:08 PM
Author:AmberGretchen
Hello my lovely PS'ers. Some of you may remember my post a couple of weeks ago asking for dust for a job I really want. Well, I still don't have an official offer, but things are looking promising. If I do get an offer, I'd have a choice between Dallas or Houston. I didn't want to jinx anything, but since the company are asking for slightly more firm office preferences, I wanted to get some advice here from those who have lived in either Dallas or Houston.

In addition to my job, DH also wants to start a master's degree in Computer Science, which he could do in either city. So far, this is my list of thoughts:

Dallas:

pro's - better weather, smaller, less traffic, closer to the airport, larger office for company would mean more exposure to higher-ups at the company for me

Houston:

pro's - smaller office at company would mean better opportunity to really get to know people there, have already really bonded with two people who work in that office, better university for DH for his degree, larger city + more diverse

Other lifestyle factors we want to consider would include a dog-friendly (and animal friendly in general city), good shopping, dining, hopefully some theater and museums, decent social scene for 20-somethings, and anything else you can think of.

Insights on either or both cities from those of you who have been there or live there would be fantastic - I've not spent a lot of time in either.

Ok I've live in both cities so here's my take:

Dallas: Other than humidity being lower, the weather is not necessarily "better". You will deal with tornados, hail storms, icy roads, major thunderstorms, and flash flooding. Yes, there is less traffic, but can still get bad depending on which way you are going from downtown. Dallas has two airports. Unless you are going to Law School at SMU, I wouldn't think education is a stong arguement. Has a great nightlife for mid mid 20's and up.

Houston: Other than the ocassional hurricane (first big one this year in 25 years!), the weather is pretty "tropical". Yes it's humid and it stays into the 80's all the way thru mid November. I've been here almost two years, haven't seen any hail or ice, and my frist "hurricane" season (2007) was nothing more than some light showers every afternoon ("tropical"), and this past one (200 was very subdued except for Ike. Houston is very diverse. They have a great museum district, and they are always busy on Sunday afternoon's. The cost of living in Houston is unreal, extremely low. If you decide to live outside the city, Houston has a great commuter program and you can pretty much get anywhere around downtown/midtown/medical district that you need to, without having to sit in traffic leaving the city. All the major highways coming into the city have HOV lanes. Houston has 2 airports, unforunately the main one is on the far north side of town. (I'm far SE, and it takes me about 40 minutes). From what I've seen, the nightlife for anyone older than mid 30's is pretty limited. Houston is more of a family town, whereas Dallas is keen to singles of all ages. Midtown is kind of a younger crowd. Has a really nice theatre right downtown.

ETA: I will never live in or near downtown Houston. The only reason I tolerate it, is because we live right on the water. I see seagulls in the morning and palm trees everyday.

 

[FireGoddess]

I lived in Houston for 5.5 years, and I would NEVER, EVER go back to live there again. Ever. If I had to live in Texas, I'd choose Dallas hands down.

The weather is a little better in Dallas and it's a serious consideration - it's brutal in the summer and the mosquitoes and humidity in Houston are unreal. A little less humidity (Dallas) makes a big difference. I lived in the museum district in Houston. The museums are nice, definitely. But living there vs visiting are completely different animals, IMO (and you could see these things on a visit).

*Please don't flame me diehard Texans, I'm sure you have pride in your state/city but it wasn't my cup of tea and I'm entitled to my opinion on that.

*

 

[LAJennifer]

I just have to laugh after having opened this topic - because my first thought after viewing the heading was, "Hmmm, the Cowboys vs the Texans . . . well the Texans have that really great rookie running back Steve Slaton . . ."

Sorry that I am of no help to your situation.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Wow, thanks for the insights so far Meresal and FG. Very helpful to hear from people who have lived there. I do think that DH and I might be those people who would really *feel* the weather difference if that makes sense - neither of us is big fans of humidity, and we''ve definitely gotten spoiled on that front living in Northern California. That said I did spend two summers in the Northeast and I''m sure I could handle it if the other considerations were especially compelling.

Re: the education, DH is looking to get a master''s degree in computer science, with a research component, and he has pretty specific areas he''d like to look at. For his specific interests, it would be a question between Rice in Houston and UT Dallas. Rice has a better program for the area he specifically wants to study. Anyway, I don''t know if that changes anything, but just putting it out there.

LAJennifer - too funny, though I''m a die-hard 49ers fan (sad time to be one, too

) and DH will always be loyal to his Patriots.

