What is it like to live in Houston?

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alsballoondepot

I moved to Houston from Chicago a few years ago and would never consider moving back:

There are a lot of great schools here in terms of Colleges - a world of opportunity.

Sports we have the Rockets in their new Toyota Center
Texans in their Reliant Center
New Soccer team

There is always something to do here

Yes the weather is humid like today it is in the 70's
Rain comes and goes - some years we get a lot sometimes we don't - that could be anywhere

Yes traffic sucks during the week

I currently live in a suburb North of the City close to the Bush Airport and love it here

Southwest Houston is not the place to be - high crime
Northeast Houston is not the place to be - high crime

There are parts NW that are nice - by the beltway and 249
Galleria Area
The Woodlands (North)
Humble (North)

and no Texans don't treat people who are not Texans badly - I am not from here and have never ran into any one like that - Dallas maybe but not Houston.

I think you will like it here - the cost of living isn't as high as Cali - and gas right now is about $2.86 a gallon.

Good Luck !!

William K

I'm not going to lie to you. We have bad traffic (almost as bad as Los Angeles on any given weekday morning). We have high humidity which takes a lot of getting used to.

On the other hand, traffic isn't that big of a deal if you live near where you work. I'm 15 miles from my office and the morning commute is 20 minutes and the evening commute home is 15.

Everything is air conditioned, so your primary exposure to humidity comes from moving to and from your car. My wife gripes that her hair frizzes a bit in the humidity (she has curly hair to begin with).

Our weather isn't so bad. Winters here are quite nice. The weather isn't cold, but it isn't hot. The leaves are just starting to fall off the trees here.

A previous comment about Texans disliking people not from here is false. Texans are some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. A way to describe them is, "You buy the drinks, I'll buy the Cadillacs." I moved here from the NYC area back in the 70s, during a time when 600 "Yankee" families were moving to Texas every day (greater Houston added nearly a million people in 1977 and 1978). I got razzed a bit about my accent, but that was it. As I lost my old accent people had a hard time telling where I was from. My wife's family is from this area, and they were shocked when I told them I was born in one of the boroughs of NYC and lived there until I was 16. According to my sister in law, "Well, I thought you were from San Antonio!" Go figure. You will find yourself becoming a Texan. This is the only state that was once it's own country.

As for dirty, any large city has it's dirty places. I don't seem much of it. I live in a beautiful area called Memorial (you can live here, especially coming from California) that is nicely established, upper middle class, clean, and just plain "neighborhood"-like. I've always felt at home here. Compared to where I come from, where everything standing still has some kind of graffitti sprayed on it, this is paradise.

Houstonians, and Texans in general, are unimpressed by Hollywood's falseness and New York City's airs. We're just Texans. We like it here. We don't try to be like anyplace else and we're pretty happy with what we have. Life is pretty good here.

Welcome to Houston. I hope you like it here!

Gone left

Humidity horrible most of the time.Many places to go lots of great eating places,Woodlands north of Houston a short drive.beautiful,very elegant

chocolatebee

its amazing how many people come here to trash the city they live in or never have been to. if you hate houston so much then LEAVE! simple as that. there are three people in particular who always come here to comment on the city and how much they hate it but they're still here. it cant be too bad then, huh? yes its hot and humid but its texas. yes the crime is unreal but what major city isnt crime ridden. yes we dont have a real winter but what can we do about mother nature. still its my city, i love it and ive traveled extensively but i wouldnt want to live anywhere else. houston is a huge city with so much to offer. there are so many dynamics to it. welcome to houston!

Maverick

well you never have to worry about earthquakes or forest fires BUT we do have hurricanes =(
The summers arer really HOT and humid !

i love my bike

HOW COULD YOU MOVE FROM CALI TO HERE!!

oh god it sucks! i have lived here for 1 year now. and i totally sucks, there isnt anything to do, its flat, hot, dirty, and often smells like crap. Its either 100 degrees out, pouring rain, or its freezing out (during winter). It totally sucks! dont leave cali! The drivers suck as well!

mizzhollywood26

Boring. Let me just say you are making a grave mistake moving from beautiful California to ugly Houston.

nicki

Houston, depending on where exactly you live can be great! I live about 45 mins west of Houston so I don't have the traffic probs on a daily basis or the crime either. I have been to the Houston Zoo, it was nice, I have been to Hobby airport and Bush airport and I prefer Hobby, it was easier to get around. I have been to the Houston Rodeo it was a lot of fun and I went to the monster jam, which was also loud and fun.

So on a daily basis living in Houston, I would say it depends on what you like to do, where you live(downtown, outskirts), who your friends are, what your job or school is and your activity level, you have to get out there and do something, it's not going to come to you.

You can love it or you can hate it, but if your going to live here by choice or not then you might as well make the best of it. It's your life, live it to the fullest, get out and see what Houston has to offer and make lots of friends and I'm sure you'll love it.

The weather is humid, but you get used to it quick, if you have allergies then it may be a problem, but you can get some meds for that.

The beach is not far away either, it may not be as pretty as Cali beaches(I wouldn't know) but they are still nice. and you can expierence all of Texas while your here, the great state has a lot to offer. Ft. Worth, San Antonio and Austin are some of my favorite cities.

Good Luck with your move and with making new friends, I know it can be hard sometimes.

gbone

its the best place to live, people exagerate about the humidity, you'll love it

Scuba Steve

Very very humid. the people are ok kinda hit or miss. The people are actually really nice compared to people up north. But you are from California so who knows what kind of people you are looking for. The city itself isnt that pretty but just a few miles away is nice country side. The best city in Tx (Austin) is only about two to two and a half hour drive away.

Golfnut

Dont know I live in Michigan and I HATE it.

xdarkcloudhowlx

I thought California had the worst drivers wait till you get to Houston.

nora d

There is a cultural difference from California. Texans do not like others that are not Texan. God forbid you should be from some other state. The place is not hard to get around. Just be careful of the cockroach population. They are everywhere. Seems like no matter where you live it will be an issue. Its not that dirty. The humidity can be a drag. It rains maybe once a week. Winter is not too bad. Just keep a few friends. and do not say nothing negative about Texas or that will be a fight.

Hannah G

i used to live there but i was only3 so i dont remember

good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

B G

I went to Cali for a week this summer and the weather felt lovely. Then I came back home and it was still raining ..a lot of traffic... hot and steamy as usual, just the way i like it.

P.S.you might want to avoid the Acres Homes area with a name like Molly, oh and get a kill switch if you don't want your car stolen. ...not that dirty.... dang i hate TRAFFIC
If you want more info holler back youngin

H-TINE, TX 44 fasho

Alaskan Beauty

1. Too hot in the summer highs in 90's & 100's with 100% humidity.

2. Overcrowded strip malls with overpriced Starbuck's on EVERY corner.

3. Traffic

4. 50% increase in crime since the Katrina people invaded.

5. Lots of illegal Mexican day laborers on corners

6. No peace & quiet.

in 3 words : I HATE IT

*but don't let me scare you off see for yourself*

Truth hurts? Mr thumb down troll?

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