Bilal Toure

Ah, Houston. Lived there for two years after having lived for 11 years in a much smaller city (Bryan-College Station) and having grown up in a smaller city than that (Victoria, Texas). And let me tell you, I loved it. Houston was very good to me. Houston is: - HUGE. It's the fourth largest city population-wise in the U.S., and it sprawls forever. - hot and humid, like living in an armpit - lately, a lot of flooding. It is near sea level, and sinking slowly - very diverse. LA and NYC have nothing on Houston for diversity. Just about every major ethnic and national identity in the world can be found somewhere in Houston- not to mention a lot of minor ones (I can recommend a good Bosnian restaurant for you if you'd like...) - compared to other cities I've been to, very easy to navigate. Learn the highways and about a dozen major surface streets and you can get anywhere without too much trouble. Traffic can still be a problem, but figuring out how to go from A to B is pretty easy compared to, say, Austin or San Antonio or even Charleston or NOLA or St Louis - mediocre public transit, just like most places in the U.S. - if you live in Houston and get bored on any given weekend (or weeknight for that matter), well, you're just not trying. All kinds of things to do, from cultural events to family-friendly venues to clubs. And tourist enclaves like Galveston or Spring or Conroe aren't far away at all. - Houston metro area has its fair share of craft and regional breweries if you're into that: St Arnold's, No Label, Karbach, 8th Wonder, B-52 Brewing Co, Southern Star, and Buffalo Bayou to name a few. - plenty of job opportunities, as you can imagine in a city that large Like I said, Houston was good to me. I enjoyed it there, and would be there still if I didn't have family obligations back in Victoria to contend with (caring for my elderly mother).