Houston, Texas

Eddie_HTX / Living in Houston / Updated 2y ago

I moved here from chicago in 18. I’ve never been happier. The biggest difference is that in Chicago downtown is everything, and here downtown is basically nothing. You have to hit the inner loop burbs. The heights, montose, midtown. And even that depends on what you’re into. In chi town we are used to walking from wrigleyville directly into the city and having any gourmet or attractions on the way. Here you have to know the vibe you want and plan accordingly. It’s worth it in the end, at least for us, but everyone is different.

SIR_ / Living in Houston / Updated 2 yr ago
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It helps to realize that Houston has never had a draw besides $$ and opportunity (In contrast to NYC’s arts & culture, San Diego’s climate and geography, etc.).

What that means is you have a lot of people who came here for jobs (Ranching/Ag at first, then O&G, now healthcare and just about anything else). The weather sucks and the land is a drained swamp, but people have come from all over the world to make a better life. Or they’ve come here because there is family or a community they love.

There’s only one thing that fits the bill: FOOD. I genuinely believe if I had to eat in only one city in the world for the rest of my life, Houston might be it. If you tell me you want Chinese food, I have to ask how much time and $$ you want to spend, plus float a few regional options.

Largest West African population in the world outside of West Africa. A Mecca of BBQ and Tex Mex, to the extent that Bourdain explicitly skipped ALL barbecue and Tex Mex during his episode here because that is so self-evident.

Watch his episode, or the Gulf Coast/Bayou episode of David Chang’s ugly delicious. The food IS the story of Houston. Did you know that the trinity bay has a lot of the same crustaceans as the Mekong River delta, and that Houston was growing rapidly during the time of the Vietnam war. BOOM - Houston has one of the country’s most vibrant Vietnamese communities and Viet Cajun food is an amazing genre unto itself.

Honestly, I don’t like it here. I’m here because we have family, and the food, low cost of living, and fantastic airport make the city work for me.

But no…you’re not really missing anything. Houston is all about living the good life with people you love, one bite at a time.

What is it like to live in Houston, TX?

Jon Morris / Living in Houston / Updated 3yr ago
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There are four things I always tell people about Houston:

Houston is a great place to live but a crappy place to visit. Houston has never had the geography or climate to attract people, so Houston has drawn its massive population from making a space where people can create a good life, which depends not on tourist attractions but on all the things that casual passers-through (even frequent business travelers) miss. I’ve lived in London as well and I find it to be the exact opposite—London is a delightful place to visit but a hard place to live. Lots of factors go into making Houston a great place to live: friendly locals, whether someone has lived in Houston their whole life or just a few years, they always make you feel welcome and are happy you’re there; low cost of living and low taxes; great diversity of people and cuisines (see point 4); there is a focus on life and work—people know you’ve come to Houston to make a living, which means both work and life outside of work—if you do your job well people will not get caught up in displays of how long you can stay in the office, because you should go spend time with family and friends; and there’s enough to go around in Houston in terms of prosperity and access to desirable things that people are nice to each other and it’s easy to get what you want, which is probably more fajitas from that restaurant in the strip mall that you found the other day that you would never have known about as a tourist.

Living in Houston whats it like and any advice for someone relocating there?

CupAccomplished3353 / Living in Houston / Updated 7mo ago
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First things first, when you get here, buy a car. You cannot live in Houston without a vehicle.

Do you know where you’re working yet? Even if it’s somewhere like up in The Woodlands, I strongly recommend one of these places to live: Montrose area (specifically along Montrose between W Gray and Washington), Downtown in lofts along the light rail, Rice Military area, or Uptown Park area in the Galleria. All of those places will allow you to walk to at least one park for exercise and walk to a handful of restaurants and bars.

All of those places have good food and bars. Specifically, Washington Ave, Midtown, and Rice Village for your age group. The food is good everywhere here - truly. We have amazing authentic food in every cuisine (Korean, Indian, Mexican, French, etc - ex: we even have a Bosnian-specific restaurant!).

If you’re active and into exercise, Memorial Park, Hermann Park, and Eleanor Tinsley park are awesome. We have good bike trails along the bayous. We have almost every type of professional sports team (basketball, football, soccer, baseball).

There’s places like Cidercade, Flight Club, and The Puttery that are fun outings I think.

Also, if you move this time of year you will absolutely love it here. Moving in July just sucks. The summer is hot, yes. Very hot. And it lasts longer than normal. But there are other benefits to living here. Best of luck to you!!

The REAL Pros and Cons of Living in Houston