Honest views on Houston
I have been offered an opportunity with one of the independent traders, (think Mercuria/Vitol/Trafi) out of their Houston office.
I’ve been to Houston for business but I have never lived there (I’m European, currently based in London and previously in SE Asia).
This is a great chance (FO, top pay potential, very nice team) work wise so I am just trying to make a sober decision at a personal level.
On the plus side, I would welcome settling down and starting a family in a less hectic city (in my early 30s so things like nightlife and dating scene are less relevant to me). Also, my partner is American and while a bit apprehensive about moving South (she’s from the WC), she’s excited about moving back home (she’s not a huge fan of London).
Things I am not so sure about is whether we would like / fit in. Do people in my position tend to stick with an expat bubble or is there a healthier integration? I get the impression that Houston is very international, especially within the commodities circles, but hard to gauge when you’re visiting on business for a few days at the time. Is social conservatism a big part of the city’s vibe? I am not particularly political and I appreciate that this won’t be a small town in a rural area but generally I would be apprehensive about anything too intense in this respect (which I guess wouldn’t be a factor for someone moving to NY or SF for instance).
Any other positive or negative things to consider?
I appreciate some of the above may be misplaced so I hope I haven’t offended anyone. Just looking for some sincere input taking into account the current circumstances.
Thank you
Easily one of the best decisions I’ve made, in my entire life... I would even go as far to say, that my commitment to pursue Finance was entirely decided after relocating to Houston.
CONS: Unstable Weather Conditions Rush-Hour Traffic Construction Flood Zones (Please inquire about flood levels, historical damage, and required insurances before moving to an area.) Distance (You will likely need a car, as the transportation system here is not great.)
PROS: Southern Hospitality (Friendly, Welcoming Nature) Equally, Urban and Conservative Vibes Oil/Gas Energy Capital World’s Largest Medical Sector NASA Space Center Art District: Museums, Art Galleries, Broadway Shows, Opera Extremely Healthy Integration of Diverse Communities Competitive Job Market Expanding Opportunities Cheaper Cost of Living (in-comparison to other major cities) Variety of Food Options: Restaurants & Fresh Markets. Nearby TravelSpots: (Austin, Dallas, New Orleans, Mexico) Events: (Leisure, Sporting, Conferences, Political, Rodeo) Neighboring Suburban Areas (Sugarland, Katy, Woodlands) Two Airports
Hopefully I’ve compiled a generous list of takeaways on both ends of the spectrum... but overall I would describe Houston as a place where “What you put in, is what you get out of it.”
Your concern with acceptance and social climate is likely minor: As you can join a toastmasters’ group, rotary club, private members’ only clubs, country clubs, nonprofit organizations that have dealings with the City of Houston, a variety of financial associations, you can find some London Expats using “MeetUp or InterNations” but I wouldn’t suggest only befriending people from the same background as you.
One of my girlfriends is from London, recently moved here and will be attending school in NYC.
Feel free to ask any additional questions.
Hey, that's very helpful. Thank you. It is certainly not my intention to create a social circle which is similar to me (hence my earlier concern about whether I will fit in), I just wanted to make sure that I am not moving to a city which is intrinsically different to my mould - which it doesn't sound like it.
How safe would you say Houston is where you are? (violent/property crime)
Hit up El Tiempo for some margs and the best Mexican food you’ll ever have.
Original ninfas ftw
Cannot reiterate this point enough. As someone that moved away from Houston it really is the one thing I miss about the city. There is nothing like El Tiempo.
born in Houston, grew up about an hour away, hunted and worked all over south Texas and nothing comes close to El Tiempo for me. Original ninfas and Irmas original downtown are close 2nd/3rd for me though.
the city is crazy diverse to the point I wouldn’t even consider it “the south”. People are super friendly and you can find pretty much whatever you are looking for as long as it’s not a hill (the place is shockingly flat). I would say you shouldn’t be worried about any of your mentioned concerns.
