Moving from stl..hopefully (St. Louis, Houston: airport, population, places)

[rupuze]

Originally Posted by glamatomic

I guess it depends on personal preference. For instance, I lived in Brisbane, Australia until I was 22. It's meant to be one of the most 'livable' cities on earth, but I honestly never saw the appeal. I have no intention of ever going back.

St. Louis was a love affair from day 1, however. So I guess it just really depends on the person

Good Luck in wherever you choose to go Msangiec

StL over the GOLD COAST? You must really hate the beach.
Let's trade!

[glamatomic]

Rupuze: Haha I lived about an hour from Goldie most of my life, and about 10 minutes walk to my local beach. I currently live 20 minutes drive from the Beach (in North Carolina) and swear I've only been about 3 times.

I used to take my dog for walks at the beach back in Australia, which was nice...

But...

Sand is icky. Salt water is icky. Sun is awful and makes me burn in 10 minutes flat.

But all jokes aside (albeit partial reality)...

I thought I *would* miss the coast when I moved to St. Louis... I wondered what people did for recreation... lie out on beach towels on the Levee?

Honestly though, I found that there was *so* much more to do in St. Louis and surrounds than there ever was to do in Australia. For instance, drive 4 hours from STL and you can hit Nashville or Chicago. Drive 4 hours from Brisbane and you hit countrybumpkinland and nowherepodunktown, etc. Sydney and Melbourne aren't a great deal better in that regard.

PLUS...

And here's the main reason my entire family from Australia wants to eventually end up in St. Louis with me...

The cost of living we worked out is about 1/10th of Brisbane, when you factor in gas, housing, utilities, food costs, entertainment costs etc.

For instance, my mother's modest mid century modern home is currently on the market in Brisbane for a little over $500,000 AUD (about the same in USD with the current exchange rate), and my Aunt just got her larger house in a better locale, valued at $1.2mil. These aren't mansions by any means. Property in Australia is just atrociously priced.

Factoring in the fact that my mother says their electricity is set to rise 300% per kilowatt in the next year...

... I'm glad I live in America... and I'm glad I'm moving back to St. Louis... land of affordability, nice cold winters, snow, beautiful Autumn colors, and LOTS of things to do!!!



(Sorry for the ramble!!!) Just my $0.02

[Victoria27`]

@Glamatonic,
Tell that to my Sydney-born boyfriend, who doesn't like Australia OR America, especially not St Louis (mostly because of the car culture)... He has to live in Europe. So we do. Not sure I'd move back to St Louis, but there are other U.S. cities I love: DC, Baltimore, NYC... Guess I'm an Easterner at heart.

[Victoria27`]

@MsAngieC:
I'm from St Louis, but I lived in Dallas for three years -- and maybe it's because of the Dallas/Houston rivalry, but to me, Houston was horrible. There's no zoning in the city, so you can have a mansion next to a warehouse. It is hotter than anyplace has any reason to be, and not just hot but steamy, sweaty, oppressive miserably hot (hotter than St Louis, yes). It is huge and sprawling and filled with traffic going every direction -- it's not like they're coming from the suburbs into the city in the morning and back out again in the evening. It's multi-directional and all times of day. I would think that if you didn't like Atlanta, you'll really hate Houston. Maybe Dallas????

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by Victoria27`

@MsAngieC:
I'm from St Louis, but I lived in Dallas for three years -- and maybe it's because of the Dallas/Houston rivalry, but to me, Houston was horrible. There's no zoning in the city, so you can have a mansion next to a warehouse. It is hotter than anyplace has any reason to be, and not just hot but steamy, sweaty, oppressive miserably hot (hotter than St Louis, yes). It is huge and sprawling and filled with traffic going every direction -- it's not like they're coming from the suburbs into the city in the morning and back out again in the evening. It's multi-directional and all times of day. I would think that if you didn't like Atlanta, you'll really hate Houston. Maybe Dallas????

I agree with all of this actually. I can't imagine anyone liking Houston if they didn't like Atlanta, and I really do prefer Dallas to Houston (though I'll admit to being no great fan of either).

[tlmesm4]

I am hoping to get some info about where to live and what areas are better than other or where to stay away from. My husband and I have 4 children ages: 11, 7, 5, and 3. Our son is the oldest and only boy. I have never been there and I would greatly appreciate any advice you have.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by tlmesm4

I am hoping to get some info about where to live and what areas are better than other or where to stay away from. My husband and I have 4 children ages: 11, 7, 5, and 3. Our son is the oldest and only boy. I have never been there and I would greatly appreciate any advice you have.

We'd need to know more about your needs, desires and budget as well as where you'll be working in order to be of much help!

[silibran]

Traffic is non stop from morning to night. The city isn't organized well, but it is a city where you could find anything you wanted, if you could afford it, I believe.

I'd think where I could best support myself. You won't be happy in a crappy job where ever it is, unless maybe in Hawaii. I'd choose a place where I would be employable. You have to pay the rent where ever you live.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by MSANGIEC

I lived in atl for almost 2 years and enjoyed the hospitality but it was way too over populated. Any suggestions on Houston? Just wanna get out of St Louis!!!!!!

How was Atlanta over populated? I know about the busy freeways and congested suburban roads but it didn't seem over populated in the sence of Tokyo, New York or even Chicago.

St. Louis is a great place for families. But if I where to go back there as a single 40 year old, I would say I've outgrown St. Louis.

Like what has already been written, put together a list of things that are important to you such as hobbies, suburban urban lifestyle, weather and many other things. Then match your city. Moving can be expensive.

I like Houston but hate Atlanta. Atlanta IMO is way over done. Kind of like burnt french fries. It was nice at one point but they overcooked it. Houston is what it is. No one is trying to make it Paris or Chicago. Its Houston.

[cyrano]

I came on this thread late--it hits close to home for me. I'm a native Houstonian and like a lot of St. Louisans I know (and am married to), my love for my home town isn't reasonable- it's in my blood. Things that would bother almost all the rest of you are either endearing or at worst, sort of meh to me-- traffic, chewable air (it's gotten better), heat/humidity. I remember running two three-mile laps around Memorial Park at 5:30 pm in summer, weighing myself before and after-- I'd lose 2-4 pounds regularly, and it must have been water weight. But I was younger and more foolish, although it felt wonderful to push myself like that.

But to step away from my own prejudices for a second, I can think of two things that, to certain people, would make Houston incredibly attractive. First is the sense of opportunity there, whether in good economic times or not. Houston doesn't care who your daddy is, which Ivy League school you went to. You can make or remake your life there to an extent I think is simply impossible in most places. It doesn't hurt that housing prices are still astonishingly cheap there, a function of sprawl and Mexican labor. You may not like those things, but the chance to live in a decent house in a decent neighborhood for half of what something comparable would cost in StL or KC is a plus for many people. If you absolutely have to live in the center of everything like midtown or the Heights, then you're going to pay, but that's the case everywhere.

The second is the diversity. While every major city in this country can honestly be called diverse now, it's been a part of the culture of Houston for coming on 50 years now. The port and oil are the major contributors, but there are so many stories of immigrants coming to Houston and succeeding. The diversity makes for a more interesting place. My very conservative, rural Texas-born nephew and his wife "had" to move to Houston for their jobs, but within a year, they were eating dim sum in strip center Chinatown down Bellaire Boulevard, had found several wonderful pupusa places, and had developed a love of Indian food-- and Indian people. They love Houston, like so many others do.

I live in Columbia happily, but were it not for my wife, I could move back to Houston next week and feel at home.