hitchhiker's Guide to Houston by AzamSharp :) (Austin, Galveston: 2013, houses, neighborhood)

[azamsharp]

I came to United States in 2002 as an international (Pakistan) student. I went to U of H for my undergraduate and graduated in 2005. Since 2002 I have been living in Houston and I love it! Here are some of the PROS and CONS I found about Houston.

-- As of 2011 I am US Citizen -------

PROS:

- People: People are nice and very friendly. People in Houston love to talk. They always say good morning, hello or have a nice day. (Of course there are odd balls in every city). I still remember when I was a student and I was lost in my aunts neighborhood and asked for help the guy went to his house and showed me the map of the neighborhood and directed me to my destination.
- Jobs: Texas has all the jobs! All the big oil companies are in Houston and finding a job in Tech sector is not that hard. Now, most of the startups from SF are also moving to Austin since it is much appealing for young companies.
- Less Expensive: My house is under $200K and it is 3200 sq feet with a lot of upgrades and a pond in the backyard. There is no way you can get a house like that anywhere else. I still don't understand how people in California afford 500K houses. And no California salary is not that high... been there done that
- NO STATE TAX: Yup! we don't have state tax ...
- Beautiful.. NOT but it is close to beautiful places: Houston is not beautiful (See Nature in CONS) but it is close to beautiful places. These places include Cancun, Florida, Caribbean, Denver etc. You can even catch a cruise from Galveston
- Medical Center: Although I have never been to a doctor for any serious thing but it is nice to know that Houston has one of the best medical facilities in the nation.
- Malls: There are number of malls in Houston and most of them are pretty big. I am not a mall person but for people who like to shop Galeria, Woodlands, Katy malls are pretty big and awesome.
- BBQ: Texas is the home for BBQ.
- Everything is big in Texas: Malls, cars and .. people
- Culture: Houston has lots of different cultures. Bellaire is chinatown, Hilcroft is Pakistani/Indian. You can enjoy a lot of different kind of foods.. all good
- Events: There are lots of events taking place every single day. Take a look at Miller Outdoor Theater.

CONS:

- Nature: Houston is flat... so don't expect to see hills or mountains or rivers flowing. We do have a lot of parks which has trails and stuff but I would not consider inviting someone to Houston to spend their vacation.
- Public Transportation: Unless you want to go to downtown Houston public transportation is pretty bad. When I used to live in Alief near Harwin it took me 3 hours to travel 36 miles to U of H. 3 hours .. ONE WAY.
- Galveston: Some of you will not like this but I think Galveston beach is pretty bad! I don't think I have ever seen such a horrible beach in my life. Even in Pakistan we had Clifton, Hawks bay, Sandspit and Paradise Point and all of them were million times better than Galveston. Unfortunately, we cannot change anything about it!
- Ants and Mosquitoes and Wasps: Every state has different pests we have ants, mosquitoes and wasps. Mosquitoes can be easily controlled by use of Lemon Grass plant (See my app Vegetable Tree iPhone App) but wasps are the main problem. I have been lucky that I have not been bitten but usually in a given week I kill 2-3 wasps.
- Weather: Weather is last on my list because it does not bother me that much. Yes in peak weather conditions it is extremely humid and it seems like you are walking on the sun but this year (2013) I have only seen 3-4 weeks of that miserable weather. I pay cricket every Sunday from 7:00 AM - 11:30 AM and during that time weather is pretty decent. Except the week before where it was like playing in HELL. Always remember cold weather is far worse than hot weather.

I know I have left out a lot of stuff but that is the gist of it. I hope people will find this post useful

[baker_001]

Really helpful post. If you have time please write down about the areas where are most Pakistani living.I really want to know about the places over there.Thanks

[azamsharp]

I *think* most Pakistanis are in the Sugarland Area, Katy, Spring Cypress and Hillcroft. Is there a reason you want to buy a house near a place which is populated with Pakistanis?

[xsatyr]

Where are some good Pakistani restaurants?

[swopoe]

Good post...thanks for sharing! Glad you like it here! We have been here since 2004, and like it in Houston as well.

Thanks for the tip on the mosquitos. We need to look into that. Mosquitos just love my son. He is always covered in bites no matter what we do.

[baker_001]

Yes I am a Pakistani by origin. And it will be good i think to have some of our culture for my kids. thats why i was asking about it but first priority is best school district.

[azamsharp]

Just find the best school district in places like Sugarland, Katy and Spring Cypress. Don't worry about culture or anything. I do not think that anyone plays in the street or anything. Subscribe to Pakistani Channels and go to Pakistani events in Houston.

BTW I don't go to any Pakistani events or anything.

[Meyerland]

You will find Pakistani kids in every good school, as the parents seek them out. The schools will naturally group similar kids together, so your kid will not be the only one in their class. (There will be 2-4 probably per class.)That sounds weird, but schools try to make classrooms have a mixed ethnic group with no one all by themselves.

[cheryjohns]

Thanks for the Lemon Grass/Mosquito tip. I did not know this.

Yeah, parents that are concerned about education gravitate toward the better schools. The ethnicity mix is unimportant - it works itself out.

[eylu]

There is a state tax (sales tax 6.25% for state and 2% for the Houston area if you include local and county taxes). I guess you mean there is no income tax? Because we pay for it through property taxes. Anyway in the end everything is cheaper here so I get what you mean.