Texans pronounce Houston wrong. It's (How-ston)
I’m sure we pronounce it the way Sam Houston pronounced it, and New Yorkers pronounce it however their Houston did (google tells me it’s a William Houston).
One significant negative in my view is that Houston is probably the ugliest large city with the worst urbanism I've seen in America. 100% built around car use, endless bland suburbs, etc. Whether or not you care about this will depend on your tastes or priorities, but in my experience there are quite a few people from the American coasts who find it unappealing for that reason. I suspect that would be even more true for some Europeans. Depends on the person.
I’ve worked with quite a few Europeans that ended up loving it here (London, Scotland, Norwegian due to oil connections).
Youre going to find the city is very diverse, we vote blue like most urban areas, so your wife isn’t in for the typical “southern” culture shock. That said, the neighborhood matters for that. You sound like you will be well comped, so you can live in the loop no problem and I think you’re going to find the “walkabality” and aesthetic of the heights/montrose/rice village/westU just fine. The bad rep of ugly urban sprawl and lack of public transport (which are fair) is largely from those commuting from the suburbs into downtown. Some people from the east coast think moving to Houston is their chance to live on land and move to magnolia, and get royally fucked by a commute from hell.
The weather sucks, people can be surprisingly nice, food is world class, the time you will feel the most like you are in the south will probably be at work talking to people in energy. DM me if you have any questions.
People have indeed warned me about the weather, although London's weather is pretty crap too! albeit different type of crap.
Is it really that much of a political divide between the rest of the city and the energy sector? I have no illusions that our friendships will initially be shaped by our work circles (although my wife isn't in energy) as we do not know many people here, but I just want to understand.
Also, is the loop family friendly? is it typical for couples (with young children / children on the way) to live in the city, rather than the suburbs?
Happy to discuss via DM if easier.
Thank you for your help, appreciate it.
Yes. Some neighborhoods are better than others. I spend a lot of time in the heights and there are lots of young kids there and even some decent public elementary schools. As the kids get older, people tend to either private school their kids or move to suburbs. I'm approaching 30 and nearly all of my Houston peers (friends from high school/college; colleagues) are in the loop or just outside (galleria, spring branch).
When it comes to the suburbs, Katy and the Woodlands are pretty popular with expats working for the super majors/schlumberger. If you can work remote so the commute isn't so bad, you can live near the water in the southeast suburbs relatively cheap (if you're into fishing or boating.. wouldn't recommend actually swimming in the water...).
Yes, the loop is family friendly in certain places as mentioned above. (Heights/Timbergrove, West U, Rice Village, Montrose.) Also some good places outside of the loop like Memorial/Spring Branch area.
I've spent some time in Houston but am not an expert by any means. There are a couple options near the city that are good for families but they're all fairly expensive -- look into the Heights, West University, and River Oaks.
I wouldn't worry much about politics. Folks in energy tend to lean conservative but it's more of a George Bush moderate / compassionate conservatism than Trumpism.
Houston is honestly a phenomenal food city. I'm consistently blown away every time I visit. Shame about the weather though, the summers can get really oppressive. Spring and Winter are mild and nice though.
Currently live in Houston and actively dislike it for the exact reasons you would like it. I am 24 and looking to be in an urban, active, fast-paced city like NYC or Chicago. However, there are some very nice nice areas in houston with extremely affordable housing for the quality you will receive. You will be shocked at this. There is indeed great food and you are a drive away from ATX or NOLA for a weekend getaway.
austin ftw
Houston FTW
Might be unpopular, but from London, I do not think you will like it.
Houston native here as well. I second all of the positives and negatives _pinkpearls and others above have mentioned. Also, be ready to fight mosquito's in the late summer months. But other than that, I think Houston would strongly align with what you are looking for. Texas also does not have State income tax, so your money goes a bit further.
Houston is great. I too have an international background and also lived in NY for a bit, born in LA and go back often... and Houston is my favorite US city to live in.
