Houston, Atlanta or Washington DC (Dallas, San Antonio: section 8, student loans, lawyer)

[MissTorn]

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

I really think in the long run you'll like DC the best.

Why do you think that? You think I will get easily bored of the other 2 cities?

[MissTorn]

I'll admit that I love the change of seasons, just wished that winter didn't last as long and wasn't as cold. I must admit that I love heat
I'll see if possible to visit in July

Originally Posted by MIBS98

If the weather is really a key factor for you, you may want to make visits to your chosen cities in July. Whether you are visting Atlanta or Houston, March/April is the best time to do it. I was at my son's soccer game yesterday sitting with the other parents and said, "if Houston weather was like this all the time, everyone would live here". Unfortunately it isn't. Coming from well north, suggest you should check and make sure you can survive the heat and humidity of a long summer.

If I had not grown up in the North and was thinking about moving there, I'd definitely check it out in January to make sure I could survive winter.

[MissTorn]

Originally Posted by MikeyAusmus

Let me start off by saying a little something about Houston since you have never been here.... Houston is AWESOME!!!

PROS: southern hospitality, tons of parks and trees, close to the ocean, close to lakes, close to national forests, cost of living is the lowest amongst major cities in the USA, EXTREMELY diverse (over 90 consulate offices in Houston), better traffic than DC and ATL, 4th largest city in the USA, not pretentious, extremely laid back, something to please anyones taste, NO STATE INCOME TAX, all the major sports located inside the city, the weather from October to May is amazing and so on.

CONS: the weather in the summer time is very warm and humid, similar to Atlanta's summer weather, our METROrail is limited to a few central areas of the city, snow is an extreme rarity (if you are a snow loving person), the car is king here as far as transportation goes (unless you like taking the bus), traffic is still bad (eventhough it's not as bad at DC or ATL).

I highly recommend coming to Houston for a visit. I am sure you will absolutely love this city and choose it as your new home!

Houston welcomes you!!

Wow, thanks Mikey for your description of Houston.
The driving your car to go anywhere just like Atlanta might bother me
What about Tornadoes, you get that a lot?

[Johnhw2]

Consider Dallas well then if you like the 4 seasons. We have that more than Houston. Otherwise Houston and Dallas have more in common than not. more alike than Houston and Atlanta or Houston and DC. Dallas would give you a warm Texas welcome

[DejaBlue]

Originally Posted by MissTorn

Why do you think that? You think I will get easily bored of the other 2 cities?

Houston is VERY drive oriented. You're in your car a lot and you said you don't like that much. Traffic can get annoying to native Houstonians so to a transplant it's a nightmare (for us too but we already know).

DC is the most like Montreal only not. It's a competitive city but it's not all bad.

In the long run, the few negatives with DC will be pushed aside by the positives. The negatives about Houston and Atlanta will eventually be what you'll focus on.

I think there's peace in walking. A walkable city, walking to the Metro and letting someone else take you to work and around eases the mind even in a stressful environment. Being gridlocked in your car for nearly an hour worrying that the tailgator behind you on the cell will rear end you is stressful.

[jbarn]

Originally Posted by MissTorn

Why do you think that? You think I will get easily bored of the other 2 cities?

I agree DC is probably the best choice. It is probably the most similar to what you are used to, as far as being in a dense, walkable, urban environment. Atlanta would be next, and Houston would be way back in the pack. Atlanta has some neat, inner-city areas that are somewhat walkable. Houston really doesn't have that type neighborhood. Everything is extremely spread out, takes over an hour to get from one side of the city to the other. Some will boast that that is a good thing, but when you pass mile after mile of boring strip center it gets a bit old. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, but don't let the population fool you, it is for all practical purposes a huge suburb, lacking in the urban character that would make one want to live in a city in the first place. You will notice how the Houston folks are constantly trying to build their city up, and constantly bashing all other cities along the way. A truly great city lets the city speak for itself.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by jbarn

