I just accepted a job offer there. Still waiting on pre-employments checks to go through but that's not going to be an issue. Start date is April 30th. So are there any TWWers in Houston or have lived near Houston?

4/2/2012 1:10:04 PM

hot as fuck

4/2/2012 1:21:25 PM

IIRC, NCSUWolfy lives there.

4/2/2012 1:25:50 PM

YOU TELL THAT SON OF A BITCH, NO YANKEE IS EVER COMING TO HOUSTON, NOT AS LONG AS YOU BASTARDS ARE RUNNING THINGS

4/2/2012 1:29:38 PM

Quote :

"hot as fuck"

yeah looks like June. July and August are pretty brutal but the rest of the year is nice!

Quote :

"IIRC, NCSUWolfy lives there."

thanks. i'll hit her up.

4/2/2012 1:45:34 PM

The weather is such a trick fuck. It's like everyone thinking Denver is always freezing.

In the summer you will sweat out your own body weight weekly, this is true. But if you can handle that for 90 days, you get to skip winter & the rest of the year is gorgeous & sunny. Scary thunderstorms too if you're into that.

Welcome to Texas sparky!

4/2/2012 2:49:41 PM

I bet this falls through and he doesn't go to Houston.

4/2/2012 2:57:54 PM

dude why would you say that? only positive energy in this thread!

4/2/2012 3:21:38 PM

Well, it's better than Gitmo. But not much better.

4/2/2012 3:39:06 PM

Where in town is the job located? Houston is massive urban sprawl, so you'll want to keep the commute in mind when looking for a place to live.

4/2/2012 3:41:13 PM

West side of Houston, near the I-10 and I-610 intersection. I'm looking for places west of Houston and North of I-10.

4/2/2012 3:55:01 PM

That's not a bad area to look. I lived around Westheimer and Kirkwood, right in the midst of the sprawl; Westheimer is literally miles and miles of strip malls. My apartment complex got bought out by another company that let it go downhill for a year or so before I left (2007), so I won't recommend it and shudder to think what it's like now. But there should be plenty of affordable housing near your work, especially if you look between the tollway and the 6; there are also some pretty swank, tony neighborhoods with multi-million dollar homes just northwest of the 10/610 interchange.

I kind of liked the weather there. Some days in the summer, you definitely feel like you're swimming through the air, and it's oppressively muggy, then suddenly it all breaks and you get a ridiculously heavy flash flood. Pay attention to the weather advisories, and you'll develop a sixth sense to keep you from getting caught out in it; every year a few people die during flash floods, but they're fine as long as you don't do anything stupid like trying to drive your car through a flooded off-ramp (in that part of town, the highways are mostly elevated and exit ramps bank down to an underpass). But I prefer heat to cold, so I enjoyed it.

4/2/2012 4:36:15 PM

They bang DJ Screw

mane hol up

get you a slabbed out caddillac

[Edited on April 2, 2012 at 4:41 PM. Reason : e]

4/2/2012 4:40:30 PM

if you like good food, good museums, lots to do, pollution, heat, pollution, heat, and lots of awful traffic, Houston sounds like a good fit for you. Did I mention its hot, polluted, and traffic sucks?

4/4/2012 7:59:56 PM

I know a few people who were in geology at NCSU working in Houston for an oil company. I think they are doing pretty well.

4/4/2012 8:01:06 PM

It's ghetto and chock full o' hoodies

4/4/2012 8:01:40 PM

it's shitty

4/4/2012 8:13:35 PM

this old video is a non-fictitious depiction of Houston,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TotbU952HNk

4/4/2012 8:37:03 PM

it's shitty

the traffic BLOWSSSSSSS.. you can have a 7 lane highway completely backed up.

have fun.

4/4/2012 9:32:25 PM

Live in the Woodlands area north of Houston. pretty nice up there.

4/4/2012 11:58:21 PM

IIRC it's the one of the fattest cities in the US, but you're married so I guess it doesn't matter much.

4/5/2012 12:01:59 AM

^ damn that sucks!!

^^ yeah I've heard the Woodlands are really nice but it would be a long commute to my work. More then likely I'll actually be living in Katy, west of Houston since my work is also on the west side of Houston.

I've heard nothing but good things about Houston other then the traffic and heat, which is really only bad about 75 days of the year.

4/5/2012 8:48:57 AM

Whatever you have to tell yourself

4/5/2012 9:05:06 AM

maybe i'm just being lied to

4/5/2012 9:24:25 AM

i worked there for 6 months (during the summer, april-september 2007), and i didn't think it was too bad. i was staying at a hotel in the gallaria area, working west of town (a few exits past the sam houston on I-10). actually didn't think traffic was too bad, although i may have had a reverse commute. the temps were about like NC or GA (where I live now), just felt like the humidity was worse. which was hard for me to believe. but all in all, not really that big of a change from NC as far as the summer heat.

i liked jogging in memorial park in the evenings, and i found some good places to eat. my only concern about living there longer term would've been that it just didn't seem like it had much personality. there was lots to do, just felt a little generic. and there weren't that many trees. i remember being on the University of Houston's campus and being shocked at how much it looked like a praire. Anyhow, just my two cents. Thought Houston was an ok city, enjoyed my time there. Good luck!

