[sean1the1]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

It really depends on your definition of "good" though, lol.. because I like both.

IMHO, Texas is not as good as Florida when it comes to beaches and tropical foliage and that's about it.

I really feel in love with the interstates in Houston, and I really like the Ft Bend county, and the woodland area the galleria, etc... The weather in Houston is like Orlando without the Rain.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by sean1the1

I really feel in love with the interstates in Houston, and I really like the Ft Bend county, and the woodland area the galleria, etc... The weather in Houston is like Orlando without the Rain.

Yeah, I live near The Woodlands, you have pretty good tastes as Ft. Bend County has our largest median household income at $82,571, and The Woodlands (Montgomery County) is also near the top at $66,657.

The weather sucks from June-October, but the rest of the year it's beautiful!

My biggest loves here is the diversity, not just with people but with cultures, places to go, things to do, the economy, the pride that people have in living here, ect, ect..

Mostly though, is the cost of living!

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by Californianz

FL is way lower cost of living than CA - I can't see that changing. No state personal income tax. Housing here is dirt cheap. It depends on what you mean by "middle class". In FL that might mean owning a $200K house vs some others here who own multi-million dollar beach homes. Same thing exists in L.A. except an entry level house might be $500K in many areas, but you could find that $200K house in far outlying areas.

Based on climate, geography, society and culture I would pick CA over FL any day. But it's always going to be more expensive. If costs double here, they will more than double there for sure. Taxes are going up no matter where you go.

We moved to FL for work, and it's nice enough - my husband likes it more than I do. I've been to many areas of the US and given a choice to live anywhere I wanted, CA would be #2 on my list, with HI being #1... beyond that I would want to stay in the west coast, west or southwest.

location, location, location - where CAN you go with a growing middle class and low, low taxes?

It's all relative...South Florida is getting close to San Diego COL and in some locations it's above it... with exception no state income tax. People wave the no state income tax flag, but in reality the property taxes and homeowners insurance take care of that in an instant, that is if you buy a home though rents in general are quite high here, $1300/month for a 1 bedroom apartment.....not to mention salaries are much lower....my friend who moved to the SF Bay area say's that to me when I mentioned the income tax rate he is paying (which is nearly 10%)...he said though housing, gas and a few other things are higher...he felt South Florida was on a trend to price many out of it in due time based on average wages and lack of higher paying jobs and ones that can rationalize the relative high COL here.

[sean1the1]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

Yeah, I live near The Woodlands, you have pretty good tastes as Ft. Bend County has our largest median household income at $82,571, and The Woodlands (Montgomery County) is also near the top at $66,657.

The weather sucks from June-October, but the rest of the year it's beautiful!

My biggest loves here is the diversity, not just with people but with cultures, places to go, things to do, the economy, the pride that people have in living here, ect, ect..

Mostly though, is the cost of living!

Besides Mexicans, Whites, and Blacks I didn't really see the diversity. That is considered the Norm Now a days. Yes, I knew Ft Bend was the wealthiest county in Texas. When I was there that's where I stayed, but it didn't feel very wealthy just middle class, but there were married couples in every single home so there are two incomes winch makes it seem so much higher. I Didn't really care for Texas until the recession happened I don't think many people did.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by sean1the1

Besides Mexicans, Whites, and Blacks I didn't really see the diversity. That is considered the Norm Now a days. Yes, I knew Ft Bend was the wealthiest county in Texas. When I was there that's where I stayed, but it didn't feel very wealthy just middle class, but there were married couples in every single home so there are two incomes winch makes it seem so much higher. I Didn't really care for Texas until the recession happened I don't think many people did.

We have a pretty big Asian population as well, I believe Houston has one of the largest concentrations of Vietnamese people in the country.

I think many people decided to run here when when the economy crashed around the country, but at the same time, Texas was still the 2nd most populated state in the country, so obviously there is SOME reason to live here..

[OptimusPrime69]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

We have a pretty big Asian population as well, I believe Houston has one of the largest concentrations of Vietnamese people in the country.

I think many people decided to run here when when the economy crashed around the country, but at the same time, Texas was still the 2nd most populated state in the country, so obviously there is SOME reason to live here..

Houston is like one of the most diverse cities in America. I recently read an article on that, I wish I could remember where I read it as I would reference it here, but I remeber being a bit surprised reading the article, like I knew Houston was relatively diverse, but the article claimed it's the most diverse city in America....even more so than LA.

Interesting really, considering texas is generally viewed as white men republicans and cowboy hats.

[Red3311]

Yes!

[ZonaZoo]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

Houston is like one of the most diverse cities in America. I recently read an article on that, I wish I could remember where I read it as I would reference it here, but I remeber being a bit surprised reading the article, like I knew Houston was relatively diverse, but the article claimed it's the most diverse city in America....even more so than LA.

Interesting really, considering texas is generally viewed as white men republicans and cowboy hats.

Yes, Houston may be one of the most diverse cities in America, but how integrated is it?

That's the million dollar question.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

Houston is like one of the most diverse cities in America. I recently read an article on that, I wish I could remember where I read it as I would reference it here, but I remeber being a bit surprised reading the article, like I knew Houston was relatively diverse, but the article claimed it's the most diverse city in America....even more so than LA.

Interesting really, considering texas is generally viewed as white men republicans and cowboy hats.

Yeah, it recently surpassed New York, at least that's what our mayor was on TV spouting not too long ago...

To answer ZonaZoo's question, Harris County (Houston) is roughly 32% white. Most wealthy whites in the area live in Katy or The Woodlands. There are some neighborhoods in South Houston and North Houston that are virtually all black, like Acres Homes or the University areas near U of H and Texas Southern, but other than those specific areas, it's a pretty good mix. I will say that most of the Asian population is in Bellaire, or on the West/Southwest side of the city.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

obviously there is SOME reason to live here..

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

Interesting really, considering texas is generally viewed as white men republicans and cowboy hats.

Yes, sadly Hollywood and the liberal media paints a different picture of everywhere, such as California being the land of opportunity and places like TX, FL, MS, AL, TN, ect, ect, as being full of rednecks.

I'd also like to add, following up on my quote, that even Dwight Howard declined an additional $30M from the Lakers to come to Houston.