I currently live in Dallas and my hubby has just been hired on at Compaq in far NW Houston. I am going this weekend to look for homes in that area, and would like to make sure I enjoy the time there (aka: to psych me up for this move) I don't want to hear you Houston bashers, this move is inevitable and I have enough to worry about! Please tell me some good things about the city, as well as fun things to do, and let me know of some good areas in the NW to look for a place to live (any areas I should avoid?! Thanks in advance!

I'm a fellow Dallasite and am sorry we are losing you to Houston. However most of my in-laws and my best friend lives in Houston so we go there fairly frequently. Here are some good things! Close to Galveston. Which contrary to popular believe is a great beach. They also have a great museum, outdoor theatre and The Strand. We have to drive a long way and rent a condo to enjoy it you can go for the day! NASA. You don't say whether or not you have kids but my daughter and nieces and nephews love it. Great Museums! Beautiful Memorial Park. Lots of humidity that is good for your skin .. fewer wrinkles! Good theatre. I am sorry I don't know the geography all that well. One sister-in-law lives in Woodlands and I know that is North but I don't know how far west it is in relation to things. It is a great area. I will ask my friend what is good in NW Houston and then do another post. I am sure that once you get there you will really like it.

I have spent alot of time in Texas and I have to say I LOVE Houston. It is one of my favorite cities to travel to.

The Galleria for shopping is very good and there are alot of shopping opportunites all over Houston.

There are also some wonderful restaurants and cultural opportuinites.
Good music, classical and to pop and everything inbetween. Also the Art Museum is very good and has exibits come through regularly.

The NW suburbs should have some homes that will fit your taste and budget.

So don't worry. I really think you will learn to love living in Houston.

Houston advantages: The Tony award winning Alley Theatre. Great restaurants. Lots of shopping. Very reasonable home prices. No snow. Brand new baseball stadium.

The Champions area has some terrific homes and golf courses. Although there may be few major "draws", daily life is generally quite enjoyable. Many people ignore the fact that

Sorry. Many people ignore the fact that few residents of any city visit the tourist attractions associated with that city with any frequency. Daily life is what counts in my book. I doubt that will vary much from Dallas and environs and it is easy to get out of town when you want a change.

My brother lives in Kingwood. It is north of Houston but I'm not sure if it's NW or NE. We visited last summer and it's a really nice suburb. Nice homes, good schools and convenient shopping. We went to NASA and spent an evening at Dave and Busters. Also went to a small waterpark- Splashtown - north of Houston. I've also heard that Galveston is a nice place to visit.

I have lived in Katy (suburb west of town), for 6 years. Since you're moving from Dallas, it won't be a huge change. There are tons of things to do here, it's just taking advantage of them. There are some great street festivals (International Food Fest, downtown, Westheimer Street festival - good for people watching), the theaters offer lots of variety (ballet, opera, etc). Traffic is a huge drag, but, again, probably not much worse than Dallas. San Antonio is 3 hours away, and is a fun place to visit. Thought I would hate it here, but have managed to actually like it (I moved from Denver!). If you have particular questions, feel free to e-mail me.

I was going to suggest Katy too. Our Aggie daughter married someone from there and from what I've seen of it, it's a great suburb, and very similar to Plano.

Nice going with Compaq!! Our son had a job offer with them just out of college but couldn't bring himself to leave the Dallas area. Good luck with your move and new job.

The Woodlands is a great area. It's between Houston and Conroe.

The Woodlands is a great area, and for really nice neighborhoods close to the main Compaq campus, I would also suggest , as recommended above, taking a look at the Champions area and would add Lakewood Forest. There are many nice neighborhoods in the NW area and lots and lots of interesting things to do in Houston. Also it's very green most of the year....even wintertime. Good luck with your upcoming move!

Houston is: dirty, full of litter, hot, humid and stinks!! Did you know it was rated number one with smog? Did you also know the gov.does not care to clean up the city?? If that does not bother you, I'm sure you'll love it!! I am so glad NOT to be living in the armpit of the state!!!!