I worked in Houston for eight years and one of the happiest moments of my life was seeing Houston in my rear view mirror for the last time. The heat, crime and traffic are horrendous.
I moved here in 1989, it is the place to be for pay and cost of living for a lot of engineering.
The key to happiness here for me has been choosing a job with flexible hours so you can minimize commute time and live outside the city.
I’ve moved away twice but in the long run, for my type of engineering (oil/gas) this is the world capital.
Funny thing...I’ve lived in Houston off and on for 50 years, give or take. I’ve been able to avoid the heat, traffic and crime, for the most part. But that’s just me. ;-)