I'm accompanying my wife for her biz trip for a few days then we'll be having out recce trip for us to look for the area we want to stay at.
We've pretty much shortlisted 2 areas so we'll be looking around those areas in a few days time.
Since this is the first time I'm in Houston, things are pretty interesting. I think that I'll enjoy US more than Paris.
But maybe it's just cos it's my first time here and maybe I'll start grumbling again once the novelty wears of.
One of the key things I like is the ability to socialize, or just being able to communicate is great.
Even though I didn't need to use much French to survive in Paris, being in US has made me realize that being able to communicate with people around me is very important. Simple things like asking what's in the dish or asking for further explanation makes me happier.
As compared with struggling to understand a similar situation in French.
Also, generally, the folks in Houston appear friendlier than the folks in Paris.
Not saying the folks in Paris are unfriendly, just that the folks in Houston are friendlier.
Another thing that makes me appreciate Houston is that there is a lot of space.
Paris was nice compared to Singapore in terms of space and population density. Singapore really has a lot of people squeezed together, in shopping centers, in residential areas, etc...
Paris has less people, there isn't as many high rise buildings so the population density is naturally less.
Well... Houston is even less than that. There's just a lot of space all around, and this is pretty nice.
BUT, due to the abundance of space, there is a need to drive around, cos buildings aren't close to each other.
It's the first time I'm driving with left hand drive. I took 2 days to get used to it. The first day I was quite nervous but it got easier on the 2nd day.
One thing I noticed is that it's not going to be easy for me to get food. Shops are quite far from each other so I'll need to drive often once I move here.
Food isn't that easily accessible. It's not like in SG where we can walk downstairs and decide what to eat from the 20 stalls at the food court.
Food in Houston is pretty much deliberate. We decide where we want to go, then drive over to eat there. There's almost no chance that I'll be walking around and looking for food. That's pretty impossible cos everything is so far from each other. There's really no other reason for me to be "walking around" the area where the shop is. It's not as if there's other things to walk around and see around the eatery.
Eating out isn't particularly cheap. Restaurants cost around US$15 per pax excluding tax and tip, so it will end up around US$20 per pax.
Fast food is cheaper, usually under US$10 per pax depending on what set we order.
Amazingly, there is a buffet lunch at a Hilton hotel around this area at US$7.99 per pax. The spread isn't a lot. There isn't seafood and such, but the food is still pretty good and considered quite cheap considering what is being served. After tips it's aroung US$9.50.
Eating out is definitely not sustainable cos I'm getting kinda tired of western food. I'll definitely be cooking once I move here. I haven't checked out a supermarket yet. Probably will do so in the next few days.
I've been watching American TV these couple of days when my wife is at work. I haven't watched TV much when I'm in SG, and in Paris we didn't subscribe to any channels so we don't have any programs in Paris. I truly had forgotten how many commercials there are on TV. Every 15 minutes there is a commercial break and there's soooo many products being promoted. It's probably the same in Paris and SG. Just that since I haven't watched TV for so long, I had forgotten all about it. There really is a lot of advertisements especially for products during this festive season.
Anyway that's all for this post. I'll try to post one more time this week before I go back to Paris.
Similarly, Houston has it's good and bad points, depending on how an individual likes the environment. I probably haven't seen enough yet to make a truly good assessment of the place. It's going to be interesting to see how my impression of the place changes. From a first impression to whatever I will feel about Houston 5 months later.
Stay tuned.
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