Coming to Houston
03-03-06, 10:03 AM
#26
I agree with most of what has been said.
I grew up just north of Dallas. It's a big city, with big city things. I lived in Tucson Az and now in Austin.... I imagine I'm here to stay. The weather is great her. The city is big enough to have what you want, but not so big that you can't get anywhere. Traffic is there, but I really haven't found it to be that bad.
I actually live in Round Rock, which was chosen for proximity to work and one of the local lakes. I can hit the lake with jetskis' after work
It's awesome. Living closer to downtown would be nice as it takes me about 25 minutes to get down there on a weekend night, but I don't do it that frequently, so the drive to work was more a factor in my housing location. Round Rock (and georgetown if you can stand to be a few exits north) are exploding right now. Heck, Austin in general is, so it'sa good time to get in on the market.
Houston is an arm pit... I worked there for about a year... coudln't pay me enough to go back.
If you do make it to Austin hit me up. I have tons of room and can give you a place to crash and probalby give you a quick tour of the areas so you can get an idea.
-Chris
I grew up just north of Dallas. It's a big city, with big city things. I lived in Tucson Az and now in Austin.... I imagine I'm here to stay. The weather is great her. The city is big enough to have what you want, but not so big that you can't get anywhere. Traffic is there, but I really haven't found it to be that bad.
I actually live in Round Rock, which was chosen for proximity to work and one of the local lakes. I can hit the lake with jetskis' after work
It's awesome. Living closer to downtown would be nice as it takes me about 25 minutes to get down there on a weekend night, but I don't do it that frequently, so the drive to work was more a factor in my housing location. Round Rock (and georgetown if you can stand to be a few exits north) are exploding right now. Heck, Austin in general is, so it'sa good time to get in on the market.Houston is an arm pit... I worked there for about a year... coudln't pay me enough to go back.
If you do make it to Austin hit me up. I have tons of room and can give you a place to crash and probalby give you a quick tour of the areas so you can get an idea.
-Chris
03-03-06, 10:16 AM
#27
Anytime baby!
Originally Posted by DrKilljoy
damn neo-hipsters!
Thanks for screwing up the (grade)curve Mike
Thanks for screwing up the (grade)curve Mike
My austin life @ rubberlegsandritas.blogspot.com
Right on.
03-03-06, 03:00 PM
#28
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Armpit!!! 
C'mon now!!!
You act like it's Cleveland or Detroit.
Houston is not that bad!!! Of course I grew up here so I know where to go and not to go. Houston is very hot and humid!!! It all depends on what you're looking for. If the medical arena is where your wife works obviously the Houston Medical Center is world class and you have UT (yes the University of Texas) and Baylor College of medicine branches here.
I would not recommend living anywhere within the city limits if you plan on your kids going to public schools, unless they are in a magnet program. There are many good private schools though. Someone talked about Pearland which is close to where I live. It used to take 15 minutes to get to the medical Center but now it's more like 20-30 minutes due to growth of this area and the increase in traffic. The schools are good (many new schools being built as we speak) and lots of new construction.
All the cities have their pluses and minuses. I would agree that if I could live anywhere in Texas it would be in the hill country. You get a little taste of everything up there.
I didn't mention Dallas/FW in my last thread. You have more snow/ice (this is bad because none of us know how to drive in it. ) and the wind is a killer (it's very flat) but the humidity is nill compared to Houston!!! My uncle says we've grown gills in Houston though.
C'mon now!!!
You act like it's Cleveland or Detroit.
Houston is not that bad!!! Of course I grew up here so I know where to go and not to go. Houston is very hot and humid!!! It all depends on what you're looking for. If the medical arena is where your wife works obviously the Houston Medical Center is world class and you have UT (yes the University of Texas) and Baylor College of medicine branches here.
I would not recommend living anywhere within the city limits if you plan on your kids going to public schools, unless they are in a magnet program. There are many good private schools though. Someone talked about Pearland which is close to where I live. It used to take 15 minutes to get to the medical Center but now it's more like 20-30 minutes due to growth of this area and the increase in traffic. The schools are good (many new schools being built as we speak) and lots of new construction.
