My honest thoughts on Houston, from a transplant
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1/10/2021
I’ve lived here four years and am moving out this summer. I moved here pretty suddenly (change in school) and had no knowledge about what to expect before I moved because it was so quick. Here are the most objective points I can give about this city.
Pros:
-no state income tax. Easy to do taxes.
-awesome museums, enjoyable for all ages.
-culture scene is great. Breweries, festivals, farmers markets, ballet, world famous symphony orchestra.
-cost of living is pretty low. It’s going up but still better than many places of comparable size.
-mild winters that make waiting out the brutal summers worth it.
-some very nice parks and well-maintained arboretum.
-food scene is fantastic, on par with other major international cities.
-diversity. Regardless of who you are or where you’re from, you’re bound to find people like you here.
-pretty easy to find gainful employment, and to move “up the ladder” in your field of work.
-two major airports which make travel easy and airline ticket prices mostly reasonable
-no tornadoes, and mostly mild when they do infrequently spin up. As someone who grew up in Tornado Alley this is a huge plus.
-overall average to well above average schools for the kiddos.
Cons:
-the summers are absolutely as oppressive as you may have heard. The sun hurts. The humidity feels like walking in soup or dog’s breath outside. You sweat just walking out the door to get the mail. Not fun AT ALL.
-pretty bad roads overall. Potholes and cracks/bumps, rapid or unmarked lane changes/endings. Constant construction.
-traffic. Almost not worth complaining about because big cities have traffic - fact of life - but it sucks nonetheless.
-aggressive local driving culture. I’ve honestly seen stunts pulled by drivers here that I haven’t seen anywhere else!
-FLOODING. As the city expands and more concrete poured on the very flat landscape, it is only getting worse. Prone to a myriad of natural disasters.
-ugly. With a few exceptions, Houston isn’t so pretty. Hodgepodge of buildings, highway interchanges, and concrete. It does have a lot of trees for a big city, but that doesn’t wholly make up for the extremely flat topography and lack of nice natural/aesthetic features. If aesthetic and easy access to awesome natural beauty and activities is important to you, that’s something to honestly consider before moving here.
I simply can’t answer about crime. I have never been the victim of any crime since moving here, even when I originally lived in what’s considered a high crime neighborhood. I really think it depends on what part of the city you’re in. And because of no zoning laws, safety can vary even by street, so it’s very important to do research and ask locals before deciding on housing.
Lindsey | Houston, TX