Advice for a 22 year old (possibly) moving to Houston?

Question

I'm a 22 year old, '08 college graduate. I'm originally from New York, but I spent the last four years at school in North Carolina and I'm currently employed by a small investment bank in Charlotte. The company is expanding its efforts in Houston and I was asked to move to Texas to help with that effort. Just some quick questions (feel free to answer as many or as few as you'd like -- any help would be greatly appreciated!):

1. For anyone who moved to Houston from somewhere considerably different, what has your experience been like?

2. What's the social life like? I don't know anybody in Houston, so all of my friendships would be starting from scratch -- would it be easy to break into circles there?

3. What are some of the best neighborhoods for younger adults to live in?

4. What's the cost of living like?

5. Am I going to be treated like some sort of Yankee carpetbagger?

6. How easy is it to travel to other cities, such as Austin or New Orleans?

7. Anybody ever lived in both Charlotte and Houston and have some comparisons to offer?

I know those are all pretty random, but any guidance would be great. Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi.

1.I moved here from NYC and it was a bit of a shock but I've learned to like it here. The heat & humidity in the Summer are the worst. The people are so friendly that they scared me at first (NY paranoia).

2.You will make friends easily, like I said the people here are VERY friendly. It will not be hard to make new friends. And there are lots of other places to meet people besides church, your workplace, health clubs, sports clubs, night clubs, classes you might take, etc.

3.Young singles here are mostly in Mid Town or the loft buildings Downtown, a few in Montrose.

4.The cost of living here is better than any other big city that I know. Dining out is cheap as are homes compared to other large cities.

5.No, unless you make derogatory remarks about Texas or constantly compare Texas to NY.

6.Austin is a little over 2 hours by car and New Orleans about 5 hours.

7. I've been to Charlotte but never lived there. Houston is much,much larger in both population & size. Prepare to spend a lot of time in your car.

Welcome!

Answer 2

1. lived here most of my life

2.its very divers

3.with in the city limits = West U, Bellaire, Post Oak's area

   out of the city limits = Sugerland, Katy, Spring, Woodlands, Jersey Village, Humble, Pearland, Friendswood

4.yea..there are many

5.not really like i said very divers city

6. if you like driving then i guess ok but going to Austin i would say (driving) like 3-4 hours maybe less then 4 but yea...unless if you take a flight then i guess its much easier.

7.nope

here's a little welcome video to houston and i hope you like living here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7im9ndoTE...

Answer 3

1. The heat and humidity are pretty rotten. Drives my allergies crazy. Some blasted plant or other is ALWAYS in bloom it seems.  I was raised in the desert and will NEVER get used to the humidity.  Love the people, love the freedom, love the pro-growth attitude, and the "live and let live" feel to the place. In Houston people get excited about BUILDING things, in Yankee-land they all to often seem to get excited about stopping someone else from building something. Love the fact I can get a good job here.  That and it don't snow.

2. Texans are very friendly. The best way to meet people here is probably through your Church (yes we still do that here). ALL the Churches are active and involved, though the mega-churches tend to get more attention. As you can see the have singles programs, womens programs, mens programs, etc. and you meet a better quality of man. (The old joke is "Why can't I meet a good man, I go to all the singles bars?" "Well...you go to singles bars, you meet the kind of guy who goes to singles bars...duh!")

Lakewood is the biggest http://www.lakewood.cc/Pages/index.aspx but the preaching is a bit too "Feel good" and not quite Bible enough  for my personal taste. That being said over 48,000 people disagree with me on that point. There are also 2nd Baptist http://www.second.org/global/default.asp... Fellowship of the Woodlands http://www.fotw.org/  Chapelwood Methodist http://www.chapelwood.org/  and others http://www.sjd.org/ http://www.palmerchurch.org/default.asp?...  http://www.stvincentcatholicchurch.org/  http://www.emanuelhouston.org/

3. IF you aren't worried about school zones, things get a lot easier in Houston. The rule is you can have it cheap, close to work, or with good schools, pick any two. Around the Galleria area there are a lot of new condo projects going up, resturants, etc.  The area around Rice University is very nice, as is the Med Center, but it is on the expensive side and there aren't a lot of apartments.  We don't have zoning so the city has a unique feel to it. The lack of zoning makes for a mix of buisness and housing that is like an "Old World" city, with shops close by, but the fact we are a product of the automobile and the air conditioner mean you have to drive everywhere. Many neighborhoods don't even have sidewalks. You just don't walk here. check out http://www.har.com

Also the lack of zoning means good neighborhoods and bad are mixed in a crazy patchwork. Come out here and check the place out before you decide where to live. I used an apartment locator service when I first moved here, and it was a real blessing.

I'm assuming you want to live inside the loop...if you want to look at the suburbs there are lots of options but you will most likely have to drive.

4. What's the cost of living like?  About 80% of the national average.

5. Am I going to be treated like some sort of Yankee carpetbagger?

No.  You won't be a carptbagger if you have a job. People in Texas are friendly and will forgive even such major character flaws as being from Yankee-land, or voting for Democrats. One thing to note, our major rival is Dallas, which some people consider to be a part of Yankee-land. Dallas is a very snooty city that constantly casts itself in a bad light because it always seems to be trying to be something it's not...namely New York, L.A. London, etc. Houston is very much a "We are what we are, like it or lump it" city.

Seriously though, some places in the South you can be here three genrations and still be considered "the new people". In Houston you are here twenty minutes and you are considered a Houstonian. We are an incredibly diverse city. If there is a culture on Earth, they have a neighborhood in Houston.

6. How easy is it to travel to other cities, such as Austin or New Orleans? Um...you get in a car and drive. Nobody stops and checks you for papers or anything. Austin can be fun...I like San Antonio better...why anyone would want to go to New Orleans is beyond me.  

New Orleans leaves a very bad taste in many Houstonians mouth. New Orleans was pretty slimy even before the storm, after Katrina we took in all the refugees, and our crime rate went up by 30%. A great many of the "Katricians" were just plain scum. Not all by a long shot, but it was NOT just "a few bad apples get all the publicity". like I said the Houston crime rate went up by 30%, not an exaggeration, and this was after years of it coming down. (It is back down now.)

A great many New Orleans refugees stayed here, got job, and became first rate citizens of the community...but  30% increase in crime...not to mention all the FEMA aid checks that were getting cashed at strip clubs, and constant lawsuits that were being filed to stop  FEMA from kicking them out of their rent free apartment after "only" 12, then 18, then 24, months and they "still hadn't had enough time to get back on their feet".... it was so bad that the hardworking folks  don't tend to talk about being a hurricane refugee. I met one lady in a donut shop who said "Well I came here after Katrina...BUT I HAVE A JOB."

7. Anybody ever lived in both Charlotte and Houston and have some comparisons to offer?  Never been to Charlotte.