(not to cast aspersions on any New Englanders!)

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Meresal, are you going to be able to make it to the Houston GTG on Sunday?

I'm originally from Vegas, moved to DFW about 8 years ago, and my husband is from Houston.

Here is my take on both cities:

Dallas: Depending on where you live, you'll either love or hate Dallas. I've lived un Uptown (loved), Irving (south, not a fan), Addison (fun for young couples but higher crime because of all of the bars in the area), Euless (not bad and proximity to airport can't be beat), and 3 houses in Plano (west and north Plano, and I love the area). I've worked all over the West side of the metroplex, and I've never had more than a 40 minute commute, even when I was over 25 miles away from my place of work - just have to live opposite the traffic patterns. Great museum district, and amazing food. OMG, there's a reason all of the best Top Chef contestants come from Dallas. I will say this - if you live near the Highland Park/Uptown areas, the snootiness appreciates greatly for every block you live closer to Preston road/McKinney. The weather, it's extremely cyclical. We had an amazingly mild summer this year - I can't deal with too much humidity, and Dallas is fairly tolerable to me, while Houston is not. The winter is somewhat of a wash, it does get colder in Dallas, and icey roads are no fun, but it's usually a once per winter occurance. Cost of living is fairly similar - suburb to suburb. There are loads of good universities here, just depends on your husband's focus.

Houston: I think the same location situation applies to Houston - it all depends on the part of the city you live in. SIL lives in Champion Forest (amazing, amazing neighbourhood), FIL lives in South Houston. Cost of living is fairly similar - suburb to suburb. Our home builder sells the same homes (exact floorplans) in Houston, that we bought in Plano (DFW) for about the same starting price ours started at. I think the difference may only be $2k-$3k on $200k - $250k+ homes. I'm not a fan of the traffic, at all. Having repeatedly sat through both rush hours (and I'm on my way to Houston as soon as I post this), Houston's is MUCH worse (at least north to south), and it starts backing up in Centerville on Friday afternoons. Yay.

Not a fan of the roads - I've had major damage done to my car nearly every trip to Houston from an unmarked/unrepaired pothole. Restaurant selection is also outstanding, arts and theatre district on par with DFW.

My pick was Dallas, simply due to the milder summers and lower humidity. Both cities are pretty similar in their spread and job opportunities.

Either way, I think you should come to both cities to check them out. If need be, my house is always open to PSers.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Just saw your comment about your husband and Computer Science - UTD has one of the best schools in TX, as my husband can attest to, as he's a CS grad from UTD.

What specific area does he want to study - I can get my husband's first-hand comments on it sometime this weekend.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Lauren - thank you so much for the very thorough information - that helps a lot.

I haven''t looked much at specific neighborhoods yet (as I said, I don''t even officially have the offer yet, though things are looking promising as I detailed in my thread asking for job dust), but I think in Dallas the office would be in downtown where I''d be working (McKinney I think was the address), although they are moving to a larger office next year anyway - probably a similar area though. I think we are more in the "live in the urban area and rent or maybe buy a condo/loft" stage of our life than being ready to really buy a home and settle down, but it sounds like those would be options in both cities.

Its funny you should mention the cost of living too - I had honestly just mentally blocked out any potential differences because Northern California is so astronomically more expensive than either one I figured it would be a huge reduction in costs either way LOL

You''re too sweet with the offer to stay - we would definitely plan a trip for me and DH to visit (unfortunately he can''t join me at the company''s sell weekend that I''ve been tentatively invited to next weekend) both cities and try to get a sense of each one. I''m sure if/when that happens I''ll be looking to set up GTGs in either or both places if at all possible - I''d love to meet all the PSers down there

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 11/14/2008 2:51:04 PM
Author: FireGoddess
I lived in Houston for 5.5 years, and I would NEVER, EVER go back to live there again. Ever. If I had to live in Texas, I''d choose Dallas hands down.

*Please don''t flame me diehard Texans, I''m sure you have pride in your state/city but it wasn''t my cup of tea and I''m entitled to my opinion on that.

*

As someone who has lived in the Houston area for the last seven years....I say Dallas. I absolutely LOATHE it here.
It''s funny you say that FG, because that I tell DH all the time that as soon as we get out of here I will NEVER look back. In fact, I will do everything in my power to never even have to remember living here. I''m hoping it will be like it never happened. lol. That''s just me though--so please don''t get offended any lifelong Houstonians.

