Houston, Texas?

[gsferrari]

Off-Topic but the traffic here in Austin is the worst I have every seen in USA (barring NYC/NJ/Washington)

 

[GokieKS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari Off-Topic but the traffic here in Austin is the worst I have every seen in USA (barring NYC/NJ/Washington)

Which part of Austin? I-35 is bad at times, yes, but worst in USA? I can't even say it's worst in Texas (635 in Dallas, every other highway in Houston).

As for Houston... the humidity is a killer. I have a great number of friends there, and I visit once in a while, but I can't imagine ever living there myself. Dallas isn't much better, but at least it's dry (more allergy problems though...)

~KS

 

[CMacDaddy]

GS- I've lived in austin the last 2 years (except summers) and the traffic is nothing compared to Houston.

I-35 and Mopac get bad, but nothing compared to I-10, 610 or I-45.

 

[mtbaird5687]

hi, i live in houston. but not out in katy, some things youll need to get used to


1) Heat. The heat down here gets reallllly bad sometimes and you cant feel comfertable outside at all. Its real humid which hurts.

2) Rain. I like the rain here, it rains a lot. Sometimes itll rain so bad that it floods a lot and makes life suck but hopefully that wont happen around you're area.

3) Traffic. If you are taking i-10 inbound be prepared for some nasssssty traffic in the morning. Its good you are used to it because youll have to deal with it everyday if you go inbound. Outbound at 4-6ish is just as bad and right now on the stretch of i-10 i live by there is a lot of construction so its even worse

good things though about houston. katy is growing really fast so you should have everything you need around you. katy mills mall is also out there and is really nice. there are a lot of trees and stuff around which is nice if you like nature stuff. allergies are pretty bad here though too, so thatll get to you if you have allergies of any kind. mine get really bad sometimes.

anywho, enjoy your stay down here. the people are really friendly from my 18 years experience living hear. southern hospitality is the truth. lemee know if you have anymore questions

 

[ls20]

im sorry, but every person from a large US city (nyc/philly/dc/sf/la/houston/dallas/atl) claims that their traffic is the worst

and, as far as im concerned, theyre all equally bad. i love US urban and transportation planning!

 

[wallijonn]

Some traffic delay stats:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855647.html
http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility_report_2005.pdf (see page 16):

1 - Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
2 - San Francisco-Oakland, CA
3 - Washington, DC-VA-MD
4 - Atlanta, GA
5 - Houston, TX
6 - Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
7 - Chicago, IL-IN
8 - Detroit, MI
9 - Riverside-San Bernardino, CA
9 - Orlando, FL
Miami, FL
Boston, MA-NH-RI
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT
Phoenix, AZ
Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Which city has the worse drivers is up for conjecture. I doubt anyone moving from Atlanta to Houston will find any difference. I do know that Phoenix has grown so much in the past 3 years that it is now the 5th largest city, surpassing Brooklyn and Philly.

 

[gsferrari]

I hit 183 (very smooth traffic) and Mopac (Sheesh!

) and maybe it is the speed...or the overspeeding...but everyone is going well over 80mph on a 65mph zone

Also the drivers seem to be a lot more aggressive and a lot less courteous than I am used to (Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio). Everyone seems to be in a MAJOR hurry...

I nearly had a major coming together with a lady in a obnoxious, large Ford F150

I also find the roads to be a bit confusing. For example - I take the Northland exit off LOOP 1 S and all of a sudden it changes to RM2222?? yay...

I think I will get used to it with time...The weather agrees with me (I prefer warm weather and living up north has really addled my brain) and there is a LOT more to choose from when it comes to "munch" time. I think Austin rates secong to Tampa (personal preference) but WAAAY up there in terms of liveability.

Yeah...I am digging this texas experience...and I will be here for at least 3 years.

gs

 

[wallijonn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari I also find the roads to be a bit confusing. For example - I take the Northland exit off LOOP 1 S and all of a sudden it changes to RM2222?? yay...

