To Houstonians: Is Houston a great place to live and work?

Question

I am considering moving to Houston. The only thing that bothers me about that town is the traffic.

Answer 1

Unlike many people I really like Houston. People has the wrong conception that there is not much going on here, but that is just a bad attitude. The weather is warm so you can get to BBQ most of the year. During summer you can go to the lake or the beach. There are numerous places to eat great food at affordable prices. Housing is not so expensive. You can find literally ANY kind of food, from anywhere in the world. There is a huge variety of nationalities. Drawbacks?, people drive like sh!t here, some people are really narrow-minded, people are really aggressive and rude. But they are also really friendly and real party animals. You decide.

Answer 2

The key is to live close to where you work and the traffic is not as bad. Ignore the Oscar the grouch with all the negatives. Houstonian's are very friendly down home people yet in a huge city.

Once you get used to the hot, humidt summers the rest is a breeze. This is one of the few places you can wear shorts year round.

Jobs pay great and housing is very affordable compared to other major cities.

Answer 3

I think Houston is a great place to live and work. If you want really great master planned communities, there's plenty surrounding Houston like Sugar Land and Pearland and etc. Traffic is a problem if you want to live in the suburbs so I highly recommend considering more urban areas. Last year, I moved to the Westchase District and my drive is only 15 minutes local from work. Houston has the 2nd highest number of Fortune 500 companies behind New York City. I would say that there's always a lot of jobs available especially in the engineering, accounting, and health related industries.

I think Houston is a great place for sports fans. We've the Astros, Rockets, Texans, Dynamos, and etc. We've got excellent museums - MFAH, Menil, Contemporary, and etc. We've one of the highest number of seats for performing arts in the downtown performing arts district. Houston has pockets of interesting areas that's great if you like to explore. I think people in Houston are one of the friendliest in the country. The diversity in languages, cultures, and ethnicities is unique. Lastly, that diversity is reflected also on the plethora of restaurants and places to eat and dine.

Answer 4

Traffic is manageable once you know your way around. You will find, in time, your own little shot cuts and time savers. Construction seems to be a constant. The city is growing.

This is our home and we love it here and 3 of our 5 grown & married children call it home.

The things I hear some people complain about is the humidity.
Also, there is now high crime here. Houston being #2 and Memphis #1. Our's really rose with Katrina & New Orleans. Also the illigals are everywhere. You must constantly be on guard and watch your back. They care nothing about your life or mine.

On a plus, Galveston is near with the gulf and breeze.
Lots of things here & there and all around to see and do.

Good Luck to you and please come visit our wonderful church "Second Baptist" @ Voss & Woodway.
Welcome to Houston~~~jill

Answer 5

i lived in houston copperfeild area for 4 years, till i was 4, we moved for another four years and when i was 7, we moved back to houston but to katy. katy doesnt have much traffic and its really a great place. its peaceful and pretty quiet, like the opposite of nyc. its really nice and the weathers always hot and good so i would say definatly move here

Answer 6

I live in Houston and work in one of the surrounding suburbs (my company's choice, not mine). Traffic can be a bear at times, especially on I-10. I-10 is under expansion and will be done in early 2009. Other than that, we're trying to maintain the infrastructure to meet a growing population. As I tell people, "You just have to butch up about the traffic!" I've lived in places where it is far worse than here.

Personally, I love it here. I live in an area called Memorial. It is one of the older neighborhoods (houses directly surrounding me were built around 1960) with lots of trees, big yards, and it hasn't changed in 30 years. I moved here with my folks back in the 70s. I moved back here in the 90s after years of apartment living. Nice people, low crime, access to shopping, roadways, and parks. My wife and I are looking for a bigger place (we're in a mid-sized condo but planning a family and need more space).

Sorry, I've gone on about my neighborhood. Houston has its good and bad areas. They often aren't too far away from each other due to lack of zoning, but rarely overlap (oddly enough). There are jobs galore here. We have one of the lowest unemployment rates of a major city in the country.

People from all over the world live here. This can take some getting used to if you are from a city without any ethnic mix. My upstairs neighbors are "Persian" (from Iran back in the 70s). One of my next door neighbors is from China. This condo property has a fun and interesting International Festival every year. I usually supply the grill, but also add barbecue I've done on my smoker, too.

So, it is an interesting, fairly laid back, cosmopolitan city. There is plenty to do here (ignore the first poster). My wife and I love it here!

Answer 7

I love it here. I mean ok so we're not the most glamorous city in the world, but we definately have character. There are tons of things to do around town for fun. The traffic isn't that bad...ok maybe it is I'm just used to it. You'll get used to it and you'll learn how to avoid some of it. The only thing that bothers me about Houston is the weather in August.

Besides, the air here has texture...why would you want to live somewhere else?

Answer 8

I live in Memorial and think that I am in Heaven. I travel all over the world and have not seen many places that can compare if you are not retired and still working. It is growing all of the time, is affordable and has access to beaches and the beautiful Texas Hill Country. You can read my blog if you want to see some of it.

We are a friendly bunch here and there are tons of restaurants and things to do. Have a great weekend.

Answer 9

Houston is great!

As for those people that bring up our hot and humid summers (June, July, August and early September), remember that the other 8 months are HEAVEN!!!

As for those people that claim that the "suburbs" are better than inside the Loop...wrong! Neither areas are better, simply different. The suburbs are your very nice and very conservative "planned" communities while the inner Loop neighborhoods tend to be more artsy, intellectual and liberal.

Answer 10

lol.Yes, it's an awsome CITY(not town) to work. main houston is not really a great place to live. u should live in Sugar Land(it's part of Houston) and have a job on Houston. it's only like a 15 min drive, depending on where u live in sugar land.