Yes, Another Vanity (eyeroll)

7/6/2011 | Me

[NoGrayZone]

My sister stopped over this morning. We got back to talking about moving to another state....again.

She stated Texas has been calling her, she is an RN. The hospital she works at now used to have several booths, recruiting new grads. Now they have none. They are constantly invited to "luncheons", in which they do not participate. They have stopped hiring, as I have found out trying to find a new job.

My sister said they are encouraging recent grads to go to Texas, to get their bacholers & RN license.

I know, from FR, TX is booming. My sister has a friend who moved back to Houston, TX, owns 3 homes in which he rents and said he could get me a great paying job in the oil industry (I hehehe'd at that one).

With my sisters RN license, she wouldn't have a problem getting a job, and perhaps at the rate she is paid here in NY.

We are very nervous about leaving our home state, been here all our lives.....but they are killing us. She asked me to post a thread, specifically to TX FReepers, just for some information regarding the Houston area.

We are suburanites and very Conservative. We would NOT bid well in ANY area that is slightly blue.

We also have questions regarding weather. I (and my sister) must claim "stupid" regarding this subject. We are used to 4 seasons, etc. How is the Houston area, or it's suburbs(must be suburbs. We CANNOT live in a "city" type area).

If I remember correctly (in which she pointed out) Austin is lib, correct?

The last thing we want to do is move across county, only to wind up in a mini NY.

To all you Texans out there, any information would be grateful, especially around the Houston area.

Keep in mind....."THE REDDER THE BETTER".

[NoGrayZone]

My Ford Explorer V8 all wheel drive got me to and from safely to and from work in the very many ice/snow/flooding storms we have had.

Every time I got to work and home safely, without even 1 slip, I kissed him and said thank you.

[SgtHooper]

You are correct, the intercities between Dallas and Ft. Worth may be the place to be. The Dallas/Ft. Worth area has a lot to offer.

[Bearshouse]

You might consider living in a more rural area, if redder is better.

I agree. There are several redder areas than Houston that would still offer job opportunities. South and East of Houston or even up around the Center, Longview, Tyler areas. Houston is almost as blue as Austin but not nearly as scenic, so if you need a large city, Austin or San Antonio would still be a better choice for history, scenery and ambiance. The weather is hot, but at least the winters are mild and short. Spring time is spectacular. I always think of Texas as an attitude and state of mind, so if you have the Texas attitude you are very welcome here regardless of accent.

[NoGrayZone]

We’re not into sports, so no worries there!

[NoGrayZone]

"The only part of the state that gets much snow would be in the panhandle area. Around the rest of the state, everything comes to a standstill if we get a couple on inches."

Hmmmm, that may be to my advantage.

[Fiddlstix]

I have no desire to own a nuke.
The idea of owning a .50 cal belt fed machine gun does appeal to me.
lol

[Axeman77385]

I live about 40 miles north of Houston in The Woodlands, a sort of small town(suburb). Sure it's hot here, especially in the summer, but some of us like it hot.

We welcome any and all conservatives from blue states (honk if you can't stand Obummer).

[sr4402]

Any Hospital without the welcome mat for nurses has a problem.

Obamacare will cause thousands of new patients to flood the hospitals already flooded by illegals.

If Obamacare is not repealed, nurses will become Doctors and most Doctor's will retire if at all possible.

Any hospital with any sense knows this. So keep shopping around. Stay away from the inner city hospitals if at all possible. They are H...LL on nurses.

[Vigilanteman]

Consider SW Pennsylvania. We're a lot closer move than Texas and trending red big time. In fact, we were one of the only major areas in the country where BO fared more poorly in '08 than JFK did in '04.

We have the four seasons, great outdoors and reasonable housing costs. Job prospects here are probably not as good as in Texas, but we're still way better than the national average. An RN will have no problem finding a job in this area.

[Spirit of Liberty]

I believe Glenn Beck is relocating in the D/FW Metroplex area.

If you end up more north of Houston (Austin or more north), don’t forget about tornados and ice storms in the winter.

