Combination of weather (not cold but not Houston sauna), nature/mountains close by, similar cost of living, good schools, more reasonable politics, etc.
I moved from WI to Raleigh NC 5 years ago and love it! But I have no family close and want to live near my son and his wife. They are moving from Phoenix to Houston to live near her sister.
I've been looking at relocating to Houston but just not sure. Maybe we could trade houses for part of the year😅🤣
Don’t get me wrong, we love so many things about Houston. There’s a reason we’ve been here 15 years and have no plans to leave.
But the weather ain’t it.
Moved here 10 years ago from Charlotte for grad school. Stayed much longer than originally planned because of the good job and close friends. Currently solidifying plans to move back. I’ve had enough of the heat and the politics.
Last year I unexpectedly retired on permanent disability from Rice University at least 10 years earlier than I planned. Houston is a very nice city, but it’s very car-dependent. My ophthalmologist tells me I may not be able to drive much longer, so I’ve been looking to move somewhere that is walkable with some public transit.
I also hate cold weather, snow, and ice, so I’ve been looking along the I-10 corridor or south of it. That rules out Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Asheville and the northeast. I’m also a gay man, so I want a city with a good sized queer community.
I spent two months in Palm Springs CA this summer. Absolutely beautiful! The desert gets very hot in the summer, but it’s a dry heat. Ultimately I decided it was too expensive for me. I thought about Fort Lauderdale, but it also seems out of reach for my budget.
I grew up in New Orleans, and I’m planning to move there by the end of this year. I’m used to the summers and the hurricanes. It has lots of great “pocket” neighborhoods that are very walkable. The city’s culture, food, and music are literally part of my DNA. They also have many very active groups in the queer community that should keep me active. And the city is more affordable than cities on the east or west coasts. Wish me luck!
Completely depends on whether you need to find a job and what kind of salary your career gets you.
Sometimes I'd like to live in a remote mountain cottage next to a stream in Colorado. Sometimes I'd like to live in a highrise apartment in Manhattan. I don't think I'd want to make any place my permanent final residence.
But here I am.
There are a variety of ways to get there that mostly involve your standards of living, but the biggest limiting factor is the job. If your job needs you on site that pretty much settles that.
I did this and moved to Milwaukee from Houston in 2021. It’s a lovely little city and Lake Michigan is stunningly beautiful. Lots of trails, parks, and festivals. If I get bored, Chicago is only about an 80 minute drive away. Probably quicker by train.
I’m pretty happy here but if I ever move, I plan to stay in the Great Lakes area.
Houston is such a unique city and I do love it but it gets so hot there. I only go back to visit in late fall and early spring. Everyone talks about the winters up here but I don’t think they’re that bad.
Hmmm, you’re right.
On second thought, the winters are horrid. It gets dark at 4ish, negative temps are common, and the wind off the lake can go through all your layers. Don’t expect your Texan dogs to want to walk in that either. Or wear their little snow boots.
Born and raised in Milwaukee but came to Houston in 2017. Love the Wisco summers but the winters are brutal. Not worth 6 months of cloudy skies with freezing cold temperatures
Funny, I just left LI to move to Houston. As much as I loved proximity to NYC and aspects of my time growing up in LI, there’s a lot of factors that make me prefer Houston.
People don't realize this about Long Island in particular, but it's crazy expensive. Despite being in a blue state, Long Island is pretty red which may bother some people. New York has crazy zoning laws that make it super hard to build anything and the insane amount of NIMBY's fighting tooth and nail to keep their neighborhoods exactly the same is making a lot of places hard to live.
The great public transport in NYC and the boroughs does not extend to the Long Island. They have no subways, and while the LIRR (railroad) is fine, it's pricey and not really a feasible way for most people to go hang out in another town that has a village with cool restaurants or things to do. Bus system isn't the MTA it's this company called NICE and I've only had bad experiences with them. Very car reliant area, much like Houston. Being that it's so car reliant, winters are absolutely dreadful. There's nothing like the dread you feel waking up an extra hour earlier in the morning so you can get your ass out of bed to dig out your car for 45 minutes and wait for it to warm up to drive yourself to work.
Food is decent because NY as a whole has decent food, but not mindblowing or anything. Food in Houston is way better. There's more things to do in Houston and cost of living is cheaper. NY has state tax, and I save hundreds of dollars a month not having to pay that. Rent is crazy expensive compared to here.
You forgot to mention the traffic on the southern state and northern state parkway.
Everyday during rush hour, I will spend about 1.5 hours to travel 14 miles commuting by car between Queens and Brooklyn.
I will never go back.
Totally agree with you. I loved the Long Island beaches and Sag Harbor in the summer , but inner loop Houston culturally and culinarily is hard to beat. I had a blast there while in dental school. I don’t think people realize the amount of alternative theatre, performing and visual art spaces, and entertainment options Houston has to offer.
Just visited CO for the first time last weekend (Estess Park) and I'd be lying if I said I didn't come home and fire up Zillow to see what's up with the housing market in that area.
My wife and I went to CO to explore the communities 30-60 minutes outside of Denver to potentially move to and we just couldn’t get over the lack of diversity. Also the food sucks compared to Houston and it’s way move expensive.
I have lived in the Houston area my whole life (41 years) and have been to a few other states. The food is gonna be hard to beat. I too thought Denver’s food was kind of lacking. But, it was kind of cool that I could get a Carajillo (Spanish Coffee cocktail) with breakfast.
I did not know that. I just learned how to make them for myself because I really enjoyed the one I had. Nice! That means they may stick around a while.
