Moved to Houston

[rmw]

thread731-139877

Well, I moved to Houston earlier this year. I found the above thread very helpful as I evaluated my offer.

Don't like the traffic, but I have one question. Does one ever eat at a restaurant a second time? There are so many to try out I don't see how you could ever go back to one a second time. I am fighting the battle of the extra 5 lbs., but I also found a health club to join.

We are enjoying it here, overall. The way I have it figured, I can't live far from Art Montemeyer.

rmw

 

[sms]

Welcome, been here 17 years and eventually you do repeat restaurants, but only out of habit....

How are you enjoying the summer? October is when things finally start cooling off, so just it is almost over.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[Latexman]

I'll be moving about 50 miles south of Houston in 1-2 months! Yeehaa!

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[pmover]

well, i wish you/family all the best while there in houston. from a technical/professional perspective, the location is a rich environment and that is the one aspect of houston that i truly miss. other than that, i do not care to live in that "environment". i lived there for nearly 4-years and have many "war stories" to tell.

the restaurants are a plenty and mighty good - taste of texas, one on westheimer inside the loop (can't remember the name) that serves various types of meat. you tell them what you want and they cut it right there in front of you. a large salad/veagetable/fruit type bar as well.

oh! yes, Art is just up the road - well worth a meet/greet in local eatery. so is TAMU.

have fun! you truly will enjoy the professionalism there in houston.

good luck!
-pmover

 

[StressGuy]

I've been working here in Houston for ten years since graduating from college. And, I had spent time here back and forth while cooping in college.

Truth be told, my wife and I generally go back to the same favorites quite often. We just don't care to experiment to much when it comes to trying restaurants. I mean, there are probably two dozen Mexican places within 10 miles of my home, but there are two that we really like and don't feel an urge to try all the other places.

That said, you can certainly eat at a different place just about every day if you are so inclined. It is certainly one of Houston's many strengths.

Welcome to the neighborhood.
--ED

Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

"All the world is a Spring"

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

 

[HgTX]

I pretty much hit the same ones when I go to Houston. Just too lazy to find out about new ones. It's a great food town, isn't it?

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[IRstuff]

Unless you're living in Buttonwillow, CA, finding a restaurant has never been the issue. San Francisco boasts enough restaurant seating capacity to serve the city's entire population in a single seating.

The issue is finding a restaurant that's worth going back to again. Our personal experience is that fewer than 1 in 5 restaurants are worth a specific return trip. There are plenty of mundane restaurants that serve to simply provide a variety of choice and not much else.

There are other restaurants that are simply too far to drive to take the risk of wasting your time. Usually, resources such as CitySearch are of limited utility, since even rather pedestrian restaurants can wind up with high ratings.

TTFN

 

[HVACctrl]

rmw,
My family and I just moved back from Houston in early '05. My wife and I moved there in 2000, but once we started having kids it was time to move back to New Orleans to be near family.

I loved it on Houston. I think about all the advantages there. ITs amazing how nice it is over there.

What part of town do you live in? I was in the NW, between Spring and Cypress, right near the Compaq (now HP) facilty.

Love it over there. Lake Conroe was a favorite boating hangout as well! The good ole days.....


Ed

http://www.engineerboards.com

 

[rmw]

HVACctrl,

I'm not far from the Compaq/HP facility you mention but I work on the NW loop. I hate the commute.

Haven't gotten into the lake/beach scene yet.

rmw

 

[controlnovice]

I lived in Houston for 8 years.

Great town and plenty to do. I couldn't take the humidity and pollution any more. I lived on the South side in Pearland and worked in Deer Park.

I just remember walking the dog at 5:00 in the morning and when opening the door, starting to sweat it was so humid.

Barely knew the neighbors: We'd go from our air conditioned house to our air conditioned car to our air conditioned office, back to our air conditioned car and back to our air conditioned house. Only time we stepped outside was to cut the grass and walk the dog. The whole neighborhood was like that. Never saw kids playing outside. No neighborly gossip. Nothing. Sure, we invited them for dinner, or watched their house when on vacation, but never really developed a relationship. (Maybe because I was a Yankee?)

When I moved back to the Midwest, within 3 months we were known to all on the block. The children would all scream, "Hello ControlNovice!". We could walk the dog without sweating (except for August and September). We could actually sit on our front porch comfortably.

I truly hope you enjoy Houston. There definitely is much culture there. I do miss the number of restaurants and great BBQ (and the Pappa's chain restaurants!). Try Texadelphia too. The chicken cheese steak is great! I think it's on Westheimer.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[swertel]

I was only in Houston for the summer. Interned with Boeing on the ISS. Had free range of JSC. Met lots of astronautes and made good friends with the mail-room clerk who also maintained a library of PR photos: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, STS, astronauts, and other cool space images.