All the cities have their pluses and minuses. I would agree that if I could live anywhere in Texas it would be in the hill country. You get a little taste of everything up there.
I didn't mention Dallas/FW in my last thread. You have more snow/ice (this is bad because none of us know how to drive in it.
) and the wind is a killer (it's very flat) but the humidity is nill compared to Houston!!! My uncle says we've grown gills in Houston though.
03-03-06, 05:48 PM
#29
Originally Posted by david88mc
Armpit!!!
C'mon now!!!
You act like it's Cleveland or Detroit.
....
C'mon now!!!
You act like it's Cleveland or Detroit.
....
No, Houston's not bad, but if I was a rich person and didn't have to work for a living (or at least have a 6 figure+ salary), Austin would be up there on my list.
Been to many parts of the world, and lived in a number of cities large and small, and I equate Houston to vanilla ice cream. (Generally) inoffensive (save for traffic) but not particularly memorable either. It definitely lacks the character of Austin for sure.
03-03-06, 06:15 PM
#31
Yeah, Waco is not on my list.
I am mostly looking at Austin still....but if the career oppurtunities are better in Houston or Dallas or San Antonio, I am not counting them out. I will be going down to Texas at the end of the month and spending a week or so down there checking out some of the places, trying to get a feel for it all. Hopefully everything looks daisy. At present, I think the most realistic dates to move will be between October and December. I am excited to live somewhere warm in the winter again.
Not that anyone on here participates in illegal street racing activities....but how are the street scenes in your areas? What kind of cars are out on any given weekend? How are the tracks? Decent? Strict? Can you not pass all the safety rules for your car and still be allowed to run? Is there a road course around San Antonio/Austin?
I am mostly looking at Austin still....but if the career oppurtunities are better in Houston or Dallas or San Antonio, I am not counting them out. I will be going down to Texas at the end of the month and spending a week or so down there checking out some of the places, trying to get a feel for it all. Hopefully everything looks daisy. At present, I think the most realistic dates to move will be between October and December. I am excited to live somewhere warm in the winter again.
Not that anyone on here participates in illegal street racing activities....but how are the street scenes in your areas? What kind of cars are out on any given weekend? How are the tracks? Decent? Strict? Can you not pass all the safety rules for your car and still be allowed to run? Is there a road course around San Antonio/Austin?
03-03-06, 08:10 PM
#32
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Originally Posted by lane_change
Yeah, Waco is not on my list.
I am mostly looking at Austin still....but if the career oppurtunities are better in Houston or Dallas or San Antonio, I am not counting them out. I will be going down to Texas at the end of the month and spending a week or so down there checking out some of the places, trying to get a feel for it all. Hopefully everything looks daisy. At present, I think the most realistic dates to move will be between October and December. I am excited to live somewhere warm in the winter again.
Not that anyone on here participates in illegal street racing activities....but how are the street scenes in your areas? What kind of cars are out on any given weekend? How are the tracks? Decent? Strict? Can you not pass all the safety rules for your car and still be allowed to run? Is there a road course around San Antonio/Austin?
I am mostly looking at Austin still....but if the career oppurtunities are better in Houston or Dallas or San Antonio, I am not counting them out. I will be going down to Texas at the end of the month and spending a week or so down there checking out some of the places, trying to get a feel for it all. Hopefully everything looks daisy. At present, I think the most realistic dates to move will be between October and December. I am excited to live somewhere warm in the winter again.
Not that anyone on here participates in illegal street racing activities....but how are the street scenes in your areas? What kind of cars are out on any given weekend? How are the tracks? Decent? Strict? Can you not pass all the safety rules for your car and still be allowed to run? Is there a road course around San Antonio/Austin?
I WISH there was a road course around SA.
Try this site www.alamomotoring.com. Its mostly rotary guys but not exclusive. I'm Jeb Stuart on that site. I'm sure the guys on there could tell you about the drag strips around here.
SA is dry except when its flooding
. Hurricanes don't really bother us much. I would say we have the heat but we really don't have a winter like DFW. If it snows here or gets slighty icy the whole town shuts down(for good reason).
Last edited by Buzzardsluck; 03-03-06 at 08:15 PM.
