Moving To Houston Part Two

I’m 28 and this is the first time I’ve ever apartment shopped. In Africa we relied on word of mouth and waited three months for utilities. In Abilene there wasn’t much to choose from. Houston is a different story. There are hundreds of apartment complexes in our price range. Our plan was to find a relatively cheap apartment to save a little more for a down payment on a house but after half a dozen visits to apartments in the Westchase area, we realized that we should up our ante to get less dubious neighbors and a clean swimming pool. Houston gets consistently high scores in violent crime and car theft so security was important to us. We ended up with a really nice apartment next to Sam Houston Parkway. Since Houston is also one of the fattest cities in the country, we opted for a third floor apartment. Hopefully trudging up and down stairs with a two year old and groceries while sweating profusely in the humidity will keep me from adding the Houston twenty. We move in five days. My house is mostly packed up. I’ve sold my hideous couch on craigslist. I’m ready to go, but I’ll really miss Austin. I haven’t talked to many people who didn’t offer condolences for moving to Houston; even people from Houston. I’m looking forward to getting to know Houston and I hope that I’ll be pleasantly surprised if Houston doesn’t live up to its reputation.