Heck with that {the same kind of thing happens in Massachusettes where to go North one goes West (like Braintree, 93 goes West and becomes 95 and North (95N) or to go East one goes South (Rt 128)}

Does Houston have short take-off ramps onto the highway? In the Dallas area it seems like they give you all of 100 feet to get onto a highway. It drove me crazy!

you're on a highway, going merrily along and see an on ramp on your right coming up. you can't see the on ramp until you're on top of it. is the guy going to gun it? will he cut you off?

you betcha.

Or you're driving along and you want to get on a highway. You see a sign that says to take a right. It's the only sign in the last 5 miles. But you have 10 feet after reading that sign to take the right or you'll pass it. What?

no thank you.

yeah, I bet you Houston is like that.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

Quote:

I just accepted a job in Houston, Texas (Katy, Texas, actually).

That's exaclty where I live! Good luck man.

Bad, bad drivers here- nobody knows what a blinker is, and everybody speeds past you. Lots of accidents- stay away from the light-rail

.

The weather isn't too bad, but the humidity is a killer- it' usually at least 990%.

Food is o.k., but it can't compare to my homeland of NYC.

I live in Windsong, if you ever see that place .

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari I hit 183 (very smooth traffic) and Mopac (Sheesh! ) and maybe it is the speed...or the overspeeding...but everyone is going well over 80mph on a 65mph zone Also the drivers seem to be a lot more aggressive and a lot less courteous than I am used to (Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio). Everyone seems to be in a MAJOR hurry... I nearly had a major coming together with a lady in a obnoxious, large Ford F150 I also find the roads to be a bit confusing. For example - I take the Northland exit off LOOP 1 S and all of a sudden it changes to RM2222?? yay... I think I will get used to it with time...The weather agrees with me (I prefer warm weather and living up north has really addled my brain) and there is a LOT more to choose from when it comes to "munch" time. I think Austin rates secong to Tampa (personal preference) but WAAAY up there in terms of liveability. Yeah...I am digging this texas experience...and I will be here for at least 3 years. gs

Hmm mate, I have been here a few weeks now, and yes, when there is no traffic people are moving fast, but I like it that way. 80 is a nice speed for the freeway IMO. After living in LA and spending plenty of time in San Fran and Houston, Austin traffic is like nothing to me. Coming from California, drivers here seem much MORE curteous than what I am used to, and I generally find driving around Austin to be a nice experience, far better than a CA city of similar size (Fresno).

My uncle lives in Katy, and I agree with others that it is a very nice liveable area, esp. compared to some others I've seen in Houston.

 

[gsferrari]

Dont get me wrong...I love it here after Erie

LOL

Just hit a restaurant called "Iguana Grill" and the view was fantastic!! Lake, Cliffs...looked like Corsica or El Almafi or whatever...beautiful stuff!!

gs

 

[CMacDaddy]

wow look how many head-fiers in austin posted about the Houston topic...

 

[ls20]

i love food and drinks... and i mean LOVE it. if you need some restaurant recommendations, ill spill a few

 

[hardbop]

Houston isn't too bad a city, but I've only been to a handful of other cities.

I've been living on the West side for over a year now and it's pretty nice.


Welcome to Texas. Howdy and all that. Will you be here in time for the HeadRoom tour on June 8th?

All you other Texans need to come, too!

 

[chadbang]

Great to see a lot of Texas head-fiers chime in. I won't be arriving until the 10th, so I guess I'll be missing this meet. Glad to hear that Katy is a nice place. I'll be taking two or three days to drive around and get a feel for it while looking for an apartment. I guess I'll try for something right in Katy so I'll be close to work and avoid as much traffic as possible! I hear that Katy is a fast-growing area, which is why I'm coming down there. A bunch of investors are starting a new newspaper, and I've been hired as the chief designer. I'm going to make the look of the paper from the ground up. It's gonna be a big job, but exciting to get to create a totally new newspaper!