OT: Houston, we've got a...., ... new Kalifornia transplant? Options

[stateofidleness]

i love texas (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
home of the spurs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) goin' for 5!

[G e o r g e]

houston is nice and the people are friendly and polite. (except me of course, i'm an asshole) you also dont have state income tax...so that rocks too. also, you dont have to smog teeners at all, just safety inspections, they are exempt from smog and odometer checks once they are over 25 years old. starting to sound good?

no , that doesn't push me over the edge to move

I do like that if you get side tracked while driving on the highway and miss your exit just keep on driving it will come around again and again

also.... there is a whole lot less frivolous legislation here. california really needs to focus on border security already. I realize that crops get picked by someone, how about paying people a decent wage instead of using slaves from south of the border?

So are you liberal or Conservative, descent wage? who works on your cattle prod farms? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sheeplove.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[dakotaewing]

Carlitos -
Houston can be a good/great place to live if you have a good six figure income -
Don't bother if they are going to pay you less -
Houses are way cheap, and much bigger than anywhere in CA -
Make sure that you can live in a neighborhood within 5-8 miles
of where you work - You won't want to commute more than that in Houston...
A home and a garage would be a must have if I were in your shoes -
Houston is like CA in that there are areas that are great to live in and areas that suck... Keep that in mind when you are there -
The people in Houston tend to be very down to earth and friendly (especially the ladies), unlike a large part of Dallas -
And Slits, just to set the record straight, my family's been here over 140 years -
Not all of us are rednecks or full of shit... So - (IMG:style_emoticons/default/finger.gif)
I have lived in Santa Barbara, Austin, Houston, Dallas, WI and traveled just about any place you could name.
Sure there are other places I would rather live, but I would need close to a seven figure income to have the same lifestyle that I have here -

Thom

[Slider]

I'm a transplant....i just like it better here. You have to leave california to see what living there does to people....it shuts their brains off.

Not everyone, just a large vocal majority.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I agree, I never realized what it does to you until you move. i was born and raised in CA and i moved back there 2 years ago and i realized that CA is not where i wanted to be .. so i moved back out here to CO

Growing up in CA. i always under the impression that the other states couldnt live without CA that we had some special thing that if we werent there they would be in the stone ages still. granted the TV and Movies industry would be impacted. but i learned that other than that.. it wasnt true. And after i moved i learned that most other states are not that fond of CA..people might not like to hear that.. but its true

Im not stating this to bash CA or start some fight im just saying that i the mentality i think alot of Californians have. and that when your out of the state you see it just the opposite. maybe i was the only one that had that impression but i doubt it..

[JB 914]

I grew up in Houston and I've lived in Orange county, CA since 1993.

You should tell us where the job is located. Like any big metro area Houston has good areas and crappy areas.

Here are a few positives i remember:

1. Good People. Texans are friendly and outgoing.
2. Activities. There is plenty to do in Texas and it's all close to Houston. outdoor sports, hunting, fishing, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc. Texas has excellent state parks system and there is plenty to do and see.

3. Food. If you like to eat i think Houston is the "eating out" capital of the U.S. I used to travel all over the U.S. on my job and i've had to take clients out for dinner/lunch ALOT. Houston has some of the best restaurants in the US and alot of them are not expensive. BBQ, Steaks, Tex-Mex..... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drooley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif) Pappadeaux for cajun seafood, Taste of Texas (steaks). the list is endless. I think you could eat out every night at a GOOD place and never eat at the same place twice in a year!

4. Housing. You can get a HUGE house in Houston for the cost of a crappy California condo.

5. Education. (assuming you have kids) Texas has an excellent university system. My brother's kids are in Ft. Bend County ISD and he said the schools are very good. Houston has some great University's U of H, Rice, and my school University of St. Thomas. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif)

a few negatives

1. Humidity. nuff said, prepare to sweat from June thru Sept.
2. Pollution. The smog levels a few years ago were worse than LA
3. Humidity. yea, i know it's #1, but, it's that bad
4. Traffic. Last time i visited i couldn't wait to get back to Orange County
5. Bugs. Mosquitos so big they can carry off your pet. Roaches that will fight the dog for the food. Fire ants.


Really it depends on where the job is and where you are going to live. If you work in Downtown Houston you don't want to live in Sugar Land. The commute will make you postal. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif)

The inner loop has some nice areas. When i left in 1993 the Heights area was a 100+ year old part of town that was undergoing a resurgence. I lived there until i graduated. Very cool with lots of night life, bars, live music, and eclectic old eateries and it's minutes from Downtown.

Wanna live in suburbia? plenty to choose from on all four corners of the city.

If you do decide to move you should embrace the positive aspects of the place. I didn't really do that when i moved to CA. Once i put the boots in the closet and got some flip flops and roller blades and started to enjoy the things CA had to offer it became much more pleasant.

