Alright just putting this out here as there is a slight chance, probably very slight chance, I will be moving to Houston. I just put my resume in to GE, building wind turbine generators. I have some inside contacts there that are at pretty decent levels in the company so the chances are higher than normal.
Anyway, what I want to know is what you all think about Houston? I have a friend in Austin who absolutely loves it. I have never been down there so I have no clue what the culture is like. I am from the midwest so being down there would be awesome. I know it is hot as hell down there right now, but what about hurricanes and tropical storms and such, what is the weather like during winter? How often and how damaging can the storms be? I am assuming there is a lot to do down there. What about crime, what are some good areas and what are some areas to avoid? Any drag strips, GTO G2G's... What all do you guys do for fun? How is the water and beaches in the area... Just trying to put together a picture of the area. Sorry for all the questions, just never been anywhere near the area.
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Anyway, what I want to know is what you all think about Houston? I have a friend in Austin who absolutely loves it.
Austin <> Houston
I've lived in both had much more fun in Austin than Houston.
As for the other stuff -
The hurricanes and tropical storms are fairly rare. We do get occasional downpours that cause flooding but you'll know whether or not you live in a flood plain.
During the winter the weather is usually nice. If we don't have a front coming through then the days may be in the mid 60s and sunny. I don't think we had any hard freezes last year, but occasionally the temperature will dip into the upper 20s at night.
There is crime, most of it petty crap. I'd pretty much have to show you on a map which areas to avoid. Most of the suburbs are nice if that's what you're aiming for.
I think there's only one 1/8 mile track that's "in town" and then two 1/4 mile tracks outside of town way to the west side and the east side.
If you like / have guns you'll do all right here. i feel safe all the time. you can carry concealed here not open carry yet. we're working on that. I'd suggest far west (katy) or far north (spring, woodlands, conroe, willis). east and south are lower and flood with heavy rains. hurricanes...... well...... until you've experienced a real one or our tropical storms.... hard to describe.
hot, humid.... you acclimate. lots... LOTS of illegals as we ARE a sancturary city. working on that too. been here since '71
Well I just moved here, and have been here for a little more than 2 months now and I love it here.. Yes the weather is hotter than Satins balls, but its better than freezing cold weather that the north gets.. From what I have been told tropical storms happen every now, and than.. Not all the time.. Crime well like Lothar said I also would have to show you on the map.. Crime is everywhere so it's something you can't avoid. Cars get broken into, people get jumped, but it all depends on were you live to how much you'll see.. If I were you don't leave anything in plain sight in your car. Take your gps or radar detector down. If someone is going to break into your car there first going to see whats in it. If they can't see anything they'll move on. When we were looking at moving we focused on Katy, Sugar Land, Spring, The Woodlands, and Conroe for houses. There is a SHIT load of traffic in Katy so we crossed that out.. O yea traffic is bad no matter were you live you be ready for it.. We really liked Sugar Land and The Woodlands just couldn't find a house that we really liked. Conroe was alright nothing special.. We found a perfect house for us in Spring. So hence the reason we moved to Spring. The area is nice, there is a lot to do. Everything is in Spring, or 10 minutes north in The Woodlands. There is a 1/8th drag strip in Houston, and 1/4th in Baytown which is east of Houston, and there is a 1/4th west of Houston I believe past Katy.. You probably can find a GTG almost every night. I know there is 2 here in Spring that some people go to, and others around Houston. You basically just have to ask around and find out what one people go to... If you have any questions you can PM me..
It's a big place. I just moved from Springfield, Missouri (there's a GE plant there) and love it so far, even with the heat. Get a pool if you have kids. I live out in Katy and work in the Galleria area -- about 22 miles one way. I take I-10 in and so far it takes me about 25-30 minutes in summer traffic and that's not using the hov or tollway. Everyone talks about Katy traffic, but they added a bunch of lanes to I-10 and I can go 70+ mph most of the way.
Property taxes and insurance are much higher, but I was pleasantly surprised at the $/sq foot of the houses in the suburbs. If you have kids, the government schools in Katy are highly rated. I've heard the same for some of the other suburbs.
The people have been very friendly so far, even in traffic.
Even though the gulf is close, they tell me the beaches on the east side of TX aren't very "beachy", but Galveston is close for a party spot. I think you have to go west to find better beaches. You've got all the pro sports, concerts, etc.
There are a lot of multinationals -- Latinos, Asians, Africans, Indians...
I've seen a bunch of gto's and other fast cars around. There's a get together at a show in July in Spring (nothern suburb) with about 15 gto's on here so far that I'm going to try to go to if I can get mine cleaned up in time.
2006 GTO Owner
. you can carry concealed here not open carry yet. we're working on that. I'd suggest far west (katy) or far north (spring, woodlands, conroe, willis). east and south are lower and flood with heavy rains. hurricanes...... well...... until you've experienced a real one or our tropical storms.... hard to describe.
i thought we agreed armpit, to be more diverse and sensitive.
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