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Anyone taken a 3week vacation before?
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All my BigLaw has been in Houston but I worked in NYC for many years before law school. Texas is a great legal market, especially Houston. It’s been super hot for over a decade now and global firms have been fighting each other to get a piece of the action - Houston now has half of the V10 and half of the V30 for example. It also tends to be one of the most profitable locations for the firms (Houston is my global firm’s most profitable office for example) which is usually a good place to be.
There is a lot of energy work in Houston, but unless you’re at an old school Texas firm it’s not as much as you’d think. I do zero of it for example. Lots of infrastructure, healthcare, tech, industrial, utilities, and non-oil energy (carbon credits, wind, solar, batteries, etc). Austin is much more tech-focused, Dallas more financial. In my opinion, nothing at all lost vs NYC in quality of work or opportunities these days.
Dozens of firms pay NYC Cravath scale here but there is no state/local tax so we pocket drastically more. First years take home about $2k more per month after taxes vs NYC for example. Plus, cost of living is dramatically lower (Austin is most expensive but still cheaper than NYC, then Dallas, and finally Houston is crazy cheap). Very common to live in a big suburban house, and most associates own houses.
TX is much, much, much more child friendly than NYC. That was part of our motivation to leave NYC after so long, because it’s a really hard place to have kids. Yes it’s obviously not going to live up to NYC’s variety of entertainment and adventure, but Houston/Austin/Dallas are still huge cities with a lot to offer, and if you know where to look you really don’t lose that much. I would agree that TX is the ideal move for people getting married and thinking about kids, while NYC is a “early 20s single trying to do crazy shit and have my NYC experience” crowd, which is what I did out of college.
I agree with the comment about visiting each of these cities. They are pretty different from each other and you’ll want to assess the vibes before moving.
Enthusiast
Incredible! Thank you so much
I moved for my spouse’s job a couple of years ago and still regret it. I miss the energy of NYC, being able to walk everywhere, the endless food options, museums, Broadway etc. On the other hand, if you have / are looking to start a family, Texas is better for that (BL here is more family friendly) and you can actually buy a house / car if that’s something you want to do. We’re looking to move out of TX in the near term.
Mentor
HTX is also tremendous for energy work, not just O&G.
I couldn’t be happier. I started in NY BL as a single guy dedicating 100% to my job and climbing the steep learning curve. It was fantastic to build my foundation as I came from nothing law related in my background. Being able to focus and live and breath the job for the first few years really helped to build the skills I needed to grow down the road.
Fast forward I’m now a 9/10th year with a wife and two kids. Houston BL is definitely the better place to be for me at this point. It allows me to do great work (energy transactional practice) make NY money and save on taxes. Cost of living is definitely lower and has allowed me to save up a decent amount despite carrying two young kids.
Do I miss the energy and hustle bustle of NYC? Absolutely. There are times I get pangs of nostalgia pace walking the sidewalks of 6th ave to get to work or lunch, exploring the village on weeknights etc. but as with most things in life, that was a chapter that I lived through to its fullest and it will always be a part of me. For now, Houston is what I need because it best serves my family.
When our kids are grown up, maybe we’ll move back to the northeast? Who knows.
F
Yes, but I also don’t like the city I’m living in.
Enthusiast
Tell me more!