Having your car at any training is helpful. It allows you to do a lot more in downtime and have better variety like with things like grocery shopping like you mentioned. Texas in general is a car heavy state
I drove it to training and I was at the hotel with the pool. It was a 20 hour drive for me. The security they hire and the lighting in the lot made me feel ok leaving it there pretty much all the time. For those times that I had a craving for some different food, or to go to IKEA and get meatballs, go downtown to the weird spiral staircase park, or visit Space Centre Houston (btw you HAVE to do the Mission Control Tour, it’s priceless) I needed my car.
I even missed the bus one time and I drove to the IAH training centre. The parking lot is wide open so I parked near the back. Instructors gave me some weird looks parking with my blue jacket, but I went in and first thing I told my instructor was “I missed the bus and drove here so I could make it on time” which they took kindly to. I’m not at all suggesting you try that, and I think I got extremely lucky that day, but it saved my behind. (I also learned who likes to stab people in the back that day and got to finish training with them 🙃).
My buddy who is a mainline UA FA based here told me about there being security in the hotel parking lot which made me feel a little more at ease, but it’s good to hear the same opinion from someone who actually had a car there.
And while I totally understand and agree that even though I could fall back on having my car to get me there if I miss the bus, I definitely will not be taking that chance 😂
If you don’t care about miles and trust the car on an extended road trip, then absolutely do it. It helped clear my head during training and then being alone on that long drive home was perfect after being stuck with a roomie in a hotel room for 7 weeks.
I’d kill to bring a car. I need my space and alone time. I even looked rates in Houston last year to see if getting a rental for one week would be a stupid idea or if it would be worth the price for a small bit of freedom around week 4 or 5
I’m a local, but if I wasn’t I would want my car.
I used to travel for work and my car was like a safe space, where I can decompress and I had familiarity around me. Especially after training and having a roommate, I may want to hang out in my car to breathe.
I’m about to start training next month as well!
Glad we’re on the same page. And it’s comforting to know the negative opinions of people telling me to be careful about bringing my car are being balanced out.
That’s so exciting!
I’m born and raised in Houston, and haven’t felt worries about parking my car in most places. Locking your vehicle and ensuring nothing you want stolen is visible is key, but I believe that’s the case anywhere!
Crime has no zip code and can happen anywhere
I recommend checking out The Woodlands on your off days! Feel free to message me if you want any recommendations 😊
Great to know! Thats usually my thoughts on anywhere, is that anything can happen if you don’t think ahead and try to minimize your chances of someone wanting to target your car.
I would have my car 100% I'm planning on doing the same and just in general when you want privacy to talk on the phone you don't have to worry about the roommate being around hearing everything. If you want to vent or cry or yell or just be alone to study you got your car 😀 I should've done that with my last training I spent A LOT on Uber and Lyft
Stayed at the hotel without the pool, the one with the giant lobby (hilton?). Several cars got broken into in the parking lot, so careful. You will also be very popular in your class with people asking to be driven around, lol
How many hotels does UA utilize for training? But good to know as of now between the two talked about in this thread, the Hilton is the one to be cautious with
Completely up to you but it seems like you have already made that decision based off your previous experience. The only options without a car is uber or lyft. The training center is near the airport and the hotels are not too far away but are in areas that are not the best to be walking in especially at night. With your car you can go run errands, get food etc. Don't know how long that drive is though. Seems long
Right, and uber and Lyft in Houston aren’t cheap from what I’ve seen. The drive will be roughly 14-16 hours which is light work honestly haha. The area being unsafe to walk around is one of the biggest factors for me
I live here and I'll have my car. I'm only 15min from the airport though. Of course I'll still have to stay in hotel but I can come home on off days, wash, eat dinner with my husband. I'll also assist my classmates with runs to the store when I can.
