Anyone live, or lived, in Houston, Texas?

[EthelredOnAGoodDay]

There is potential through DH's work for him to have a two year secondment to Houston. Don't know anything about it, haven't even been to the USA, but interested because it seems the 'right time' IYKWIM. I am interested to hear from anyone who knows anything about the place!!! Anything at all!!! :o

I won't lie, the traffic is horrendous. I mean, it is really, really, really bad. All the time, too. I mean, just look at this. I had to get on this fecking freeway every day and get across all lines to get to I-10 exit straightaway and it was taking my life in my own hands at times, I can tell you.

And it's not a place I'd want to live forever unless I were pretty rich, tbh.

But for 2 years on a good whack I'd do it.

Forever on a good whack I'd go Austin, though.

Blimey!Any way of avoiding said traffic,was that Houston or Texas?

Are there any decent beaches near by?

Think I had a friend who went to Austin uni on a tennis scholarship 88.

Yeah, just don't travel in rush hour. If I had the choice I'd pick Austin, but the traffic's bad there, too, because the highway wasn't built for the population it now has.

Lots of decent beaches about 50 miles away from Houston. Kemah, in particular (my sister lives near there). Great if you like to sail or fish, too.

Plenty of very nice historical houses to visit and every year there are numerous Parade of Homes to visit.

Galveston unfortunately had a very bad hurricane back in 1900 that killed thousands. It used to be a HUGE gambling mecca, full of holiday homes of the rich. It was at the height of the holiday season that shrimp/prawn and other fisherman began to come and tell of a large storm at sea (this was before the seawall was built). No one wanted to quit partying, so there was no evac (the island is attached by a big causeway).

But what houses survived are a real marvel of Victorian architecture.

The service in most places is exceptional compared to what you get here. Seriously, I always forget and am surprised by that when I go back to Texas. And the terrific food. Oh, such food! Free refills on non-alcholic drinks.

Houston is extraordinarily multi-cultural. There's just nothing you can't find or that someone won't be willing to source for you. You can find most No. 7 products in Target cheaper than you pay for them here.

It's never too much trouble to source stuff, or ask others to do so. There are large communities of just about any race, creed, orientation.

Both cities are truly 24-hour places. It's easy to forget, just how convenient life can be.

When hosted it's expected for guests to make themselves at home and pitch in as such, across cultures, unless instructed otherwise. But just say! You don't have to keep anything to yourself there! 'Sorry, I'm not sure how it's done here, just let me know' is all that's needed.

It's not without its drawbacks, no place is. It's very different from here, and not all of those ways are good, of course.

But for a couple or a few years IMO it's worth it. Plus, the taxes are very very low there. It's a good opportunity to save some money and put it towards pensions.

Hi, I live in Houston (been here since 2002) and all expat's comments are spot on! It is really hot here in summer - yesterday it rained for the first time in 140 days. Phew! It was great since the last few weeks the temperature has been up in the upper 30s every day.
We live on the west side of the city - a lot of oil offices and expat families around here.
On the bad weather - we have had 2 hurricanes since we lived here... the first one (Rita) we evacuated, and our electricity was off for a week. The second (Ike) we stayed home.... my husband left to go to Denver on business, and the electricity finally came back on 11 days later. We went grocery shopping each day, and basically camped out, going to bed when it was dark, charging the cellphone up at the grocery store that sort of thing. Lots of neighbours got generators to get the ole flat screen going.... strangely the ice cream shop was unaffected so we ate a lot there too! The thing with hurricanes is that you can see them coming on the local news - for a few days, unlike tornadoes in the midwest which do seem to appear almost without warning.
Oh and it's a hub for Continental Airlines so you can pretty much fly anywhere in the US, so if you were here for 2 years you could visit other parts very easily (eg Colorado for skiing) (typing when should be packing her bags for a trip to Boston)

Thanks all for the info. It's very much appreciated. The more you tell ne the mire keen I am to give it a whirl. As you said, there are problems, but where in the world doesn't have those?! Just seems like too good an opportunity to pass up, whilst DD is still small enough that it won't impact on her education. Thanks again.

YY, it's Continental hub. I used to fly there on long weekends from my home in Denver, nonstop direct. I lived in Denver for nearly 9 years. Used to see my folks a lot thanks to Continental. I'd take a Friday or a Monday off and come in to see everyone.

Holidays aren't like they are here.

I remember my first year in Denver, as a legal secretary. It was day after Thankgiving off or day after Christmas, one or the other. So my friend and work colleague, a Denver native, invited me for Thanksgiving dinner with her family, as I chose day after Christmas to go to Houston. That was the first time I had chipotle chiles. I'm Latina, but in my parts they use different chiles. My mother came later and said, 'Oh, they cook like New Mexico people, with chipotles.'