It''s funny because of all the people I''ve met since I''ve lived here I think maybe 30% are actually FROM here. They all come for job opportunities and the inexpensive real estate--but a lot of those same people dislike it as much at me (at least in MY experiences--no doubt it wouldn''t be the fourth largest city if no one wanted to make a life here).
I''ll rattle off the short list of things that I do not like:
-How spread out it is. The commute everywhere seems to take forever. Don''t get me started on the neverending highway construction. On top of that, it seems like everyone who works in the suburbs lives inside the loop (610), and everyone who works in the downtown/galleria and surrounding areas lives in the suburbs. It''s this huge anomaly that I haven''t quite figured out yet.
-The weather. The humidity, mostly. It is hot for most of the year. Our winters consist of brief spurts of cold fronts that last about 3-4 days. You could be wearing shorts and a t-shirt on Tuesday and a sweater and jacket on Wednesday.
-There really isn''t anything of interest to do here with the exception of the museum district, NASA. I will admit that we have a pretty slamming museum district. We do have some good parks too, for instance Memorial park--which would be a great place to bring your dog(s) IF you can handle the heat.
-In my opinion, what I find so uninteresting about Houston is that the average area has about 20 strip centers that all have the same stores in them, a range of apartment complexes, and then some housing developments. It''s lacking beauty. It''s lacking interest. It''s lacking history. It''s lacking great architecture. It''s lacking a sense of "community". It''s lacking a "home sweet home" feel. I don''t even feel at home in my own house. No matter how much I decorate and try to make it my home I just can''t. I feel like I live in a huge, temporary storage shed.
-I have heard that almost every other major city in Texas is more interesting, including Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Lubbock...etc.

Again, that''s my short list, and I was trying to keep it pg. I could go on and on though. I really just don''t like it here. Please keep in mind that it is my personal opinion, and one that took me a couple of years to form by my own experiences and my own opinions (which obviously might differ from someone elses). Houston might be someone else''s treasure, depending on what YOU consider treasure. You know?

P.S. Houston does have an amazing array of restaurants, which is about the only thing I''d miss.

Depending on what you like to do, there are plenty of places for 20 somethings in terms of pubs and such.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Lauren - I''ll check with the DH to try to get some more specifics, as I''m not well-versed in CS at all (life sciences person myself), but I think it has to do with programming languages and theoretical computer science - he''s not really into software engineering as much, and definitely no AI or graphics or anything like that. That would be awesome if your DH had some insights into the program at UTD - I wish there was a way for us to get in touch...

 

[AmberGretchen]

luckystar - I really appreciate your opinions - that''s what I''m looking for here, and I recognize that everyone will have their own (in fact I talked to someone in the firm''s Dallas office who felt exactly the opposite a couple of weeks ago). That said, I can see where a lot of what you say may be coming from, and I think it will really help me when we visit there to know what to look out for and be able to get more than just being a visitor in the sense of being able to think carefully about what would actually bother me personally vs. what wouldn''t.

I am sorry you are so unhappy there and I hope you have an opportunity soon to move to a place you like better

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 11/14/2008 3:23:00 PM
Author: luckystar112

Date: 11/14/2008 2:51:04 PM
Author: FireGoddess
I lived in Houston for 5.5 years, and I would NEVER, EVER go back to live there again. Ever. If I had to live in Texas, I''d choose Dallas hands down.

*Please don''t flame me diehard Texans, I''m sure you have pride in your state/city but it wasn''t my cup of tea and I''m entitled to my opinion on that.

*

As someone who has lived in the Houston area for the last seven years....I say Dallas. I absolutely LOATHE it here.
It''s funny you say that FG, because that I tell DH all the time that as soon as we get out of here I will NEVER look back. In fact, I will do everything in my power to never even have to remember living here. I''m hoping it will be like it never happened. lol. That''s just me though--so please don''t get offended any lifelong Houstonians.

