Houston Bound - Goodbye Louisiana

[rardoin]

On a more useful note than my last post....In spite of the usual drawbacks of a large Metro, Houston has many more activities for husband/wife/children than Lafayette. My wife and I travel there many times each year for Opera and other performing arts. Also they have great museums as well as restaurants.

[keakar]

Originally Posted by Mako19

any advice or encouragement it would be appreciated.

yea, they talk funny over there so there is a little language barrier to overcome at first lol.

good luck and best wishes.

[Duck Butter]

Going through this right now myself and I was fighting demons on it for awhile. Hated to uproot with a 5 year old who had friends in the neighborhood and at school, BUT long term it was what was best and its best to do it earlier than later. I am not where I plan on being for the long haul but its a stepping stone to get to where I want to be. Good luck out there. Yo may really enjoy the area

[krazykat]

Richmond is not far from Matagorda. Matagorda is a lot less crowded than Galveston with lots of fishing opportunities.

[Mako19]

The movers are packing up our house as we speak. Thank you for all of the replies. They help tremendously, and I even showed them to my wife to read. A lot of good points in these posts.

When things settle down a little I will PM those that have offered more advice.

This site never ceases to amaze me with all of the members always willing to lend a helping hand.

[juicegoose]

Mako i live in richmond. Give me a pm ring and we'll chat. Flounder run is coming up mightbea good chance to baptize you in tx waters.

Adam

[Cripley]

Mako I have been facing same issue my boss asked me to move to Houston but have kept him at bay on it because I love DeQuincy but I spend a lot of time over there. I will say some good fishing in Galveston bat and lots to do. If u ever need a fishing partner let me know I'm over ther pretty regular fishing.

[all star rod]

Good luck mako....
I lived in the Kingwood / Atascocita area from 96 to 2002. You will like it.

[mr crab]

There is an awesome China town area very near you. We were down there yesterday. Beltway 8 and Bellaire area. Very cool restaurants and markets. Go check out hong kong market. It's a trip.

[mr crab]

And pm me if you need matagorda info. I that used to be my home bay.

[Riceland]

Made the same move a few years ago. Houston grows on you, has it's good and bad sides but overall a pretty good place to be. Lots of interesting things to see and places to go and a lot of other Louisiana folks here as well which made the transition pretty easy.

[Mako19]

Originally Posted by keakar

yea, they talk funny over there so there is a little language barrier to overcome at first lol.

good luck and best wishes.

That's for sure!
I'm going to do everything that I can to prevent my daughter from growing up with a TX accent!

["W"]

Good Luck , on your new enventure I'm sure by years end it will feel like home !

You might have to get on some serious drugs though for that traffic lol

[BananaTom]

Originally Posted by Mako19

If anyone who has any experience moving away from their home town would share any advice or encouragement it would be appreciated.

I moved from Gretna, two doors down from my mother, after the last kid graduated from High School. Took a better job in Pensacola.

One thing, when I came over here, no one knew who I was, or what I did in third grade, or in high school, or my first wife. No one knew Tommy. I was Tom. A fresh new start.

Pretty cool.

You will do fine, and will grow into a better father, in my mind.

[Dogface]

Good luck. Lots of hunting and fishing not too far away.

[shellman]

Good luck on the move Mako..

[BLUE]

Good luck my friend,once yall get settled in and you have a open weekend let me know!

[simplepeddler]

Louisiana is a wonderful place no doubt......but I truly believe the big cities can offer some things to our kids that small towns struggle with

Keep your roots.........make HUGE traditions..........those Texas boys love our cooking......

Face time is awesome......my inlaws live out of state and my paw-in-law is in poor health and cannot travel.

our three year old grandbaby knows how to facetime with them, especially her grand daddy .......he love seeing her.........

It's "normal" for her.

Your kids will likely get the same way.......

Charli has her own Ipad and can facetime them anytime.

You are doing a courageous thing for your family.......there should be more men like you.

I promise I can send good vittles to cook with!!!!

[Smalls]

First off, congratulations on the promotion. Hard work pays off.

Although its not quite the distance, I had to make the same decision 2 years ago when I accepted my current position. Although I lived in California and Texas when I was very young, all I have ever known is Louisiana, and more precisely, Lake Charles. For 18 years, that was my home. Then this opportunity in Baton Rouge presented itself. My wife and I had been married for 2 months, living in a 1 bedroom apartment and pulling in what I was going to make in this new position. Unfortunately, it meant moving 2 1/2 hours away from my family. Not a terrible distance, but enough that I was not going to see them all the time (and by extension, my future children). But by doing so, I know my family is going to have a better life.

If there is one thing I've learned in a very short 2 years, its that distance is difficult when it comes to family, even 2 1/2 hours. You don't see them all the time. You can't be there for every birthday or holiday. You can't be there as quick as you want to be when something goes wrong.

But when you are with them, its more special than any time you spent with them before. Holidays are really special, especially going and staying with my parents. I probably enjoy that more than when I lived in town. Its just a different feeling. Reminds me of when I was in high school.

I also feel like my wife and I have grown more being away from our families. We've grown closer to each other. Stepped out of that comfort zone.

Baton Rouge isn't exactly Houston (although it feels that way sometimes, neither has culture, or people that know how to drive!), but both are different in their own ways. We also chose not to live in the city, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've always liked Houston though (aside for traffic). The museums are amazing (especially the museum of natural science). For it being Texas, they have some decent Cajun food (Louisiana transplants like yourself), and good food PERIOD. Go check out the Refinery Whiskey and Burgers. And Saltgrass, if you've never been. My aunt has lived in the Houston area for a long time, and I don't think they would ever move back to LA.

If I was forced to live in any big city, it would be Houston.

Good luck man. Everything will be great.

[Elkhunter49]

Let me add one thing to my post from yesterday. I fished Galveston Bay for 18 years (about 5-6 times a month) and while any decent sized body of water near 4 million people is going to see a lot of traffic you can always find a spot or two to yourselves. Galveston bay is an incredible Trout and Flounder fishery and the TPWD has done an incredible job managing it. The redfish fishing is for the most part stupid easy and some days it's hard to find the trout because of them. If you get a map of the bay PM me and I'll share a few spots with you! Good Luck with your move!!