Ulsterman in Texas

I like Texas and I live in the Dallas sphere of influence so to speak, but looking at the forums it seems there is a load of British Expats in Houston. My question is what is it about Houston that attracts you? (I'm not saying anything bad about Houston, but I have noticed a lot of you live there and I'm just curious)

Hotscot

Maybe it was the nature of the work...oil industry?

Bomjeito

The weather.

scrubbedexpat097

It is because after a very thorough and lengthy debate on here it was decided that Houston was NOT a sh****le

Hotscot

When I visited the heat, humidity and air quality were terrible though.
I did enjoy San Antonio.

Bomjeito

Its the oil and gas industry. The weather must be a close second.

The whether Houston is s$&t or not poll was pretty even if I recall.

Mr Weeze

I guess it's a first past the post system

Yorkieabroad

When you posted that last year, I commented:-
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Smog - we're out west, so never see it. I believe the CDC records downtown Houston as having about 1/3 of the level of unhealthy days as LA, so maybe you just got unlucky...
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Yorkieabroad

We're here mainly because US family were here, but also because of the work possibilities. Most people I know here (expat and US transfers) are here for work, mainly oil. It's hardly a "desirable destination" in its own right (lots of people may dream of moving to NY or California when they grow up....not so much Houston), but it has a pretty decent job market, and has survived the last few years better than a lot of other areas. Most people I know are pleasantly surprised at how good the lifestyle can be once they get here. There are a few exceptions, but they tend to be the folk that arrive either with unrealistic expectations, or else make poor or rushed choices on where they choose to settle.

Ulsterman in Texas

The humidity down there is quite intense down there and that might exacerbate the smog.

jamie850

One reason I know of is the medical centre. It attracts people from all over the world to the medical and pharmaceutical industry there.

Ulsterman in Texas

Indeed the medical district is massive.

Bink

As others have mentioned, O&G. The job market for oil is very buoyant, particularly so in Houston. At lot of expats seem to come here on 1-2 year deals and end up staying!

Hotscot

Maybe I was unlucky with the smog. I had left San Antonio and drove to Houston, arriving around 5.00 pm and rush hour. Wasn't pretty.

Yorkieabroad

Humidity definitely exacerbates the smog - we saw that big time when we lived in Singapore. Here not so much, but maybe there's a big difference between Houston "proper" and the outer suburbs, because when we see/read the reports of the pollution "here", most of the time it seems like they are talking of a different world.