For any Texans...some advice please!

I agree with those that said Austin. 

But if it can't be Austin I'd go with Dallas.

we are moving to Houston in the next few years...

we are going to be living in the Cyprus/Fairbanks area..my sister lives in Copperfield..

I do like Houston now..so much to do..but in the burbs there is enough to do you don't have to go into the major area of Houston and you are so close to all other areas..you could go to Galveston for a weekend or to Kemah or any gulf coast place like that and San Antonio is only a couple hours away..

I can't wait to go!!!

I live in Dallas now, Plano to be exact. I lived in Austin for 5 years and my in-laws live in Houston, specifically Spring.

I love Dallas. Austin was great at the beginning, but got old. Houston is the very last on my list, but if I had to live there I'd live in Spring within the Champions Forest community.

Houston is too darn humid. Dallas winters are not as bad as the Houston summers, although it did snow here last night. Crazy weather!!!

Not sure if this reply is too late, but here are my two cents:

I grew up in Corpus Christi, and I lived in Houston from 1994-1999 and lived in Dallas off and on for a total of 3 years between 1988 and 2000.

When I left Houston for good in October 1999, it was in the middle of a mosquito plague (ok, it felt like a plague).  You know those cliches of Americans driving to pick up their mail from communal postboxes?  Well, our postbox was on the way home, so we did happen to drive to collect it, and during one of those days of the plague, I got bitten by 8 mosquitoes during the 10 seconds it took me to get out of the car, collect the mail, and get back in.  Awful!

On the other hand, I made a business trip from Houston to Dallas in the summer of 1998 and thought I was going to burst into flames from the oppressive heat in Dallas during the short walk from my office to the car park.  This, having already been acclimated to the climate in Houston!

Aside from the weather, Houston seemed to me to have a better proportion of independently owned restaurants with better quality, more imaginatively cooked food than the average variety chain place.  If anyone has ever been to Ruggles, you'll know what I mean!  Of course, Dallas has some decent restaurants too, but on balance, I felt that Houston had better ones.

Having said all that, if I were forced to choose between the two, I would choose to live in Dallas. 

Let us know how things turn out for you!

Native Houstonian here.

I prefer Houston to Dallas but Fort Worth to Dallas if we're being picky.

I think it all depends on where in Houston the job is located and where you could live.  Some parts of Houston are worse for traffic and living situations, some better.

Houston gets you closer to the coast.  Dallas gets you the rolling hills of north Texas.

Less humid in Dallas but tougher winters.  Also need to consider the hurricane zone.  If a hurricane hits, parts of Houston are mandatory evacuation areas.  Dallas, you get the left over rains mainly.

Hard decision all the way around.

~BEG

I'd also check the prices of such things as auto and home insurance in Houston.  Being closer to the Gulf seems to be more expensive for homeowners' insurance.  I live 50 miles north of Houston, and pay $1,000 less for homeowners' insurance than my mom, who lives in Houston.  I'm in the next county north from Houston (Montgomery). 

When I moved out of Harris County, my auto insurance also dropped by 10%. 

The Woodlands, Conroe, Montgomery and parts of Spring (Oak Ridge area) are in Montgomery County. 

For someone commuting to downtown or the Medical Center in Houston, The Woodlands Express buses are available.  They are quite convenient for someone in either Spring or The Woodlands.  Some employers pay for, or subsidize, the fare.

I don't know if those things would make a difference, but they are points to ponder.

I am new to Dallas, DH and I moved here Jan 1st of 2008 and now he is up for a better job within his company and the work would mean he would spend a majority of his time in Houston. He can live in Dallas and work there 3-4 days a week or we can move to Houston and he may still have to come to work in Dallas once in a while for a few days etc...

My question is - which is better for living in general? Houston or Dallas? I have not been here long enough to be attached to it here, what I can say is that I have found some good work connections and the Pilates industry is thriving here. That's not to say it isn't thriving in Houston though either. Any opinions or actual experiences would be really helpful, thanks!

