Too many people moving to Houston? (Briar: crime, house, job market)

[JamaicanSprinter]

I was talking to an Oil and Gas recruiter today and she said the market has been getting saturated from about a year ago with a ton of people coming from NY,Cali,Florida and basically all over. More people are applying to the same jobs and now corporations are lowering pay since there are so many people wanting to work here. Will Houston turn into the new L.A. soon? I really hope Houston doesn't end that way but it seems like its headed in that direction and very quickly. Next thing you know housing will be sky high.

[Glossa]

In my opinion, the answer is YES! I'm ready for the flow to stop. It's getting crazy.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by JamaicanSprinter

Next thing you know housing will be sky high.

Well, not if they can't find a job or their pay got beat down too much to pay the rent/mortgage.

We do have a serious problem with sustainability, in any case.

[kfer]

I live in Briar Hills in a patio home. These homes normally sold for $180k to $200k a year ago. Last week the house down the street was sold over the asking price of $235k with several comepting offers on the table within hours of being listed. Something is driving up demand...this is not normal.

I hope Houston doesn't get ruined....

[bronstew]

That's interesting because my husband, who works in o&g, is always talking about the staff shortages on projects and how 3/4 of the guys in his office are retiring in a few years. There was even an article in the Chronicle recently about the staff shortage. Could things have turned around that drastically since May? Texas is experiencing an oil boom for sure, but to my knowledge the companies are still struggling to fill posts. It's interesting to hear differently.

[alibaba1579]

Originally Posted by bronstew

That's interesting because my husband, who works in o&g, is always talking about the staff shortages on projects and how 3/4 of the guys in his office are retiring in a few years. There was even an article in the Chronicle recently about the staff shortage. Could things have turned around that drastically since May? Texas is experiencing an oil boom for sure, but to my knowledge the companies are still struggling to fill posts. It's interesting to hear differently.

Yes to this - there is major shortage of experineced oil and gas workers in the 35-50 year old age group. Lots of 55 year olds looking to retire, and lots of 22 year old new hire types, but a big gap in the middle, at least at my husbands company.

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by bronstew

That's interesting because my husband, who works in o&g, is always talking about the staff shortages on projects and how 3/4 of the guys in his office are retiring in a few years. There was even an article in the Chronicle recently about the staff shortage. Could things have turned around that drastically since May? Texas is experiencing an oil boom for sure, but to my knowledge the companies are still struggling to fill posts. It's interesting to hear differently.

Originally Posted by alibaba1579

Yes to this - there is major shortage of experineced oil and gas workers in the 35-50 year old age group. Lots of 55 year olds looking to retire, and lots of 22 year old new hire types, but a big gap in the middle, at least at my husbands company.

I agree! There's a shortage of good Engineers in O&G and salaries are going up not down.
Also agree that there's not many in the 35-50 range which will be a real hit in the next 5-10 years.

[swopoe]

Originally Posted by alibaba1579

Yes to this - there is major shortage of experineced oil and gas workers in the 35-50 year old age group. Lots of 55 year olds looking to retire, and lots of 22 year old new hire types, but a big gap in the middle, at least at my husbands company.

Same at my husband's company. He is 39 with 9 yrs experience, and he also gets calls about job opportunities at other companies for experienced scientists almost daily.

[radiolibre99]

I am sure it's because a lot more non-skilled people are starting to make the move over to Houston than skilled and educated professionals. Sure the latter are also flocking here but so are many many more low skilled workers from Southern California, NY, Penn, and Florida.

And yes it would suck if Houston turned into LA economy-wise because not only would the quality of life not be worth living in relative to the cost, the lack of social services in case you can't find a job are abysmal in Houston. Crime is already high as it is I can only image a glut in the job market sparking unemployment along with a rising COL.

Of course for professionals with ample experience and pedigrees, the situation is still fine for the most part. That is why we have people in here chiming in without worry. The boom was always meant for the professionals and highly skilled workers. For rest it was more un-skilled service sectors jobs for low pay which makes living in Houston only marginally better than in Philly or LA, but at the same time a bit worse considering the lack of city services for people in dire need.

I don't know how the city is going to address this. Judging by the conservative mindset that is a constant current through Texas politics whether Dem or GOP, the answer might come in the form of increased police protection, tough on crime laws, increased private security (which is already a reality in Houston anyways).

OR I suspect that the city is smarter than that and will understand that with the increased publicity about Houston being a refuge from the storm in the US, that they would pour more money into making sure they don't end up with no mans land pockets of severe poverty and crime.

Just my two cents. I know everyone else feels differently but I know when Forbes, the Economist or any other financial rag praises your town about how great it's economy is, its usually talking about limited growth that benefits mostly professionals and highly skilled workers who can get in on it.

[Johnhw2]

Be thankful ... Houston has a great economy and jobs but a lack of scenery and a climate that will run many back home that come for what they hope is easy living and easy jobs. Houston is an engineering based city, it is a problem solver and not afraid of manufacturing industries as many are. It is not now and not going to be a tourist mecca, which is good if it had that going along with the jobs and economy, it would be too crowded and growing way way way too fast.

Houston is a city not afraid to be different, which engineers are by their nature, it does not have zoning, it is a city that AC built with its humid hot climate much of the year. The issues Houston business address are global in nature and have depth. The solutions depend on taming the laws of nature to make money safely, so it could not be more different from softer business's found in tourist cities.

I like Houston and enjoyed living there... thankfully not all will so they will leave. That is evolution of a City population.