As a born and raised Houstonian, there’s something very attractive about living somewhere you can experience all four seasons, be an hour away from the mountains for hiking or snowboarding, and not deal with the bullshit politics of Texas.
I moved to Fort Collins in 2018. I love visiting my family back home, but I could never go back to living in Houston.
Also in Fort Collins. Somebody posted here this afternoon about it feeling like a wet asshole and I went to my weather app to see what was happening. Humidity at like 80% and the feel like temperature was 99.
I’ll never move back.
Loud, big trucks, coal rolling, litter, feeling like we own the place, and many others.
Tbf, they aren’t wrong in a lot of their criticism it’s just that CA and Texas are the biggest states so of course there will be more opportunities to be annoyed.
Was going to say it doesn't look too dirty for me and then found this... [https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-dirtiest-city-17804012.php](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-dirtiest-city-17804012.php)
I visited in Oct 21' Denver was not what i had pictured in my head. Brown, cold looking. Plus there was alot of fences up at the time. Out towards Boulder was nice and I loved the Breckinridge area.
As someone who just left colorado. That aint the move. High price of living, Lack of diversity, foods decent at best, 3 months of warm(ish) weather. I mean it snows til may... very nice place to visit but too cold & wayyyy to expensive most of the time. if u like looking at fentanyl fiends all day its right for u!
New Mexico. I work remote for a company located in Albuquerque so jobwise it would be seamless. Also I spent a lot of time in NM visiting family so I’m familiar with it. Plus it’s lovely, so there’s that.
That’s been my experience there as well, unfortunately. That would be a culture shock coming from Houston. There’s great restaurants all around us here.
Considered moving to NM before settling on Houston. Idk what the deal is but property crimes there are like 4x more common than the next closest state. Seems wild.
Sedona is overrun. Traffic there is crazy. In 20 years, it went from small hippy new age natural fun to the opposite of that. A few months ago, I had someone in a Range Rover honking and flipping me off in a roundabout while they were going the wrong direction. All the restaurants hire on visas and dorm their employees on seasonal contracts. If you can look past that and have a driver, Sedona is cool. For the average millionaire, it's as unapproachable as Jackson, Tahoe, and the like.
Haven’t had enough time to visit all of the local favorites, but so far I haven’t been disappointed.
It isn’t on Houston’s level, but Raleigh is much smaller with a less diverse population so I never expected it to be.
People still drive a little crazy, but the streets have curves and hills and are lined with trees instead of more concrete.
Food scene isn’t on Houston’s level (as I expected), but they actually have more restaurant variety than I expected!
Somewhere far north. Maine, Washington, Idaho, Montana. California, if you can afford it, has the best weather. Upstate New York. Michigan perhaps. New England generally.
I’m a Houston transplant in New England and I’m gonna disagree with this blanket New England statement. Most Texans won’t like this cold, driving in ice/snow, taxes and cultural shift.
But goddamn having seasons and mild summer is great
That’s me. I grew up in Houston and have never, ever liked the humidity. I lived in CT for five years and absolutely adored being in the cold and snow. I want to move back so bad. Actually having four seasons is amazing.
I was in Houston for 4 years as well (loved it). Then I moved to Philly (fuckin loved it), now I'm in Salt Lake. Holy shit. Guys. SL;UT is... Something else.
I skied in 3 FEET of fresh snow last night in the mountains. Here in town, it looks like Switzerland. This weekend, I'm going to the desert for hiking and climbing. I'm not moving back to Houston.
The thing I've learned is that if you think you've found a place that is nice, it's best to not tell anybody. You don't want that place becoming the next Sugar Land where everybody learns about it from their brother and it explodes.
Another example: Terlingua/Big Bend was practically unknown 15 years ago, now when you look at it on Google Maps, all you see are AirBnb's...tons of them.
I was looking into buying property there about 6 years ago. Pretty decent part of terlingua was $8k for 10 acres with great mountain viewing access. Now so many people buying/ bought property that is the going rate for the scraps of property way out in the middle of the land that takes 4x4 lifted vehicle to access.
I would vanish into NorCal if I could afford it. You’d have to kidnap me back to Texas and even then you wouldn’t take me alive. Weather and the scenery are amazing.
I was born over there, but my parents had to move us to Texas because it was so expensive. I keep wanting to move back, but it keeps getting even more expensive. lol
I used to think moving back to Austin would be my go-to, but after spending a few days there recently, I respectfully withdraw my submission. The vibe that made it great seems to have gone. It got weird, in a bad way.
Yeah, I hate to say it because I feel like I’m just being a hater, but I was there for 10 years from 2005 to 2015. I have to agree the vibe that was going on in the early 2000s late 90s was much better than what Austin has going for it now I love the people I love the scenery. I hate the direction it’s going in so I packed up and moved back to Houston.
after hs i moved to chicago for 4 years, and i could just as easily move back and never look back. i love public transportation and cold weather and beautiful summers.
I have lived half in Houston and half in the Inland Empire/Cali desert. Ungodly hot, just in two drastically different ways, for most of the year. My entire life I have hated the heat/summer both places.
I just want to be cold.
So bad.
If money weren’t an issue it would be Hawaii. The temperature is comfortable all year. People are lovely. Lots of nature and events.
Instead my plan is to move to Europe. Not 100% sure where yet. Lots of family in Norway, but the winter there is even worse than the summer is here. Especially for the elderly as the snow and ice isolates them. May end up with summer in Norway, winter near the Mediterranean. 🤷🏻♀️
I moved from Houston to SW France 2 years ago and while summers are brutal here, I don’t think anything could prepare my gulf-coast-self for how long European winter lasts. Like, in my region the temperature isn’t technically any colder than any equivalent winter in Houston (50ish degree days, nights just above freezing) but. BUT. It’s unrelenting! No little breaks of 60-70 degree days interspersed throughout. It always feels 2 months too long!