PS - oh yeah, they're right about the flash flood. i def got stuck in one trying to get to Hobby one week. holy crap, was pretty intense...

[Edited on April 5, 2012 at 10:20 AM. Reason : .]

4/5/2012 10:18:48 AM

hi.

i moved down to the houston area about 18 months ago.

i'm on the southeast side really, closer to NASA.

the people talking about sprawl were really right, if i were to drive to the area you're talking about, it's about an hour and a half drive.

you get used to the heat quickly. you'll come to love it. i moved here from delaware, just south of philadelphia, and love the weather here. the winters/falls/spring are fucking fantastic. you can go ahead and put your ski coats in storage (although you'll see people here wearing parkas when it's 50).

the thunderstorms are no joke (when it does rain... last year's drought was f'n weird).

that area around 10/610 has some really neat things going on. there's a bunch of really nice stuff around there. i'm kinda a food nerd, so sometimes i'll end up just going to central market and farting around their beer selection/meat market/seafood/fruit sections for like an hour trying to decide what to cook that night.

there's a really awesome movement that's developing and flourishing around the high end restaurants, and there's tons of specialty places opening up constantly that have amazing, locally sourced food with really, really talented chefs. breweries are popping up all over, and with the reform efforts that organizations like open the taps are running, there's some awesome microbrew/local brew bars that are developing quite the reputation. my favorite newish bar (hay merchant) is one of these places. i love petrol station too. their burgers, my god. karbach brewery has some really stellar beers, and are an up and comer in the game.

there's a fuckton of strip malls though. it's weird.


the traffic is horrible. roads are always under construction. the way the earth moves here with the soil/lack of rain then shittons of rain/concrete movements the roads are wretched and get repaved often. keep this in mind if you buy a house too, as most houses are on slabs. if you buy a 10-15 year old house, look for any and all signs of slab breakage/damage, and run away.

the food is ridiculous though. chicken strips? put milk gravy on it. baked potatoe? put chicken strips and gravy on it. no? ok fuck it brisket and cheese then. just walking around the more suburban areas is really disturbing considering the condition of most of the people.

going out is fun in man areas, i've ended up mostly in the midtown parts when i go out. for the pure spectacle of it, you'd want to hit up the turtle racing at little woodrows on thursdays during hte summer once. it's weirdly fun.

oh, the beaches at galveston are fucking horrible. like, scary bad. it's a shame. water is gross, gets really warm, and there's trash everywhere. yay ports. but there's pools everywhere.

there's a relatively solid ncsu alumni group, that organizes game watches for football and some basketball games. the ncsu/unc football game watch last year there were about 60 ncsu fans/grads at.


pm me if you have specific questions or anything. or wolfy, i think she's been around these parts a lot longer.

[Edited on April 5, 2012 at 10:22 AM. Reason : e]

4/5/2012 10:19:11 AM

^ awesome man thanks for the post! I don't plan on being in Houston long term but at least 3 yrs and no more then 5.

4/5/2012 10:39:22 AM

iirc, the Mexican portion is in the south west part. It is heavily populated by Mexicans and you'd definitely be outnumbered if you lived there.

4/5/2012 8:52:19 PM

Having lived near your work, I would not want to live all the way west in Katy. Don't subject yourself to the traffic; it really is not worth it, and the cost of living in that part of town is very comparable to Raleigh. The burbs further out west like Katy and Sugar Land are "nicer," but they're so whitebread and boring. There are some other parts of town relatively close to your work that actually have some character.

4/5/2012 9:31:33 PM

Sparky, lived here 5 years. Inside the loop or from downtown westward (including Galleria area) is fantastic. There's a lot to do for whatever you like. That area has numerous new restaurants, nightlife, museums, etc. There is always some sort of festival or show near the theater district and library downtown. Yea, I said theater district; Houston has the largest theater area outside of NY in the US. There are a few parks in that area including Memorial which is a great large greenspace in the middle of the city. You are living in the perfect area if you are single or committed but no kids. Also, you will save a surprising amout of housing $ just by getting outside the loop and you are essentially in the same area.

I live south of the Galleria just outside the loop in Meyerland. Have a kid so wanted to get out a little bit but still close enough to enjoy the culture. The weather can definately be tricky. Make sure you take a look at flooding when finding a place. The summer can hit flash flooding in low areas that you would never expect if you didn't know about it already.

Traffic is always heavy but compared to places like Atlanta or DC it is easier to get around. Everything is laid out intuitively and they are not afraid to add lanes. There's always an alternate unless you live way out in the burbs.

Have to echo what Pilgrimshoes said; it's a lot of city but that can be a good thing if you are an active person. There are a surprising number of NCSU alumni. My first month here I wore a State shirt to Central Market and got stopped by three couples in the store just to introduce themselves and exchange info. I've been told from a lot of my customers that NCSU technical degrees have a good rep down here so I guess that accounts for it.

I heard from somewhere that Houston is a crappy place to visit but a great place to live and I would have to agree after settling in here.

You need any help or info just ask.

