Questions about Houston... (Dallas, Spring, Orange: HOA fees, insurance, condo)

[ColdCanadian]

Is Houston at all like this?

Originally Posted by stargazer

I will speak for where I live which is in North Texas near Dallas. I love living where the door to any store is opened for me by a gentlemen. I don't recall having to open one if there was a man around since I have moved back. Trust me, I am not a babe, just a middle aged house wife, so no one is opening the door to get my number, just a common courtesy that's all. lol.
I like the fact that people say please and thank you most everywhere and that curse words aren't the norm. There is a politeness that does run in everyday dealings with people and oh how I love the small talk.

Or like this?

Originally Posted by BobTex

Rules of Texas:

5. So every person in every pickup waves. It's called being friendly.
Try to understand the concept.

7. Yeah, we eat catfish & crawfish. You really want sushi & caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.

9. We open doors for women. That is applied to all women, regardless of age.

I hope so. I live in a city area of about 5 million (heard Houston is over 3 million) and I often freak some people out here from my natural casual, bold and friendly attitude. I LOVE crawfish! It's quite hard to find here though, too far from Louisiana I guess. I also love manners.

[randtbrown]

I'd say both are true!

[momof2dfw]

Not only are they both true but we hold the doors open for the person behind us no matter if they are male or female, young or old. I'm a female (duh, momof2 ) and I will always hold the door open for the person behind me. If it is an older person I will hold it for them to go in front of me. I've also taught my girls to do the same. Just don't be surprised to not see this happen on occassions as there are a few out there that just don't get common courtesy. I'll never forget the time I had my little one in a stroller leaving the mall and opened the door and put my foot out to hold it so I could swing the stroller thru and a lady walked RIGHT THRU the door I was trying to hold open for my stroller and kept on going. If I see a person pushing a stroller coming up to a door I will hesitate to be there just in time to hold the door open for them.

[ColdCanadian]

I'm pleasantly surprised by your confident responses, especially given the population size of the city.

Does Houston feel "Texan" and/or "Southern"? I've never been to Houston or even Texas, but I've been to many parts of the South (southeast) and points I was asking about seemed common to most of the Carolinas, Tennessee etc. I've also been to many parts of Florida, but most of those places didn't seem quite that friendly.

I appreciate all your replies.

[randtbrown]

I'd say yes- both "texan" and "southern". You know- our baseball team are still teh "good guys"

Of course there are some rats, but those can be found anywhere.

[TGM]

For the most part, you will find what you are looking for here. With that said, Houston is a big city, and alot has changed. There are many, many people here who are not "southerners" or "Texans". Not ALL areas of Houston are like what your are looking for. Most of the cities in the outskirts still are, such as Tomball, Sugarland, Richmond, Rosenburg, etc. But I feel perhaps 60-70% of the areas inside the city limits may disappoint you.

[ocgirl]

We just got back to Orange County, California, fer sure, totally, and loved what we saw in Houston. We are really concerned about moving there though because we have heard the summer heat and humidity are unbearable! I grew-up in the south, Tennessee and South Carolina, so I know of humidity, but I have lived in So. Cali for 40 yrs. now. I know my first summer of living in the San Fernando Valley after moving from Columbia, S.C. I thought my parents had moved us to freakin' hell it was so hot. I don't ever remember it being 108 in Tennessee, S.C. or Miami when we visited my grandparents there. They kept saying "yeah, but it's a dry heat."
Dry heat, wet heat, I'd NEVER felt heat like some parts of California anywhere in the south, but we keep reading on all these sites where people write, "heat and humidity almost unbearable in Houston." Have these folks been to Vegas or Phoenix when it's 115 like I have. Do they know from "dry heat"....could it be worse? If any of y'all have lived in So. Calif. and moved to the Houston area please respond and give us an honest evaluation. I know what southerners are like, I am one and have been telling my kids for years and they got to see for themselves when we went to Texas. California men are RUDE and RARELY open doors for women. They will even rush up and cut you off to try to get in first. Also, anything you see on TV about Orange County such as "Laguna Beach" on MTV or "The Real Housewives Of Orange County" are extremely accurate when they show how shallow and self involved the people here are. We moved here from Ventura County (1 cty. n of L.A.) to Orange Cty (1 cty s of L.A.) and the people are much more self-centered and involved with their looks and possessions. All of So Cal is that way, but the OC is WORSE! Then Beverly Hills is just off the charts as far as that goes. I am an interior designer and have to work with these spoiled brats and I am just OVER IT! My poor kids can't even afford to look at buying a house here. A 1000 sq. ft. 2 bdrm. condo can't be touched for under $450,000.00. Home owner association dues for a condo that size are approx. $200. a mo. Property taxes are good here, about 1.4% so that helps some. I heard Texas property taxes are so high that it's ridiculous and that why houses are so inexpensive, it that true. Just curious to hear from Houston people, maybe from Cali or not. Thanks! And as they say in Cali with a fake smile on their face "Like, have a nice day."

[randtbrown]

Property taxes are really high here and HOA fees in some areas are $200+ (the woodlands for example). BUT we don't have a state income tax so it kinda balances out- I think about the same when you consider all the taxes (sales/property/income). Maybe a little more/less. But not huge differences.

And as I harp in my every post when teh humidity/heat comes up. It is very very very bad here. And I think the worst part of it is that it doesn't let up for much of the summer. I've traveled a lot and have never felt anything like it. That is just my (and my family and pretty much everyone I know's) opinion of it. I suppose some people love it

[ColdCanadian]

Maybe the reason the heat seems so bad is that you probably never heard of how it can be up here near the Great Lakes. Most of the time it's not nearly this bad, but once every decade or two we can get this:


-From January until the last few days of March, the days are almost always below freezing.
-Things start to melt at the beginning of April and you have some days in the 50's and 60's F in April and May.
-Then "summer" starts. Imagine 8 or 9 out of 10 days being overcast all day long, usually with some rain. Maybe twenty days with sun, all summer. Daytime highs ranging from high 50's F to low 70's. Only about a dozen days up 75 F and two or three days at 80 F or higher.
-Then fall comes and it stays cloudy and damp most of the time. By mid September things start to cool off, most days are 50's to mid 60's. October most days are mid 40's to high 50's. November, most days between freezing and low 50's.
-December hits and winter starts all over again.

[observer]

OCgirl,
I live in south Florida and have visited the "desert areas" of California; primarily the Palm Springs area, Indio, Thousand Palms, Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, basically they are all near each other. I also have been to Houston a couple of times during the summer. In fact, I was there last month. I believe the heat is much more unbearable in the Palm Springs area compared to Houston. When I was in Ca. the average high was about 115 while I was there, and twice hit 120. In visits to Houston the highest it got was probably between 95-98. Living in South Florida I can tell you that the humidity is worse here than that of Houston. Even though on average the Temps is probably about 4-5 degrees higher in Houston compared to Miami. Even though Houston is humid, much more humid than Palm Springs which is basically dry. Miami is more humid and stickier than Houston.

People tell me that the heat in the desert is not that bad because it is dry.
Yeah, not bad if it is 90, 95, maybe even 100. I'll take those temperatures in a dry climate such as Palm Springs or Vegas any day than 90 degrees with high humidity in Miami. But when it gets near 110 and above it is simply TOO HOT period. So I would much rather live in the Houston heat in the summer compared to the summer heat in Palm Springs or Las vegas.

As far as housing cost and taxes. Houston does have a high tax rate, no doubt about that. But if you factor all costs involved- house price, taxes, insurance, wages, you still come out way ahead in Houston. Even with a tax rate between 3.0-3.75 in the good areas.