Was chatting with a Houston native (fairly recently transplanted to Noo Yawk) about TX.
We were comparing notes about the quality of life up in NYC vs. TX, and he offered the following observations about the three major cities:
First of all: Texas is a free state with no income tax. Cost of living is about a third of NYC. It’s also a free state, with lots to appeal to gun owners. For the time being, TX is mostly inhabited by self-reliant but God-fearing folk. TX is blessed with commerce that is balanced between natural resources, manufacturing, export, and services.
Houston. Minuses - hot and humid 3 months out of the year. Traffic is just as bad as NYC. Unzoned strip mall hell. Hurricane/flood prone zone. Closer proximity to Mexico means spillover of cartel crime. Pluses - vibrant culture, ethnically diverse (maybe a negative for some) fabulous restaurants, great livable neighborhoods. Flat as a pancake, geography-wise. You have the Gulf nearby.
Austin. Minuses - leftard central. Pluses: Described as “beautiful,” and “most-cultured town in TX.” Home of UT - presence of college town could be construed as good or bad depending on your POV, but let’s say that’s good in most respects. A little hillier than Houston.
Dallas. Minuses - short of the amenities of Houston, not as cultured as Austin. Pluses - A little quieter than Houston, not as libtarded as Austin. Not as hot and humid as Houston.
Would anyone care to fill in some blanks here? I’m a yank trapped behind enemy lines and only get to visit your great state once in a blue moon.
traffic isnt that bad in Houston, LOT of improvements to the highway system in the past 10 years. The tollway here doesnt cost a lot to use and can get you to where you need to go very quickly. If you want to see bad traffic, check out Austin, a birdnest of a highway system.
yeah traffic is only really bad during rush hour going into and out of downtown.
there’s a few fm roads like parts of 1960 where shoppers clog the roadways with their no driving ass, but those too can be avoided.
crime is fairly high here. we recently became the burglary capital, but were also the top in new jobs.
houston cops can be non lenient, but get away from town and sherriffs and constables aren’t so bad on you.
Houston - I lived central and loved it, didn’t want to leave.
Austin - Everyone wants to move to Austin, which is why I want out. It was the smallest city I had ever lived in when I moved here and a bit slow (think slacker) but it grew on me.
Now, we are just like most other big cities with all the problems and horrible traffic, rude drivers and people.
Lived in Cedar Park for 5 years now, which is a suburb city just north of Austin. It’s not bad. Don’t get the humidity Houston does, jobs are good, and it has some nice suburbs like CP, Round Rock, and some on the other side of the city. Hill Country is right next to the city so it’s not pancake flat. Pretty good night life if you’re into that down on 6th St, and my city of CP has a few pubs, bars, and they just opened a country dancing bar. Good schools, low crime, and not ‘a lot’ to complain about. It’s still Texas, and even though Travis Co and Austin leans left they don’t control the state like some other big cities do (Chicago). Even though Austin city limits butt up to my city limits we are in a different county, and have all different political representation so their liberal ways don’t effect me.
Texas in general: No state income taxes, LEO’s here are generally professional but they do like to ticket speeders, west side of the state is deserty/plains, middle is hilly and temperate, east side is ‘wetter’ and more like LA than what most people think of Texas, most people you meet are very nice and it’s a simple state, good BBQ all over the place, Texas is having a tech boom (Austin has a laundry list of tech companies with major operations here), and overall my only real complaint is I wish we had more public land. Hunting generally requires one to buy a lease ($$$$ every year) or delve into the limited public hunting lands. If I read an accurate number TX is over 90% private property.
Been to Houston and Dallas quite a few times. No real bad impressions with either but I couldn’t deal with the humidity down in Houston. Dry heat…ok I can deal with it for 4-5 months out of the year. Humidity…1 minute and I want to be somewhere else. Dallas seemed nice. They have the benefit to 3 pro sporting teams. In Cedar Park we have the Texas Stars hockey which is the farm team for the Dallas Stars. Been to a ton of games, is cheap, and quite a few players sub for the Dallas Stars when they need players and some have signed full time contracts. So its 90% of NHL level players at less than a 1/3rd of the cost and it’s a very nice rink where it’s hard to get a bad seat. Tons of concerts there, too. Austin also just hosted it’s first Formula 1 race, and should be a good venue into the future.
I grew up in Dallas/Ft Worth and Austin, spent some time in Houston and San Antonio. Moved back to Austin and worked here since 2005.
You may not care comming from NYC but I refuse to live in Houston/DFW/San Antonio due to the high crime. Compared to the other metropolitan areas we have a significantly lower level of crime. As far as law enforcement, you have to work really hard to piss off an Austin cop to get locked up but they are very professional. We also have one of the best (top 3) EMS systems in the country, great hospitals, and fire departments, etc. I wouldn’t raise my family anywhere else.
Dallas culture is extremely superficial and materialistic, annoyingly so. Houston, eh take it or leave it. San Antonio is Mexico with with more money.
Austin is laid back, and as liberal as people describe it I find the culture to be extremely libertarian in general although city council is very liberal. Depending on where you want to live in the Austin area you can basically pick any culture or living style you want, you can even still afford land here. Night life and music are both fantastic if you are interested in either of those scenes. 1000yd rifle range with tactical bays 20min northwest of town. Techshop Round Rock if you ever want to build anything. Fantastic greenbelt hike and bike trails, great rock climbing etc. Large lakes and river with tons of kayakers, stand up paddle boarders, rowers, etc. Huge natural swimming pools. Any sport you want to play from curling to motocross. F1 track, smaller road and oval courses nearby as well. Easily the best job market in the state, great schools with strong football programs. Flat out the best place to live in Texas. Oh and did I mention UT Cheerleaders?
