Looking for current advice/experience of living in the Houston area

Hello!! I am in some final stages of choosing between Houston or Little Rock. Chicago was in the deck there too but I think the cold winters would kill me. Born and raised in CA (Los Angeles and SF Bay Area), spent some years in Hawaii, which is also a somewhat west coast vibe, I have never lived outside of those two states though so a little unsure of what to expect. I saved up well over the last years and would like to buy a condo.

Recently divorced in the last 6 months and really just wanting to get a fresh start. Despite the west coast background, I'm much more conservative. I left my job back in Hawaii since I have no idea where I'll end up, but I'm very well qualified in the automotive field so I'm not concerned about settling back into career type work.

What I'm looking for is a little bit of a lay of the land. I'd like to get into dating again sometime, right now I'm really just enjoying time to spend on myself and reflect upon life. I don't need or want a crazy dating scene, and in a city as big as Houston I can't imagine it's dead, but any tips would be great.

I really enjoy outdoor activities that involve burning gas and going fast. Haha. I'd like to get a jet ski, find a racetrack for my track bike, and get a new dirt bike. Far as I can tell Texas is pretty flat but I'd imagine places for my hobbies can be found in the area?

In terms of weather, I love hot weather. Some days were 115 degrees in the valley in LA, and I was totally fine. Hot, but felt good. Hawaii was far more humid, I prefer humidity to dry heat. I'd imagine that the seasonal weather is somewhat reversed in Houston? As in, people mostly stay indoors all summer, but Sept-May it's fantastic and even gets a little cold late in the year? I also am a fan of extreme weather, so thunderstorms and tropical storms is totally fine by me.

I really loved living in Honolulu and Los Angeles, the city vibe, the Asian and Hispanic markets that sell the BEST food. As I understand it, Houston is more or less one giant suburb, which is fine by me. I'm mostly looking at the Galleria area as I feel League City/Baytown/Galveston may be a little too far out there.

By the way, I'm a 39 year old male. Re-reading this, oh man!! It sounds way more like a really bad dating profile than what I'd intended. Haha!!! Oh boy. My idea was to tell you a little about myself and maybe someone could say "oh yeah, this sounds like your type of place" or "dude, you're crazy" or something, idk. Maybe you'll still call me crazy anyways…

TL;DR, west coast boy wants to move and seeks to know the real talk about this place.

For those who actually read this whole thing and don't fall off their chairs laughing before replying, thanks in advance! 🙂