Can Houston really be considered a cheap city anymore? (Point: buy, elementary school)

[Kiovo]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

All that sounds horrible. Work is only ten mins tops from my apt no freeway. Why on earth would someone want to live 30 mins away from work?

because I "sacrifice" an hour more than you do a day, I (and my family) get to enjoy more. Like, my big backyard where my dogs have plenty of room, my kids can ride their bikes in the street, and taking multiple vacations a year. Oh and the hubby enjoys building and working on projects and I have a car fetish so a 3 car garage comes in handy. Point of my story...l don't let my commute time determine my quality of life.

[jek74]

Originally Posted by things and stuff

I find that people usually lie about their commute times. I'm not sure why, but it's common. Got burned like that when moving to a new city before. Was told by multiple people the commute was 15 minutes (it was 7 miles) and it turned out to average 30 minutes. Fortunately it was just a temporary rental.

I leave the park and ride at 6:30 am and step on campus downtown at 7:15 and that is with a stop at kuykendahl to pick up 3 more people. On days when we don't stop there it's 35 minutes. This is a fact. If you want, I'll record the time on my cell phone and post it.

[jek74]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

All that sounds horrible. Work is only ten mins tops from my apt no freeway. Why on earth would someone want to live 30 mins away from work?

I lived in Chicago on the near north side. I had a bus literally stop AT my front door and it took me almost to the front door of the building where I worked. I was 10 miles from work. It was a 45 minute commute with perfect weather.

[Kiovo]

Originally Posted by things and stuff

I find that people usually lie about their commute times. I'm not sure why, but it's common. Got burned like that when moving to a new city before. Was told by multiple people the commute was 15 minutes (it was 7 miles) and it turned out to average 30 minutes. Fortunately it was just a temporary rental.

I'll admit this isn't the norm for most of the people that live in Katy and commute to downtown. When we were house hunting, I was very adamant on living right next to i10 or west park tollway. We eventually choose i10 because the hubby wanted to live within the city of Katy. I knew my commute would be hell if I didn't make changes or take advantage of certain things. So I carpool or take advantage of mass transit, and I go in earlier and leave earlier to avoid most of the traffic.

[jek74]

Originally Posted by Kiovo

I'll admit this isn't the norm for most of the people that live in Katy and commute to downtown. When we were house hunting, I was very adamant on living right next to i10 or west park tollway. We eventually choose i10 because the hubby wanted to live within the city of Katy. I knew my commute would be hell if I didn't make changes or take advantage of certain things. So I carpool or take advantage of mass transit, and I go in earlier and leave earlier to avoid most of the traffic.

I'm shocked how many people don't use HOV lanes. Sometimes we are the only car on there doing 80 driving by cars that aren't even moving.

[GTRdad]

Csrpooling is so not cool

[GTRdad]

Originally Posted by donblackie

I guess "decent" , "not that bad" , and "nice" are all relative

I am curious to see what a nice neighborhood in alief looks like. Are you talking about the stuff on hwy6 and beechnut?

The Royal Oaks neighborhood is 'nice'

[Newbe10]

Originally Posted by nilkn

I know Houston is still touted frequently as being very cheap, but it seems to me that the only cheap houses are out in suburbs (many of them outside of the Houston city limits) or in very up-and-coming areas inside the loop. Sure, if you go out far enough, you can actually get a great house for $200k, but for those of us who work downtown, Greenway, etc., those deals come with very hefty commutes. $200k might get you a patch of grass in West U, and a blade or two of grass in River Oaks. You could get yourself a nice box in Meyerland for that, maybe a kids' fort in a nicer area of the Heights. Even Garden Oaks, outside the loop, is getting pricey now.

If I compare Houston to, say, the Bay Area, it really seems no different at all. Yes, the prices are still lower here, but so are the salaries, in general. Equivalent jobs to mine pay 30% more in the Bay Area. That extra 30% would immediately be gone to taxes and housing, but it would equalize things mostly. The median home price in San Francisco is $1M, but it's much lower in Oakland or other 'burbs. SF = Inner Loop in Houston.

I'm not really complaining. I'm unmarried, have no kids, and live a very comfortable live here in Houston. Not rich by any means, and while I can't afford a house in West U or River Oaks, I can easily afford a luxury apartment. But I know that if I married a girl with a lower income and we had kids, or if she just wanted to be a SAHM, all that would be gone--we'd be sent out to the suburbs most likely to afford a decent house and my whole quality of life would change. I would feel like I was actually descending into a lower economic class almost, as crazy as that sounds. It's a difficult pill to swallow. Just curious if others feel the same way as me. I generally find Houstonians still believe strongly in the cheapness of this city and am dismissed if I suggest otherwise.

(I suppose the cheapness really is true, though, if you actually work out in a suburb and make a high income there. I think most people making the big bucks, though, generally work in the loop, which is exactly why the distribution of home prices is what it is.)

Heck yeah, Houston, from personal experience is a fresh breath of air from areas like New England and Southern California. Houston is a world class city that offers the same type of accommodations you would expect from cities like NYC and LA. No matter what you have heard, Houston is a world class city and one of the few that offers a reasonable cost of living.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by things and stuff

I find that people usually lie about their commute times. I'm not sure why, but it's common. Got burned like that when moving to a new city before. Was told by multiple people the commute was 15 minutes (it was 7 miles) and it turned out to average 30 minutes. Fortunately it was just a temporary rental.

You must be talking about the commute on a local bus. 5 miles takes about 20-30 minutes due to the numerous stops. Light rail for that same distance should take about 15-20 minutes because of fewer stops and the right-of-way which creates a more constant speed without traffic light controls.

[donblackie]

Originally Posted by things and stuff

I find that people usually lie about their commute times. I'm not sure why, but it's common. Got burned like that when moving to a new city before. Was told by multiple people the commute was 15 minutes (it was 7 miles) and it turned out to average 30 minutes. Fortunately it was just a temporary rental.

Exactly true. Oh this is only 10 mins away and that is only 30 mins. What they typically count is freeway time or paint the picture without detail like the poster above.

He leaves at 6:00am to not have to fight traffic....which is a detail that was left out