I like to stay "It's a great place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there!" lol. You get nothing of the flavor of the town when you visit for business because downtown is relatively dead. People just go there for work, and spend all day in the underground tunnels. But when you go out to the different areas and learn where the good stuff is, it's fantastic. Great museums, world-class ballet, opera, symphony, good theater scene. great sports.
I like to call it a no-friction city. Decent costs of living, little taxes, little congestion, everything's ten minutes away, and you can have almost everything you'd want (I'm used to much worse traffic).
I work with other Europeans who similarly love it. Especially the Rice Village area -- it's one of the very few truly walkable neighborhoods in the city.
Also, don't worry about being "too South". The big cities in Texas are generally much more liberal (Houston voted for Hillary). Houston is also much more diverse than people think -- if you define ideal diversity as being a 25/25/25/25 split among Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic, then Houston is actually the closest to this ideal – arguably the "most diverse city in the world". (The only issue with this is that Houston's so wide that these different groups tend to separate where they live, but not where they work.)
All-in-all, I give Houston an A/A-.
And if you decide to move out to the suburbs, the Woodlands has a pretty big international population due to the headquarters of Exxon here. The kid's school had 36 nationalities this year, about one quarter of the kids are not American.
https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/news/article/Ironman-Triat…
(Work in same industry). I've managed to remain in the northeast US my entire career so far but I do travel to Houston for work and since I've formed good friendships through work relationships I usually spend weekends there when I travel to make the most of the time with my friends. To be clear I'm approaching late 30s now with a growing family so similar age and life situation.
I think you'll be fine in Houston as my group of friends are all traders from different backgrounds (and countries) so you won't be type cast into an expat bubble.
Also to consider cost of living much cheaper and if you and your partner want to visit the WC you are there in a couple hrs on a plane.
My opinion:
Houston is relatively international, especially in the energy/commodity circle.
Houston is a nice play to live and have a family, and a terrible place to visit.
It is not pretty, physically. There are some pretty parts though.
People are generally pretty laid back and easy to deal with. There is more of a "southern" culture than the likes of a comparable city in Dallas.
June-Sept is a no go for anything outside between 8am-8pm. Too humid.
Lots of solid advice here. I lived in Houston for two years roughly 5 years ago.
Definitely recommend living in the loop, which is the area inside of the 610 freeway. Rice Village, Montrose, the Heights are all legit. I lived inside the loop close to San Felipe and the Galleria.
Great food! I admittedly didn't try enough places during my time. But some favorites of mine include Escalantes, Pappasito's, Star Pizza, Torchys, and my personal favorite the triple cheeseburger from What-A-Burger.
If you like to run memorial park is a nice place. There is one huge three mile loop. I liked it because even though I was barley chugging along at 8 min/mile I passed boat loads of people every run.
Weather sucks in the summer. I'd wake up at 7 am to run & it still was hot AF. Also, beware of flooding. Honestly I never really took flooding seriously before I lived in H town. Its no joke.
The sprawl is annoying to look at and also causes a lot of unnecessary traffic. Since Houston has no zoning there are random buildings everywhere around the city and as a by product there is traffic.
I think you should be fine based on community based on your industry. I worked a normal office job during my time in Houston. Most of my colleagues were from Houston so they already had their social circles set and weren't super inclusive outside of HHs and what not.
Be prepared to hear a lot about the Texans and Cowboys. Can't stand either team.
If someone tries to convince you to go to Galveston JUST SAY NO. You're welcome.
Plan weekend trips to Dallas and Austin, both are cool. Rainey street in Austin is a cool spot to go out to. I'd pass on San Antonio, the Alamo was a huge let down.
Awesome, plus you can play golf all year round. If you're work is located downtown try to live somewhere close like Midtown/Montrose, Galleria is nice as well.