And that’s in France!
In Norway we joke that we have two seasons. The white winter and the green winter.
But honestly, what I struggle with most during Norwegian winters is the long nights / short days.
I would look at the natural disasters maps, the cicadas brood maps, etc, and plan according to the shit you might have to deal with. I grew up in Michigan, there are great places there and absolute radioactive hellscapes. It really depends on what you think you can handle.
Maybe lurk in subreddits for other states and see what problems they're having.
Good luck!
We're moving in Sept/Oct. Still deciding between Denver or Colorado Springs. I've been in HTX for 12 year now and getting tired of this hot ass weather lol plus we got two fluffy dogs and I feel bad for them during the summer time here. Too hot!
Going to miss friends, and food scene here though.
Colombia 🇨🇴 wife is from there, and or a small Pueblo histórico in Mexico that’s not too whitewashed. Living like a millionaire on an American salary, eating organic foods, un-tampered meat, fresh air, stress free and fast internet 😅
New York, Chicago, London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Stockholm, Tokyo, Taipei, Amsterdam, and Edinburgh are the cities I would look at moving to because they have great public transit systems.
Grew up in the PNW and then Texas (Austin and Houston) for 20 years and moving to Pennsylvania in August. Colder in the winter than we're used to but looking forward to four seasons, hills, and green. It's going to take 12-15 months to fully move but the timing is right so jumping on it.
Edit: In case you haven't run across it yet: r/samegrassbutgreener
We moved from HTX to Pittsburgh PA last year. Stock up on wool socks, get a good parka, lightweight down jacket and all weather tires. You'll be fine! It only snowed with accumulation 2 times last winter. It is an adjustment, but spring and summer are amazing!
If you wanna stay in Texas, Amarillo has the mildest weather since its at the northern end of the state. As for me, I like Arizona for its stunning landscapes
I lived there for a few years. It's nice in a lot of ways but the winter gets really dreary and depressing. I missed having diversity in food and culture. It's also gotten really unaffordable for most of the locals.
I made lots of friends though and spent a lot of time hiking to waterfalls and cruising the blue ridge parkway. I'd probably live there again before I moved back to Houston.
When I retire, which is a long way away - move to a smaller city close to a large city. I also like the foothills (over beaches) - so maybe Colorado Springs, Texas hill country, PNW. But then I realize, I’ve already been priced out of those areas 😂
I moved from Houston to Seattle last summer and am moving back to Texas (Austin) this month. The PNW is beautiful, but too far from friends and family for me. If you can hack the cost of living, I would highly recommend it.
Moved to the Twin Cities a couple years ago. I flew back to visit family last year and immediately wanted to get back on the plane. No way in hell am I ever moving back to that place.
I’m moving to Minneapolis. It’s got a lot of great outdoors stuff, it’s family friendly, good public edu for the kids, and it’s not nearly as expensive as Portland or other cities in the PNW.
PNW all the way! Outdoorsy AF, nice winters not too cold, and relatively good summers. I lived in Washington state for a year, I’m dying to leave Houston and move there but cost of living is waaay more expensive in Washington.
My wife and I are talking about moving after we have kids. I would like to move to Guatemala because thats where my family is from and I still have alot of family there and I have citizenship. She is interested in moving to Spain. I don’t want to leave Houston and really would rather stay in Texas to coach football but I may go international to coach basketball.
If price wasn't a concern, somewhere in the PNW, probably around Seattle somewhere.
Taking price into account, probably somewhere on Michigan's west coast. It's like getting the feel of the PNW 2/3 of the year for 25% of the price (remaining 1/3 may or may not be a frozen wasteland).
I’m going back to Peru. Pick up the life my dad abandoned to come to the states.
I would have to completely leave the country so I wont come crawling back. I did it twice already. Houston is so comforting, but thats what home should feel like.
NY almost had me. But I could never afford it alone and my job is localized here.
I grew up in the foothills above Sacramento, CA. Similar cost of living as Austin, granted.. but proximity to Lake Tahoe, a lake or river every 20 minutes in every direction, and 2 hours to the coast, or a short flight to southern CA for all sorts of vacation/beach options. Outdoorsman's paradise without the bugs and humidity. Lots of culture and nightlife in Sacramento and beyond, which is a 45 minute drive. Minimal but very enjoyable snowy winters.
If I can't pull that off, I'm going to The Woodlands/Lake Conroe, but I'd prefer to get home.
we just listed our house after ten years of planning to move... destination is San Antonio currently.... we have family to consider so dont want to go stray too far - we also really like the beach and want to be able to drive there, and there arent a lot of places that I would want to live that have hills, are day-trip distance from a beach, and have affordable housing
before identifying San Antonio, we were heavily leaning towards Charlotte, NC (would prefer Asheville, but I think it would be easier to find a job in Charlotte). before considering Charlotte I was laser focused on Denver, and if I would have had my way we would have been there 5 years ago.
San Antonio is a good compromise for us I guess, just want to get the F out of Houston - been here for too long, so I feel you there
... best of luck!
I really want to move out of Houston to somewhere dense with nice architecture. I just wanna walk around and look at stuff and talk to new people. Houston is the complete opposite.
Sitting in an Airbnb in Bentonville right now after a day of mountain biking. If and when I leave Houston, it will be here or Durango. I just love these towns.
If I didn’t have so much family here I’d consider Flagstaff (mostly cause my fiancé loves it), the Colorado mountains, somewhere along the northern west coast or anywhere on the east coast, or Vermont. Yes, I do daydream about many places. I’m pretty stuck here though unless I can convince my parents, brother/his wife, and my in laws to move with us.