03-07-06, 09:05 PM
#34
I just went to a Drivers edge event in College Station this past weekend. It's only 2 hours away... but no, nothing right in Austin that I am aware of. I haven't been to a drag strip here yet, nor have I manged to get tied into local auto xing. Honeslty though, I have seen very little of an import scene here.... haha, especially up in Round Rock.
I do know there is an "auto show" every Saturday night at the Home Depot down the street.... I haven't ventured over just yet.
Houston... I was thoroughly unimpressed the year that I lived there... but I was up on the north side and living in a hotel of sorts. So perhaps other areas are different.
-Chris
I do know there is an "auto show" every Saturday night at the Home Depot down the street.... I haven't ventured over just yet.
Houston... I was thoroughly unimpressed the year that I lived there... but I was up on the north side and living in a hotel of sorts. So perhaps other areas are different.
-Chris
03-24-06, 11:18 AM
#35
Well, I am leaving in about 3 hours to start my long boring drive down to Austin first. So I will be in Austin tomorrow trying to get a feel for the city...probably stay in Austin for a few days, then go check out San Antonio for a few days, and finish up in Dallas for a few days to see some friends and check out that area as well.
If anyone knows of anything going on over the next couple days down in Texas, let me know....I will either be driving my EVO or my wife's Mini Cooper....haven't decided yet.
Look forward to seeing the area, I hope we like it as much as I think we will.
If anyone local would be willing to meet up over the weekend in Austin and show my wife and I around some that would be great...we can go out to eat lunch or something, maybe get a better feel for the area. Just call my cell 573-268-3009. Looking forward to meeting my future RX7 crew of people.
-Scott
If anyone knows of anything going on over the next couple days down in Texas, let me know....I will either be driving my EVO or my wife's Mini Cooper....haven't decided yet.
Look forward to seeing the area, I hope we like it as much as I think we will.
If anyone local would be willing to meet up over the weekend in Austin and show my wife and I around some that would be great...we can go out to eat lunch or something, maybe get a better feel for the area. Just call my cell 573-268-3009. Looking forward to meeting my future RX7 crew of people.
-Scott
03-24-06, 01:32 PM
#37
Anytime baby!
Hill Country Drive
Copied without permission from Larry D aka topdownbackroads (what a great forum name for larry d).....looks like a kickass hill country drive is on, and the weather is going to ******' RULE. I might have to make this one, if I can get to the start in time after my 10 mile run tomorrow. Right on.
Afterwards these guys are meeting up some Cobra guys and there is going to be a big fight. Not really, about that fight. Just good ol' respect and tire kickin'.
Right on.
Fellow Drivers,
As for the March drive, below are the details we came up with.
Now, what is a Hill Country Drive without the occasional BBQ??? Well, its time to combine good tasting food with a relaxed eating environment…oh and some nice driving as well. The March drive is headed to the South West part of town for some great driving and hopefully some great weather (so we won’t have to reschedule twice J).
This will be a good drive for the San Antonio folks too, since there are easy places for you to join up with the folks from Austin.
What:
Have a nice drive through the South West Texas Hill Country and enjoy that terrific Spring weather with the occasional batch of Texas wildflowers.
When:
Date: Sat, March 25th
Time: 9:30am (10am leave)
Where:
Starting Place: Starbucks on Great Hills Trail (next to Saks in Arboretum)
Lunch:
How does lunch in the famous Salt Lick sound? Well, that’s where we will get a bite to eat and do the usual bragging and boasting of our car experiences as we normally do. For anyone who is not into BBQ please feel free to bring your own food (in a cooler if you want), everyone is just fine with that and diversity is encouraged.
Afterwards these guys are meeting up some Cobra guys and there is going to be a big fight. Not really, about that fight. Just good ol' respect and tire kickin'.
Right on.
Fellow Drivers,
As for the March drive, below are the details we came up with.
Now, what is a Hill Country Drive without the occasional BBQ??? Well, its time to combine good tasting food with a relaxed eating environment…oh and some nice driving as well. The March drive is headed to the South West part of town for some great driving and hopefully some great weather (so we won’t have to reschedule twice J).
This will be a good drive for the San Antonio folks too, since there are easy places for you to join up with the folks from Austin.
