No. 107: My Move to Chicago

As I said in my previous post, I have a big announcement to make – last month I recieved two very competitive job offers from insurance firms in Chicago, both of which involved predictive analytics. While the choice between the two firms wasn’t easy, the choice to move to Chicago was – I have lived in Houston for more than two decades of my life and in Texas for almost all of it. As a young adult, I think moving to a city where I know almost no one would be good for my personal development and maturity. My opinion is that the lack of close social ties within this city will encourage me to make decisions on my own without relying on other people – the safety net of familiarity.

It’s a shame that I’m leaving Houston right when the economy is booming in Texas. People are flocking to the state and its cities are experiencing high growth rates. Having lived near the center of Houston for three years, I’ve seen the area rapidly transform as the number of modern, high-rise buildings have started to multiply at an astonishingly brisk pace. Areas that were once considered to be run-down, crime-infested slums such as the Heights are now considered some of the best places to move for someone fresh out of college.

As Houston metamorphosizes into a modern city, I’m sure the infrastructure and mass transit will become more accomodating to the influx of people coming here to find jobs in the energy sector. However, in its current state the city is a long ways from matching the transit systems of more developed establishments such as Manhattan or Chicago, or even that of smaller cities like Washington D.C. or San Francisco. Most people still need a car to accomplish simple tasks like picking up groceries, or even visiting friends within the same neighborhood. At the same time, Houston shows a lot of promise – the lack of zoning laws ought to make it easier for developers to construct high-density residential complexes to absorb the increased demand for housing – hopefully avoiding (or at least mitigating) a property bubble like the current one in the Bay Area. I have hopes that one day high-speed rail will connect the major metropolitan areas of Texas, theoretically allowing a person to live in Austin and work in Houston with less than an hour commute between, which would enable people to seek the best job opportunities in other cities without having to uproot their families – for example, a family based in Dallas might have a mother who works in Austin and a father who works in Houston – a mass transit system like this would provide the perfect combination of career flexibility and domestic stability that families need.

However these dreams are a long ways off. Even if such projects were to commence today, it would take an entire generation to realize the benefits from the investment At my age I can’t wait for something like this to be completed, or even to be approved in the first place. So, I have packed up my bags and moved across the country to experience city life while I still can, in a place where the population density is more than three times higher. So far, I’ve been here for a week – it takes me 15 minutes to walk to work, and there is a grocery store right across from my apartment. The night life is amazing, and trains and cabs can take me anywhere I might need to go. At the moment, Chicago can provide me with a lifestyle that Houston can’t – although I hope that as Houston matures, new residents and the next generation of college graduates can enjoy the features and opportunities that a modern city provides.