THE BIG DECISION - 12/2/02

Unless you are strapped for money, or the $585/mo makes up a large portion of your salary:

satisfaction with your living arrangement is more important than how much you make. Think about how difficult it would be to have to pick everything up and move again if Houston did not live up to what you ant versus trying to find another job in a year or so if this one did not pay enough (there in Austin).

Work is work no matter where you are. You need to put yourself in the location that suits you the best. You are at work 40-60 hours per week, you need to be where you will be the happiest for the remaining 108-128 hours in the week you are not working.

 

I've spent the last 4 months driving back and forth between Houston and Austin every other weekend. Take the job in Houston and just visit Austin on the weekends. It really doesn't matter where you are during the week, as long as you aren't too far from where you want to hang out on the weekends. You may eventually find enough reasons to stay in Houston on the weekends, but you'll do fine in whatever city you live as long as you have the right attitude. Hell, I was stuck in Rolla, Misery (Missouri) for 5 years, and I had a blast. Just my opinion, good luck with whatever you decide.

B

 

B,

For school? Are you an engineer? Great school for it if you are!

 

University of Missouri-Rolla

I actually majored in Management of Information Systems and Economics with a minor in Computer Science. I should have done something like Computer Engineering or Engineering Management, but I had my heart set on being a programmer or a programming manager, which I am neither at this time.

B

 

That's a great point Batman. I guess I was ascribing my personal life to his a little too much. The reason I like Austin so much despite the abnoxious college (frat) folks is that I have a strong sense of love for my best friends - to the extent they're my family; and half of my real family lives here too. I just took a trip to Houston last week with my two best friends and all I could think the whole time was how it was an MRP waiting to happen. There was one point where we were cruising around looking for something to do and I asked myself "Well, damn...what did I used to do when I lived here? We could at least do whatever that was..." and then I realized the response to that was "A lot of drugs." My major beef with Houston is that you have to drive forever to go anywhere and/or do anything. And I am a connoiseur of scenery in a way. I love my coffee shops and I hate sitting in the parking lot of Best Buy looking out on the business-clad world that is Houston while sipping on my conglomerate-flavored Starbucks. I had to go to Montrose every day just to escape the depressing symbols of ruthless money hunger that encompass the whole vicinity of that business hub.

Okay, I'm rambling...but in summation: I love my Austin. But that's not to say Drew would even think nearly the same as me. I'm just posting this gibberish in case you do and it might help you somehow...

 

The average person switches jobs 6 times, so it might not be too horrible if your current job does not have great room for advancement, just gives you a reason why you left when you move on to something else.

 

If you're anything like me, there are just certain places where you feel like you belong. For me, Dallas is that place. I love living here. It just feels right to me. I obviously see things here that some others in this thread don't see about the city, but a lot of that may just be because this is the place that feels like home to me, and these people feel that way about somewhere else. I wasn't born here, and I didn't even grow up here. But, to me, this city is my home.

I could live in Houston and get along just fine. I've certainly had no problems with the place when I've visited (which has been fairly frequently). I love to visit Austin, and I could live there, too. But neither one of those places feels as comfortable to me as Dallas. So either of those places, while wonderful cities in their own right, would always come in behind Dallas no matter the opportunity presented in either of those cities.

It sounds to me like Austin is where you feel most at home. The lure of the opportunity in Houston is, I'm sure, quite tempting. But if I were in a similar situation, I don't think I would take the Houston job.

But that's just my opinion. I've been known to be wrong.

 

I can't believe the two jobs are really identical but for the money. Go where the work seems a tad more interesting, the coworkers a tad more interesting, and the position a tad more respectful. Seriously. Did either job stand out in this way? The town is important, as is pay, but I think the things I mention are actually even more important, since the cities are relatively close, and you'll advance faster in an environment you like and an environment that respects your work. A job's only part of your life, but hell, this here's America, and it's a big ol' part of that life, and you'll be taken the mood home with you each day.

Sorry if somebody posted that sentiment. I think I'm saying close to what Gutter Snipe and supermac are saying.

 

Ask yourself if you want to live in Houston and sell rebar.

I was born and raised in Houston, lived there a LONG time, and have lived in Austin for the last 22 years. I wish it was the same Austin of 25 or 30 years ago, but I'm glad I'm here.

Go to Houston on weekends.

 

This is how I look at it. A job is a job. If your current band is your dream then stay. If it's not, then go to houston and sniff out the money. Find a new band and buy some nice equipment with that extra 7,000. If you don't like the job you can always move back. An extra 7,000 goes a long way if you earn a middle america wage.

 

hey teddy I lived in dallas for over a year and sorry but dallas sucks it is so boring the nightlife sucks and the people suck..

even the cowboys suck..

by the way drew I would move