What should I do with 6 months in Houston?

December 28, 2018 7:52 PM

My partner is relocating to Houston for 18 months for work. We're both from Melbourne, Australia. I've always wanted to live overseas so I'm going to go as well! But what does one DO when their partner will be working all the time?

I am a dentist and my partner is an engineer. He'll leave around March next year and I'm thinking of going around June. The US doesn't recognise my credentials without 1-2 years of extra study, so I won't be working. We've both agreed that in order for me not to build up any resentment or boredom about being the trailing SO, I should find something productive/meaningful to do.

I feel a bit lost especially since it was me who pushed for the move in the first place (knowing he's always wanted to work in the US, and myself having a moment of total FOMO). Now I feel like the cat who demands you open the door only to sit and just stare through the doorway.

I know however that I will definitely regret not going. For some reason I have just been completely unable to make a decision about what to do when there.

Some ideas I have are:
- Study a short course/certificate program in data science or health informatics - I do have strong interests in these areas and plan to pursue them once I'm back in Australia. But which course and where ??
- Volunteer at a dental school or research lab - not sure if useful but will give me something to do without spending too much
- Do heaps of dental courses - to upskill for when I come back - the best courses will be in other cities/states however
- Travel a bunch - without the SO
- Just settle for being a housewife and walk dogs during the day

Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated, including Houston-specific tips! Also, any tips on moving for your working partner would be appreciated. I don't know anyone who's done this, so I'm in new territory here.

posted by sockitysock to Work & Money (18 answers total)

Go to tx/rx labs one of the most bad-ass hackerspaces on the planet, if that sort of thing is up your alley.
posted by smcameron at 8:11 PM on December 28, 2018

Are you willing to travel? The US is big and travel is cheap. What I did to keep my sanity as a trailing spouse: exercise, exploring the local area, learning at the local university and travel. It is only 6 months and you can get a lot of neat travel around Texas with a theme like BBQ, chicken fried steak, beer, tacos. Texas is rich in food experiences and being Australian gets you free beers. I am sure local mefites will have a lot of things to suggest to eat up those 6 months.
posted by jadepearl at 8:15 PM on December 28, 2018

Have you ever wanted to write a book or create some sort of art, but felt like you didn't have time?
posted by stormyteal at 9:20 PM on December 28, 2018

How about immersing yourself in something totally Texan? I’d learn bull riding!
posted by Middlemarch at 9:44 PM on December 28, 2018

Houston has an amazing arts scene. If you are into the visual arts, I would try to check out all of the museums there: Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel, the Orange Show, all of the public art along Buffalo Bayou, Contemporary Craft Center. A lot of these places also offer classes, if you ever wanted to try your hand at expressing yourself artistically!

I would also try to hit all of Texas Monthly’s best bbq places in the Houston metro area. The list comes out every other summer, so there should be a new list by the time you’re there. It’s a list that is kind of controversial in a fun way; everyone has their favorite spot, but it’s a good place to start! Also, Houston is a great food city beyond bbq - seafood, Cajun, Vietnamese, Chinese - Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the US and our food shows it.

Maybe you could try learning a language?
posted by topophilia at 11:25 PM on December 28, 2018

Travel! The US is extremely diverse, much more so than Australia. Go to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean too. Even South America and Europe - both will be much closer to you from Houston than from Melb, and you'll be able to do South America without any jet lag.
posted by sunflower16 at 12:21 AM on December 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

houston is a big city with lots to do and see but if you find yourself wanting to travel a bit then both austin and new orleans are not too far away. both are uniquely american in their own ways that are different from each other and houston.

i cannot recommend dallas.
posted by lescour at 3:37 AM on December 29, 2018 [4 favorites]

As previously mentioned, Houston has a great fine arts scene. There is also a great symphony orchestra, one of the country's top opera companies, and several great theater companies.

If you're interested in educational pursuits, Rice is a top university.

There is a very interesting and diverse culinary scene in Houston.

You're not that long a drive from New Orleans, or from the Hill Country.
posted by slkinsey at 6:20 AM on December 29, 2018

For non-degree classes, I've gone to Rice University and Lonestar Community College.

You can also volunteer at several museums.