4/5/2012 9:46:01 PM

everything is hotter there and bigger, according to them.

4/5/2012 10:03:39 PM

Went to Houston for the day -- second time in two weeks.

Traffic sucks. There's some really good food. Midtown is fun.

4/5/2012 11:56:39 PM

flying saucer is there as well!

4/6/2012 5:04:09 AM

thanks for the input wolfpackred. i would like to be somewhere just outside the Sam Houston Parkway close to the I-10 corridor. I do have a 9yr old son, wife and two dogs, so I need a place with a decent amount of space, 2,000 sqft detached home with fenced in back yard. that is my preference but in my searches it seems that most of the home that fit my criteria are further west towards Katy.

4/9/2012 11:38:45 AM

so i'm really interested in a couple homes in the 77084 zip code...namely

16043 Sunbeam River Dr Houston, TX 77084 http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?MLNUM=62752124

and

15927 Bluffdale Dr Houston, TX 77084 http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?MLNUM=16812575

google maps says it should take about 27mins. is google maps way off on the timing?

4/9/2012 2:10:17 PM

Quote :

"the temps were about like NC or GA (where I live now), just felt like the humidity was worse. which was hard for me to believe. but all in all, not really that big of a change from NC as far as the summer heat."

Looks like the summer months are 5-8° hotter than Raleigh, and for the year averages about 8°F warmer. That's a big difference actually; it's the same difference in temp as Raleigh to NYC (though of course in the other direction). Make sure your vehicles have strong AC

Best of luck man, the Texas economy is definitely one of the stronger ones!

4/9/2012 3:46:19 PM

i liked texas, my family was going to move there when i was in high school but decided to stay for me (:rolls eyes dad moved down and commuted as he worked 3 days on 4 off 4 on 3 off etc. and worked for an airline.

I really liked visiting him there. The texans football experience is 100x better then panthers and almost as good as college is. Good fishing down toward galvastin too. you can catch deep-sea fish right off the coast.

but the storms were bad and the land is flat.

Pretty good car scene though...

I can't even count how many drag races i saw on toll roads.

and when they lowered the speed limit to 55 on some of the main roads the police refused to give tickets for almost a year then they ended up bumping it up 5mph to 70.

I like the place... i may have gone there if the only job offer i got in the region wasn't from Halliburton.

4/9/2012 4:10:36 PM

Quote :

"flying saucer is there as well! "

4/9/2012 6:19:22 PM

sparky

Quote :

" so i'm really interested in a couple homes in the 77084 zip code...namely 16043 Sunbeam River Dr Houston, TX 77084 http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?MLNUM=62752124 and 15927 Bluffdale Dr Houston, TX 77084 http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?MLNUM=16812575 google maps says it should take about 27mins. is google maps way off on the timing? "

Unfortunately Google isn't all that off. First, that's a longer distance than it feels like (and I know because it took me a while to get used to the new scale). It seems like to get just a little further inside from not that far out and not even all the way to downtown it shouldn't take that long but you are going 14 miles in on that route. The time is going to be on 6 trying to get on the Katy Fwy and then when you hit the loop interchange you will crawl till you get to your exit. You will prob find a new route quickly like getting off on Chimney Rock before the loop. I think Google is accounting for all the crap you have to deal with on that route.

You need to get a toll tag. While you might not use it every day, from that side of town going with traffic you will be glad you have it.

4/10/2012 8:57:01 AM

Cool. I'm fine with getting a newer home with the amenities and keeping my commute at or under 30 mins. It takes me 20 mins to get to work now. I figured a 30 min commute would be like living near north Capital blvd and commuting to RTP via I-540.

4/10/2012 10:21:50 AM

It's official. Just got confirmation on the pre-employment checks and all is well. I start April 30th with US LED as their Senior Mechanical Engineer....whooot!!

4/12/2012 3:57:54 PM

Houston is much nicer than people make it out to be. I feel like a lot of Texans hate it because it has a thriving black community and is an iconic hip-hop city.

4/12/2012 4:20:30 PM

What you can do, sparky, is check your distribution. My songs bump in Houston like Scarfaced produced them. But you don't necessarily have to like me. You're just mad because I'm telling how it is, and you're telling how it might be.

4/12/2012 4:36:21 PM

leave for Houston in one week....OMG

4/18/2012 9:43:48 AM

good luck!

i have nothing else to add

4/18/2012 9:49:40 AM

jeez. that was quick. Congratulations. Will your wife and boy be joining your immediately or are you doing the hotel/house search for a few weeks first?

4/18/2012 10:07:17 AM

they are staying in Raleigh until the end of the school year so I'll be back up here to move them down in 6 weeks.

4/18/2012 10:16:24 AM

i see you found the alumni group on fb

i just went there to get the link to paste in here

4/18/2012 10:51:40 AM

i love texas women and their big texas hair. make sure your woman adapts that style quick.

4/18/2012 11:23:03 AM

Quote :

"What you can do, sparky, is check your distribution. My songs bump in Houston like Scarfaced produced them. But you don't necessarily have to like me. You're just mad because I'm telling how it is, and you're telling how it might be."

4/18/2012 11:27:29 AM