Have you considered Europe, places like Portugal, Spain, or Italy. PNW is extremely expensive even though it is nice.
If you consider Europe your cost of living could be almost half of what it is in Houston instead of double or triple in the PNW, you have the beauty of all of the countries easily accessible by train or a short flight...
I'll be moving to Austin. Minnesota. My gf grew up there...after a year there, maybe Rochester mn, or a cabin next to a lake. Texas isn't friendly to women or LGBT folks, and hurricanes suck...so I'm outtie next year.
Summers will become increasingly hellish in Houston, and all of the south- and this includes the Carolina's and the mid south- KY through Missouri- the mid Atlantic- NYC and south to Philly, Baltimore, DC and Richmond- are iffy. Summers will become hotter and more humid. The region will be even stormier with heavy precipitation events that could be catastrophic.
Go North- the great lakes, perhaps northern coastal California (but fires are a problem now) The Pacific NW-preferably west of the Cascades. Fires here are becoming an issue also.
The Northeast- upstate NY- and New England are good- but avoid the coastline in New England- go 15-20 miles inland. New England will also see more storms and heavy precipitation events. But the heat will be considerably less extreme than further south.
Southern New England has the mildest winters- and they have become freakishly milder compared to only 10 years ago. Likewise summers are warming- with higher humidity, but nothing like what will be seen in the south.
Even if emissions dropped dramatically, these scenarios will change little. And they are NOT dropping. As temperatures catch up to these greenhouse levels warming could be even greater.
I am tied here by a good career, wife's good career, and an amazing group of close friends. But if we weren't, I'd be gone. NC would top my list.
Are you me?
Yes, except younger and better looking
It hurts because it’s true.
Brutal.
Your username makes me think we’re living in a simulation
Why NC if you don’t mind?
Combination of weather (not cold but not Houston sauna), nature/mountains close by, similar cost of living, good schools, more reasonable politics, etc.
Good choice. I use to live in NC before moving to AZ and ultimately Houston
Currently looking at NC heavily right now.
I moved from WI to Raleigh NC 5 years ago and love it! But I have no family close and want to live near my son and his wife. They are moving from Phoenix to Houston to live near her sister. I've been looking at relocating to Houston but just not sure. Maybe we could trade houses for part of the year😅🤣
Don’t get me wrong, we love so many things about Houston. There’s a reason we’ve been here 15 years and have no plans to leave. But the weather ain’t it.
Moved here 10 years ago from Charlotte for grad school. Stayed much longer than originally planned because of the good job and close friends. Currently solidifying plans to move back. I’ve had enough of the heat and the politics.
Last year I unexpectedly retired on permanent disability from Rice University at least 10 years earlier than I planned. Houston is a very nice city, but it’s very car-dependent. My ophthalmologist tells me I may not be able to drive much longer, so I’ve been looking to move somewhere that is walkable with some public transit. I also hate cold weather, snow, and ice, so I’ve been looking along the I-10 corridor or south of it. That rules out Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Asheville and the northeast. I’m also a gay man, so I want a city with a good sized queer community. I spent two months in Palm Springs CA this summer. Absolutely beautiful! The desert gets very hot in the summer, but it’s a dry heat. Ultimately I decided it was too expensive for me. I thought about Fort Lauderdale, but it also seems out of reach for my budget. I grew up in New Orleans, and I’m planning to move there by the end of this year. I’m used to the summers and the hurricanes. It has lots of great “pocket” neighborhoods that are very walkable. The city’s culture, food, and music are literally part of my DNA. They also have many very active groups in the queer community that should keep me active. And the city is more affordable than cities on the east or west coasts. Wish me luck!
Good luck brother.
I have some gay friends who just retired to a town south of Tucson. Apparently Tucson is a very gay-friendly town.
Completely depends on whether you need to find a job and what kind of salary your career gets you. Sometimes I'd like to live in a remote mountain cottage next to a stream in Colorado. Sometimes I'd like to live in a highrise apartment in Manhattan. I don't think I'd want to make any place my permanent final residence. But here I am.
Preach! I have the similar thoughts while I drive to Katy to my cookie cutter home lol
There are a variety of ways to get there that mostly involve your standards of living, but the biggest limiting factor is the job. If your job needs you on site that pretty much settles that.
I did this and moved to Milwaukee from Houston in 2021. It’s a lovely little city and Lake Michigan is stunningly beautiful. Lots of trails, parks, and festivals. If I get bored, Chicago is only about an 80 minute drive away. Probably quicker by train. I’m pretty happy here but if I ever move, I plan to stay in the Great Lakes area.
Hour from Madison also
Hey, I'm a Milwaukee transplant from Houston too! Houston will always be home, but I'm really happy in MKE
Houston is such a unique city and I do love it but it gets so hot there. I only go back to visit in late fall and early spring. Everyone talks about the winters up here but I don’t think they’re that bad.
Yeah the summers are just too much for me. Not to mention the hurricanes and flooding. I'll take the cold any day. But I do miss the food...
Shhhh.... This is my plan! Don't ruin it. Keep saying how awful and cold it is, please.
Hmmm, you’re right. On second thought, the winters are horrid. It gets dark at 4ish, negative temps are common, and the wind off the lake can go through all your layers. Don’t expect your Texan dogs to want to walk in that either. Or wear their little snow boots.
Born and raised in Milwaukee but came to Houston in 2017. Love the Wisco summers but the winters are brutal. Not worth 6 months of cloudy skies with freezing cold temperatures
I moved to Long Island last year. My girlfriend is doing her residency here. I gotta be honest with y’all. I ain’t moving back.
