Seattle or Houston

[Tyler90AZ]

Anybody here live in either Seattle or Houston? How is it?

[Guest]

I used to live in Houston. It's great especially if you're in the medical or fossil fuel field. Cheaper houses, no State Tax, great parks, thriving downtowns (yeah, there's more than 1 interestingly). But where I lived was a geographical oddity. It's 30 minutes to everywhere.

[Guest]

Depends on what you're looking for. I love the Pacific Northwest, and our families are mostly nearer Seattle. But the cost of living is outrageous. We'd have to have a job to compensate for that.

I've heard great things about Texas, and like anatess said the cost of living is much lower. But it would be too far away from home and family to us.

[annewandering]

Texas is hot. Of course if you are from Az hot is not any different for you. Texas heat in Houston is humid hot though, I believe. Not the same as Az at all.

[Guest]

Along that same vein, Seattle is cloudy and rainy much of the year. A lot of people have problems with depression or worsened depression in that climate. It's green and beautiful, but you don't get a lot of sunshine.

[Iggy]

Along that same vein, Seattle is cloudy and rainy much of the year. A lot of people have problems with depression or worsened depression in that climate. It's green and beautiful, but you don't get a lot of sunshine.

You get sunshine, just not near as much as other places. I was raised in Seattle, my family are all there and I live on the central Oregon Coast.

To compensate for the cloudy days and oust the depression I use only real sunlight bulbs. One of the sisters in our branch has to use a special bulb a few times a day. She sits under it during her lunch break at work and then again at home.

I lived in AZ for 6 years- will NEVER go there again! Talked to lots and lots of people living in TX- through my job, and the consensus- humid hot. Like kill/cook lobster humid hot!

Eown is right on about the cost of living. Want to know what it would cost to live in any city, check out the store ads online. Safeway, Thriftway, Fred Meyer, Walmart, Albertsons, Etc. If you can't afford the sale prices, sure as shooting you can't afford regular. Also check out rental ads for the local newspapers or real estate agencies. Because Hubby is a Day Trader, we made sure the area we moved to had reliable and fast internet service.

I wouldn't even consider reading the ad unless there were pictures of the house. Then I used googlemaps to check out the area. Love that program!

I grew up in Seattle. Seattle is a huge city, so where are you considering living? My family lives in Shoreline, Mt. Lake Terrace, Enumclaw & Bothell. All are close to Seattle. I was raised in the Ballard area of Seattle. Then it was a sleepy, family orientated Scandinavian community, then it went downhill as the parents aged, children moved, parents died and wannabe gangs tried to take over. Now it is trending upscale. The old homes have been renovated, turned into duplexes or revamped. No one in my family can afford to live there now. When my folks bought the 5 bedroom, two story home with a nice yard they paid $90.00 a month on the mortgage. Bet the monthly rate would be 10 to 12x that now.

[JudoMinja]

I live approximately 3 hours from Houston, and my sister is currently living semi-close to Seattle. Weather-wise, I think Seattle is probably better than here as long as you don't mind it raining a lot. Everything else? I don't really know.... I personally don't really like living in Texas, but mostly that's just because I don't like the climate. Housing is rather cheap here. Govt assistant offices are very informative and helpful. No state taxes. Good quality beef from the local stores that get their meat from local farmers. But... a lot of flat land. Few trees. A lot of heat. Terrible schools. Many people of the public overly concerned with issues of racism... So, I guess it has it's pros and cons.

I'll have to ask my sister what she thinks of the Seattle area and get back to you. :)

[Jenamarie]

Just thought I'd mention that Washington also has no state income tax. But yes, you have to *really* love the rain. It's absolutely STUNNING when it's sunny, though. :)

[prisonchaplain]

Be careful. Some odd people live around the Seattle area. Bwa ha ha ha.

[Dravin]

Seattle rain, makes me glad I served in eastern Washington.

[Guest]

About Houston weather... yes it's humid hot and you can get to the 100's in the summer. It's a different humid hot than Florida - Florida has the eastern sea breeze that wrestles with the humid. You don't get that in Houston... it's just humid. And lately, they've been having droughts so they are doing voluntary water restrictions. So far it hasn't gone past voluntary.

Then in the winter, it turns around and you'll get below freezing temperatures. They even got snowfall last winter! As in... snow actually fell on the ground, covering about half an inch and stayed there until morning before it melted away.

And on other things:

I don't know if it is in all counties in the Houston area, but I know that at least in Harris County (30 minutes north of downtown Houston), they have the Harris County Healthcare Alliance that provides a healthcare safety net for all Harris County residents and small businesses. So, even if you don't have money nor health insurance, you can still get healthcare outside of the ER.

Houston also has an extensive public transportation system. My dad (Filipino who visits Houston a lot) is a big fan of the Park and Rides. He can travel all over metro Houston on a bus to visit all his friends. He's on a first name basis with the drivers on his route even. A lot of professionals ride the bus and trains to go to work so it's not as full of troublemakers like you find in Florida.

Houston has an amazing skatepark that is free to the public. And I mean - AMAZING. It has two giant bowls - one for amateurs, another one for advanced skills, and tons of rails, etc. The entire place is huge.

The zoo is okay - nothing close to San Diego - but okay.

Lots of concerts, but I'm sure not as much as the Seattle music scene.

You got the Dynamo MLS team, Rockets NBA team, and you got the Texans NFL team, Aeros NHL team, and I think the Astros MLB team is still there.