There are also a ton of community theatres who love volunteers.
posted by rakaidan at 6:22 AM on December 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you have time, with no immediate plans, you might check this out.

http://www.volunteerhou.org/need/

Houston is huge and deals with all the issues major cities have, so if you’re inclined you may find helping others to be very rewarding.
posted by kittygrandma at 6:50 AM on December 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

Would the US recognize you as a dental hygienist? Don't know if that is a thing in Australia, but in the US the actual teeth cleaning and taking x-rays at a routine checkup is usually performed by a hygienist, which I think is a two year education program here. Then the actual dentist looks at the x-rays, pokes around your mouth for 60 seconds, and if all is fine moves to the next patient (while charging you $80 for that 1 minute).

Might give you an opportunity to work at least part-time if it's an option.
posted by COD at 7:03 AM on December 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Couple of notes from a Houstonion now living abroad:

Do you know where you're going to be living in Houston? The city/metro-area is probably two hours drive long by two hours drive wide, with a lot of that being heavily suburban. Not a knock on it, but it all changes what's readily available.

Completely agree with the school. Rice, UH, and the various community colleges make it pretty easy and convenient to take courses on a non-degree plan, as well as offer a ton of sprint-type certification programs.

Travel is easy, but does take a bit of planning, depending on what you want. IAH (the largest airport) and Hobby (smaller, closer in, Southwest Airlines (regional low(er) cost carrier's hub) have direct connections to just about anywhere on the planet and most US destinations are reachable within 2-3 hours. I made a point to take a lot of weekend-trips when working there, and a leave-Friday-afternoon, back-Sunday-night jaunt was a great way to see a lot of places that I wouldn't necessarily have made a point to go to for holiday.

Eat everything. Being blunt about my hometown, Houston can be a very easy, very comfortable place to live, but it's grown a bit more of a pain in the last few years as the city expands and things get more expensive (still cheap compared to much of the rest of the US, but more expensive than before)... but the food. is. brilliant.

Eat fajitas and smoked salsa at el Tiempo, get breakfast Tacos at Brother's Taco House, and burn your mouth with the best tacos al pastor that $1.50 will buy you at Taco's Tierra Caliente. Grab Thai lunch at Kanomwan, dinner at Vieng Thai (don't let the old man rattle you, he's a lovable grouch), hit up the Kolache Factory when you want a breakfast-in-the-car (if you're not from a car culture in Melbourne... ... well ... that'll be a bit of a culture change), get the queso, fajita chimichanga or chile relleno (and an appointment with a cardiologist) at Chuy's, hit up Bistro Le Cep for their Sunday three-course-deal when you're on the west side, and the best. BBQ. in. the. world. at R&K on the east side (tell Ron that the kid from the Port who moved away says hello, he'll feed you samples of meats he's had marinating for what you'll swear was three weeks). ... I have opinions about food, and it's good in TX. I'm sure I'm missing a half dozen of my favourites.

Houston's formal culture (museums/symphony/opera/etc) are world class, and there are perfectly serviceable* options to watch professional Soccer/Baseball/Basketball/American Football. (... and oddly enough if you're a Demons' supporter, shoot me a PM and I'll connect you with the local Aussie Football league. They're surprisingly active, and have a big party for ANZAC day as well as the AFL final every year at a pub with a few hundred people) though in comparison to some places around the world, the lack of ability to walk/bike and the occasionally brutal weather (you'll love our humidity. Pick up your feet and swim through the air...) does mean that there are precious few places to walk around and pick up some of the more informal culture (random musicians, concerts, gatherings, etc) ... but when you know more where you're going to live, you'll find that the same sorts of things advertised in local facebook/meetup/etc groups - the city is developing that pretty rapidly, as long as you don't mind driving to wherever the thing-that-day/night will be.

Go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Once a year, for three weeks, the complex of stadiums/arenas which started with the Astrodome are turned into a massive extravaganza of carnival (in the roller-coasters-set-up-in-a-parking-lot sense, not the satirical and debaucherous parade sense), rodeo, music, food, and livestock show.

Enjoy! We're a friendly folk, and like to talk, for the most part. Don't mind the May floods or the occasional hurricane.

*depending on the year
posted by Seeba at 8:01 AM on December 29, 2018 [5 favorites]

I agree with the "travel" and "eat" factions, but if you'd like to keep your hand in, I'd recommend contacting a dental charity like healthcare for the homeless and explain your situation. Even if they can't have you do surgeries or more involved procedures, I bet they'd be happy to have you help in some way, and volunteering with a hard earned skill set is such a rewarding thing.
posted by theweasel at 8:56 AM on December 29, 2018 [2 favorites]

Check out the Houston Area Trails and More group if you are interested in hiking and camping. They hike very regularly in Houston and nearby areas, and usually eat out afterwards. They can also point you toward other groups if you prefer shorter/longer/camping only activities.
posted by beaning at 9:26 AM on December 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

You could absolutely do dental assistant relief work. This would be filling in for an assistant on medical/personal leave, usually 12 weeks or less. I worked for 2 dentists and an orthodontist, none required RDA credentials, just experience. In Texas, you would need to pass an exam to be able to take x-rays. A dental staffing agency might have interesting opportunities for you, there are plenty in the Houston area.