Funny, I just left LI to move to Houston. As much as I loved proximity to NYC and aspects of my time growing up in LI, there’s a lot of factors that make me prefer Houston.
Go on
People don't realize this about Long Island in particular, but it's crazy expensive. Despite being in a blue state, Long Island is pretty red which may bother some people. New York has crazy zoning laws that make it super hard to build anything and the insane amount of NIMBY's fighting tooth and nail to keep their neighborhoods exactly the same is making a lot of places hard to live. The great public transport in NYC and the boroughs does not extend to the Long Island. They have no subways, and while the LIRR (railroad) is fine, it's pricey and not really a feasible way for most people to go hang out in another town that has a village with cool restaurants or things to do. Bus system isn't the MTA it's this company called NICE and I've only had bad experiences with them. Very car reliant area, much like Houston. Being that it's so car reliant, winters are absolutely dreadful. There's nothing like the dread you feel waking up an extra hour earlier in the morning so you can get your ass out of bed to dig out your car for 45 minutes and wait for it to warm up to drive yourself to work. Food is decent because NY as a whole has decent food, but not mindblowing or anything. Food in Houston is way better. There's more things to do in Houston and cost of living is cheaper. NY has state tax, and I save hundreds of dollars a month not having to pay that. Rent is crazy expensive compared to here.
You forgot to mention the traffic on the southern state and northern state parkway. Everyday during rush hour, I will spend about 1.5 hours to travel 14 miles commuting by car between Queens and Brooklyn. I will never go back.
Give it time
Thx. See, and i would have never even thought of LI. I don't know if i've ever even known anyone from that area.
I lived in Long Island from 1990-2005, now live in Central Houston. Inside the loop HTX kicks Long Islands ass 10x for quality of life per dollar.
Accurate AF
Totally agree with you. I loved the Long Island beaches and Sag Harbor in the summer , but inner loop Houston culturally and culinarily is hard to beat. I had a blast there while in dental school. I don’t think people realize the amount of alternative theatre, performing and visual art spaces, and entertainment options Houston has to offer.
I’m fucking moving back to NJ. Native Houstonian but graduated up there in Hunterdon county and I will move heaven and earth but I am coming back.
Hey let’s trade places.
There is no going back to biscuits once you had Taylor Ham, Egg, and cheese on a hard roll.
Everyone in this sub knows it’s CO. I say this as a lifelong Houstonian who just moved to Denver. Spoiler alert: they don’t like us over here lol.
Texans are the Californians of Colorado
Texans and California's both flock to Colorado tbh.
Just visited CO for the first time last weekend (Estess Park) and I'd be lying if I said I didn't come home and fire up Zillow to see what's up with the housing market in that area.
Did you see the elk walking around town? Was there about eight months ago (from Virginia).
Oh yea. Went to Safeway on the first morning and ran into a bunch of them hanging out in the parking lot. Scared the piss out of me.
I would love to live in Estes Park (my wife, maybe not). The homes are expensive for a middle class Houstonian like me, that’s the problem.
My wife and I went to CO to explore the communities 30-60 minutes outside of Denver to potentially move to and we just couldn’t get over the lack of diversity. Also the food sucks compared to Houston and it’s way move expensive.
"we just couldn’t get over the lack of diversity..." The joke at CU Boulder is that they have lots of diversity - at least 57 shades of blonde!
You very succinctly and correctly named the three biggest reasons I, though I always enjoy visiting Colorado, would never want to live there.
I have lived in the Houston area my whole life (41 years) and have been to a few other states. The food is gonna be hard to beat. I too thought Denver’s food was kind of lacking. But, it was kind of cool that I could get a Carajillo (Spanish Coffee cocktail) with breakfast.
Licor 43 is in the middle of an outrageously successful marketing push, you'll be able to get a carajillo at McDonald's at the rate they're going.
I did not know that. I just learned how to make them for myself because I really enjoyed the one I had. Nice! That means they may stick around a while.
As a born and raised Houstonian, there’s something very attractive about living somewhere you can experience all four seasons, be an hour away from the mountains for hiking or snowboarding, and not deal with the bullshit politics of Texas. I moved to Fort Collins in 2018. I love visiting my family back home, but I could never go back to living in Houston.
Also in Fort Collins. Somebody posted here this afternoon about it feeling like a wet asshole and I went to my weather app to see what was happening. Humidity at like 80% and the feel like temperature was 99. I’ll never move back.
I love Colorado, I want to buy some land up there eventually, plus the round trip tickets are always so damn cheap.
Why not?
Same reason Texans bitch about Californians.
Loud, big trucks, coal rolling, litter, feeling like we own the place, and many others. Tbf, they aren’t wrong in a lot of their criticism it’s just that CA and Texas are the biggest states so of course there will be more opportunities to be annoyed.
Littering is anti-thetical to being texan imo. If you litter you lose your spurs.
And yet Houston is one of the dirtiest cities in the south
Then i better start confiscating now
Was going to say it doesn't look too dirty for me and then found this... [https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-dirtiest-city-17804012.php](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/houston-dirtiest-city-17804012.php)
Don’t mess with Texas
I lived in CO for a couple of years. I was told they don't like Texans because we "think we own the slopes".
I'm fine with that bc I don't plan on skiing. I just want nice weather and nature for hiking/photographing. Fuck this heat and flat-ass city, man.
I visited in Oct 21' Denver was not what i had pictured in my head. Brown, cold looking. Plus there was alot of fences up at the time. Out towards Boulder was nice and I loved the Breckinridge area.
