I want to move to Texas but need help narrowing it down to which cities to consider (colleges, economy, etc.) (Houston: apartment, job market)

[kaenniss]

I'm currently living in Santa Barbara, CA and going to college. I want to transfer to a University in Texas because I've always been drawn to the state I just am not sure which part of Texas to move to. Things I am taking into consideration are:
1. Weather- I don't mind hot weather or severe winters or anything I would just prefer to avoid humidity if that's even possible haha
2. Work- I want to move to a place where it won't be difficult to find a job with little experience
3. School- I want to be near a good University so that I can transfer but I will not be living on campus
4. Housing- I would like to live in a place where I can find a nice apartment

I like both big cities and smaller towns, I just would like to hear what people have to say about cities I might be interested in... Thanks!

[slo1318]

Austin.

Anything south is to humid. However, even up north in the DFW area will be humid for you. DFW is nice to, but if you want a college town feel, than Austin is it.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by kaenniss

I'm currently living in Santa Barbara, CA and going to college. I want to transfer to a University in Texas because I've always been drawn to the state I just am not sure which part of Texas to move to. Things I am taking into consideration are:
1. Weather- I don't mind hot weather or severe winters or anything I would just prefer to avoid humidity if that's even possible haha
2. Work- I want to move to a place where it won't be difficult to find a job with little experience
3. School- I want to be near a good University so that I can transfer but I will not be living on campus
4. Housing- I would like to live in a place where I can find a nice apartment

I like both big cities and smaller towns, I just would like to hear what people have to say about cities I might be interested in... Thanks!

1. Weather- There are cities with slightly lower humidity than the more coastal cities, but you won't be able to avoid humidity.
2. Work- Any of the big Cities would be good for that.
3. School- The best Universities are Rice, UT, SMU, Baylor
4. Housing- any of the big cities would do.

Austin is a little bit different from DFW and Houston. It is a younger city, it still has a somewhat college town feel, and a lot of Californians seem to be moving there.

Houston and Dallas are more business like, and although there are many good schools, the culture in these cities are not as dominated by any university the way that UT does in Austin.

I think Austin would suit your requirements better than the others

[Westerner92]

With low humidity in mind, Texas Tech or UTEP might be worth looking into, but there are plenty of places in Texas that have what you're looking for. Could you give some more specifics? Maybe what kinds of programs are you looking for?

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

With low humidity in mind, Texas Tech or UTEP might be worth looking into, but there are plenty of places in Texas that have what you're looking for. Could you give some more specifics? Maybe what kinds of programs are you looking for?

well she did list 3 other things apart from humidity. are the job prospects in Lubbock or El Paso comparable to Austin? I think with all 4 of her wants in mind. Austin works out the best. Besides, the Humidity in Santa Barbara is not that much different from that of Austin, and not as low as El Paso or Lubbock

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

well she did list 3 other things apart from humidity. are the job prospects in Lubbock or El Paso comparable to Austin? I think with all 4 of her wants in mind. Austin works out the best. Besides, the Humidity in Santa Barbara is not that much different from that of Austin, and not as low as El Paso or Lubbock

I'm not sure about El Paso, but Lubbock has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Texas at about 6%, and college students usually have no problem finding jobs.

I do realize that she listed 3 other things, that's why I said there are plenty of places in Texas that have what she's looking for.

Since we're critiquing each other's posts, I'd replace Baylor and SMU with UT and A&M as the top universities in Texas.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

I'm not sure about El Paso, but Lubbock has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Texas at about 6%, and college students usually have no problem finding jobs.

I do realize that she listed 3 other things, that's why I said there are plenty of places in Texas that have what she's looking for.

Since we're critiquing each other's posts, I'd replace Baylor and SMU with UT and A&M as the top universities in Texas.

unemployment rates are subjective. Bigger cities get stomped during bad times because

1. There is a higher influx of people moving in adding to the unemployment numbers

2. There are larger sways in job increases and decreases because of the size of the workforce


smaller towns have the lowest unemployment rates because the job market moves much slower. Heck if you find towns small enough the unemployment rate will be darn near zero.

SMU is ranked a little higher than A&M, so I don't know if I would replace it as top. But I forgot A&M, it should definitely be there too. And you left out Rice. Rice is ranked closer to 15 while A&M is ranked closer to 65

[BigDGeek]

Austin is a decent suggestion but when I was a student at UT it was extremely difficult to find part-time work.

Admission to UT is highly competitive especially for an out-of-state transfer student. If the OP doesn't have a 3.5 or above GPA, I'd advise him/her to look elsewhere.

[rr2005]

Not sure what area of study you are interested in, but you might check out Angelo State University. It is located in San Angelo, where the cost of living is extremely low and you should be able to find a nice apartment at a very reasonable rate. Humidity is a non-issue in that area of the state. However, I'm not sure what the job prospects are in the area.

[shoe01]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

the Humidity in Santa Barbara is not that much different from that of Austin, and not as low as El Paso or Lubbock

It also rarely gets above 80 degrees in Santa Barbara, if I'm not mistaken. The heat index in Austin routinely gets above 100 in September.

Lubbock's dry weather makes heat feel tolerable, not like a steam room. When the thermometer says 85, it feels like that or even cooler. I was there at a backyard party on a pleasant mid-September day and I said to an Austin resident that we would have been dying sitting at her place at the time. She agreed.