Thoughts and culture of banks in Houston

I lateraled to Houston and after actually living and working here, I would recommend prospects to stay away from this place unless you have family here or you're dead set on pursuing Energy or Infrastructure IB/PE. I won't list out each bank and what I think but the general banking culture in Houston sucks (it's always been that way) and there's so many better places to spend your analyst years that will not only give you more fulfilling life experiences but give you access to much better exit opportunities. Trying not to give my full unsolicited rant on this place but will if anyone asks.  

EDIT:

*cracks knuckles* someone asked me to elaborate so here we go. Texas isn't necessarily a "bad" place to live but if you have lived in any other mature or up and coming cities, Houston/Dallas are some of the most isolating and depressing places to live and I'll explain why I think below. To save me some MS, I'm not intending to insult the state as a whole or anyone who grew up here and wants to stay in Texas.

1) The culture. Texas is infamous for having the big country BBQ stereotype and culture but that's mostly a myth if you're in Houston or Dallas. The reality is that "Texans" are some of the most boring people I have met in my life. Because the weather sucks most of the year and the state/cities have made no effort to make it an enjoyable place to live outside of no income taxes, people here have zero hobbies outside of pursuing corporate prestige and collecting a paycheck. There isn't anything to do besides go to work, eat and drink at restaurants, and go home. Consequently, that hole is filled with work, which is why the culture here sucks so much. No one makes an effort to leave the office to go to the gym (obesity) or do anything else. They'd rather stay in the office late everyday to avoid traffic.

Stemming from the above culture issues, Texans have the most bizarre self hating attitudes but still have a sense of pride about it. If you talk to them about how they got here or why they stayed, you'll find that the majority of them don't actually want to live here but have to stay because of family or they pigeonholed themselves into the Energy industry. If you ask them what about Houston is so great, they'll say the food is better than anywhere else (which is wrong imo, it's just mostly mexican food and BBQ) and it "has everything you could want". Ask them to elaborate and their answer will involve driving in traffic on a 5+ lane highway 45 minutes away from Houston for "fun things to do". They joke about how much the place sucks but get hostile and snobby if you don't like Houston and want to leave. 

2) The work and subsequent exit opportunities. It's O&G. It's boring and very technical. There's only so much to learn about drilling and pipelines. Because of the very specific skillset you acquire from O&G, many buyside shops won't even interview Energy candidates. I've had headhunters straight up tell me "I think you're great and have good experience but my client doesn't like to interview Energy people because they don't have the skillsets to pass their LBO tests". Despite what anyone else tells you, you'll get pigeonholed very quickly if you can't get out after two years. Buyside recruiting will be objectively harder for you than any other vertical. The analysts who willingly choose Houston and stay afterwards typically grew up here and just live with their parents during their analyst stint and buy a house in the suburbs somewhere. There's not really a vibrant young professional community here that brings fun energy to go out and live life. Those types get out of Houston ASAP.

3) Endless urban sprawl and traffic. Paired with both of the points above, living here is just depressing imo. Without zoning, the city just builds shit anywhere and everywhere without considering how it would contribute to quality of life. Since most people don't actually want to live here, the city is treated like trash and there is no sense of community. Angry people are everywhere on the roads and driving anywhere in traffic is just exhausting. Not to mention the crime.

Again, it's not a horrible place to work and live. However, Houston is only appealing to a specific subset of people and that's why I don't recommend moving here.