I remember crying a river in the bathroom at her brother's house. I don't like chipotles and how they taste, the dishes didn't taste the same and I wasn't with my own people. I remember one of her SIL knocking on the door and my being mortified. A Southern girl never insults her host, Latina or no. NO way. So I said I just homesick, silly girl, and all the ladies coming out to give me a hug. It was on account of my ex H's job transfer we were there, not wtih my own people, as his were in Europe with the forces. They found this sad.

It's not forever, but again, I won't lie. Expect temps in the 40s in summer, with 80% or above humidity. There are mosquitos, fire ants and roaches.

You don't leave things out, it'll get full of weevils or bugs even in the best of neighbourhoods, of which I'm considered from, being from West U.

But you'll have a really big fridge/freezer.

My own children never went there till last year, and their little working poor Scottish eyes fair bugged out their bodies at everything. :o

It's not bad at all with no kids in school.

I went to Bellaire High School when it was still very good, it's not so much now, sadly. I elected to test into this school, as it was merit-based for half of it at the time. A 'magnet' school for students who showed proficiency at picking up foreign languages. I spent one year of those four abroad, in France, the year counting towards my graduation, as I took lessons accordingly in a French school.

But when I went to that high school all the UK and Euro people went for IB diplomas to go university. The school used to offer IB exams.

Now, you'd probably need to send them private.

Before that, I went to Duchesne Academy, a Catholic day school for girls, K-12, where my sister and several cousins attended until leaving school.

Even now, my cousin's sons to go St. Vincent de Paul, then they will go to Strake Jesuit, a boys preparatory school.

This is how it goes for those who live there long-term often enough.

My life and that of my second cousin, O, have been shocking to some, but nonetheless accepted.

The myth of the steel magnolia has some truth. When the elder son and heir to the de P family of Lousiana took a fancy to my elder daughter, it was accepted in a way I don't think titled people would have taken it here, though I don't know, because she is a Scot, a legitimate and a beauty even now.

Our dcs (15,13 and 9) all go to local schools here - but in a good school district, I might add. If you are not looking at schooling then you can live anywhere...otherwise you might need to look at catchment areas. One of our local high schools does the IB too!
My girls have benefitted from things like in-school music and drama, and special education provision which comes from living in a huge city with lots of opportunities.

Yes, my high school had a lot of music. I was able to continue my piano and guitar at school.

I don't even know what my folks spent on school. I reckon it was a lot. They are Catholics, so it was important to them, the Catholic schooling.

I'm feeling homesick tonight so it's good to hear from wentshopping :).

Are you in Katy? Cyprus? Kingwood?

Not HISD, obviously.

Gah, but I was hot to get out of there. I've no idea why. I went to Georgetown first, what a load of weird people! Crazy Virginians, mostly. I had two men from Roanoke families proposing marriage - then we'll be independents! Able to get financial aid and housing as marrieds! Crazy boys who didn't even go by their own given names, some nicknames. One boy with name a mile long who went by 'Fud'. 'Boy, your mama would kill me if I married you, or else make me live with it the rest of my life and I don't know which is worse,' that's what I said to him.

Even now my sister, a Junior Leaguer, and one of my cousins will say, 'You should've married Fud. Imagine where you'd be now.'

Oh, yes, holed up with his batty mother in the big house and a passel of brats because his sisters and younger brother want nothing to do with it, for sure. Damn house probably haunted as all hell, too. Please and thank you, ma'am.

expatinscotland we live in spring branch isd, near intersection of I10 and Beltway, in a delightful 1960s house in a neighbourhood of identical houses - you know three floorplans for an entire neighbourhood. We don't win yard of the month . you are homesick tonight. Don't forget the roads made of concrete, all splitting apart and making the car bump along. I'd never been called ma'am by a child until I lived here.
And Halloween and Christmas decorations. On the outside of the houses.
(Where are you in Scotland? All dcs born there)

Hello, can I join in?
My DH has just been offered a job in Dallas so we've lots of thinking to do too.
Can anyone help on what Dallas and surrounding areas are like? I have 2 DDs (2 and 5) so will need to think about schools etc too. Any help or pointers greatly appreciated.

MrsOLF someone else is asking about Dallas - no Dallas replies yet though. (Thread is called "Dallas?")

Thanks wentshopping, will go look!

Expat, you have me intrigued - how do you compare your home in Scotland with experiences to your upbringing in Houston and what do you prefer? We had the chance to go to Houston but Dh wasn't too keen though I have never been.