What:
Have a nice drive through the South West Texas Hill Country and enjoy that terrific Spring weather with the occasional batch of Texas wildflowers.
When:
Date: Sat, March 25th
Time: 9:30am (10am leave)
Where:
Starting Place: Starbucks on Great Hills Trail (next to Saks in Arboretum)
Lunch:
How does lunch in the famous Salt Lick sound? Well, that’s where we will get a bite to eat and do the usual bragging and boasting of our car experiences as we normally do. For anyone who is not into BBQ please feel free to bring your own food (in a cooler if you want), everyone is just fine with that and diversity is encouraged.
03-27-06, 03:05 AM
#38
The Dirty Mexican
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I moved to Texas from Cali too. I was definitely culture-shocked at first. But I have had the opportunity to live in many places within Texas. I am not a relocation expert, but these are MY personal experiences:
San Antonio- Awesome. Big enough to always have something to do and find anything you need, but not too big or spread out.
Austin- Never lived there, but visit occasionally. I absolutely love it. Doesn't even feel like you're in Texas, atmosphere has more of a Cali-style vibe to it.
DFW- The metroplex is nice, but everything is too spread out. Then again, I was staying in Denton. I don't think they like Mexicans in Denton...
Houston- Never been there
West Texas- STAY AWAY IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY!!
South Texas- Live here now. It's OK I guess. McAllen is nice, but Brownsville is kind of a dump. But hey, I hung out at the beach in South Padre Island, in December, in 80deg weather, while most of the country was freezing.
San Antonio- Awesome. Big enough to always have something to do and find anything you need, but not too big or spread out.
Austin- Never lived there, but visit occasionally. I absolutely love it. Doesn't even feel like you're in Texas, atmosphere has more of a Cali-style vibe to it.
DFW- The metroplex is nice, but everything is too spread out. Then again, I was staying in Denton. I don't think they like Mexicans in Denton...
Houston- Never been there
West Texas- STAY AWAY IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY!!
South Texas- Live here now. It's OK I guess. McAllen is nice, but Brownsville is kind of a dump. But hey, I hung out at the beach in South Padre Island, in December, in 80deg weather, while most of the country was freezing.
03-29-06, 12:01 AM
#39
I'll chime in on the Texas scene:
Austin - liberal as hell if you like that scene, lots of alternative habits to either enjoy or ignore, awesome weather and scenery, lots of young people and lots of retirees, I'm considering retiring in the outlying towns later in life
San Antonio - ok, I find it kinda boring but it's a nice place to visit with some good tex-mex restaraunts
Dallas Metroplex - some awesome areas with a rich new feel to them, lots of nightlife with many styles to choose from, generally a stuck-up clickish town but once you are there for awhile you start meeting the cool people and there are lots of them, great dry climate weather but hot in the summer, lots of golf courses, pro sports, NASCAR, road racing and drag venues, probably my favorite Texas area
Houston - where I live now, very friendly town with lots of stuff to do, there's a nice high dollar scene and a nice casual scene, hot and humid in the summer, very reasonable cost of living and lots of job opportunities, autox, drag racing and only one NHRA event now, and road racing venues, downtown CART race, lots of golf courses, pro and college sports, nearby beaches suck
Austin - liberal as hell if you like that scene, lots of alternative habits to either enjoy or ignore, awesome weather and scenery, lots of young people and lots of retirees, I'm considering retiring in the outlying towns later in life
San Antonio - ok, I find it kinda boring but it's a nice place to visit with some good tex-mex restaraunts
Dallas Metroplex - some awesome areas with a rich new feel to them, lots of nightlife with many styles to choose from, generally a stuck-up clickish town but once you are there for awhile you start meeting the cool people and there are lots of them, great dry climate weather but hot in the summer, lots of golf courses, pro sports, NASCAR, road racing and drag venues, probably my favorite Texas area
Houston - where I live now, very friendly town with lots of stuff to do, there's a nice high dollar scene and a nice casual scene, hot and humid in the summer, very reasonable cost of living and lots of job opportunities, autox, drag racing and only one NHRA event now, and road racing venues, downtown CART race, lots of golf courses, pro and college sports, nearby beaches suck
03-29-06, 11:42 PM
#41
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Colleyville. Voted number one city to live in in Texas by Money magazine. Nice place, not to many ricers (less than Como), quiet, equal distance to DTFW or DTD, not as much humidity as Houston, not as liberal as Austin, not as border town as SA. Really starting to develop, and its better than Southlake or Grapevine [/shamless plug]
03-30-06, 08:48 AM
#43
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No matter where you go in texas you will be kinda close to several tracks. College Station has Texas World Speedway, Dallas has MSR, and Houston has too many to count with more being planed or built.
