Houston IB climate (work and living culture)
What is like to do banking in Houston?
What is it like to live in Houston while doing banking?
How is the young adult scene?
How does this compare to NYC besides places being open 24/7?
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Can’t talk too much about working bc I’m just an intern. But living in Houston is cool for the food scene. A lot of authentic food, cheap, and accessible. Bar scene is ok. I’m not a huge party person so. I like Houston so far because of the prices/food/diverse cultures here.
I’ll be starting FT in Houston this July and did my SA there this past summer.
TLDR; Houston is Paradise…
1) Cost of Living
All of these threads coming up every month about how poor the NYC analysts feel living on their salary is a complete non-issue in Houston. No state income tax and everything is cheaper. You can COMFORTABLY afford a nice 1br for yourself and I’m even contemplating a decent 2br to have an office. (I will probably succumb to living in a 1br to have a nicer building)
I am definitely singing a different tune than what it seems our NYC peers are. This aspect, your standard of living/quality of life shouldn’t be overlooked.
2) Bar/club Scene
There’s something for whatever your scene is.
The big thing here is very ‘clubby bars’. Whether it’s midtown (my fav) or washington, that’s essentially the scene I find most people steer towards.
If you’re into clubs, they’re hit or miss in my experience, but they’re are a solid amount out there for you to try. Have had good experiences, but generally feels a little more ratchet.
Aside from bars/clubs, there’s TONS of brewery’s and low key bars that are also nice (St. Arnold’s, EaDo, etc.)
Is it NYC? No, but I feel there is a ton of options for whatever you’re looking for (chill bars, hype bars, clubs)
3) Dating scene
Just gonna grab the Bull by the horns here: Houston is very diverse, so if your ‘type’ is white girls, it will feel like there are significantly less of them than in NYC, hence making dating harder. If you have any other type, or don’t care, then I don’t think it’ll feel much different.
People beat around the bush on this, but yea. Calling a spade a spade. A lot of people’s “bad dating scene” translates to a more diverse dating scene with less concentration of whatever they’re attracted to.
I (white male) haven’t found it to be inhibiting for myself or any friends.
(Hopefully that is all helpful)
Don't mean to hijack the thread but can't help but feel interested (I'm a Canadian going to be interning in an energy team, so naturally looking towards places such as Houston) with the state of our country and just the analyst experience itself - Would you say Houston banks are really only open to fellow Texans, or say, would a "foreign" Canadian like myself have a chance?
Half the Evercore analysts in Houston are Canadian laterals so I think you’ll be fine
So fix your country.....
As a Houston native (born and raised and spent a few years in my late 20s early 30s in Houston), this is pretty much spot on.
I no longer live in Texas but I will go to my grave with the claim that Houston has the best food - it wasn't the fattest city in the nation for no reason!
This is comprehensive and exactly what I am looking for.
How is banking culture and people in Houston?
Do Houston IB shops have respect in recruiter/exit eyes?
A few inconvenient truths about Houston:
-it's f'ing hot & humid, June-Sept is like a no fly zone, otherwise it's nice out, for the most part
-it's not a pretty city, it's not aesthetically pleasing (it has it's moments, has it's nice areas, but you know)
-it's a driving city (or riding)
….and for being a driving city, there is an alarmingly low number of people who are competent drivers
I'll add there are areas that flood quite a bit (Meyerland area comes to mind).
Also, if you like golfing - there are a lot of good courses at reasonable prices (if you can bear the humidity and heat).
Currently working in Houston full time and have previously lived in NYC (ignore username title). No ties to the state or city so can provide a bit of an outside opinion. I expect to get shit on by Houston natives who simultaneously think their city is the best in the world but have an inferiority complex about it.