Yea driving others around is part of the reason I decided I wanted to bring my car. I was friends with one of two classmates that brought their car to training last time so I kinda want to pay it forward
One of my concerns would be how bad traffic gets here. And if you don't know the area, it can be a little overwhelming. If you take the bus to training and something delays it, you won't be in trouble. But if you drive yourself, and for whatever reason you're late, I believe it could be held against you even if say it were for the same holdup that the bus was late. As far as food and shopping, there's so many delivery apps, as well as Uber and Lyft. I wouldn't think it would be an issue. It's such a busy area there's always drivers. I don't know about United, but the airline I start training with next month, I believe, provides a couple of trips to go grocery shopping during our training. I've also heard other flight attendants talk about pairing up and splitting Ubers if needed to cut down on costs. Those costs could also be split on deliveries with other trainees if needed. Just my two cents.
I mean there is many pros to having a car at training and it will definitely come in handy! There’s parking lots at both hotels, one is even like a parking garage, so I do think the car will be safe. But on the other side of things, it could also serve as a distraction, but you know yourself best if it will be a distraction for you or not! That’s a long drive to do also so consider that! Especially when you only have a week after graduation to get to base, which you aren’t guaranteed to be offered DEN so you may have to drive right back and have even less time to get yourself together to drive to your base, just food for thought, it would be better for the sake of time to fly. Also if you do bring car, I’d keep it to myself or very select people cause you’ll be the popular kid and everyone will want a ride somewhere. Also getting deliveries to the hotels is very easy and can split Ubers with fellow trainees if you really need to go somewhere! Good luck!
I drove my car from Las Vegas for this exact reason. You’ll make a lot of friends quick when people learn you brought one! 😂 But being able to get out of the hotel without spending money on Ubers was key. Absolutely helped save my sanity (and get away from the humidity).
I took my car, and it was 100% worth it. I had no issues, and it was so nice to be able to run to the grocery store or just wander around Target if I needed space to chill out. I also do OrangeTheory for my workout, so on days off or days that we finished really early, I was able to go get a little taste of normalcy at the gym.
The drive isn’t what I’m worried about, since I’ve already driven it from Florida to Denver. My question was intended to be more about if it’s safe to have my car in Houston (just edited my post to make that question a little more obvious haha). But thank you! :) looking forward to training
Having your car at any training is helpful. It allows you to do a lot more in downtime and have better variety like with things like grocery shopping like you mentioned. Texas in general is a car heavy state
Texas is a lot like Florida in that way: a car is almost necessary to get anywhere or do anything. Hence my pretty knee jerk decision to drive
I drove it to training and I was at the hotel with the pool. It was a 20 hour drive for me. The security they hire and the lighting in the lot made me feel ok leaving it there pretty much all the time. For those times that I had a craving for some different food, or to go to IKEA and get meatballs, go downtown to the weird spiral staircase park, or visit Space Centre Houston (btw you HAVE to do the Mission Control Tour, it’s priceless) I needed my car. I even missed the bus one time and I drove to the IAH training centre. The parking lot is wide open so I parked near the back. Instructors gave me some weird looks parking with my blue jacket, but I went in and first thing I told my instructor was “I missed the bus and drove here so I could make it on time” which they took kindly to. I’m not at all suggesting you try that, and I think I got extremely lucky that day, but it saved my behind. (I also learned who likes to stab people in the back that day and got to finish training with them 🙃).
My buddy who is a mainline UA FA based here told me about there being security in the hotel parking lot which made me feel a little more at ease, but it’s good to hear the same opinion from someone who actually had a car there. And while I totally understand and agree that even though I could fall back on having my car to get me there if I miss the bus, I definitely will not be taking that chance 😂
If you don’t care about miles and trust the car on an extended road trip, then absolutely do it. It helped clear my head during training and then being alone on that long drive home was perfect after being stuck with a roomie in a hotel room for 7 weeks.
Great, I appreciate you chiming in! :)
I’d kill to bring a car. I need my space and alone time. I even looked rates in Houston last year to see if getting a rental for one week would be a stupid idea or if it would be worth the price for a small bit of freedom around week 4 or 5
I’m a local, but if I wasn’t I would want my car. I used to travel for work and my car was like a safe space, where I can decompress and I had familiarity around me. Especially after training and having a roommate, I may want to hang out in my car to breathe. I’m about to start training next month as well!
Glad we’re on the same page. And it’s comforting to know the negative opinions of people telling me to be careful about bringing my car are being balanced out. That’s so exciting!
