Tomorrow I have to decide between the job in Austin and the job offer in Houston. I have evaluated the pros and cons and they are pretty much even as far I can tell: If I take the job in Austin: I will be making about $7,000 less, but happier with where I live, friends, my band, and the job responsibilities in general (sales/marketing/pr for blood drives). It would be easiest because I wouldnt have to move/relocate. The main problem is not having enough disposable income to do the things I enjoy (travel), and upward growth mobility within the company seems somewhat limited. If I take the job in Houston: I will be making $7,000 more, but be less happy with where I live. I have few friends in Houston (although that would probably change), no band, and the job itself isnt as enticing (sales for post-tension and rebar) as the latter. This would be a more difficult move for me(even though I do have ties in Houston). On the upside, this position offers good long term stability, and a possible real future down the road. I have a list of questions to ask each company tomorrow to make my decision a bit easier, but this is going to be really tough for me............ Has anyone realized how indecisive I am by now??
I wouldn't just look at the opportunity now, I'd look where the opportunity is going to take me in the future if I were you. Mainly, What's the career advancement opportunity at each job? Its tough, because money can do a lot of things, but it can't make you happy, and if your happy where you are and you can have a job there, what else is there?
Come on to Houston Dawg... Ffor 7 grand more you can afford Southwest fares to and fro. Congrats, a lot of people would love to be in your position.
Personally, I'd take the one with more career advancement opportunities. Good luck in whatever you choose and welcome to Houston if you choose this one. Don't forget that you could probably attend the next get-together if you move to Houston =).
I'd go where you are happier. No point in extra money or extra advancement if you're not happy there. Now if you came to Houston, you could get Rockets season tix
It seems to me that your negatives concerning Houston are really about the unknown. Drew, you should start thinking about the future and your life going forward. $7,000 a year is more then $500 extra a month. Houston is cheaper to live in, and if it doesnt' work out you can still move back to Austin, at least you will be even more marketable with the experience in Houston. Take the Houston gig.......IMHO of course. DaDakota
dadakota.. good point... the unknown always seems to worry us the most.. i spent months wrestling with the deciscion of going to univ of texas austin where i knew i would be happy or going somewhere like vanderbilt where i am now.. where i thought i would have better potential in the long run.. that unknown of how happy id be here kept me unsure for months... drewdog. do you have family or friends or anything in houston.. ..?
I have lived in Austin and Houston, and I prefer Houston. Houston offers more opportunity, more refined culture, better food, professional sports, more chances to find the woman of your dreams, and a lower cost of living. Austin is prettier and has better live music- but you can always visit.
I currently live in Dallas. I grew up in Houston though, and I visited for Thanksgiving most recently. I can add that Houston does not have refined culture. It indeed is a melting pot. What the hell happened to Houston/> The answer is Mayor Lee Brown. He really messed up Houston. Who would builed a lite rail traveling from the dome area to downtown? Anyhow, Austin and Houston are two different cities. Houston doesnt even have zoning. Houston is pathetic in my opinion.
I agree with DaDakota. Start thinking about your future. A difference of $7000/year is nothing to sneeze at considering your cost-of-living will probably also be lower going to Houston, and especially if you decide to save anywhere near that much extra per year.
I cannot stress to you enough that Houston sucks...I'd live on the drag begging for money and cigarettes before I'd move back there. Don't sell your soul for 7,000 dollars. If you're not happy at the Austin job, keep looking after you take it...it's just a job and it's just money. Money isn't happiness, don't lose touch with that.
Hey DrewDog, if you do wind up coming to Houston, we should jam. I saw in your profile you play bass. I play guitar and sing. I am just graduating from A&M and am losing my band too. I will be living by Jones and 1960 about 15 minutes from downtown. You can e-mail me at legrouper@hotmail.com And Houston is not that bad you freaking drama queens... Yes, Austin is a special city and I would never knock it, but Houston has its perks, you just have to get to know people and learn to let certain things slide off your back.
Take the Houston job for the same reasons that DaDakota and Dr. of Dunk stated. Sorry I haven't called you back...still haven't stopped laughing at that hilarious drunk message.
I'd have to agree about Mayor Brown. Houston people and Dallas people have always loved to dog each other's cities. Five or six years ago though, the two cities were so similar, it was ridiculous. Dallas has forged further ahead though lately. Their downtown is in much better shape, and their DART is light years ahead of our Metro. All that being said, I'd still rather live in Houston, but that is because my roots are here, I like saltwater fishing, and I like the restaurants better. Houston is definitely a melting pot; I still maintain that New York isn't any more diverse than Houston. That can be a bad thing if you like the homogeneous yuppie-dom that Dallas can be, but some people like the diversity. Even though I think Dallas has improved at a much faster clip lately, I'd have to say that IF Houston is pathetic.....then so is Dallas. Overall, there just isn't enough major differences between the two.
Good God I totally forgot about that. I think I was at Trudy's or something. Hopefully I didnt say anything too horrible.
Hilarious that someone living in Dallas would say Houston doesn't have "refined culture." I just came from Dallas and it was among the lousiest cities I've ever had the displeasure of visiting. More hilarious still that someone would count "refined" culture among reasons to live in a city. You love a ballet? An opera? What? And if you do, HGO, Houston Ballet and the Symphony are among the best. Certainly the best in Texas. Not that I'd ever go. How boring. As for unrefined culture, my theater company kicks ass but so does Rude Mechanicals in Austin. Austin's got a way better music scene but the bars are full of amateur drunks. I'd rather see a band from Austin most days out of the week, but I'd much rather see them at Rudyards, MaryJanes or the Axiom than most Austin bars. Room 312 (is that the right name?) is an exception. I think it opened a little over a year ago and it's a fine bar. Great bands I've seen there in the last year are Sexy Finger Champs, USS Friendship and Brown Whorenet (my favorite band in Texas right now). But they all play Houston too. I'll be honest. Houston does basically suck. And Dallas sucks worse. Frankly I think Austin kind of sucks too, on account of all the obnoxious UT kids, but I still love to visit there because of the cool people I know there. Which is the case with just about any city in the world. DallasThomas, you know I'm a fan of your posts and such, but it's just lazy to blame a bad time on a geographical location. And there is nothing quite so boring as those people who spend their lives talking about how much better off they'll be whenever they move out of whatever town they're living in. If you're having a bad time in whatever town you're living in, it's more likely you and not the town. And as the saying goes, wherever you go, there you are. Or, as Dylan put it, "as great as you are man, you'll never be greater than yourself." I think you'll be fine either way. Best of luck.
Drew, Sounds like to me that you have already made your decision in that you will take the Austin job. Just do what feels right in your heart. Good luck.