03-30-06, 09:08 AM
#44
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Austin is getting a track (supposedly) and has a pretty big overall scene. The thing here is that everyone comes out on the weekends, and everybody drives something different. At 1431 you'll see mintrucks, imports, Hayabusa's, hotrods, choppers, everything. If you need convincing, check out www.hillcountrydrives.com, you can also check out my little write up on our club website (in my sig) between that group and the fact we have the best RX club anywhere (haahaha lol) you can't go wrong with Austin
edit: I forgot to mention 1431 is not the only place people go, there's Riverside, there's Vans' auto parts on 183, there's the Albertson's at the Y in Oak Hill, there's random gatherings all the time, oh and I forgot to mention we also have the best car audio business right here in Austin as well lol
edit: I forgot to mention 1431 is not the only place people go, there's Riverside, there's Vans' auto parts on 183, there's the Albertson's at the Y in Oak Hill, there's random gatherings all the time, oh and I forgot to mention we also have the best car audio business right here in Austin as well lol
03-30-06, 03:12 PM
#45
Originally Posted by carx7
Hey Scott,
It was great to meet you an Tanya. Hopefully you are convinced that Austin is the place to be and besides, we'll need to prove that your project will be infact slower than mine
-Chris
It was great to meet you an Tanya. Hopefully you are convinced that Austin is the place to be and besides, we'll need to prove that your project will be infact slower than mine
-Chris
San Antonio just didn't feel right to us though.....so outisde of Tanya getting a job down there at USAA, I doubt we head to S.A.
I would say 70% sure that we will go to Austin....the vibe in that city was just great. Like someone else said, it almost felt like Cali, which was great. A bit too liberal, hippy, peace, love, music, etc....for me, but I can accept that. It makes no impact on the city, and if that is what gives it the feel or atmosphere I like, then more power to them.
North Dallas was nice (Lewisville and Lantana or something) were both decent areas....lots of housing options, shopping, good schools, etc.....but I dunno....I liked Austin more.
Thanks for letting us hang out with you down there Chris.....I look forward to letting you show me how fast your project is once I arrive. I will go ahead and start polishing my tailights for you.
-Scott
03-31-06, 07:51 PM
#47
Administrator
Originally Posted by lane_change
I would say 70% sure that we will go to Austin....the vibe in that city was just great. Like someone else said, it almost felt like Cali, which was great. A bit too liberal, hippy, peace, love, music, etc....for me, but I can accept that. It makes no impact on the city, and if that is what gives it the feel or atmosphere I like, then more power to them.
-Scott
-Scott
Keep Austin Wierd!!!
Welcome to Texas!
03-31-06, 08:11 PM
#48
Anytime baby!
Originally Posted by DrKilljoy
Got to remember Austin's city motto:
Keep Austin Wierd!!!
Welcome to Texas!
Keep Austin Wierd!!!
Welcome to Texas!
Sounds like lanes_change got bit by the Austin bug pretty fast. Austin will get you like that, but with good reason!!!
Oh, and I prefer Keep Austin Wild!!!
Right on.
04-03-06, 04:30 PM
#50
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well if you decide to move to san antonio lemme know i have a buddy thats in realestate. I personally like S.A. the best because when you need something different, austin is just an hour away. We have a decent scca scene though. not the biggest because we are the smallest out of houston and dallas/ftw. but my buds and are all gonna be running. We have an integra(not ricey), 88 tII, my 84 gs, and an MR2 turbo. There are several big car meets during the week. usually get broken up by the popo. Anyway good luck with where ever you choose to go.
Fred
Fred