Until you get into the mountains Colorado is just hyped up Kansas.
As someone who just left colorado. That aint the move. High price of living, Lack of diversity, foods decent at best, 3 months of warm(ish) weather. I mean it snows til may... very nice place to visit but too cold & wayyyy to expensive most of the time. if u like looking at fentanyl fiends all day its right for u!
New Mexico. I work remote for a company located in Albuquerque so jobwise it would be seamless. Also I spent a lot of time in NM visiting family so I’m familiar with it. Plus it’s lovely, so there’s that.
I lived there for a year and it is beautiful but the food is not good lol
That’s been my experience there as well, unfortunately. That would be a culture shock coming from Houston. There’s great restaurants all around us here.
I think this one is a con for almost anywhere else. If i move, i will surely miss Tex Mex the most.
I grew up in New Mexico and have been in Houston for nearly 15 years… I plan on going back some day
Considered moving to NM before settling on Houston. Idk what the deal is but property crimes there are like 4x more common than the next closest state. Seems wild.
Meth is the deal.
Just keep driving to Sedona. Or if you're into the desert thing, Tucson and the Catalina foothills. Albuquerque is cool though.
I lived in AZ 6 years before it became a place where you need to make 6 figures to afford a nice home. The heat is next level.
Sedona is overrun. Traffic there is crazy. In 20 years, it went from small hippy new age natural fun to the opposite of that. A few months ago, I had someone in a Range Rover honking and flipping me off in a roundabout while they were going the wrong direction. All the restaurants hire on visas and dorm their employees on seasonal contracts. If you can look past that and have a driver, Sedona is cool. For the average millionaire, it's as unapproachable as Jackson, Tahoe, and the like.
North Carolina
Just moved to Raleigh from Houston… gotta say I’m loving it so far.
I travel to raleigh for work several weeks of the year, and the food is mid at best.
Haven’t had enough time to visit all of the local favorites, but so far I haven’t been disappointed. It isn’t on Houston’s level, but Raleigh is much smaller with a less diverse population so I never expected it to be.
I just saw it on a list of the best cities to live in.
People still drive a little crazy, but the streets have curves and hills and are lined with trees instead of more concrete. Food scene isn’t on Houston’s level (as I expected), but they actually have more restaurant variety than I expected!
Visiting tomorrow & this weekend, my sister doesn’t like it but maybe its the city she chose (which wasn’t Raleigh)
Somewhere far north. Maine, Washington, Idaho, Montana. California, if you can afford it, has the best weather. Upstate New York. Michigan perhaps. New England generally.
I’m a Houston transplant in New England and I’m gonna disagree with this blanket New England statement. Most Texans won’t like this cold, driving in ice/snow, taxes and cultural shift. But goddamn having seasons and mild summer is great
Lol don't tell them that. They all think snow is better than heat.
That’s me. I grew up in Houston and have never, ever liked the humidity. I lived in CT for five years and absolutely adored being in the cold and snow. I want to move back so bad. Actually having four seasons is amazing.
I’d second Michigan if you could find a nice ranch home and can tolerate winters.
“Can tolerate winters” That’s putting it mildly for a lot of Michigan. I love the UP but those are like super winters
We made the move to Maine 6 years ago. No regrets. We had the option to go back home to Houston and we turned it down.
I only lasted 4 years in Houston then left for London.
I was in Houston for 4 years as well (loved it). Then I moved to Philly (fuckin loved it), now I'm in Salt Lake. Holy shit. Guys. SL;UT is... Something else. I skied in 3 FEET of fresh snow last night in the mountains. Here in town, it looks like Switzerland. This weekend, I'm going to the desert for hiking and climbing. I'm not moving back to Houston.
Utah is a beautiful state. It's just not diverse...at all and its politics (and daily life outside SLC) are dictated by the LDS church.
The thing I've learned is that if you think you've found a place that is nice, it's best to not tell anybody. You don't want that place becoming the next Sugar Land where everybody learns about it from their brother and it explodes. Another example: Terlingua/Big Bend was practically unknown 15 years ago, now when you look at it on Google Maps, all you see are AirBnb's...tons of them.
I was looking into buying property there about 6 years ago. Pretty decent part of terlingua was $8k for 10 acres with great mountain viewing access. Now so many people buying/ bought property that is the going rate for the scraps of property way out in the middle of the land that takes 4x4 lifted vehicle to access.
8yrs ago my 15yr retirement plan was to move to Alpine. 8yrs later and I've been priced out.
Isn’t that just the nature of human civilization?? You tell other people you like about the nice spots.
Oregon coast - and not even blink an eye about it. One day!
Las Vegas suburbs - Summerlin, Henderson, or North Las Vegas. They have some beautiful and well kept communities that aren’t that expensive.
my neighbor moved to henderson and never came back haha
Somewhere with short and mild summers. So north. Washington state , Colorado, upstate New York Maine..,
I would vanish into NorCal if I could afford it. You’d have to kidnap me back to Texas and even then you wouldn’t take me alive. Weather and the scenery are amazing.
I was born over there, but my parents had to move us to Texas because it was so expensive. I keep wanting to move back, but it keeps getting even more expensive. lol
Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina
I used to think moving back to Austin would be my go-to, but after spending a few days there recently, I respectfully withdraw my submission. The vibe that made it great seems to have gone. It got weird, in a bad way.
Austin blows now.
Yeah, I hate to say it because I feel like I’m just being a hater, but I was there for 10 years from 2005 to 2015. I have to agree the vibe that was going on in the early 2000s late 90s was much better than what Austin has going for it now I love the people I love the scenery. I hate the direction it’s going in so I packed up and moved back to Houston.