I may be a little biased since Im a Houstonian, but I definitely say Houston.   If you had a choice I would say choose San Antonio or Austin, but if you have to choose between D-town and H-town, go for Houston.

well, we're in Plano (near Dallas) now for several months and are pretty happy here. Things are going well, I still have moments and longing for England and our life we had there. I do love the weather here. I also really like the grocery stores, but there are negatives here just as there are negatives for England. In the end, i think I will never be happy here or there completely. Just something I may have to accept. I do miss our home and our life there in Leeds and Yorkshire. Driving here is just so much more boring and drivers are so careless and scary. I am happy here, don't get me wrong, I think I am just nostalgic for the more settled, less stressful life I had there. I miss you guys!

I lived in Austin before I moved to California, but between Dallas and Houston... I would say Dallas! Houston is VERY humid! I mean it's humid everywhere in Texas with lots of mossy's but Houston is a lot more humid because of the Gulf of Mexico.

Dallas gets snow sometimes!! Winters are colder there.

well, we're in Plano (near Dallas) now for several months and are pretty happy here. Things are going well, I still have moments and longing for England and our life we had there. I do love the weather here. I also really like the grocery stores, but there are negatives here just as there are negatives for England. In the end, i think I will never be happy here or there completely. Just something I may have to accept. I do miss our home and our life there in Leeds and Yorkshire. Driving here is just so much more boring and drivers are so careless and scary. I am happy here, don't get me wrong, I think I am just nostalgic for the more settled, less stressful life I had there. I miss you guys!

Glad to hear you're settling well.   

Do you really miss rain and winter coats in July? 

well, it's easier than switching wardrobes from winter to summer every year

I miss the house we had (it really felt like our home) and the house we're in now (a rental) just doesn't no matter what I do.
I miss his family and mine is at least a plane ride away.
I miss driving there - it's a little less hectic, although I don't miss the parking
I think otherwise, it's just a nostalgic thing and no matter where you live, you will miss what you had. Others have said it on UKY before, once you have lived both the American and UK life, you will never be completely satisfied with just the one.

Well, I have lived in Dallas my entire life.  It sucks here.  But having visited Houston many, many times, I can honestly say it isn't much different there.  More traffic.  A bit more humid (but when it's so hot, anyway, honestly what is the difference of a little humidity?)  BUT I can tell you that I was stuck in traffic for 24 hours straight in Houston trying to evacuate for Hurricane Rita (which never hit Houston anyway) and that was the single most stressful, horrible experience of my life.  I have also been caught in numerous CRAZY tropical rain storms there, and it isn't a beautiful enough place to deal with all of that nonsense!  (maybe if it was Hawaii or something, i would put up with that)
I would pick Dallas, even though you may get tornadoes here occasionally, I have lived here 31 years and never had to deal with one personally.  And hurricanes are scarier by far.  It's pretty boring here, though.  Prepare to go out to eat a lot, as there isn't much else to do.  Houston does have a much better music scene, if you are into that.

Oh the classic Houston vs. Dallas debate!  I am from Dallas, so of course I hate Houston.   ;DActually, IMHO, either Austin or San Antonio is better than Dallas or Houston. 

Houston is way humid with killer mosquitoes (kinda like current home in DC).  Also it is kind of strange because of the lack of zoning. 

But I think it depends on what you are looking for.  I find Dallas to be very superficial, but so is Houston, in a different way.  Houston has great asian food, dallas has great mexican.  Dallas is great for shopping - both are sprawling clusters of suburbs that lack any really unified downtown.

Good luck!

Others have said it on UKY before, once you have lived both the American and UK life, you will never be completely satisfied with just the one.

Oh how did I miss your updated posting, Andrea?!

I'm glad to hear you are settling in...I'm sure it will take some time & maybe buying a house before you really feel it's like 'home' there.  I've really let the Pilates side down since you left...but I'm going to get back to it.