I agree DC is probably the best choice. It is probably the most similar to what you are used to, as far as being in a dense, walkable, urban environment. Atlanta would be next, and Houston would be way back in the pack. Atlanta has some neat, inner-city areas that are somewhat walkable. Houston really doesn't have that type neighborhood. Everything is extremely spread out, takes over an hour to get from one side of the city to the other. Some will boast that that is a good thing, but when you pass mile after mile of boring strip center it gets a bit old. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, but don't let the population fool you, it is for all practical purposes a huge suburb, lacking in the urban character that would make one want to live in a city in the first place. You will notice how the Houston folks are constantly trying to build their city up, and constantly bashing all other cities along the way. A truly great city lets the city speak for itself.

I disagree with this. While I think Atlanta's downtown core is more urban than Houston's downtown core. To say Houston doesn't have neat inner-city walkable areas like Atlanta is false. Midtown isn't walkable? The museum district isn't walkable? Rice-Military isn't walkable? The Heights isn't walkable? Atlanta doesn't have many more different hoods than Houston that is so much more dense and walkable. Remember, Houston's 95 sq mile inner loop is more dense than the entire 132 sq mile city limits of Atlanta. Houston has problems when it comes to living in an urban environment. But Atlanta is much much closer to Houston than it is to DC. DC throttles both Atlanta and Houston on experiencing a true urban environment.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by jbarn

I agree DC is probably the best choice. It is probably the most similar to what you are used to, as far as being in a dense, walkable, urban environment. Atlanta would be next, and Houston would be way back in the pack. Atlanta has some neat, inner-city areas that are somewhat walkable. Houston really doesn't have that type neighborhood. Everything is extremely spread out, takes over an hour to get from one side of the city to the other. Some will boast that that is a good thing, but when you pass mile after mile of boring strip center it gets a bit old. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, but don't let the population fool you, it is for all practical purposes a huge suburb, lacking in the urban character that would make one want to live in a city in the first place. You will notice how the Houston folks are constantly trying to build their city up, and constantly bashing all other cities along the way. A truly great city lets the city speak for itself.

you know nothing about Houston. Stop acting like an expert

[jr1038]

Originally Posted by jbarn

Atlanta has some neat, inner-city areas that are somewhat walkable. Houston really doesn't have that type neighborhood.

That's ridiculous. Houston and Atlanta both have some nice inner-city neighborhoods that are walkable. Of course neither have anything on DC in that regard.

Originally Posted by jbarn

You will notice how the Houston folks are constantly trying to build their city up, and constantly bashing all other cities along the way.

That's true of any big city on this forum and ironically the worst is probably Atlanta. There are boosters and bashers (like yourself) alike representing each city and that's just part of the nature of a forum dedicated to cities. But there is a lot less overt "bashing" of other cities going on than you suggest - rather, many of us who actually like Houston feel the need to set the record straight after some of your posts, like the one above.

[jbarn]

Originally Posted by Spade

I disagree with this. While I think Atlanta's downtown core is more urban than Houston's downtown core. To say Houston doesn't have neat inner-city walkable areas like Atlanta is false. Midtown isn't walkable? The museum district isn't walkable? Rice-Military isn't walkable? The Heights isn't walkable? Atlanta doesn't have many more different hoods than Houston that is so much more dense and walkable. Remember, Houston's 95 sq mile inner loop is more dense than the entire 132 sq mile city limits of Atlanta. Houston has problems when it comes to living in an urban environment. But Atlanta is much much closer to Houston than it is to DC. DC throttles both Atlanta and Houston on experiencing a true urban environment.

No, those areas aren't walkable. Maybe for Houston yes, but if you told somebody in Chicago, NY, Boston, San Francisco, that those were walkable areas they would think you were out of your mind. In addition, even if they were walkable, who wants to walk anywhere when it is 95 degrees with 90% humidity several months out of the year. Face it, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte, etc...are not, and will never, be what you would consider to be dense, walkable cities. It is what it is, so we should make the best of what we have rather than trying to convince others how much of a real city our cities are.