My older sister married a Brit who was a Cambridge grad. He had a number of friends who worked in international energy/finance, and several of these ended up living in Houston for a considerable portion of their careers. They uniformly enjoyed it. Along the same lines, my British nephew married a girl (geologist by training) whose best friend from university (Manchester) has lived in Houston for the last decade; she loves it.
That's just two data points, but it does bolster the case of those earlier posters who have held that despite its apparent "disadvantages" (heat, humidity, Southern/Texan culture, etc.) Houston can be an appealing long-term destination for Europeans and others raised in "cosmopolitan" environments. Indeed, you might just end up embracing these "disadvantages" as positives!
One final note: The area around Rice University is lovely (shady streets, diverse housing styles, sidewalks) and eminently walkable. It would be a great place to live if you could afford it.
My brother lives in Houston now, and has for the past 2.5 years, which has afforded me the chance to visit a few times a year. Personally, the fact the city has two airports that can get you anywhere direct, with hubs for United (IAH) and Southwest (HOU) make it a plus.
The international flavor of the city is lost on you, as some get a false sense of believing all of Texas feels like Houston, in the same way people think all of Florida is like Brickell in Miami.
The cost of living is attractive, and if you are looking to settle down, buying a home w/ land in the burbs is still affordable coming from a larger metro.
If you like sports, you have plenty of options.
My brother is single, and while he has enjoyed the dating scene in Houston pre-Covid. I never once heard him complain about a lack of attractive options 25-32 (He's 30).
Yup women are pretty attractive overall but as per my POC friends the white women are generally conservative and stick to their own. There’s a significsnr Hispanic and south Asian population too so certainly no lack of diversity
Houston is a fantastic place to live, but is certainly not the sexiest city, and isn't at the top of anyone's lists of places to visit. There are a decent amount of things to do, and it offers a lot of opportunity professionally (or at least used to before COVID). Plan vacations regularly if you need to get your fill of natural beauty - you can drive to the Hill Country or Southwest out of HOU will take you just about anywhere.
Anything you can do in Houston you can do in other major cities and with likely more fun. When I was living there in analyst years; I was legit as a loss when my east coast friends or visiting family said they wanna do the houston touristy stuff…
Great, great food scene though. I might even go as far as saying that overall the good scene is better than NYC.
How would you all compare Dallas to Houston in terms of quality of life ?
They are pretty similar.
To quote Chandler Parsons "Dallas is much cleaner than Houston".
I live in Texas. Houston attracts a lot of oil, law, and financial businesses because of the low cost of living and the port. Sure, there is humidity and crime, but the crime is only in certain pockets.
Texas as a group project: Dallas is the stuck up rich kid San Antonio is the chill Hispanic Austin is the super super liberal hippie Houston does all the work
Austin has a liberal vibe, sure, but is not nearly as "liberal" as it's reputation and is certainly not "super super liberal hippie". It has plenty of conservatives in certain neighborhoods and in the suburbs.
Idc where it is in Texas, the sun is cooking us like we stole some money.
This can't be the same sun we played in as kids.
Best way to summarize Houston: "A great place to live, but not a place you would want to visit"
Houston’s saving grace is cost of living.
zero people (outside of those forces due to an energy career) would live there if it’s cost of living was remotely comparable to a Chicago let alone nyc
You’re going to make the move, your girl wants to come back to America and the opportunity is a large step up from your current role.
And I’m guessing you’re white so you will fit in just fine.
I’ve been to a houston numerous times when I was younger and made many gas clients. For the client dinners, it was all good as I went to fancy places and was with all my white colleagues. The few times I ventured out late, a handful of times someone said something derogatory to me. It’s the south and trump country, but if you’re white should be totally fine.
Houston is not Trump country lmao.
I agree. This is not accurate at all. Houston is one of, if not the most diverse cities in the country. It is a minority majority city (whites are a minority although not by much). At least half of the people are transplants and not from Houston. The actual city is very laidback and a mix of liberal/conservative people.
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