It''s funny because of all the people I''ve met since I''ve lived here I think maybe 30% are actually FROM here. They all come for job opportunities and the inexpensive real estate--but a lot of those same people dislike it as much at me (at least in MY experiences--no doubt it wouldn''t be the fourth largest city if no one wanted to make a life here).
I''ll rattle off the short list of things that I do not like:
-How spread out it is. The commute everywhere seems to take forever. Don''t get me started on the neverending highway construction. On top of that, it seems like everyone who works in the suburbs lives inside the loop (610), and everyone who works in the downtown/galleria and surrounding areas lives in the suburbs. It''s this huge anomaly that I haven''t quite figured out yet.
-The weather. The humidity, mostly. It is hot for most of the year. Our winters consist of brief spurts of cold fronts that last about 3-4 days. You could be wearing shorts and a t-shirt on Tuesday and a sweater and jacket on Wednesday.
-There really isn''t anything of interest to do here with the exception of the museum district, NASA. I will admit that we have a pretty slamming museum district. We do have some good parks too, for instance Memorial park--which would be a great place to bring your dog(s) IF you can handle the heat.
-In my opinion, what I find so uninteresting about Houston is that the average area has about 20 strip centers that all have the same stores in them, a range of apartment complexes, and then some housing developments. It''s lacking beauty. It''s lacking interest. It''s lacking history. It''s lacking great architecture. It''s lacking a sense of ''community''. It''s lacking a ''home sweet home'' feel. I don''t even feel at home in my own house. No matter how much I decorate and try to make it my home I just can''t. I feel like I live in a huge, temporary storage shed.
-I have heard that almost every other major city in Texas is more interesting, including Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Lubbock...etc.

Again, that''s my short list, and I was trying to keep it pg. I could go on and on though. I really just don''t like it here. Please keep in mind that it is my personal opinion, and one that took me a couple of years to form by my own experiences and my own opinions (which obviously might differ from someone elses). Houston might be someone else''s treasure, depending on what YOU consider treasure. You know?

P.S. Houston does have an amazing array of restaurants, which is about the only thing I''d miss.

Depending on what you like to do, there are plenty of places for 20 somethings in terms of pubs and such.

LuckyStar - where are you from originally?

Oh, and can you make it to the GTG on Synday? I''m in town starting tonight . . . speaking of which, I''d better get to the house so we can start the drive!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 11/14/2008 3:23:11 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Lauren - I''ll check with the DH to try to get some more specifics, as I''m not well-versed in CS at all (life sciences person myself), but I think it has to do with programming languages and theoretical computer science - he''s not really into software engineering as much, and definitely no AI or graphics or anything like that. That would be awesome if your DH had some insights into the program at UTD - I wish there was a way for us to get in touch...

My husband does developing and graphic design now. Not sure what his schooling consisted of, but he took a look at the Masters program a while back, and was intrigued, liked the curriculum, but decided that he didn''t want to go back to school ever again.

He''s lazy, but well-informed.

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 11/14/2008 2:45:51 PM
Author: meresal


ETA: I will never live in or near downtown Houston. The only reason I tolerate it, is because we live right on the water. I see seagulls in the morning and palm trees everyday.

You know. I could definitely get used to that. I grew up about five minutes from the beach (back in the northeast). Now I live in the Spring/Tomball area (northwest, outside of the beltway), and we''re pretty much as far away from the beach as possible.

And we never go there, cause it takes us like an hour and half. Not to mention some parts of the beach are downright gross (I mean the public areas where people drive their cars on the sand and the water is all dirty).

ETA: I hope you don''t think I''m saying that your part of the beach is dirty and gross Meresal...I''m having a hard time figuring out how to word that. lol. I think I''m talking about Crystal beach??? Although I might be getting my beaches mixed up again...like I said I never go there anymore.

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 11/14/2008 3:27:49 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier


LuckyStar - where are you from originally?

Oh, and can you make it to the GTG on Synday? I'm in town starting tonight . . . speaking of which, I'd better get to the house so we can start the drive!

I'm originally from southern Maine which is like the antithesis of Houston. lol. It's small, quaint, right on the ocean, everyone waves to eachother, opposite weather, great sense of community lots of history, etc.
You could say that being raised outside of the city has made me dislike Houston because I just don't like city life. But that's not it. I just like smaller cities like Boston, Hartford, Portland, etc. But Houston is just so spread out (and with the exception of some pockets like the galleria area, museum district, the memorial area etc--very ugly) and uninteresting.
I don't know what part of Champion forest you SIL lives on, but that is basically our closest cross street. If she lives by the golf course on the north side of town than I agree those houses are amazing (and I consider it one of the good pockets). That is not far from me. I live about 5 minutes from Willowbrook mall.

As for Sunday, I'm not sure.

It's DH's birthday this weekend plus I'm trying to get a paper for school written, so we'll have to see. If not this time then next time.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 11/14/2008 3:23:00 PM
Author: luckystar112

Date: 11/14/2008 2:51:04 PM
Author: FireGoddess
I lived in Houston for 5.5 years, and I would NEVER, EVER go back to live there again. Ever. If I had to live in Texas, I''d choose Dallas hands down.