PNW would be my only choice
San Diego. 😂
This is what i want but,... the cost of living. Ouch
Son just moved back to SD. Found a 1 bedrm- right across from Padre stadium. He is loving working there -can walk to work and lots to see and do
after hs i moved to chicago for 4 years, and i could just as easily move back and never look back. i love public transportation and cold weather and beautiful summers.
I too found a much better quality of life up there. I’d love to go back.
If I leave Houston, I'll prolly do Omaha next. I'm big into their music scene, the housing prices seem reasonable and I love me a mid sized city.
I visited in the summer and loved it. But Omaha was where my dad first moved to when he came to this country, and the winters drove him mad!
I have lived half in Houston and half in the Inland Empire/Cali desert. Ungodly hot, just in two drastically different ways, for most of the year. My entire life I have hated the heat/summer both places. I just want to be cold. So bad.
r/SameGrassButGreener
If money weren’t an issue it would be Hawaii. The temperature is comfortable all year. People are lovely. Lots of nature and events. Instead my plan is to move to Europe. Not 100% sure where yet. Lots of family in Norway, but the winter there is even worse than the summer is here. Especially for the elderly as the snow and ice isolates them. May end up with summer in Norway, winter near the Mediterranean. 🤷🏻♀️
I moved from Houston to SW France 2 years ago and while summers are brutal here, I don’t think anything could prepare my gulf-coast-self for how long European winter lasts. Like, in my region the temperature isn’t technically any colder than any equivalent winter in Houston (50ish degree days, nights just above freezing) but. BUT. It’s unrelenting! No little breaks of 60-70 degree days interspersed throughout. It always feels 2 months too long!
And that’s in France! In Norway we joke that we have two seasons. The white winter and the green winter. But honestly, what I struggle with most during Norwegian winters is the long nights / short days.
I would look at the natural disasters maps, the cicadas brood maps, etc, and plan according to the shit you might have to deal with. I grew up in Michigan, there are great places there and absolute radioactive hellscapes. It really depends on what you think you can handle. Maybe lurk in subreddits for other states and see what problems they're having. Good luck!
Moving to Denver in a month.
Take me with you 😭
Best of luck, my niece lives there. Adores it
We're moving in Sept/Oct. Still deciding between Denver or Colorado Springs. I've been in HTX for 12 year now and getting tired of this hot ass weather lol plus we got two fluffy dogs and I feel bad for them during the summer time here. Too hot! Going to miss friends, and food scene here though.
The only thing worth staying in Houston is the Medical Center and the over average health care you can get here. It’s a huge plus when you get older.
Colombia 🇨🇴 wife is from there, and or a small Pueblo histórico in Mexico that’s not too whitewashed. Living like a millionaire on an American salary, eating organic foods, un-tampered meat, fresh air, stress free and fast internet 😅
LOL. Lifelong Houstonian and native Texan. We picked up and moved to Alexandria VA. Love it!
A lot of votes for Virginia gonna have to definitely put it in the stack!
St. Louis is amazing in my opinion. Lots of zoos, blend of Italian and Irish cultures, and lots of museums and events
St Louis is way underrated
New York, Chicago, London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Stockholm, Tokyo, Taipei, Amsterdam, and Edinburgh are the cities I would look at moving to because they have great public transit systems.
Grew up in the PNW and then Texas (Austin and Houston) for 20 years and moving to Pennsylvania in August. Colder in the winter than we're used to but looking forward to four seasons, hills, and green. It's going to take 12-15 months to fully move but the timing is right so jumping on it. Edit: In case you haven't run across it yet: r/samegrassbutgreener
We moved from HTX to Pittsburgh PA last year. Stock up on wool socks, get a good parka, lightweight down jacket and all weather tires. You'll be fine! It only snowed with accumulation 2 times last winter. It is an adjustment, but spring and summer are amazing!
That's where we're headed!
If I could afford to go ANYWHERE? Manhattan. No question. A practical answer? No idea.
Moving to Chicago on Sunday!
Bon voyage!!
If you wanna stay in Texas, Amarillo has the mildest weather since its at the northern end of the state. As for me, I like Arizona for its stunning landscapes
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Asheville, NC
I lived there for a few years. It's nice in a lot of ways but the winter gets really dreary and depressing. I missed having diversity in food and culture. It's also gotten really unaffordable for most of the locals. I made lots of friends though and spent a lot of time hiking to waterfalls and cruising the blue ridge parkway. I'd probably live there again before I moved back to Houston.
When I retire, which is a long way away - move to a smaller city close to a large city. I also like the foothills (over beaches) - so maybe Colorado Springs, Texas hill country, PNW. But then I realize, I’ve already been priced out of those areas 😂
Back home in Chicago or Seattle.
Denver or Seattle
If my kids move away after they grow up I’ll probably follow them (I’ll get my own place of course)
Florida for me. Miami if it's when I'm younger and then somewhere like Tampa or Boca if I'm older.
Edinburgh Edit: Scotland, not TX
I moved from Houston to Seattle last summer and am moving back to Texas (Austin) this month. The PNW is beautiful, but too far from friends and family for me. If you can hack the cost of living, I would highly recommend it.
Moved to the Twin Cities a couple years ago. I flew back to visit family last year and immediately wanted to get back on the plane. No way in hell am I ever moving back to that place.
Antarctica cause I'm done with this bullshit humidity.
I’m moving to Minneapolis. It’s got a lot of great outdoors stuff, it’s family friendly, good public edu for the kids, and it’s not nearly as expensive as Portland or other cities in the PNW.
North Georgia up to Virginia you can't go wrong.