[Grams A]

Someone forgot to tell you about our red ants! Moved here in 1985 wouldn’t go back north. Consider Sugar Land or Pearland which is less expensive and much more conservative, commute into the city isn’t bad and some closer to the beach. Hill Country is awesome and weekend trips to San Antonio, Austin or floating the Guadalupe are fun times. It will take you years to explore the state. Come on down. We have great Republican Women’s groups. IMO Houston is a place to work and visit during the Rodeo. Otherwise no reason for its existence.

[pabianice]

Was based at NAS Corpus Christi in Navy flight training. HOT, and that was March - June. It is blazing hot in most of TX March - October, although most buildings are air-conditioned. Also very scrubby and sandy. People very friendly, sort of the anti-New York. A big change from NY. Hope this helps.

[texas_mrs]

Texas is so vast, there are many different geographical types. Though I like to visit, I would never want to live in the Panhandle or Big Bend Country. Wind never stops in the North, bad winters, and both areas have higher illegals and crimes by same. Hill country, NICE. I live smack in the center, I guess in the Prairies and Lakes. Has a little East Texas look and the start of some West Texas land, too. Piney Woods is pretty, don't know that much about living there. Nor the Gulf Coast, or South Texas Plains. Natives want to weigh in on those?

[NoGrayZone]

"Someone upthread said Houston was more liberal than D and FW. I think people in the inner city, inside loop 610, are more liberal than those living farther out. The Houston Medical Center is inside the loop"

How far is the travel to the Houston Medical Center from it's suburbs? Any idea?

[FourPeas]

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, first elected in 1995

For me, that tells the tale of what I’ve watched happen to Houston. It’s probably more “red” than where you are now, but it’s not what most people think of (politically speaking) when they think of Texas.

[Vigilanteman]

My brother lives in South Carolina. Grits work great on clearing out the fire ants there. Do they work on red ants in Texas?

[lapsus calami]

 

 

Something I haven't seen mentioned so far is that Houston is suffering from another issued shared by lib cities - crumbling infrastructure. Some streets look like they've been under mortar attack, others have the pavement surface separated in big chunks off of the road bed, sitting on top. Some areas are worse than others, can make driving around town kinda tedious.

 

Houston proper is separated into six wards - sounds ominous doesn't it - with the 5th being home to some of the worse gangs around. And they just don't stay in their own areas, no. They venture out where the money and loot is and are not shy about hitting the suburbs.

 

 

[Melas]

Just a couple of things. Your sister probably won’t make what she makes in NY. We know several nurses from NYC and if they’re to believed, what they made in NY is simply astounding compared to what they make in Texas. Then again so is what they paid to live, so it balances out.

Second, the concept of suburbs is vastly different in Texas than it is in NY. In my immediate area, we consider Garland, Plano, Richardson, and Addison suburbs, but they’re part of the contiguous, Dallas urban landscape. Plano for example would be analogous to one of the Burroughs in NY, not a suburb.

Also note, that Texas is massive. If you’re in Amarillo, you’re closer to the capital of 5 other states than you are to the capital in Austin, and we’re not talking about 5 tiny North Eastern states.

Also note that unlike the NE, once you leave the cities in Texas, things get very rural, very quick. I just can’t emphasize enough that you won’t find the same urban/suburban paradigm as it exists in NY. We use the same words, but the lifestyles are not similar.

RN salaries can drop by as much as half outside of the urban landscape. Yep, you read that correctly, by as much as half.

[Arrowhead1952]

As another poster pointed out about the Houston area, the suburbs are much nicer. Our daughter lives in Katy and loves it there. We live NW of Austin, and it is very conservative, unlike the rest of Travis county.

You may want to check out the Round Rock / Cedar Park areas as well. They have built several new medical centers and hospitals there recently. That area is much more conservative than Austin or Houston.

Yes it hot and dry this year, but I have only seen one mosquito the past several months.

[SeaHawkFan]

Areas close to downtown are pretty blue; the rest is red. Check out the map of congressional districts in the area and you can get a better idea. Stay wel away from Shiela Jackson Lee’s district.