Where To Next?
By: Brad Baur
Coming from Sacramento to Houston, a question that I receive a lot is where I would want to live after Rice. This is because Texas is essentially California’s polar opposite. Before coming to Rice, I had lived all my previous 18 years in a mid-sized suburb of Sacramento called Rocklin. My friends (most of whom stayed in California) from home are eager to hear about the differences between these places. Additionally, most of my family lives in the Bay Area and they want to hear if I like it in Texas so far because I am the only family member to move out of California. My experiences have caused me to develop a unique perspective on the ideal location where I would want to live.
When asked where I want to live after Rice many different ideas come to mind. To figure this out I reflect on the past and think about the future that I want to have. I usually draw back to my experiences living in both Texas and California and the places I have travelled to. Moving to Texas in the summer, I was shocked by the humidity and lack of nature. I even went as far as reconsidering why I went to Rice because of this. Through my time at Rice University, I have found many things that I like about Houston and Rocklin that I would want to combine into an ideal city.
Looking to the future, I want to live in a place that optimizes all my goals of pursuing a high achieving career, active lifestyle, and recreational activities. I want to be in a balanced city that has many things to offer. I want to live in a city that offers many outdoor activities because this is one of my favorite hobbies. Part of this is the weather of the city and not living in a city that is too cold such as the Midwest. Another factor that I will consider is the nature surrounding the city. I am very into outdoor activities so I would like to live near nature. Some of my favorite memories from my childhood were going on hikes with my parents in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. I distinctly remember the stunning beauty of the California Poppies and rafting on the American River. Additionally, I want to be in a city that has many opportunities professionally. However, I would not want to live in a city that is too big and feels overwhelming. Long term I want to be in a place that has many recreational activities that I can do on the weekends.
Based on my long-term preferences I can analyze the places that I have lived to see where they have fallen short and exceeded expectations. I enjoyed many of the aspects of living in Rocklin, California. One of my favorite parts about living in Rocklin was the strong community. Rocklin is a suburban town of nearly 50,000 people. It had most of the amenities of a big city such as the movie theaters, Top Golf, a gym, and even a water park while having the charm of a small town. Additionally, it had a great location as it was in the middle of Tahoe and the Bay Area (each about an hour and a half away). Because of this, I have many distinct memories of experiencing beautiful parts of the country on a consistent basis. Another factor that made Rocklin appealing is that most of my family is from the Bay Area, so I was able to see them. One of my least favorite parts about Rocklin is that it did not have the diversity of a big city. After being in Rocklin for 20 years I had pretty much done everything, and leisure activities became very repetitive. This caused my friends and I to be very creative and create activities such as the “milk mile”. Comparing my experience to Houston, these are two very different cities. One aspect of Houston that I have enjoyed that Rocklin lacked was that it has more activities going on. I never have a shortage of new restaurants to try with my friends. Furthermore, the diversity of the city allows me to never get bored and try new experiences constantly. Some of these include trying new foods, seeing the Astros play, the Houston Rodeo, and skyline views. As I start my professional career being in a large city with abundant opportunities has been one of the many benefits as well. One thing that I miss about Rocklin is the access to nature. One memorable experience I had was when my friends and I would go boating in the summer and go water skiing. When we were on the water we would find rocks to jump off of.
Based on my preferences, I have narrowed down my list of long-term cities that I would want to live in. From my experience traveling, I have enjoyed the cities on the west coast near Rocklin. I have also enjoyed the cities in Texas and Tennessee that I have stayed in. I believe that living in the research triangle in North Carolina would be a great fit for me. This place offers plentiful access to jobs and has abundant access to nature nearby such as beaches and mountains. I think this would best fit my active lifestyle. Another factor is that the weather is better than Houston. Nashville is a similar sized city to the research triangle that offers many of the same benefits. It is surrounded by plenty of lakes which is reminiscent of my time in California. Reflecting on this question has caused me to realize the complexities that go into finding an ideal place to live and to consider if my ideal city even exists. Even if I cannot combine California’s Sunsets with Houston’s skyline views I can still have a fulfilling life by embracing what a city has to offer.