Where should i move Austin, Dallas or houston?

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by searchofnewplace

I am young,married Indian living in Chicago. I am IT professional and my wife has mix of IT and Political science back ground. We are planning to move out of chicago and settle down in TX just because my family lives there. My family lives in houston, we are still deciding if we should setttle down in Austin, Dallas or Houston? I would like to know from other what they would recommend, below are major things that we are looking for.

i) Stable jobs ( should have decent IT firms)

ii) Safe area

iii) Both of us love travelling, so should have decent things to do around.

iv) Upto 3 hours driving distance to houston.

v) Nice to have Indian muslim community around.

vi) Decent weather, not too cold ( one of the reasons why we are moving out of chicago).

Thanks in advance

I say move to either Dallas or Houston. Those two metro areas are not as TOLL ROAD happy as Austin, which means you will save hundreds of dollars per month on commuting.

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by EzPeterson

Houston

For once, I agree with you.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by Newbe10

I say move to either Dallas or Houston. Those two metro areas are not as TOLL ROAD happy as Austin, which means you will save hundreds of dollars per month on commuting.

Given a list of the tolled roads in the respective areas, it is not possible to make that as a credible argument:

Austin area toll roads:
Portion of State Highway 45 (SH 45)
State Highway 130 (SH 130)
Portion of Loop 1
183A Toll Road
Phase 1 of Manor Expressway

Dallas/Fort Worth
Addison Airport Toll Tunnel
Dallas North Tollway
Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge
Mountain Creek Lake Bridge
President George Bush Turnpike
Sam Rayburn (Hwy 121) Tollway
International Parkway

Houston area
Fort Bend Toll Road
Hardy Toll Road
Katy Freeway Managed Lanes
Sam Houston Tollway
Westpark Tollway
Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road
Fort Bend Westpark Tollway
Hwy 290 Managed Lanes
State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway)

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by Newbe10

I say move to either Dallas or Houston. Those two metro areas are not as TOLL ROAD happy as Austin, which means you will save hundreds of dollars per month on commuting.

Uh. DFW and Houston both are impossible to get around without using toll roads. Well, I guess not totally impossible but practically so. At least all the Austin tollways have a free option that runs along side the toll route.

And "hundreds of dollars per month"? If you started clear out at the end of 183A in Leander and took nothing but tollways to the Domain- area tech shops, you be looking at $150/mo. Granted, you'd be driving 25 or so miles each way out of the way to stay on toll roads.

Dallas? Houston? Different story.

[jdvaus]

If you are looking for an answer from this thread, the responses generally favor Houston first, Austin second.
I live in Austin and love it, but based on your criteria, Houston may be a better fit.

If you have family, or some situation for temporary accommodation, why not stay in Houston a bit, and search for jobs in any of the cities you mentioned? Maybe Houston is your best fit, but I would think that the actual job itself would weigh more heavily into the decision. This will give you time to see the three cities themselves.

BTW, if your rule of "three hours" is strict, that would technically rule out Dallas. City-line to city-line you could probably make it if your family is north and north-west of downtown, but city-center to city-center is more like three and a half, and four hours or more depending on I-45 traffic and where in Dallas you start and where in Houston you finish.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I live in Houston, and am in the IT realm at a major oil company, BTW. There are communities of Indians, not just one, but multiple. There are about 16 temples for worship, there are even business districts for Indians, even restaurants of course (Houston does have an amazing restaurant scene FYI).

It has been mentioned in this thread, Houston is very diverse. Just about every ethnicity has their parts of town, and business areas. 'Plenty of Desis here. Even the Pakis have their own areas.

Re IT jobs, Houston is huge, there are many IT jobs here than Austin simply due to the size of the area.

Good luck.

[Rovingeyes]

Dallas has a vibrant Indian Muslim pop, and it's the fastest growing metro with a diverse industry base (unlike Houston which is still big oil mostly). Many accounts show that DFW has overtaken Houston, around 7M pop in DFW now. Everything is newer and better weather too (no humidity like Houston). All major Texas and Oklahoma cities are just 4 hours away, and airport is expanding like crazy!

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by Rovingeyes

Dallas has a vibrant Indian Muslim pop, and it's the fastest growing metro with a diverse industry base (unlike Houston which is still big oil mostly). Many accounts show that DFW has overtaken Houston, around 7M pop in DFW now. Everything is newer and better weather too (no humidity like Houston). All major Texas and Oklahoma cities are just 4 hours away, and airport is expanding like crazy!

1. You're reviving an old thread - OP has probably already decided
2. Houston is not still all big oil... the 1980s must have called
3. Not all consider Dallas' hotter summers, colder winters, and tornados "better weather"
4. I don't think being near Oklahoma is something to brag about