*Please don''t flame me diehard Texans, I''m sure you have pride in your state/city but it wasn''t my cup of tea and I''m entitled to my opinion on that.

*

As someone who has lived in the Houston area for the last seven years....I say Dallas. I absolutely LOATHE it here.
It''s funny you say that FG, because that I tell DH all the time that as soon as we get out of here I will NEVER look back. In fact, I will do everything in my power to never even have to remember living here. I''m hoping it will be like it never happened. lol. That''s just me though--so please don''t get offended any lifelong Houstonians.

It''s funny because of all the people I''ve met since I''ve lived here I think maybe 30% are actually FROM here. They all come for job opportunities and the inexpensive real estate--but a lot of those same people dislike it as much at me (at least in MY experiences--no doubt it wouldn''t be the fourth largest city if no one wanted to make a life here).
I''ll rattle off the short list of things that I do not like:
-How spread out it is. The commute everywhere seems to take forever. Don''t get me started on the neverending highway construction. On top of that, it seems like everyone who works in the suburbs lives inside the loop (610), and everyone who works in the downtown/galleria and surrounding areas lives in the suburbs. It''s this huge anomaly that I haven''t quite figured out yet.
-The weather. The humidity, mostly. It is hot for most of the year. Our winters consist of brief spurts of cold fronts that last about 3-4 days. You could be wearing shorts and a t-shirt on Tuesday and a sweater and jacket on Wednesday.
-There really isn''t anything of interest to do here with the exception of the museum district, NASA. I will admit that we have a pretty slamming museum district. We do have some good parks too, for instance Memorial park--which would be a great place to bring your dog(s) IF you can handle the heat.
-In my opinion, what I find so uninteresting about Houston is that the average area has about 20 strip centers that all have the same stores in them, a range of apartment complexes, and then some housing developments. It''s lacking beauty. It''s lacking interest. It''s lacking history. It''s lacking great architecture. It''s lacking a sense of ''community''. It''s lacking a ''home sweet home'' feel. I don''t even feel at home in my own house. No matter how much I decorate and try to make it my home I just can''t. I feel like I live in a huge, temporary storage shed.
-I have heard that almost every other major city in Texas is more interesting, including Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Lubbock...etc.

Again, that''s my short list, and I was trying to keep it pg. I could go on and on though. I really just don''t like it here. Please keep in mind that it is my personal opinion, and one that took me a couple of years to form by my own experiences and my own opinions (which obviously might differ from someone elses). Houston might be someone else''s treasure, depending on what YOU consider treasure. You know?

P.S. Houston does have an amazing array of restaurants, which is about the only thing I''d miss.

Depending on what you like to do, there are plenty of places for 20 somethings in terms of pubs and such.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with your post, and I could have written it myself verbatim!!! I do agree that the food is the one thing about Houston that I thought was fantastic, and still do think that to this day. But I''d cut off a thumb before being forced to live there again.

I couldn''t even bring myself to itemize the cons, because it would just ''take me back there'' and you did it very succinctly and definitely hit the highlights!! I was there during an ice storm. I was there during the huge flood that took the medical center out of commission and stopped the city cold. But those still aren''t the reasons I wouldn''t go back.

A friend of mine moved to Dallas a few years ago and loves it. I went to visit her and I had to admit, it was pretty darn nice.

 

[curiopotter]

I''d pick Houston. I moved from Puerto Rico and I''ve lived here for 20 years.

There''s just more economic opportunity here. But with the economic opportunity, we get a lot of people who come from other cities and its tough for them to adapt.

Dallas may be hipper (older money sophistication), but Houston has so much to offer too. Our cost of living is extremely low. Gas prices are extremely low. We have our ivy league Rice University, along with my alumna The University of Houston (Go Coogs!) St. Thomas University, and Baylor University . Yes, Houston is spread out, yes it''s hot, YES there''s traffic, but I just feel like there''s more to do here. We have some great museums, architecture, and little artistic nooks that you just can''t find in Dallas.