I like living in CA now. but, i work from home and own my business. If i had to commute to LA from OC i think i'd have been out of here years ago.

Good luck on your decision! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

[So.Cal.914]

Growing up in CA. i always under the impression that the other states couldnt live without CA that we had some special thing that if we werent there they would be in the stone ages still. granted the TV and Movies industry would be impacted. but i learned that other than that.. it wasnt true

Not True?(IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

[David_S]

One afternoon, a Texan was being driven around the countryside in his limo. He happened to look over towards a tree on the side of the road and there were 2 men on their hands and knees eating the grass. The Texan yelled for the driver to pull over so he could see why the 2 men were eating grass. The 2 men said that they were from California and had moved to Texas, but had not found jobs yet and had ran out of money. They were SOOO hungry that the only thing they had to eat was the grass. The Texan told them to get into the limo and he would take them back to his house. The first Californian told the Texan that he had a wife and 2 kids. The Texan said that was fine, bring them along. The second Californian said that he also had a wife, but had 6 kids. The Texan again said that it was no problem. So ....they all squeezed into the limo. As they started towards the Texans house, they were all telling him how thankful they were for what he was doing since none of the Californians had eaten in many days... he must have a really nice house to be able to drive such a nice car .....etc...etc. The Texan finally got a quiet moment and told them " Yall will REALLY love my big wonderful house.......the grass there is about a foot tall !"

[914Sixer]

I worked in Baytown(East side of Houston) from 1984 until my pardon came thru in 2000. The only place I know that you can go to work outside at 8:00 am and be wet to your underwear at 8:10. Lots to see and do though. I now live close to MIDDLE of Texas, 15 Miles North of San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country.

[purple]

baytown? omg man, i'm sorry (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[ericread]

people from california like the middle....austin. it's as liberal there as any place in cali.

Austin is a really beautiful place, full of warm, intelligent people. The only problem is that it's surrounded by Texans... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[SLITS]

people from california like the middle....austin. it's as liberal there as any place in cali.

Austin is a really beautiful place, full of warm, intelligent retarded people. The only problem is that it's surrounded by Texas ns A&M rejects ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Sorry, had to modify your post to reflect the actual truth.

Ok, a quiz ..... "What's the difference between a Texan and an Okie?"
































A Texan is a Mezzzeeecan that didn't make it across the Okie border.

[Grelber]

people from california like the middle....austin. it's as liberal there as any place in cali.

Austin is a really beautiful place, full of warm, intelligent retarded people. The only problem is that it's surrounded by Texas ns A&M rejects ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Sorry, had to modify your post to reflect the actual truth.

Sorry, but Austin is surrounded by UT rejects. Bryan/College Station is where all the A&M rejects are.

I spent an hour on the Katy Freeway last week just trying to go 5 miles. And that was at 3:30 in the afternoon.

[purple]

people from california like the middle....austin. it's as liberal there as any place in cali.

Austin is a really beautiful place, full of warm, intelligent retarded people. The only problem is that it's surrounded by Texas ns A&M rejects ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Sorry, had to modify your post to reflect the actual truth.

Sorry, but Austin is surrounded by UT rejects. Bryan/College Station is where all the A&M rejects are.

I spent an hour on the Katy Freeway last week just trying to go 5 miles. And that was at 3:30 in the afternoon.

it doesnt help that the katy fwy is under construction right now. people who live near it know how to get around it.

it'll be a 16 lane freeway when it's done.

[purple]

I forgot the best part....

You get to say 'yall' and nobody thinks you're crazy...


I have to say, when I moved to cali from colorado, everyone there thought i was a hick redneck, just because i'm from colorado. I'd lived in germany before and there was nothing hick about me.

They think that everyone from texas is a hick....

I have news....

the biggest hicks and rednecks and good ole boys i've ever met in my life... came from california's central valley. it's more bucolic in california than texas, better land for it. I'm sure west texas has plenty of ranches and such, but the rednecks in california are right up there with the ones from illinois/wisconsin (where my family's from)

I just dont get the texas image everyone thinks is out there. 10 gallon hats, shit-kickers, wrangler jeans, bolos, western shirts, etc. there is a place for that, it's the far west rodeo in san antonio, or the rodeo for 4 weeks out of the year at the reliant arena. other than that, houston is a metroplex just like say denver, chicago, or LA. I love it when people from the LA basin talk about houston traffic....

[ericread]

I forgot the best part....

You get to say 'yall' and nobody thinks you're crazy...


I have to say, when I moved to cali from colorado, everyone there thought i was a hick redneck, just because i'm from colorado. I'd lived in germany before and there was nothing hick about me.

They think that everyone from texas is a hick....