Shame about Austin’s politics. And if they’re getting elected, they must have a significant portion of the local population supporting their ideology, no?
I, for one, feel that pics (or relevant web links) would be beneficial for all following this thread in order to more accurately assess the validity of the advice being offered.
Grew up on Houston and as far as Im concerned its just like any other big city in any other state. The city politics are generally liberal and they have the same problems as NYC does. Maybe not as bad, but they are the same. The positives are due to state politics instead of the locals IMO so youll have them wherever you go. Jobs may be easier to find just due to the critical mass.
Austin and Travis County are pretty liberal. I live in Round Rock, jut north of Austin and in Williamson County. Pretty conservative town and county. Work in Austin. Jobs are decent as is the area. Honestly though, Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park and Leander are converging into one giant metroplex so we will soon be just like Houston
I have lived in Dallas, and spent a lot of time in each of those cities. I second someones idea of finding an area just outside the city. I personally like San Antonio better than those that you listed… But you really need to spend some time in each one to find what suits your needs best. Houston is my least favorite; I love Austin as its still in the hill country and has just about everything you could want to do nearby. Dallas is awesome, I would choose Austin just because its nice being in central Texas and it has so much to offer right now. Problem is everyone knows that so people are flooding in. San Antonio is only a quick drive away though!
I had family in Houston for several years (well, The Woodlands, just north). I liked it so much I almost took a job there…but just could not give up North Carolina. Now things are different, my family ‘migrated’ to Dallas, but I bet I could convince my wife to move to Houston, where the standard of living is a butt-load cheaper than here in central NC. Housing in/around Houston is insane-cheap.
Housing costs much more in Dallas and Austin than Houston.
Houston also has a more diverse and larger job pool.
Houston has lush landscape and trees where Dallas and Austin turn brown in the summer when things dry out.
The very inner city in Houston contains libs but the outlying areas of Houston are VERY conservative. The largest Tea Party organizations in the country are the ones in suburban Houston.
Houston has a wide variety of restaurants and tons more gun ranges and gun stores in general.
I’d look here and skip Austin and Dallas. I was born and raised in Dallas and would NOT trade it for Houston.
Yes…it is humid here but that is why the grass is green and everything is lush. Deal with it. June through September is awful but October through mid May can be really nice here.
Grew up in Houston suburb (Cypress); College in Dallas; Post college The Woodlands / Conroe, spent many a night in all the above as I drank my way through my 20’s…here is my take:
Ill echo what Ninja relayed: If I had to specifically live in one of the cities mentioned, or 30 minutes in a direction from one, Austin would get my vote. Houston is the butthole of Texas; I was 1 hour North of it and I still earnestly sought work in East Texas for the sake of my 2 little girls.
For a fairly small city, Austin has got to be one of the hardest cities to get around in. I swear…the traffic there is much worse than Houston ever though Austin is smaller.
Roads are always under construction as well. Cones and barrels stay up forever. Remember how long it took them to complete the Hwy71/I-35 intersection?
Anywhere pretty and desirable to live is very expensive in Austin as well.
if you live in the burbs…most likely you will be a slave to I-35 or the Mo-pac and both are as bad or worse than any freeway in Houston.
Austin is MUCH more liberal that Houston. Remember…when Obama was campaigning through Texas…he focused on El Paso and Austin.
Autsin has its good points, but it’s traffic, crowds and smaller job market make it less of a safe bet. I love the music scene there but the traffic and higher real estate means I will never live there.
Crime in Houston? No worse than any other big city. I have lived in my same house for 19 years and neither me or any of my immediate neighbors have been robbed. Like any other big city…do your research and pick smart and crime here will be no bigger issue than any other large US city you decide to live in.
Houston - I visit there on a regular basis for work but haven’t lived there. I personally would not want to live there. I am not sure why but I have never liked it. It is close to one of my favorite beach hang outs though(Surfside beach).
San Antonio - Lived here for a few years. I still view it as a great city to visit, but not to live. Like somebody else pointed out, it really can be like Mexico but with more money. On a side note, if you get a chance to go onto Randolph AFB do. Damn nice looking facility.
Austin - Never lived here but have relatives that do, and of course have been to 6th street an ass load of times in my younger days. I wouldn’t mind living outside of town but I wouldn’t want to live inside city limits.
Dallas - I currently live here. For a larger city I like it. Yes I see the stereotypical Dallas snooty attitude from time to time but only in certain places. Dallas gets hot in the summer, “can” get cold in the winter, has storms,tornadoes, hail, etc. I doubt there is any amenity that Houston has that Dallas doesn’t. Plenty of good restaurants, live music, and events. Dallas has plenty of suburbs(although you can’t tell where they start and Dallas ends) that are very nice like the above mentioned Plano. Depending on where you live and work, traffic can be terrible. 635 between I35 and 75 is one of the worst in the country, and the current underground toll construction is not helping.
Gun laws are fairly good in Texas, and I would say the majority of people own at least one gun(even in Dallas proper). There is an indoor range about 5 minutes from my house Within a 30 minute drive I have access to about 5 or so ranges that I know of.
If I could pick where to live it would be somewhere in the hill country area(North of San Antonio to about Austin up 281). But the land is expensive(thanks California implants) and I don’t have work there so maybe when I retire.
For the time being, TX is mostly inhabited by self-reliant but God-fearing folk. TX is blessed with commerce that is balanced between natural resources, manufacturing, export, and services.
Within a 30 minute drive I have access to about 5 or so ranges that I know of.