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<p>Chicago was ranked #5 happiest by The Daily Beast. “Fun” is relative. </p>
<p>Having immense academic competition, a quirky social scene, and a football team that hasn’t won a major bowl game in 60 years isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. But if you go to Rice, it is.</p>
<p>There isn’t “immense academic competition”, this isn’t JHU. And considering most of the top 20 schools don’t even have D1-FBS football teams, I don’t see how not winning a major bowl game is all that bad.</p>
<p>The Daily Beast ranked colleges based on stress levels. </p>
<p>JHU - #15, competitive academics - #14
Rice - #22, competitive academics - #17</p>
<p>I would argue that Rice is on the same competitive level as JHU, aside from the pre-med kids. Rice’s incoming SAT scores are higher, so I’d expect a lot of competition.</p>
<p>I don’t see a competitive academics ranking on The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>[The</a> Most Stressful Colleges | The Daily Beast Presents: Most Stressful Colleges | Comcast.net](<a href=“Discovery Hub - News & Technology”>Discovery Hub - News & Technology)</p>
<p>If you like Rice, that’s all that matters!</p>
<p>The OP didn’t even tell us what country he’s from. His idea of what’s conservative can be very different. I met a French guy that told me no one in France is “conservative” as defined in American context. Not sure how true his statement is; but the point is the concepts of political left and right are subject to national context.</p>
<p>I’m from Denmark, but trust when I say I’m conservative I mean on an American level. I’m very interested in American politics, so… Anyway, this post isn’t so much about politics, as I said, I don’t care being in liberal environments, it’s more about the general vibes/athmospheres of the places I mentioned. Oh, and I love big cities by the way! The bigger the better!</p>
<p>*Quote:
What the heck? there’s little “culture shock” in Tuscaloosa either.</p>
<p>I wasn’t aware that the 5th largest city in the state was the middle of nowhere. Nor did I imply that I was referring to Tuscaloosa.
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<p>You need to check a map. T town, while it is a good-sized city, is in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>Big cities like Paris and London? </p>
<p>Many US “major” cities are small for many “big city” persons (I grew up in Hong Kong). Also, most cities in the US are not pedestrian frieldly and very spread out, unlike European big cities. Houston is one example. If you don’t have a car, it can be frustrating. Forget about relying on public transit; it’s third-world and terrible in most places. Use Google map and cyber tour with street view to see for yourself.</p>
<p>If you want cities with many people walking around and where you can rely on public transit to go to various parts of the city, stick with NYC, Chicago, Boston, or San Francisco. Boston and SF are actually small when compared to London/Paris but they are vibrant with plenty of people on streets. Some cities like, say, San Jose and Phoenix are actually bigger but they feel much smaller, less cultured, less vibrant, and sorta like clusters of suburbs because they are spread out (San Jose residents call San Francisco “the city”).</p>
<p>If you like big cities you should also be considering Chicago and Northwestern.</p>
<p>My boyfriend is British, Italian, and American. His Italian family lives in Houston and they love it. There is a great variety of food, art (both the Menil and MFA Houston are great), and music to take in. There is a huge Asian shopping mall, little places to get pretty authentic Indian, Japanese, and Chinese food (actually good Dim Sum!).
But the public transit is horrible. I went to Rice for a semester and couldn’t get anywhere! Also the climate is pretty bad imo. It is hot, and muggy, if it is not raining. If you have any issues such as chronic bronchitis or asthma, don’t live in Houston!
Houston is a liberal city, but you will find the whole spectrum of people at Rice. The Rice Village area is nice, but downtown can be dicey and there are some areas of Houston with high crime rates. At Rice you can be pretty insulated from that, however.</p>
<p>If you want to enjoy the city, you’ll need public transportation, so look into schools located at Philadelphia and the Washington, DC area, as well as Portland, Chicago, and Minneapolis/StPaul. Don’t forget to look for “college towns”, which are actually excellent to experience “cities” for young people without some downsides of urban living.</p>
<p>And yes there would be a major culture shock for a European coming to the US (outside of NYC and Boston) but it wouldn’t be restricted to Houston.</p>
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<p>It is pretty easy to understand why a Dane might be intererested in American politics, especially when comparing the political and government landscape in Scandinavia. </p>
<p>I happen to think that the OP would find spending time in Texas truly fascinating – although the culture shock might be different than expressed here. It might be a culture shock to see a state that is definitely pro-business/pro-growth and does not (yet) believe in the a birth-to-grave welfare system or in the values of the force of the unions.</p>
<p>The OP might also witness first-hand how some are determined to transform the US into a a collection of nanny-states by borrowing most of major economic mistakes made by the European countries, and especially in the North. </p>
<p>Fwiw, I am wondering where there are more inhabitants. In Houston or in the entire Denmark. :)</p>
<p>I looked up some numbers and Houston Metropolitan area population beats Denmark - 6.18 Million to 5.6 million.</p>
<p>Oops, too political. Apologies to the post watchers.</p>
<p>To summarize: Coming from European sensibilities, you are likely to like Rice. You are likely to dislike Houston. US college life, though, on campuses with few commuters, centers around the college itself and a few adjacent areas that cater to the students, so it should not be considered a deal-breaker.</p>
<p>you’ll love Houston - great restaurants, great museums (all of which are within a short walk from your dorm), world class opera, symphony and ballet, more theaters than any city not named NYC, professional and college sports, vibrant international business city loaded with people from all over who have migrated here to make a living.</p>
<p>Regarding the weather - its not that bad. You can play golf or any other sport 12 months out of the year. It is hot from June - September, but from October to May the weather is fantastic…that corresponds nicely with the fall and spring semesters.</p>
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<p>Xiggi,</p>
<p>Can you elaborate? Are you implying they want what we have? </p>
<p>I thought most Danes are happy with their own, or at least happier when compared to how we feel about ours. They are ranked the happiest people in the world. Their economy are considered the best governed by Economist. But then maybe what they have goes well with them but not us. We probably have more corrupted government and more dishonest people that abuse just about any social programs.</p>
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<p>It’s all relative. A lot of “great” restaurants are just “meh” to me. Houston has ZERO Michelin starred resturants.
[List</a> of Michelin starred restaurants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Michelin_starred_restaurants]List”>List of Michelin 3-star restaurants - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Can’t comment on opera, symphony, or ballet as I am not familiar with them.</p>
<p>FYI (ignore the title; view what the locals wrote): [Houston</a> 2nd ‘Most Boring City In The World’ (Howe, Wellington: theatre, high school) - City-Data Forum](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/forum/houston/1549355-houston-2nd-most-boring-city-world.html]Houston”>Houston 2nd 'Most Boring City In The World' (Howe, Wellington: theatre, high school) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum)</p>
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<p>Not at all. My take is that an 17-19 years with an interest in US politics might wonder why the United States is determined to borrow some of the welfare policies that have made Europe what it is today. Perhaps, it is nice to see elementary teachers valued as high as doctors and attorneys in prestige and … compensation, but one has to worry about how stimulating an environment it is for the young and the entrepreneurial mind. </p>
<p>Of course, they are positive elements:</p>
<p><a href=“Businessweek - Bloomberg”>Businessweek - Bloomberg;