Galveston has nice beaches (on the gulf) but, coming from the Philippines and living in Florida, gulf beach is just... meh. Nice fishing though.

Food is not taxed. There's quite a bit of impact fees for migrants but the lower cost of living makes up for it.

There are freeways everywhere. And freeways go side-by-side with highways. It's like there's a little kid in City Hall who is obsessed with highways so everytime he gets a little bit of money, he's building a highway somewhere... yet, interestingly, rush hour traffic is still a nightmare.

Hope this helps.

[Vort]

Seattle is beautiful. The landscape is as breathtaking as any I have ever seen anywhere, and the summers are idyllic, as close to perfect as they come. And contrary to popular belief, it only rains twice a year in Seattle. (Once for five months, another for four months.)

[JohnnyRudick]

Be careful. Some odd people live around the Seattle area. Bwa ha ha ha.

Do you really have to talk about me and my friends and family.

[pam]

I wasn't going to say anything Bro. Rudick. Not ONE word. :)

[prisonchaplain]

I'm wondering if Bro. Rudrick is one of those relatives of mine that I'm unaware of.

[JohnnyRudick]

I'm wondering if Bro. Rudrick is one of those relatives of mine that I'm unaware of.

That could very well be the the case.

[G-Money]

I'm biased because I've only been to Seattle, but I can say that Seattle is a wonderful city that I love, it's beautiful, the food is fresh, the rain is nice, the market is awesome. Just feels like there is so much to explore.

[dahlia]

I lived in Seattle for 5 years while I did my PhD. I think the rain thing is over-sold. It is cloudy a lot, and if you have SAD, it may be problematic, but the rain is usually light and not a problem if you have a hood on your coat. The weather is mild compared to much of the country, and the scenery is just beautiful.

My son and I found the summers so bright as to be unbearable. Way too much sun! : ) We were happy when it was October again.

It's expensive to live there, however. I would retire to the area, but outside of Seattle proper. By way of comparison, I had a 2 bed 1.5 bath apartment w/fireplace, deck, W/D. Nice but not top of the line. When I moved out here to the Midwest, I got a whole house - 3 bed, 4 baths, family room, office, yard, deck & patio, etc. for $20 more than the Seattle place. My son was in commercial rentals (the big apartment complexes) and keeps up with it a bit still. The housing market is still expensive out there. Food seemed reasonable, but I was coming from a big east coast city, so anything would seem cheap. If you eat fish, they've got a lot of it. : )

Many Seattlelites are liberal. They make a lot of noise, but you can live OK as a conservative. It's easy to get a concealed carry permit, there's no state tax, and outside of Seattle, the rest of the state is pretty right leaning. Seattle folks don't care what you do, which makes it easy to do your thing. There was some right-wing radio when I was out there (2001-2006); I don't know how it is now. There's a lot of interesting food, mostly Asian, and a vibrant arts scene.

Some people from my ward lived in Houston and don't speak highly of it. It's like it was OK, but none of them are rushing to go back. I'm a big admirer of Texas, but I could certainly deal with being in Seattle or its environs the rest of my life.

Traffic is bad, tho. So there's that little imperfection. : )

[White_Deer]

I was raised in Seattle and have also lived in Idaho, Montana, and Nevada. I would never, ever move back. People are rude, it's difficult to make friends (it is a very cliquey town), the weather is crappy and the traffic is worse. Going anywhere is a giant problem. The cost of living is unbelievable. We own a home in Idaho and Nevada, yet we couldn't afford a SINGLE home in the Seattle area. Rent for a 1 bedroom 800 sq ft apartment was almost 1600 a month, and that was in a crappy area in the suburbs.

The only redeeming qualities are that the scenery is beautiful and green, there are thousands of hiking trails, multiple skiing areas, and thousands of miles of bike trails. The outdoor recreation possibilities are endless...so long as you don't mind doing them in the rain 7/8ths of the year.

[HEthePrimate]

I've never lived in either place, but would probably prefer Seattle because I like cool and humid better than hot and humid.

[classylady]

I haven't lived in either city but have visited both Seattle and Houston on extended visits. Both, have their merits and draw backs. It's just what you prefer. I liked both cities. If you have a good attitude, and make a decent living, either place would be a wonderful place to live.

[bcguy]

move way north of seattle.

IF I ever get a really good paying job, its going to be bellingham or north!!!! everything south of everett is to congested. Seattle, forget it. I hate urban density!

[prisonchaplain]

I was raised in Seattle and have also lived in Idaho, Montana, and Nevada. I would never, ever move back. People are rude, it's difficult to make friends (it is a very cliquey town), the weather is crappy and the traffic is worse.

OK...I shouldn't have cut you off in traffic. We stopped, talked about, and I was short. Also, when you said "Fine fine," and reached out to shake my hand, I didn't realize you were trying to establish a friendship. The fault is all mine. Forgive Seattle...

[Dravin]

OK...I shouldn't have cut you off in traffic. We stopped, talked about, and I was short. Also, when you said "Fine fine," and reached out to shake my hand, I didn't realize you were trying to establish a friendship. The fault is all mine. Forgive Seattle...

Maybe Seattleites* are on edge from all the coffee?

*Proper term?

[prisonchaplain]

Oh contraire (note the phoney attempt at sophistication by misspelling a faux French word)...coffee is what prevents Seattelites from becoming catatonic due to light and vitamin D deprevitation. Somebody else here will have to let us know how LDS folk combat these same maladies.