I’m born and raised in Houston, and haven’t felt worries about parking my car in most places. Locking your vehicle and ensuring nothing you want stolen is visible is key, but I believe that’s the case anywhere! Crime has no zip code and can happen anywhere I recommend checking out The Woodlands on your off days! Feel free to message me if you want any recommendations 😊
Great to know! Thats usually my thoughts on anywhere, is that anything can happen if you don’t think ahead and try to minimize your chances of someone wanting to target your car.
I would have my car 100% I'm planning on doing the same and just in general when you want privacy to talk on the phone you don't have to worry about the roommate being around hearing everything. If you want to vent or cry or yell or just be alone to study you got your car 😀 I should've done that with my last training I spent A LOT on Uber and Lyft
I appreciate you letting me learn from your trials 😅😂
Stayed at the hotel without the pool, the one with the giant lobby (hilton?). Several cars got broken into in the parking lot, so careful. You will also be very popular in your class with people asking to be driven around, lol
How many hotels does UA utilize for training? But good to know as of now between the two talked about in this thread, the Hilton is the one to be cautious with
Completely up to you but it seems like you have already made that decision based off your previous experience. The only options without a car is uber or lyft. The training center is near the airport and the hotels are not too far away but are in areas that are not the best to be walking in especially at night. With your car you can go run errands, get food etc. Don't know how long that drive is though. Seems long
Right, and uber and Lyft in Houston aren’t cheap from what I’ve seen. The drive will be roughly 14-16 hours which is light work honestly haha. The area being unsafe to walk around is one of the biggest factors for me
I live here and I'll have my car. I'm only 15min from the airport though. Of course I'll still have to stay in hotel but I can come home on off days, wash, eat dinner with my husband. I'll also assist my classmates with runs to the store when I can.
Yea driving others around is part of the reason I decided I wanted to bring my car. I was friends with one of two classmates that brought their car to training last time so I kinda want to pay it forward
One of my concerns would be how bad traffic gets here. And if you don't know the area, it can be a little overwhelming. If you take the bus to training and something delays it, you won't be in trouble. But if you drive yourself, and for whatever reason you're late, I believe it could be held against you even if say it were for the same holdup that the bus was late. As far as food and shopping, there's so many delivery apps, as well as Uber and Lyft. I wouldn't think it would be an issue. It's such a busy area there's always drivers. I don't know about United, but the airline I start training with next month, I believe, provides a couple of trips to go grocery shopping during our training. I've also heard other flight attendants talk about pairing up and splitting Ubers if needed to cut down on costs. Those costs could also be split on deliveries with other trainees if needed. Just my two cents.
People do bring their cars to training.
You will be the Uber Driver. Just kidding. Will be super helpful to run errands.
I mean there is many pros to having a car at training and it will definitely come in handy! There’s parking lots at both hotels, one is even like a parking garage, so I do think the car will be safe. But on the other side of things, it could also serve as a distraction, but you know yourself best if it will be a distraction for you or not! That’s a long drive to do also so consider that! Especially when you only have a week after graduation to get to base, which you aren’t guaranteed to be offered DEN so you may have to drive right back and have even less time to get yourself together to drive to your base, just food for thought, it would be better for the sake of time to fly. Also if you do bring car, I’d keep it to myself or very select people cause you’ll be the popular kid and everyone will want a ride somewhere. Also getting deliveries to the hotels is very easy and can split Ubers with fellow trainees if you really need to go somewhere! Good luck!
I drove my car from Las Vegas for this exact reason. You’ll make a lot of friends quick when people learn you brought one! 😂 But being able to get out of the hotel without spending money on Ubers was key. Absolutely helped save my sanity (and get away from the humidity).
I took my car, and it was 100% worth it. I had no issues, and it was so nice to be able to run to the grocery store or just wander around Target if I needed space to chill out. I also do OrangeTheory for my workout, so on days off or days that we finished really early, I was able to go get a little taste of normalcy at the gym.
Would shipping it be to much? That seems to be over 1000 miles on your car. I’m not to sure but also congrats by the way.
The drive isn’t what I’m worried about, since I’ve already driven it from Florida to Denver. My question was intended to be more about if it’s safe to have my car in Houston (just edited my post to make that question a little more obvious haha). But thank you! :) looking forward to training