My neighborhood has a really good community. All of our neighbors look out for one another, and we all know each other. The last friday of the month we all get together at our neigbor T''s driveway and gossip and eat chips and beer and just talk about what''s been going on. It''s really nice to have neighbors like mine. The neighborhood I grew up in was the same way. I mean, if you want a good sence of community, just read your local community paper and get involved, especially if you live in the suburbs. Our neighborhood has awesome walking trails and people actually use them here.
Here are some examples (There are so many more, I can''t possibly fit them all here):

There''s the Menil Museum and our Museum of Fine Arts Houston, which was built by Meis Van Der Rohe. Stuff to do and see? There''s the Houston Ballet, TUTS, Angelika Theatre, Houston Symphony, Penzoil Tower, Transco Tower and waterfall, Battleship San Jacinto, San Jacinto Monument, Buffalo Bayou and the Memorial Trails, Discovery Green, The children''s museum of Houston, Holocost Museum, Contemporary Arts Museum, Historic Bayou Bend, Reliant Stadium, Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center for hockey and concerts, The Cynthia Mitchell Woodlands Pavillion.. omg im running out of breath.. We have tons of shopping centers; Highland Village, Rice Village are really small ''walking boutique'' type strips. There''s also the wonderful Houston Galleria and Ice Skating rink. I remember you work in research of the immune system right? The medical center is top-notch here.

Amber, Are you looking to live inside the city or in the suburbs? What do you like to do? Are you planning on living here permanently or just for a few years?

 

[ChinaCat]

Hi Amber.

I have lived in both Dallas and Houston. I would pick Dallas.

I personally agree with all of the negative things about H-Town- too spread out, the weather is disgusting, it floods like every week, no sense of identity as a city, etc.

I will say that some people really dislike Dallas and love Houston. Dallas has a rap for being more snooty and not inclusive. This is true to some degree- you''ll notice people get more "dressed" in Dallas and such. However, if you are not that into it and find your own way, you won''t notice it too much. Houston is definitely more laid-back, casual town. You never have to get dressed up, most of the bars are funky outdoor beer halls, which is cool. There is a arts scene here, great museums. It is way more diverse here- well, I don''t think it''s more diverse, but it''s more mixed here. In Dallas, it seems like people stick to their neighborhoods where it is more mixed up here. Houston has great ethnic food.

I personally don''t find the restaurants to be all that great, but that''s just me.

There. I tried to be nice about Houston. All of the nice things being said, I have to say I really dislike it here. I lived in California for a long time, and there is something a bit unsophisticated about Houston. I can''t put my finger on why- they have fantastic museums, university (area near Rice is beautiful), etc, but it just doesn''t have an overall great feel. It''s pretty ugly- mostly due to no zoning. Which means you can have a convenience store in your residential neighborhood, go figure.

I can''t imagine moving here from Northern California. It''s not very outdoor friendly- too hot, too humid, too much concrete.

Can you move to Austin??? Now there''s the perfect Texas city.

I will leave Houston the first chance I get.

Now, that being said, remember some people love Houston.

Where are you moving from? What type of industry is your job in?

 

[AmberGretchen]

curio - wow, that''s a really awesome viewpoint, thanks so much for sharing.

I honestly don''t know how long we''d be there - it would depend on a lot of things - job situation, DH''s school situation, how well we like wherever we end up, family, etc...

I have to admit that both the cultural aspect (actually some of the kids I used to train for ballet with are in the Houston Ballet now) and the economic opportunities down there are very appealing

I think ideally we are more live in the city type of people - we tend to like being where its quiet enough to sleep at night but still within easy reach of major urban "stuff" (restaurants, shopping, movies, museums, etc...). Right now where we are is perfect - our neighborhood is quiet but we can be in downtown on a train in 10 minutes.

 

[ChinaCat]

Amber-

The economy is still pretty strong here, so that''s a plus for Houston. And it is very diverse. The Latin Grammys were here last night- I could see them from my office window.

As far as living- what you described you can find in both Dallas and Houston. Unless you choose to live too far out in the suburbs.

I feel bad for saying such bad things about Houston. The weird thing is that I can point out many great things, it''s just they don''t add up to a place that feels like home to me. Not sure why. But you can definitely find anything you need here.

Also, keep in mind that to those from outside Texas, Dallas and Houston are pretty similar. It''s only those within Texas that really think we are all that different. Houston is bigger, technically, but they feel about the same living-wise.

And though I find the weather gross, there are tons of people here that are really into biking and running, and everyone I know has a dog. Dallas too, for that matter.

Either way, if you love your job and have your DH and your dogs, you will be fine. Get ready for lots of Tex-Mex and queso!!! Yum.

 

[luvmyhalo]

I''ve lived in both and I would definitely pick Dallas.

The energy and social scene for a 20 something in Dallas is waaaaaay better than Houston. In Houston, I would say it is non-existant.

