After 3 1/2 years away in Pittsburgh and Chicago, I'm back in Houston for the foreseeable future. I've been back a few times in the interim, so it's not completely new, but I am amazed at how nice I-10 seems to be, and how friendly everyone's been everywhere I've gone. Plus the weather today was out of this world! My big question is where should I live? I'm at my folks' house right now (Katy), but I want to move into the city. I'll be working near Hobby Airport, and I'm looking to live near some quality night life, but not TOO far from work. I'd love to live near Rice, but I don't know if I can afford it. My salary will be sort of tight (taking a big paycut for my new job), so I want to keep the rent down. I'd also like to live in the Heights, but I don't know if that's close enough to work. So, Clutchfans, where should I move to? Is there anything I need to know about Houston after having been gone for 3.5 years?
Chicago rocks - it's like a nicer, cleaner, friendlier, less crowded new york. i've been here for the past 2 years.
Chicago's great. It took me a little while to really "warm" to it, but it's a fun place . . . initially, I lived in Oak Park, which is the first suburb out of the city -- it was nice, but I really didn't get the true Chicago experience. Eventually, I moved into the Lincoln Park neighborhood, which is a very "yuppie" area of the city, with tons of bars, restaurants, etc. THAT was a lot of fun. I'd say that unless you live in the city (or a few specific suburbs - Evanston, Oak Park, etc.), there isn't a whole lot of point to living there, because most suburbs of Chicago are no different than any suburb anywhere else. But living in the Chicagoland area, you have to deal with some real negatives -- high taxes, AWFUL winter, bad traffic, crummy roads, etc. -- and if you're not going to take advantage of the benefit of living in Chicago -- the city itself! -- then you're better off finding somewhere cheaper and warmer. The summer in Chicago is pretty nice, although it usually does get pretty hot for a few weeks -- like, 90+ hot. I think if I were to move back, I'd definitely live in either Lincoln Park again, or Wrigleyville -- the area around Wrigley field is awesome . . . Wrigley field is incredible -- people go to the game in the afternoon, drink for the first seven innings, then go hit one of the hundred or so bars right outside the stadium. It's a blast! Now, all that being said, I actually prefer New York, although I've never lived there, only visited for a few weeks. Chicago is nice, but there's an energy and excitement in New York that Chicago just doesn't have. But Chicago is definitely cleaner, and obviously much cheaper.
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check out the east side... a lot of development/redevelopment going on over there and it will be cheaper than the heights or the village or the montrose/upper kirby area, plus it will be plenty close to hobby.
I'm looking at the Chicago School for Professional Psychology for my grad school work. I dunno if I can handle millions of Cubs fans. Hanging around the one I know was ridiculous enough.
Cubs fans aren't that bad. The thing about many Cubs fans is that they aren't as passionate as fans of lots of other teams. They go to the game to drink (Wrigley = world's largest bar) and have a good time. Don't get me wrong, they care about their team, but they are used to the Cubs being so bad for so long that they won't try to rub success in your face like say, Mavs fans.
You can live near Rice for less than $1,000 a month if you look hard enough. It won't be the newest apartment in the world, but it will be nice and in a great part of town.
I live in Chicago now (Wicker Park/Bucktown). It's definitely less of a zoo than NYC, a lot colder, cleaner, cheaper, but still a really big, fun, urban city.
Agreed, but the traffic is starting to get really bad now. WAIT! What I meant to say was, STAY AWAY FROM CLEAR LAKE! Oh, and all of you noobs wanting to move here, it sucks. You want none of it. Stay in the city. If you're here, move out, quickly. srsly!
I live in The Heights and love it. It would probably be about a 20-30 minute drive to Hobby, depending on traffic. The montrose area is also awesome if you can afford it. I've never liked the Rice Village area, but to each his own. If you decide to live in the burbs, then I'd say the Clear Lake area is your best bet. Pearland would be fairly close as well, but I haven't been over there in years. I do know it's had a ton of development recently though.
