[davis449]

Originally Posted by jarsdad1

Denver. You won't notice or care about the weather.

Parents live there, fuck that, I notice the weather and so does my skin as it falls off my body. I thought the weather changed every 5 mins. in TX...nah, it's got nothing on Denver. Like someone said about MN, all four season in one day.

Moving on. I've lived in every corner of this state. There is winter or winter-like weather in every area of the state with the exception of the very tip of the Rio Grande Valley (Brownsville) where it rarely gets cold. So, no matter where you live here, it's pick you're type\length of winter. This is a big ass state. You better enjoy driving. There's roads for curves and straights for 100's of miles. We have the best set speed limits, too.

Let me break this down:

West Texas - I'm from Midland. Lived there off and on for 15 years. I've traveled all over that region including all of SE and Central New Mexico and out into Far West TX (Van Horn, Marfa, Big Bend, El Paso). Don't move there. Not even to try and get a piece of the petroleum action. Just don't...I promise it won't end well for you. Wind all the time at ~15-20 MPH, hot as hell mostly dry heat in the summer, massive dust storms (like AZ), and then random actual "windy days", or a series of them, where it's sunny outside and gusts are 40-60 MPH. Dust EVERYWHERE. Your home will never be clean...ever. Water is gross, R.O. systems for drinking water are std. equipment for a home there as are water softeners. Many of the later model homes have whole house R.O. systems in addition to a water softener. Small town people, small town minds, and still pretty self-segregated. Even if you actually live in Midland or Odessa where the populations are over 120K. Unless you just like desert arid scenery, tumble weeds, and mesquite trees there's absolutely nothing to see. I don't think the "mountains" around El Paso are pretty or value adding.

The Pan Handle - Not even an option as it pertains to this thread. Amarillo gets cold as fuck, snow, and, to a lesser extent, so does Lubbock. In addition, both are crap holes in and of themselves. I'd rather live in Midland.

Houston - Pretty much what everyone else says it is in regards to demographics, traffic, housing etc. Mild humid winters, hot and humid summers. Trouble with humidity is that when the temp is 50 degrees, it feels like 30. It's bone chilling. Despite what I said about CO, I can handle 16 degrees with a jacket and some gloves up there better than 40 degrees in San Antonio\Houston. I lived here for a while in the late 90's and frequent it due to it's close proximity to San Antonio. I have my cousin there in Katy.

DFW - Again, like Houston it's how everyone else says it is demographics and housing wise. They get very little snow...mostly it's ICE. That said, it's there and gone the next day when\if it does happen. Dead of winter temps are a good 10 degrees lower than Central and South TX and it can get seriously bitter as it resides on prairie lands. The nice thing is, like SA and Houston, winter doesn't last long. Usually around 2-4 weeks longer. Weather roller coasters in Dallas as it does almost everywhere in TX during the fall\winter. Then there's the spring to early summer or what we term "The Fifth Season". Severe thunderstorms with high winds, ultra-frequent lightening, HAIL (dime to softball sized), and Tornadoes. My GF was SMACK in the middle of the EF4 that tore through Rowlett. Traffic sucks in Dallas as bad as it sucks in Houston. Road construction in Dallas is never-ending. It's worse than Houston. Why? Because they didn't plan right of ways for practically ANY of the freeways so when they have to be rebuilt\expanded, they have to be literally dug into the ground with access roads overhanging or separated into ground level and elevated\tolled structures. IDC, though, I love Dallas and would move back there in a heartbeat if I could take my exact job situation with me.

Austin - First of all, 6th Street is the most overrated place I've had the displeasure of visiting multiple times (friends...they drag you into shit).

It's always been a Mecca for the trendy hipster types. City politics are just like the state of CA. They city ordinance their way to SF level horseshit. Same type of idiots I encounter in Denver. Hyper enviro-conscious asshats who criticize everything and drive around in RR's that get 10 MPG. Way overpriced housing and traffic...OMG the traffic. Austin flat out refuses to build\expand ANY freeways unless they are toll roads. So, since that's the only way anything gets done, you can imagine that very little gets done at all and you'd be right. I absolutely HATE going there. I thank God every time I drive to Dallas that they built the SH 130 toll road so I can go around that mad house at 90 MPH. People are like, "Oh but the HILL COUNTRY! OMG that makes it SO worth it!" and I'm like...

San Antonio - Lived here 14 years. I bitch and moan about this city, but I love it. I really do. I have felt at home here since the day I first set foot here back in college. It's just big enough to be a big city and just small enough to not be Dallas or Houston. S.A. is 60% Hispanic. It is cholo in many places, I'm not gonna lie. But it's tolerable. Our drivers are horrible..no really. I won't compare it to other places for you, it's something you just have to experience for yourself. We are slow to build roads and there's a lot of freeway intersections that make no sense (as in "So why is there is awesome interchange HERE, but not over at the intersection of...freeways?). But we are MILES ahead of Austin in that respect. It used to be just as bad here, but we've finally accepted that we're 2.3 million, rapidly growing, and just have to buck up and build the roads, expand the freeways, and build the interchanges. We have three seasons: Early summer, Summer, back to early summer, Winter. "Winter" here is a roller coaster that sucks royally, but it lasts roughly three months. We don't experience "Fall". The leaves change and are blown off the trees inside of two weeks after the first cold snap (down in the 40's) and that usually happens in Dec. They come back almost as suddenly as they disappear. Overall, winters are mild. If you have allergies, they'll get infinitely worse. If you don't have them...well, you just THOUGHT you didn't. So-called Mountain Cedar blows down during the winter time and it will straight fuck you up. There's a thing called Cedar Fever where you literally feel like you have the flu that can present with all or some of these symptoms: body aches, fever, chills, sinus drainage, sore throat, coughing, and sneezing. Worst part is: you're not ACTUALLY sick! Go to the medclinic, get shot up with steroids, and go to work. But don't let that scare you away...it's just around for a month and a half and, maybe, like me nothing really happens outside of a stuffy nose. The Hill Country is just as beautiful and accessible here as it is in Austin and, just like there, you can live in it and drive into the city. The Riverwalk really is something to behold now. I know in the past it's always been a small attraction that was, IMHO, made a much bigger deal than it really was. They've expanded it so much now that you really do need the river taxis and bicycles you can now rent. Me and my buddy go down there and it's nothing for us to put 10+ miles on our feet. Unfortunately the North and South ends that were and are being gentrified are ripe to be overpriced hipster villages just like they have in Austin. They're nice areas now, but the Austinites and would-be Austinites are discovering it as of late...I'm enjoying the good times while they last.

Rio Grand Valley - NO.