Houston was just sticky, hot, humid, smelly (SE Houston) and huge! I swear it seemed like if we went anywhere, it took us 45 minutes to get there. They have a good museum district and there are some pretty neighborhoods with very affordable homes. Tons of good restaurants and good shopping.

Dallas is definitely still hot but its not incredibly humid like Houston is. Dallas has a definite upscale feeling and the social scene can be a little materialistic at times. But not so much so that you won''t have a good time! They also have some good museums, great food and entertainment. Housing is a little more expensive here, but still affordable. Shopping is great!

My husband has had job offers to move back to Houston, I always tell him, it would have to be a LOOOOOOOT of money for us to move back there!

Would I move to Dallas again? In a heartbeat!

 

[luckystar112]

I think China used a word that described Houston perfectly: concrete. Concrete roads, concrete shopping centers, concrete everything. Small yards, not very much vegetation unless you count the landscaping on the medians and in the residential areas. I feel so blessed to go to school in The Woodlands (north of Houston) because it is so lush and gorgeous. The woodlands would be a great place to live because it's got bike trails, walking trails, and TREES (unless your job is close to downtown, since your commute would be atrocious). I go to a satellite school up there for UHD. That's another thing that bothers me about Houston, all of the schools are clumped together on one side of town...so people who live in the suburbs typically have a long commute. Seriously, do the University of Houston and the University of Houston Downtown have to be 15 minutes away from eachother? It makes no sense.

Someone said something about pot holes--very true. The roads are atrocious. Actually, as wonderful as the museum district is I remember just the other night I was watching on the news how there are tons of pot holes and graffiti all around the 9 mile block of the museum district. I remember the ONE time my mother came to visit me (she hasn't been back since) she commented on how crappy our roads were. The flooding is atrocious. I'm lucky to live in a neighborhood that doesn't flood but it's come close a couple of times. The thing is that Houston is very FLAT, and the water has no place to go.

While I did concede that the art scene (museums, etc) is great, things like the transco tower....it's a high rise. The stadiums, well are you a sports fan? Some people are.
Curio is lucky to live in a good neighborhood....they are out there. The people in our neighborhood mostly stay to themselves. We are friends with a couple of neighbors, that's it. There is a running joke in Houston that it takes a hurricane or other big storm to get all the neighbors together. Except its not a joke. That's exactly how we met our neighbors.
With a city so big, it is hard to make friends. In my case, the few close friends that I've made have all moved back home (including the people I moved down here with)! You will also find that the people that you do meet at work or what not probably live way across town. It's hard to make lasting friendships when you live 45 minutes away from someone. At least NEW friendships, since people don't typically want to go to the opposite side of town to hang out.

China was right about the funky outdoor beer halls. A lot of places will have patios, live music, and buckets of beer for you to purchase, and places like that are located all over the city. It's especially nice this time of year.

When I said Houston was ugly...that's what I was talking about---the concrete look to it and the lack of zoning. ESPECIALLY the lack of zoning. I don't know who's idea that was, but it's pretty silly. It just seems very commercial as well. Like I said before, it's strip center after strip center. I love to go into Old Town Spring off the north side of 45 and browse those mom and pop shops, but they are really few and far between.

ETA: There is also virtually no public transportation. There is the metro rail that is within the downtown area and metro busses that pretty much no one takes because it tripples the commute time. It is really unfortunate that Houston has that problem (and the pollution and traffic as a result of it) but there does not seem to be a solution.

 

[AmberGretchen]

chinacat - thanks so much for your thoughts. I''d love to live in Austin, but unfortunately the company I will (hopefully) be working for doesn''t have offices there, only Dallas and Houston

Oh well, I''m sure we''ll manage to make one of them work if this offer comes through - I mean, I feel like living in a new place always has a certain amount of excitement to it, I would have my dream job, DH would be happy being back in school, and so given all of that we''re unlikely to be completely miserable either place.

Luvmyhalo - thanks for adding your thoughts as well. There is certainly a lot arguing for Dallas on this board - I wonder how the PS opinion on Texas cities stacks up against the general population??

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Amber- just talked to DH in the car. He says if your
Husband wants the very best education- UTD by far. They are the TI farm school and. Regarded as the best curriculum. Rice would be on par with any state school as far as education is concerned, but being ivy league is good for the resume, but he said SMU would work just as well for the resume.