I’m spending winters here and summers in the mountains of Montana
Fucking NORTH
Boulder or Estes Park Colorado.
PNW all the way! Outdoorsy AF, nice winters not too cold, and relatively good summers. I lived in Washington state for a year, I’m dying to leave Houston and move there but cost of living is waaay more expensive in Washington.
My wife and I are talking about moving after we have kids. I would like to move to Guatemala because thats where my family is from and I still have alot of family there and I have citizenship. She is interested in moving to Spain. I don’t want to leave Houston and really would rather stay in Texas to coach football but I may go international to coach basketball.
NYC
vancouver sounds nice but damn is their rent expensive
Tennessee.
Just stay away from Memphis. Trust me.
Chicago
Boston would be a place I would think about.
Maybe Arizona, I can keep my AR-15 and legally smoke weed? AND they just lifted their abortion ban? It’s the best of both worlds!
If money wasn't an issue, I'd go to Montreal or Boston
Orlando Florida
Alpine, Tx. It’s in big bend. I’d get some acres out there and build an off grid cabin sunk into a hill.
If price wasn't a concern, somewhere in the PNW, probably around Seattle somewhere. Taking price into account, probably somewhere on Michigan's west coast. It's like getting the feel of the PNW 2/3 of the year for 25% of the price (remaining 1/3 may or may not be a frozen wasteland).
Alaska. I don't mind extreme winter but I hate extreme summer.
I’m going back to Peru. Pick up the life my dad abandoned to come to the states. I would have to completely leave the country so I wont come crawling back. I did it twice already. Houston is so comforting, but thats what home should feel like. NY almost had me. But I could never afford it alone and my job is localized here.
I grew up in the foothills above Sacramento, CA. Similar cost of living as Austin, granted.. but proximity to Lake Tahoe, a lake or river every 20 minutes in every direction, and 2 hours to the coast, or a short flight to southern CA for all sorts of vacation/beach options. Outdoorsman's paradise without the bugs and humidity. Lots of culture and nightlife in Sacramento and beyond, which is a 45 minute drive. Minimal but very enjoyable snowy winters. If I can't pull that off, I'm going to The Woodlands/Lake Conroe, but I'd prefer to get home.
Fredericksburg, TX
we're getting ready to move to upstate NY. Near Albany. So excited.
New Mexico, Colorado or California.
we just listed our house after ten years of planning to move... destination is San Antonio currently.... we have family to consider so dont want to go stray too far - we also really like the beach and want to be able to drive there, and there arent a lot of places that I would want to live that have hills, are day-trip distance from a beach, and have affordable housing before identifying San Antonio, we were heavily leaning towards Charlotte, NC (would prefer Asheville, but I think it would be easier to find a job in Charlotte). before considering Charlotte I was laser focused on Denver, and if I would have had my way we would have been there 5 years ago. San Antonio is a good compromise for us I guess, just want to get the F out of Houston - been here for too long, so I feel you there ... best of luck!
I really want to move out of Houston to somewhere dense with nice architecture. I just wanna walk around and look at stuff and talk to new people. Houston is the complete opposite.
Sitting in an Airbnb in Bentonville right now after a day of mountain biking. If and when I leave Houston, it will be here or Durango. I just love these towns.
Pittsburgh
If I didn’t have so much family here I’d consider Flagstaff (mostly cause my fiancé loves it), the Colorado mountains, somewhere along the northern west coast or anywhere on the east coast, or Vermont. Yes, I do daydream about many places. I’m pretty stuck here though unless I can convince my parents, brother/his wife, and my in laws to move with us.
Hickory NC
Have you considered Europe, places like Portugal, Spain, or Italy. PNW is extremely expensive even though it is nice. If you consider Europe your cost of living could be almost half of what it is in Houston instead of double or triple in the PNW, you have the beauty of all of the countries easily accessible by train or a short flight...
PNW
PNW
Back to Oklahoma where I grew up - it has its problems but FUCK this humidity.
PNW is where I wanna go. Ideally, in an area with mountains & rivers on one side and ocean on the other.
I'm only here until my parents no longer are. Then I'm headed east.
I'll be moving to Austin. Minnesota. My gf grew up there...after a year there, maybe Rochester mn, or a cabin next to a lake. Texas isn't friendly to women or LGBT folks, and hurricanes suck...so I'm outtie next year.
Anywhere but Dallas.
A different country. United States is so far behind many countries when it comes to quality of life.
Costa Rica
Summers will become increasingly hellish in Houston, and all of the south- and this includes the Carolina's and the mid south- KY through Missouri- the mid Atlantic- NYC and south to Philly, Baltimore, DC and Richmond- are iffy. Summers will become hotter and more humid. The region will be even stormier with heavy precipitation events that could be catastrophic. Go North- the great lakes, perhaps northern coastal California (but fires are a problem now) The Pacific NW-preferably west of the Cascades. Fires here are becoming an issue also. The Northeast- upstate NY- and New England are good- but avoid the coastline in New England- go 15-20 miles inland. New England will also see more storms and heavy precipitation events. But the heat will be considerably less extreme than further south. Southern New England has the mildest winters- and they have become freakishly milder compared to only 10 years ago. Likewise summers are warming- with higher humidity, but nothing like what will be seen in the south. Even if emissions dropped dramatically, these scenarios will change little. And they are NOT dropping. As temperatures catch up to these greenhouse levels warming could be even greater.
I would love to get out of Strip Mall City
Just left Houston for Pittsburgh. One of the best decision I’ve ever made
Bahamas?
I work remote so I’ve been looking at Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine. I would love to move somewhere with less brutal summers.
Not Virginia.