If you enjoy walking dogs, Houston has plenty of foster and volunteer opportunities particularly in June/July when there are more births and puppies around.
posted by txtwinkletoes at 9:52 AM on December 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

Live in Houston, spouse of a specialty dentist.

* The UT dental school here will accept you as a volunteer faculty without a US credential, but you will need to go through their qualifying process. This'll take 3-6 months, depending on your speciality.
* Most CE turns out to be on the weekends. There are longer sessions scattered around the country, but even those try and use the weekend as much as possible since they've found that dentists don't like closing the office if they can avoid it. There is also online CE available
* You might also want to see where/when your specialty has their annual conference.

Feel free to MiMail if you want to talk to my wife directly, she's not on here.
posted by Runes at 3:07 PM on December 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

I (sort of) did this, also moving from Australia to the US. I was able to get a work permit, but had to wait some months for it to come through, so wasn't able to legally work for about 3-ish months.

I did a lot of the things you're suggesting -- volunteering in my field as well as more traditional ways (libraries, shelters, parks), studying (not as seriously as what you're suggesting, I did cooking classes and such, which I do recommend. It's nice to learn things for fun), traveling -- and they are all good ideas.

Resentment and boredom are both realities you're wise to be wary of. I think giving yourself schedules and making sure you're doing something every weekday (even if it's a long bike ride, or cooking an elaborate meal or exploring a new neighborhood) is really important, or you're going to have a lot of days where your partner comes home tired from work and just wants to zonk out and you're dying to go out or just get a lot of human interaction.

I found making new friends hard but really important. Even if you're not a hugely social person, it is a dramatic shift to suddenly be somewhere where you only know one person and can't just call up an old friend or family member to grab coffee. So I recommend putting a lot of effort into that -- meetups and sports and volunteering and whatever you can do to meet people. Your partner can also help by making an effort to befriend people at work and to invite you along to social work things where appropriate. (And, conversely, by sometimes choosing not to go out with work friends and leaving you home alone).

Also, there's no shame in the befriending other Australians/expats game. I was dead set against it at first, but the culture gap can be bigger than you might expect, and it's nice to occasionally have people who understand your specific frustrations, get your jokes, and can explain to you what, say, Americans call a GP when you realise no one knows what you're talking about.

Finally -- and you may be well ahead of me here -- but make sure your visa allows you to do what you're interested in doing in terms of studying and volunteering. IANAL, but I think some practical educational training or volunteering at a for-profit company isn't allowed on an H4 visa, for instance.
posted by retrograde at 8:06 PM on December 29, 2018 [1 favorite]

I live here! It's generally pretty great, but be aware that summer here -- May through September -- is brutally hot and humid.

HOWEVER, we allow for that, and there's plenty to do.

Do you know what part of town you'll be in? Houston is enormous, and the bulk of the cool stuff is in the urban core (like, well, every other major city).

As has been noted, arts here is GREAT. We have a wonderful set of museums, but the real jewel in the crown is the performing arts (IMO), including & especially at the indie/avant garde level (check out The Catastrophic Theatre in particular).

Food here is also amazing, at every price point, and in a ridiculous number of genres. Seeba is giving you good advice here; I'll just add Guadalupana on Dunlavy for migas.

If you've never been to a US Major League Baseball game, then I strongly suggest you do so here. The Astros are, oddly, not bad these days, but the real joy of in-person baseball is only slightly impacted by the quality of home team play. It's a distillation of a certain kind of Americana. Plus, the Astros park is very nice & centrally located (downtown). Fun fact: while it's currently named "Minute Maid Park," I enjoy continuing to use its birth name: Enron Field. LOL.

What are your hobbies? Houston has great communities for all sorts of things. I'm very at home in the local craft beer and bicycling communities; if either of those are your bag, let me know and I'll get you hooked up with the right folks!

Obviously, memail me if you have any questions you don't want to post here.

(Confidential to lescour: Me either.)
posted by uberchet at 9:06 AM on December 31, 2018 [1 favorite]