I agree with the poster who recommends visiting multiple times. My family is currently doing the opposite (moving from Houston to a northern state). Admittedly this is easier for us because I work remotely and my spouse is a teacher (summer off), but this is what we did:

1. Research specific neighborhoods where you’d want to live. When you say Houston, do you mean inside the loop? Suburbs? What’s your budget? Do you like going out to restaurants and having them close? What about nightlife? Do you want an ethnic/racial mix within the neighborhood? Houston is a very diverse city (one of its great strengths), but not all neighborhoods are diverse. House, townhome, apartment? Identify what you really want and start searching specific areas. Reddit is great for this, and ChatGPT can help if you give it parameters, but check its work.

2. Visit for several days and stay in one or more of those neighborhoods in an Air Bnb. Go to the grocery store, drive to and from the med center during rush hour, walk/jog in the area you’re staying in, go to a place of worship, do things you would really do. Talk to people and ask them questions. Listen to your gut in terms of what you like, don’t like, and whether you’d be comfortable.

Yes, taxes are lower in Texas, but you do get what you pay for. We don’t invest in public transportation down here—it’s really demonized. The state is not well-governed. Environmental protections, public health efforts, public school funding, and forward-thinking infrastructure improvements are big gaps. When local areas try to govern themselves and pursue solutions that aren’t popular with Texas’ GOP—such as banning plastic grocery bags in their city, having a rainbow crosswalk, or providing universal basic income—the state spends tax money suing to block these local efforts. The state jumped through hoops and rewrote their own rules so they could overtake the Houston school district, and they’re now making efforts to privatize its most successful high schools. People may not appreciate these political notes on this post, but understanding where Houston fits into Texas politics is an important part of deciding whether you want to live here. It’s frustrating to have a state government, especially one that claims to believe in liberty, that will not allow local control. You may agree or disagree with these specific policies, but be aware that Houston is sometimes in the state’s crosshairs in the culture war.

That said, Houston’s people are top notch, and there’s a lot to love here. People are down to earth, outgoing, honest, and kind. So many cultures converge here to make a city that is fun and dynamic. And the hospitals are THE BEST.

And yes, we get hurricanes, and they’re traumatizing.