 

[elle]

Ita with Dallas having a hipper feel, it does somehow feel more "cultured" than Houston. But Houston''s got great pocket communities - the heights, rice university and even way out here in the pastures of Katy. People are friendlier - with most not being from Houston and having no family here, so you do get to make friends easily. Food is great, lots of fun activities (the Nutcracker Market is on now downtown and Madonna comes on Sun (she picked Houston over Dallas

!), traffic is improving with the new HOV lanes on I10 but it''s still far from perfect (took me 90mins in peak hour to get from downtown to Katy during peak hour vs 30 mins to get there), haven''t shopped in Dallas save the American Girl store in the Galleria but Houston more than satisfies my needs/wants plus don''t forget Whiteflash is in town too. I don''t know about crime rates in Dallas, but it''s a concern for me here. Our neighbours had a gun pulled on them downtown in broad daylight. I''ve only been here a couple of years though and I hear things here were better before.

If you''re adaptable and come with an open mind and if both cities offer similar options for your dh''s school, I''d go with the one that offers the best prospects career-wise. Just my 2c.

Good luck with deciding!

 

[HollyS]

I''m speaking strictly from a comfort level here . . . I would not choose to live in Houston simply because of the weather and humidity.

Both cities have their pluses and minuses. Both have great areas, good food, culture, things to do. I''m just talking weather. I need sun, blue skies, less rain, and lower humidity. And no possibility of hurricanes. I''d rather take my chances with tornadoes! LOL

 

[HollyS]

Date: 11/14/2008 3:45:20 PM
Author: luckystar112

Date: 11/14/2008 3:27:49 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier


LuckyStar - where are you from originally?

Oh, and can you make it to the GTG on Synday? I'm in town starting tonight . . . speaking of which, I'd better get to the house so we can start the drive!

I'm originally from southern Maine which is like the antithesis of Houston. lol. It's small, quaint, right on the ocean, everyone waves to eachother, opposite weather, great sense of community lots of history, etc.
You could say that being raised outside of the city has made me dislike Houston because I just don't like city life. But that's not it. I just like smaller cities like Boston, Hartford, Portland, etc. But Houston is just so spread out (and with the exception of some pockets like the galleria area, museum district, the memorial area etc--very ugly) and uninteresting.
I don't know what part of Champion forest you SIL lives on, but that is basically our closest cross street. If she lives by the golf course on the north side of town than I agree those houses are amazing (and I consider it one of the good pockets). That is not far from me. I live about 5 minutes from Willowbrook mall.

As for Sunday, I'm not sure.

It's DH's birthday this weekend plus I'm trying to get a paper for school written, so we'll have to see. If not this time then next time.

Well, that explains your loathing of Houston! You're from Maine! You poor thing!

Maine is one of my favorite places, and I've only been once -- to a friend's hometown of South Paris, to Freeport, Watertown, and North Conway, NH. And best of all, I went in September. While it was still a blast furnace in TX, it was fall in all its glory in Maine. Such a beautiful place; I must go back.

 

[jbazz]

Dallas is easier to get around in and the weather is more tolerable. Shopping is good in either area but the ultra high end goes to Houston.

Houston also has better arts and cultural offerings. And well, Houston is closer to Austin. Austin is super dog friendly. Their parks system is just heaven.

I guess the day to day living goes to Dallas and the entertainment and proximity to Austin/Hill Country/New Orleans goes to Houston.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Lauren - thanks for checking with your DH and getting his opinion. I''m sure if I get this offer and we''re moving forward with this, my DH will have some additional, more specific questions, if you guys wouldn''t mind? I know he''s mixed about having a big-name school for his masters - our undergrad is definitely a big name school (actual Ivy League), and so it might be more important for him to really target someplace that has the best fit for his (specific) research interests. As I said though, we''ve not put a ton of detailed thought into it, just because the offer isn''t actually in hand yet, and so it seemed premature.

elle - that''s an interesting point about the crime rates in Houston. I hadn''t really thought a whole lot about that, but I know DH and I would both want to live somewhere where we could feel safe, at least most of the time (obviously I know in any city, there will be places that I shouldn''t go by myself late at night), but having a gun pulled on you in broad daylight seems kind of extreme.

Holly - thanks for chiming in. DH and I tend to prefer less humidity too. But of course that''s not the only factor...(life is never that simple, is it?)

jbazz - thanks for your thoughts. That seems to be a succinct summary of what others have said on this thread, and I appreciate you chiming in. As I said, we''d love to live in Austin if we could, but unfortunately that wouldn''t be an option here.

 

[ChinaCat]

Just wanted to say good luck! And keep us posted on what happens.