What about the fact that the weather in Texas is too hot and that, from what I read online at least, public transportation stinks? It'd be nice to live in a city where a car isn't required for every trip. Maybe there are places in Texas like that. I currently live in a hot and humid part of the country with no public transportation. It would be nice to get away from that.

Shh! Stop telling people about Texas!

Gentrification in Houston screwed my buddy out of a house...it's getting hard to find a 2,000 sq. ft. two story for less than two hundred thousand near the city center. ;)

I'm considering moving to Houston early next year. Are there any resources I can use to educate myself about the different parts of the city in terms of quality and cost of living?

So, Padmapper is a useful tool, but you'll get the most mileage out of HAR (http://www.har.com/) for finding a place to live. Generally, Midtown and the Heights are nice places to move to, although the southwest area near the 610 loop is somewhat undervalued and pretty decent to live at.

Optimize for living near easy access to either the light-rail, bus-stops, or the highways--59 and 45 are the big ones, the 610 loop is as well. Don't live in the Galleria area--too expensive and the traffic is shitty.

Basically, living nearish to downtown or the universities is a good idea. You can get very cheap places if you move outside Beltway 8, but the commute time sucks rocks. Inside 610 is the best if you can swing it.

If you find yourself in town, drop me a line, and we can grab beers--I'll link you in with some of my startup folks here.

Thanks a lot for the info. And yeah I'll definitely contact you if I do end up moving there!