Am I missing any major downfalls? Houston seems real nice. (San Antonio: for sale, apartment)
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Am I missing any major downfalls? Houston seems real nice.
I'm living up in Western New York. My fiance and I are looking to make a major changes. She is graduating with a Social Work MSW. I am a computer tech, but am looking to get some training to get into a trade such as electrician or HVAC.
I've never been to Texas, but plan on making a trip down to take a look. Here is what I have learned about Houston just by playing around on the computer.
1.) A nice 2-3 bedroom ranch built after 2000 can be had for right around $100k with only about 3k in taxes per year. Much of the housing inventory where I live is very old houses from the 1920's and 30's.
2.) No state income taxes would be great to have, NY is one of the highest taxed states.
3.) Gas prices are nearly $1 cheaper than what I pay up here.
4.) We both hate the snow, and love the heat.
5.) Being an hour from the Gulf would be great (how is the beach?)
6.) The Texas Medical Center looks like a serious job generator for the area, I'd bet they are looking for a lot of Social Workers.
7.) Unemployment numbers are about half what they are where I am in NY.
Any major downfalls to living in Houston? I know the heat is pretty bad during the summer, but we are the type of people who spend a couple weeks in Miami every summer, and love the heat.
Well, I'll answer your questions to the best of my abilities:
1) Yes this is more or less correct. Your tax figure is likely a bit low, property taxes in Texas are among the highest in the nation. Also, if you're talking $100K, that's kind of hit-or-miss territory in terms of neighborhood, schools, etc. But depending on your expectations and your situation, that's definitely possible.
2) One of the greatest things about living in Texas. I miss it!
3) That's consistently true. New York has some of the highest gas prices in the nation.
4) I hope you REALLY love the heat! It's no joke, and 90%+ humidity too. Come visit in August to get a true sense of summer in Houston. 7-8 months out of the year are very nice though!
5) Galveston isn't great as far as beaches go (think North Jersey), they get nicer as you go south down the coast though. I like Surfside personally.
6) This is likely true.
7) Texas unemployment is below the national average but you would definitely not want to move to Houston with no job unless you had significant savings.
Downfalls? Heat, humidity, mosquitoes. You must have a car, and depending on where you live versus where you work, you may be driving it a lot. The city is geographically huge, and the metro area moreso. Crime is bad in some areas. I can't really think of any more. I loved living in Houston.
Well, I'll answer your questions to the best of my abilities:
1) Yes this is more or less correct. Your tax figure is likely a bit low, property taxes in Texas are among the highest in the nation. Also, if you're talking $100K, that's kind of hit-or-miss territory in terms of neighborhood, schools, etc. But depending on your expectations and your situation, that's definitely possible.
2) One of the greatest things about living in Texas. I miss it!
3) That's consistently true. New York has some of the highest gas prices in the nation.
4) I hope you REALLY love the heat! It's no joke, and 90%+ humidity too. Come visit in August to get a true sense of summer in Houston. 7-8 months out of the year are very nice though!
5) Galveston isn't great as far as beaches go (think North Jersey), they get nicer as you go south down the coast though. I like Surfside personally.
6) This is likely true.
7) Texas unemployment is below the national average but you would definitely not want to move to Houston with no job unless you had significant savings.
Downfalls? Heat, humidity, mosquitoes. You must have a car, and depending on where you live versus where you work, you may be driving it a lot. The city is geographically huge, and the metro area moreso. Crime is bad in some areas. I can't really think of any more. I loved living in Houston.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the reply. We aren't the type to jump into anything. We will be applying for jobs on the internet, and hope that we get one job offer to get us out there.
We are coming down with about 1 year's salary cash in the bank, I don't take many risks..
We are going to rent an apartment for about a year to figure out where we want to buy, then buy a nice ranch in the suburbs (near work for sure).
I don't want you to be misled about #1 . $100,000 won't get you much. Not sure where you heard that. Maybe you can check out HAR.com and see what you can find at that price point.
The worse thing about Houston is that it has nothing for tourists besides Galveston.... compared to cities of the same size.
But San Antonio is 180 miles West, which is one of the top tourist destinations in the country.
And the governor of Texas is only seen when is time to complain about the federal government..... besides that, you'll never see him.
I don't want you to be misled about #1 . $100,000 won't get you much. Not sure where you heard that. Maybe you can check out HAR.com and see what you can find at that price point.
I've been looking on HAR, and have been finding a ton of houses for sale right around 100k. Most are in outlying suburbs, such as Katy. Some are located in Houston, but I have to get down there and figure out what areas are desirable in terms of crime, and closeness to work.
I was putting in a ton of search qualifiers, getting the exact house I wanted, and was still coming up with more than 100 houses shown.
I'm just looking for a basic 3 bedroom ranch built after 2000 in a cookie cutter type suburb. We don't need much, actually we are downsizing from owning a old duplex home here in NY.
Property taxes and weather are the ones I hate most. Port Aransas has a nice beach. But if you want the best in Texas go down South, faaaaaaar South to South Padre Island.
I've been looking on HAR, and have been finding a ton of houses for sale right around 100k. Most are in outlying suburbs, such as Katy. Some are located in Houston, but I have to get down there and figure out what areas are desirable in terms of crime, and closeness to work.
I was putting in a ton of search qualifiers, getting the exact house I wanted, and was still coming up with more than 100 houses shown.
I'm just looking for a basic 3 bedroom ranch built after 2000 in a cookie cutter type suburb. We don't need much, actually we are downsizing from owning a old duplex home here in NY.
On HAR make sure you check out the tax rate. And once you get a Realtor have him/her double and triple check what the actual tax rate is.
I know NY is high in taxes but believe it or not NY isn't the highest in property taxes. There's areas around Houston that are close to parts of NJ and they are the highest in the nation.
Property taxes and weather are the ones I hate most. Port Aransas has a nice beach. But if you want the best in Texas go down South, faaaaaaar South to South Padre Island.
If you're going to drive that far, might as well do Gulf Shores/Orange Beach/Destin.
The beaches get better as you go further down the TX coast but that isn't saying all that much.
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