Costs: what others have said is spot on, I live in a luxury high rise for under $2K, food and gas are cheaper here as well. You can save half of your monthly income with the no state income tax, if you budget wisely. Overall state income tax difference between NYC and TX is about $8K on $110K base
Nature: absolutely none. Houston is a giant sprawl of industrial strip malls and highways. there are some nice parks but nothing compared to taking the ferry through Manhattan or traveling through upstate NYC. Houston is flat, you can see downtown from miles away, and the lack of elevation took time to get used to. NYC is very city, but at least the buildings are pretty
Bars: a NYC bar on a Tuesday night is most Houston places on a Saturday night. most bars/clubs are very chill, it's not popping like NYC in terms of crowd or energy. huge focus on sports, sports bars during major sporting events can be fun.
Social life: personally have found Houston to be much harder to make friends in as a young professional, there just aren't as many educated young professionals as in SF/NYC/Chicago and many Houston natives are perfectly happy staying within their own cliques that they formed growing up. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you won't see a lot of meetup type of groups that you would in NYC or Chicago or SF. most transplants move here for work, not because they really wanted to be in Houston.
Diversity: Houston as a city is pretty segregated, most of Houston IB is white.
Houston just doesn't have much life or vibrancy to it. There's absolutely no one outside, everyone is in their cars, and the sprawl decreases the population density that gives other major cities life. I think it's a good fit if you feel NYC is too much / want a chiller vibe, have family or friends here or in the South, etc. I plan to leave as soon as my analyst stint is over.
That said, I do not regret doing my analyst stint here. Given how much you work, you wouldn't have time to fully enjoy being in NYC. The savings and livability of the city (easy to find an apartment, commute, etc.) compensate for the lack of things here to enjoy.
There are cool things to do, like museums and parks, but you'll have time to do them all on weekends....unlike in NYC, where you would really need to have free time during the week to be able to enjoy everything the city has to offer
Houston native and generally agree with everything. Houston is not the ideal city for the stereotypical young professional in their 20s. That said, it's a nice place to live once you get into your 30s and settle down a bit with marriage and/or kids (if you are mid 30s and single, Houston is not a great spot for you, especially if you're a female). Can get a pretty nice house with a yard in a good location for <$1mm, good public schools if you don't want to go private, etc. Bit slower pace of life but country bumpkin slow, you're still in a city of 5mm after all. Underrated food city as well, has it all (Italian is a weak spot, which sucks).
Agree with almost everything here, only other advice if you don’t have an in person interview just be sure to visit the city for a couple days before making a decision; even if it’s on your own dime, could save you a lot of regret down the road.
One point that most people here have not included, firms in Houston tend to have really sweaty (and usually) bad cultures.
Agree with Intern above. Lots of good commentary on the city in general, but do a search for Houston culture on here. There is basically a thread every 3 months on it. Not a lifestyle coverage by any means... be prepared to work more than just about any NYC group, regardless of bank/tier
Different intern than above but that trend of Houston being sweaty has popped up in multiple threads. I was wondering if you had any friends in corporate banking in energy in Houston? Seems like that could be a sweet spot with MCOL and hours, leaving possible exits aside for this
Toss up. The banks that combine corp + IB into a "CIB" umbrella generally still work kind of bad hours, the other banks may be better. My thoughts around CB is generally it's a large-ish comp cut for only a medium reduction in hours. Very few 3am nights, but working until 9 or 10pm most nights and a few hrs every weekend still kind of sucks, and you are limiting exits (PE exits aside, more talking about "lifestyle" exits). Might as well just do a year or two in IB and exit to corp dev or another low-hour career.
My bank's CB team had the same fairly high junior/midlevel turnover (over many years, not just one class) as the IB side, so at least in Houston I wouldn't consider it a sweet spot
Folks, when people say Houston banking culture is sweaty, they are talking about literal sweat. It's in the 90s with >75% humidity for 4 months out of the year.
Houston sucks. Go to Dallas.
Both are great cities
It's hot as fuck here like 8 months out of the year, with the remaining 4 being somewhat decent weather. Rains a ton, and when it does, flooding is inevitable. Large rains/hurricanes have wreaked havoc on the region in the past.
COL is amazing when you're on the same pay scale as your NYC counterparts.
You need a car but be prepared for the traffic on i45 and 610. Fucking brutal during the week.
Roads suck.
Almost everyone here is O&G/Energy.
Nobody in banking should live outside the loop or touch those roads for a commute
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