I have news....

the biggest hicks and rednecks and good ole boys i've ever met in my life... came from california's central valley. it's more bucolic in california than texas, better land for it. I'm sure west texas has plenty of ranches and such, but the rednecks in california are right up there with the ones from illinois/wisconsin (where my family's from)

I just dont get the texas image everyone thinks is out there. 10 gallon hats, shit-kickers, wrangler jeans, bolos, western shirts, etc. there is a place for that, it's the far west rodeo in san antonio, or the rodeo for 4 weeks out of the year at the reliant arena. other than that, houston is a metroplex just like say denver, chicago, or LA. I love it when people from the LA basin talk about houston traffic....

Typical "hick" response...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[purple]

I forgot the best part....

You get to say 'yall' and nobody thinks you're crazy...


I have to say, when I moved to cali from colorado, everyone there thought i was a hick redneck, just because i'm from colorado. I'd lived in germany before and there was nothing hick about me.

They think that everyone from texas is a hick....

I have news....

the biggest hicks and rednecks and good ole boys i've ever met in my life... came from california's central valley. it's more bucolic in california than texas, better land for it. I'm sure west texas has plenty of ranches and such, but the rednecks in california are right up there with the ones from illinois/wisconsin (where my family's from)

I just dont get the texas image everyone thinks is out there. 10 gallon hats, shit-kickers, wrangler jeans, bolos, western shirts, etc. there is a place for that, it's the far west rodeo in san antonio, or the rodeo for 4 weeks out of the year at the reliant arena. other than that, houston is a metroplex just like say denver, chicago, or LA. I love it when people from the LA basin talk about houston traffic....

Typical "hick" response...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

You punk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Get your struts yet?

[SLITS]

Ok, most of this has been a good joke .... Texans have no sense of humor ... but when I lived in Sugarland/Safford area:

1.) Heat and humidity was intense ... 98 degrees / 98% Humidity from February thru November.

2.) Influx of East Coasters, Northerners, etc., was nutz. They couldn't build the area up fast enough for the influx.

3.) They took away the natives' horses and gave them all Monte Carlos. If the "hicks" didn't like the way the loop was progresssing, they just drove off it.

4.) Rifle racks were outlawed in Harris County due to the gunfights on the flippin' freeways. It was a state law that you had to carry a 45 under the seat of your car and a six pack of Lone Star on the seat next to you.

5.) Houston had more corrupt police and judges than the entire rest of the country.

6.) Their "Blue Laws" to make everyone go to church were a fuchin' joke.

7.) You couldn't go outside until the freakin' sun went down to enjoy anything.

8.) The swimming pool water was hotter than the water I took a bath in.

9.) Texas women were for the most part beautiful .... until they opened their mouth and talked.

10.) The Chip Channel (note** they called it the Ship Channel) was so polluted even Satan could walk on water.

11.) Buildings were sinking in downtown Houston due to subsidence(?).

12.) The bugs were so numerous and large they would carry off small children and cattle. Flights of Love Bugs were really trippy.

13.) You could find the Judge in Anuyack(?), Tx (east of Baytown) either at the Gas Station, Pool Hall or home.

14.) In Rodgers, Tx, they hid the speed limit sign behind a bush and paid for a new radar setup for the only cop with revenue from the tickets.

15.) The Texas two-step was invented 'cause that's as high as they could count on fingers and toes.

16.) Billy Bobs in Fort Worth was a barn.

17.) In West Texas they planted community crops ... the wind blew so fierce that the seeds would blow from one field to the other and then back.

18.) Red dirt stains your socks , underwear and anything else it comes into contact with. Fortunately, chewing gum picks up the chunks you breathe and polishes your teeth (assuming you have any).

19.) Pearl was the dream beer from the Land Of A Thousand Latrines

20.) Luckenbock, Tx was a shit-hole and Waylon, Willie and the Boys never slept there.

21.) In Market Center (Dallas), the hookers would knock on your hotel room door at 9 PM looking for a date.

22.) The County Mounties all looked like Bueford T. Justice and talked the same way.

These are a few of my fond rememberances of Texas. Oh, by the way ... when I left Texas and crossed the line into New Mexico, I took the Texas Plates off my car and threw them back into Texas ... I then pissed on them from New Mexico.

[purple]

I give up...

the superiority complex of californians is just too much to handle for someone with their feet firmly planted on the ground.

[stateofidleness]

I like how people automatically associated "Texas" with the smallest, hole-in-the-wall cities we have... of course they're gonna be hick... every state has parts that they're ashamed of lol...

San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, as well as Dallas/Fort Worth.

I work for a rather large grocery store chain in Texas doing surveillance and security ops, and I must say, Houston is one of our highest crime areas..

and the weather? summers are hot, winters are hot.. works for me

"9.) Texas women were for the most part beautiful .... until they opened their mouth and talked." ... you mean "spoke" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) irony?

[TROJANMAN]

It's hard to be the butt of the nation's jokes,

Yer tellin me?

Didn't Bakersfield secede from Texas?