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Old 12-29-2010, 10:49 PM
 
Location: Where Else...?
739 posts, read 1,181,456 times
Reputation: 662

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ATLSuperfriend View Post
Are you kidding me? Would you mind making a Chicago vs Houston thread in the city vs city forum please.
no, i will not.
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Old 12-30-2010, 04:04 AM
 
2,943 posts, read 4,963,482 times
Reputation: 3382
Weather is huge for a lot of people. The South may be much cheaper in some larger cities (Houston, Dallas, etc) but the heat and humidity is enough to make people stay in an expensive place.

Not to mention where things are cheaper, things are spread out and you have to drive. Some prefer high priced lofts, apartments, condos - no dealing with a yard, no need for a car because public transportation will take you wherever you need to go.

Houston's not that cheap. Compared to other places it depends. Some don't want McMansions so a super expensive small space works for them.
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Old 12-30-2010, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Hell's Kitchen, NYC
2,271 posts, read 5,124,466 times
Reputation: 1613
Quote:
Originally Posted by houston-nomad View Post
My point is, there are options in Houston that you don't have in the pricier cities.
I have to agree with both sides a little bit. Cheap is reflective of what you get as well. Lots of families do live in the more expensive cities, but you have to consider the fact that most families couldn't live in areas like Manhattan whether the schools are good or not, because the prices are ridiculous anyway. People in cities like Houston tend to bring up schools, and places to park their cars and buy gas, but don't realize that it's not even a factor in most single, urbanites' choices in other places. It's simply not generally an urban interest. Schools are replaced with amenities like public transportation, and convenience/proximity. So no, Houston is not cheap per say, but as a whole the Inner Loop and moreso Houston doesn't have the intense supply demand ratio and therefore prices that more expensive cities have.
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Old 12-30-2010, 04:28 PM
 
Location: Washington D.C. By way of Texas
20,501 posts, read 33,331,850 times
Reputation: 12109
Honestly, Chicago is more expensive than Houston. But it's still relatively cheap compared to the coasts. If the weather wasn't as unpopular in the Winter as it is, I think this would be a fast growing city. But Chicago is a bargain IMO.
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Old 01-01-2011, 01:05 AM
 
Location: Katy, TX (via Boston, MA)
17 posts, read 47,106 times
Reputation: 24
As a whole, Houston is much cheaper than Chicago. Using a standard cost of living calculator, a person with an annual income of $100,000 would require approximately $121,000 for a similar lifestyle.
Of course that similar lifestyle (or expendable income) in Chicago will most likely come with a smaller, older home.

A previous poster is correct in that since Chicago is in the midwest, it is still cheaper when comparing to New York, Boston or California.

Generally the greater the population density of a city, the more expensive the cost of living becomes. Simple supply and demand.
An easy example would be to consider the monthly dues associated with downtown area parking spaces/garages for Houston with any other major city.....

Last edited by Texas_Engineer; 01-01-2011 at 01:16 AM..
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Old 01-01-2011, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Bellevue, WA
404 posts, read 1,026,773 times
Reputation: 146
I lived in a house in the Seattle area that's now 56 years old. It's 1,700 sq. ft. Initially bought for $250,000, and is now $400,000.

The house is old, I'll give you that. I could buy a huge new house down here for that much money. However, here is what I will not get.

I will not be close to my work.
There will not be any parks or they will be poorly maintained.
There will be more crime.
There is no public transportation.
The school districts are not as good as those on the east side of Seattle.
It's humid and a lot of people, including myself, really dislike that.
The education level of those around me will be less than that of those in this old house (Seattle's one of the most educated cities in the U.S. and it's suburbs I imagine to be even more so)
There will be no sidewalks where I live, since this is a "car-centric" city. You cannot exist without one.
People drive like crazy here and are much more rude than other places.


Those are just some of the differences. When you buy a house, you don't only buy it. You buy a lifestyle and an experience. That's what justifies the price.

And don't get me wrong, Houston is an OK place to live. It offers value and that's what people from all over the world and all over the country see. That is why this area is growing as a whole.
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Old 01-01-2011, 01:56 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,767,204 times
Reputation: 17472
Older houses have character and were built to last. They may need to have certain things upgraded, but I like them much better than most newer houses.
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Old 01-01-2011, 03:28 PM
 
Location: Northside Of Jacksonville
3,337 posts, read 7,094,294 times
Reputation: 3464
I find it ridiculous that people would CHOOSE to live someplace expensive, then they have the nerve to cry about going broke. Well, live in a city with a low cost of living and boom, problem solved.
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Old 01-01-2011, 03:29 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,767,204 times
Reputation: 17472
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthsideJacksonville View Post
I find it ridiculous that people would CHOOSE to live someplace expensive, then they have the nerve to cry about going broke. Well, live in a city with a low cost of living and boom, problem solved.
Well, not everyone who lives in an expensive city is crying about going broke and there are people here in Houston who are going broke as well.
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Old 01-01-2011, 03:34 PM
 
Location: Underneath the Pecan Tree
15,982 posts, read 35,053,880 times
Reputation: 7427
Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
Well, not everyone who lives in an expensive city is crying about going broke and there are people here in Houston who are going broke as well.
Stop calling me out.
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