Houston Appreciation from a Non-Native Texan

[Sollaces]

With a job transfer we moved from Victoria, Texas up to Houston. As we'd been to Houston for various entertainment, shopping, overnighters, in and out of Bush Intercontinental, we knew what we were getting into. But I was worried about 'big city' costs, safety, and feeling comfortable.


If you don't live in Houston you don't realize wherever you live has it's own little town within a big city. You can live in Houston and stay around and within your neighborhood / area and never have to venture outside it -- It meets all your needs. It truly is a sprawling cow town.


So when we decided to move up here, my worries were soon put to rest. People are friendly if you are friendly. Cost of living was higher but then we had access to more amenities. HOA's were a new thing. Water districts, too. People are polite, even at the fast food stops. And safety - With the alarm systems out there and being able to have dogs, I've always felt safe.


The odd thing is we wouldn't go back to Victoria now that we've experienced Houston.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by Sollaces

If you don't live in Houston you don't realize wherever you live has it's own little town within a big city. You can live in Houston and stay around and within your neighborhood / area and never have to venture outside it -- It meets all your needs. It truly is a sprawling cow town.

This is an interesting point and something I noticed when I moved back to the Houston area 2 years ago after 15 years away.....and perhaps it's a mindset that has always been here and exists in other sprawling metros as well.

I live in the League City area and probably go somewhere inside the Loop only once every 10 days or so. However, when I do, I think of it as "going downtown (or to Midtown, Galleria etc). But to many people in my area, this would be called going into Houston.

I find this to be a distinction between the way I think about it and the way many others from outlying areas do.

[dallasgoldrush]

Originally Posted by TXMark13

It's been about 6 years since I moved from Denver to Houston, and I'd like to pass along some commentary as someone who was extremely leary about moving here. I was concerned about leaving Denver not because I had negative viewpoints about Houston, but more so because I love Denver. While Houston has its share of shortcomings (like anywhere else) I must say I've been pleasantly surprised.

I could go on and on about the amazing food, and unique experiences that are unequivocally Houston but I want to pass along one major point of praise. This city has completely changed my financial standing and ability to afford a comfortable cost of living. The Houston job market has been nothing shy of a total game changer for my life. In Denver I had a difficult time gaining any ground in my career, and perhaps with some luck Houston has been fruitful and amongst great co-workers.

I don't foresee myself as living in Houston permanently (I'm still fairly young), but no matter where I land after this one thing is certain to me: Houston's thriving economy will forever have changed my life for the better. The reason I say this is because Houston always is bashed for being ugly, or humid, but to me this city is a diamond in the rough. In many ways Houston is the polar opposite of Denver. It may not be post card perfect to outsiders, but this is far and away the easiest city to make a living I've ever visited. For this I'll be forever grateful. To add to this, here are a few marked upgrades from living in Denver:

- Cost of living
- Mild Winters (not a fan of frigid weather or driving on ice)
- Distance to other large cities
- Access to the ocean
- Diverse culture options
- Two airports, one very international
- College football
- Med Center, Rice, and better schools

This is not a knock on Denver, but a consolidation of the many pleasant surprises that have made me very happy in my time here. I'm hoping to look back on my time here some day and smile thinking about what great trajectory for the rest of my life my time in Houston provided.

You hit the nail on the head!

I'm also a transplant to Texas who lived in Denver at one point, and in my experience the dicey economic situation of a lot of residents there is one of Colorado's best-kept secrets. Colorado is gorgeous and Denver is a neat city, but the economy is simply not strong enough to support all of the residents the area attracts. When I lived there during the mid-2000s, it was consistently among the nation's top foreclosure states -- and this was before the 2008 housing crash and recession.

Denver's having somewhat limited economic opportunities is puzzling, because I would expect such a popular and progressive place with so many transplants to attract more large-scale entrepreneurial activity. Unfortunately Denver is just not a place where many people can make a fortune. It's a place where people spend a fortune after having made it someplace else -- like Silicon Valley or Houston or Dallas or Chicago.

Here in Dallas, there are so many corporate relocations and major commercial construction projects underway that entire regions of the metroplex become almost unrecognizable from one year to the next. A person can become intoxicated by the sheer electricity of it all. Not to mention the incredible diversity. It's as though time moves just a little faster in places like this ...

I wish you well on your journey, whether you remain in Houston or wind up elsewhere. If you do leave, wherever you go please continue to spread the gospel about what an economic "game changer" Texas can be for those who put away their preconceived notions about our state and give it a try.