Houston?

Hmmm...Could I live in Houston?  I know nothing about the city.  I don't think I have any friends there.  I even had to look it up on a map to remember where in Texas the city actually was.

There it is!  Near the coast, east of San Antonio (where I used to live!) and south-east of Austin, where I know people and where I definitely wouldn't mind living.  It's really far away from Denver, Colorado, over 1000 miles away!

A few fun facts:  Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, behind New York, LA, and Chicago.  The cost of living is 9% below the national average and the housing costs are 21% below the national average.  Houston is considered the energy capital of the world.  Houston is home to 23 Fortune 500 companies; only New York is home to more.  It has among the youngest populations in the nation.  Like the rest of Texas, it is hot and humid in Houston.  Though when I looked at the average temps for the year, it didn't look too bad.  The coldest months, of course are November - March, with lows in the 40s and 50s and highs in the 60s and low-70s.  That's positively balmy to a Denver native!  June, July, and August are the hottest months, with highs in the 90s and lows in the high-70s.  Not really all that different than Denver, though I know humidity is a serious factor there.  The highest recorded temp was 106, in August 1962 and the lowest recorded temp was 9 in December 1989.  Every month averages over 3" of precipitation, with June averaging over 7".

It looks like a pretty city.  There seems to be things to do there.  And even during this summer's crazy heat wave, Houston didn't register an all-time record high.  It seems more diverse than Denver.  There is a Junior League that I could join to meet people and get involved in the community.

You may wonder why I'm talking about Houston.  I recently ran into a rep that I used to do a lot of business with and I've known her for many years.  I first met her when I worked at Oakwood Homes and she knew that I wasn't exactly happy at that job.  She knew of another local company that designed model homes in-house that was hiring a new designer.  Because she recommended it to me and recommended me to them (and because I'm good! :)), I got the job.  That then lead to the best, most successful job I have ever had.  When I saw her at this luncheon, we got to talking and I mentioned that I wasn't the happiest at my current job.  She asked if I'd be willing to move to Houston?  She said that her sister, who has a thriving interior design firm down there, is always looking for good designers and she'd recommend me to her sister.  YAY!  I had basically given up on Texas because all the jobs I saw required that somebody be NCIDQ certified, which I'm not.  See my post about NCIDQ and its costs here.  But apparently, this company would not require it, so that's good news.

I'm probably putting the cart before the horse here, but before I sent my resume and portfolio to someone, I needed to really think seriously about moving to a new city.  I think I could do it.  My parents joked that they wouldn't want to visit me there because it's so hot and humid, but I know they wouldn't be able to stay away from their grand-puppy, Lulu.  :)  I think it could be a fun adventure.  I'll send my stuff out and keep you all updated.  Eeekkk!