I learned how to eat spicey foods there; much different than the mild cheese and sausage from WI. I never ran out of things to do. I really liked not having to dry off after my morning shower because I was soaked by the time I stepped out the door anyway. The green smog made a beautiful sunset. I could never tell if I was swaying because I drank too much or if the bar-on-the-barge was listing. ("You bet your sweet ass I am." For those of you who know what that means.)

--Scott

For some pleasure reading, try FAQ731-376

 

[HgTX]

Don't try eating "philly" cheese steak in Texas. Don't try eating Mexican food in Vermont.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[HVACctrl]

controlnovice,
I lived in Houston for 5 years, but most of the rest of my life has been in New Orleans aside from my military career. NO has similar weather conditions to Houston.

You can't tell me that the Spring, Fall and Winters weren't awesome. I admit, the summers are horrid, but the other 3 seasons- especially the fall- are awesome.

Man, we seriously miss the Mexican food. We miss the progressive economy. We miss the roadways and infrastructure there. It seems like we stepped back 20 years returning home.

Oh well. Its all a trade-off.

Ed

http://www.engineerboards.com

 

[rmw]

Controlnovice,

I moved here from a similarly humid climate averaging 3-5F hotter than Houston (no moderating effect of the sea) so I was already heavily invested in the A/C to A/C scene as well as the "living in a sauna" syndrome. You learn to move slowly and deliberately. So none of that bothers me.

You learn to make social connections other than chatting up the neighbors up and down the street. Where I came from I didn't lack for good gossip, just didn't get it in the 'hood. We are starting to make those connections slowly but surely.

It is just a fact of living in this climate.

And to all, not to worry. I have traveled enough to know not to sample specialties outside of their areas of origins, (I don't eat cajun food in Oregon for example) although I'll say that there is plenty of variety here other than the standard b'b'cue, tex-mex, and cajun cuisine. I have eaten portuguese, colombian, viet namese, thai, chinese, italian, just to name a few. And, real good, too.

But, I haven't found a real good fried catfish place yet. And, we didn't have places like Fiesta Foods where you can buy everything exotic to eat.

What a place.

rmw

 

[franzh]

Houston has several top rated barbeque joints and steak houses and if they are not to your choosing, others are a short drive away. The Strand in Galveston is a great place to combine old and new and just one hour south on IH 45. Just get used to the heat and humidity, I've lived in Central Texas all my life (a half century and counting!) and still find it oppressing at times.
San Antonio is 3 hours west and home to great history, Dallas is 5 hours north on IH 45, home to the Cowboys, one of these days they will be great again!

Franz

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[HgTX]

Central Texas doesn't have much humidity to speak of, compared to either Houston or the northeastern US.

On the other hand, central Texas does have excellent barbeque, but that's another thread in another forum.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[ewh]

I agree, HgTX. Here in the central part of the state you can go out in the morning when the temps are in the 80's, and feel somewhat comfortable, though a bit warm. In Houston, you can take a cool shower, get dressed for work, and within 5 minutes of going outside, you feel totally hot, sweaty and sticky. It does take some getting used to. That was also what I liked least about living in central Florida.

 

[franzh]

Whenever I travel west to El Paso, or to Lubbock or Amarillo, it is "relatively" tolerable in temperatures 10 to 15 degrees hotter than I experience here in Central Texas. A dry heat is a relief after being in constant 60 to 70% humidity (more in early summer). Where it is hard to function at 90 degrees at 90% rh, in El Paso, at 110, you can move around a bit, not that I would rather , , , ,

Franz

eng-tips, by professional engineers for professional engineers
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[rmw]

I think I have discovered an unwritten law here in Houston. It goes like this;

"Upon approaching a green light, it will turn red. Upon approaching a red light, it won't turn green until you have to come to a complete stop."

What's up with that?

One thing that they do really good here is time the lights on each side of a freeway. If you are crossing under a freeway, you can mash on the gas as you leave the light because the light on the other side is timed such that it will turn green before you get there. It works every time. That was hard to get used to initially, people just mashing on it while the light we were all approaching was still red. But they always turn green JIT.

I'm surviving, but I am worried that I will have to spend half the time I have left to live sitting at stop lights.

rmw

 

[sms]

Yes, you will. And the reason they started installing red light cameras was to punish the rebels that can not accept that fact....

Enjoy the ride! ;-)

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!