fishboat

Over my working years I was once offered to move to the Detroit area as part of a plant move. I spent a fair amount of time there getting the new plant going, but passed on the move. I didn't bike there, but found the environs rather depressing. There are some nice suburbs within 45-75 minutes of the downtown area(a couple people moved to Ann Arbor), but traffic, no snowplowing in the parts of the city I experienced, and the rather rundown look of many areas..pass.

Was also offered a job/move to Charlotte. I visited the Charlotte area and drove around the suburban areas south and south-east of Charlotte proper for several days looking at housing. I passed. The downtown area(10 years ago) was a ghost town after 5pm. Cultural opportunities..didn't see much existing or on the horizon. The people assisting us with the move mentioned, "..you move here WITH a job, not move here LOOKING for a job.." as opportunities are limited with the huge population growth. Naturally, that varies with profession. The suburbs...the area is growing so fast they(NC & South Carolina where LOTS of folks live that work in the Charlotte area) have a hard time keeping up with building adequate transportation infrastructure. You can get in a traffic jam in the Fort Mills area during the morning rush hour just getting out of your neighborhood, let alone on a more major arterial road. People drive fast as they're often delayed in getting where they want to go. Commuting traffic on the arterials and expressways can be really bad.

Once out of the city and on the more rural 2-lane roads...I found them to be very narrow roads(lanes). I had a claustrophobic feeling driving on them. I had a dump truck ahead of me one day and I swear the lane width was just a couple inches wider on each side than the tires. Zero shoulder..just a ditch, no bike lanes. The road surfaces are very good in general, but the terrain is mild up and down and lots of curves. Not great site lines. I thought many times as I was driving around many areas, "I'll die riding these roads". The longest (non-MTB) bike trail I could find in the Charlotte area was downtown and just over a mile long. There are MTB trails a ways outside the city. I'm from the Milwaukee area (60+ years now) that has an extensive trail system where you can ride all over the city, suburbs, and state from downtown. Road riding state-wide isn't an issue as we have a more-conscious bike culture. I have family about 30 minutes north of Charlotte. They moved there 3-4 years ago(both professional, just out of college). They love it. He used to ride bike though has hung it up for the time being as there's no place he finds desirable to ride. Different people value different things.

While I'm sure there are plenty of road riders in the Charlotte area..I chose not to be one of them. More power to them though...

Houston..never been there, no desire to visit Texas..it's a big world and there's lots of places to visit. Austin is a bright spot, but suffering from extensive growth, much like Asheville. TX in general..not my cup of java.

DC..I've been there on business and a biking vacation. Would like to visit the area again. While traffic can be a challenge, I generally like the area. Seems to be very bike-able, at least from riding there and research on biking areas I've done. I think there's a healthy bike culture and infrastructure there and lots of cultural opportunities in general.

If I HAD to move to one of these 4 cities..I'd go DC, no brainer. If I were you, I'd do some research on the secondary tier of cities where you might find good employment as I'd bet there are other options that are more desireable than the 4 cities you've mentioned.