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Old 11-13-2014, 05:20 PM
 
232 posts, read 460,412 times
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Would need more information on your friend. Is it just one person? What is the person's age? Are they married? Do they have kids? What is their budget? Are they expected to work solely in the new campus or travel to contractors' offices? What are they looking for in a neighborhood? Also very curious as to what type of position your friend just got hired for when things have slowed down so much in the O&G industry, particularly upstream.
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Old 11-13-2014, 05:30 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
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If single I'd live in the heights and commute. But I've heard traffic is getting worse with a reverse commute.
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Old 11-13-2014, 05:33 PM
 
232 posts, read 460,412 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oildog View Post
If single I'd live in the heights and commute. But I've heard traffic is getting worse with a reverse commute.
Traffic is horrible in both directions especially with all of the construction and road closures on 45.
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Old 11-14-2014, 07:47 AM
 
Location: Texas
1,922 posts, read 2,766,011 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by still_waiting View Post
Title says it all. All insights are welcome. Please explain why you would choose a particular area. I have a friend that just accepted a job offer to work there and they are wondering where they might live. He is somewhat familiar with Houston but not an expert by any means. Thank you.
I suppose it depends on what their income is. If he is a technical/clerical position making 40K a year, I'd look more on the east side of the freeway in Montgomery county, because prices are more reasonable. If he's a higher level manager making 200K, I'd buy in the Woodlands. Short commutes are awesome.
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Old 11-14-2014, 08:22 AM
 
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I would live in a northern suburb, definitely not the city. It is not worth the commute.
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Old 11-14-2014, 12:51 PM
 
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I'm in the same position - deciding where to live. But, as indicated by another poster, there is no 'right answer', it depends upon the persons position, career status, family status and interests. For example, if they believed they will need to spend part of their future career in a downtown Houston contractor office or perhaps an assignment in the Baytown refinery, then Woodlands and North would be a nasty future commute. Are schools an issue? Night life? Is price an issue?

Basically, given the campus location, there are no good options. Just a matter of choosing the one that's the least bad based on individual needs.

And, based of what I've seen, relocating EM employees have been choosing a variety of solutions (Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Kingwood, Heights, Downtown, etc).
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Old 11-14-2014, 03:18 PM
 
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I'd go for Benders Landing personally.
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Old 11-15-2014, 12:43 PM
 
259 posts, read 508,575 times
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Thanks for the responses people. I'm keeping the question general because it provides a wider variety of answers and so far it's been helpful. We did a Zillow search in conjunction to some of the suggestions that have been provided so far.

My buddy got picked up as a geologist at over $100k entry level. There's a slowdown sure, but fact is people are retiring so there still has to be continuity so hiring will still happen for key positions...it's just that a lot of hiring is happening at the college (Masters) level and that's usually after being offered an internship first.
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Old 11-15-2014, 11:49 PM
 
129 posts, read 380,862 times
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Like a few have stated, it depends on his/her lifestyle and how long your friend plans to stay at Exxon and work in the woodlands. I drive from the memorial area to the woodlands once or twice a week and the commute isn't too bad if you have a flexible schedule. I'm also in the Energy Corridor, Galleria, and Downtown on the other days. But the commute would be tiresome if I was in the Woodlands Monday-Friday.

From my view, your friend needs to prioritize things near and longer term, depending on what's important
* Career focus - get as close to the office as possible so you don't waste time driving. If you aren't going to be in The Woodlands for more than 3 years, rent nearby. Don't buy a house in the Woodlands if you are going to take a job in Katy in 18 months.
* Social life - if you are a recent college grad and have social interests outside of work, with no kids, living and working in The Woodlands may get a little stale. Consider renting somewhere for a while closer to town so you can decide what you want to do.
* Family focus - if you have kids and plan to be at Exxon long term, get as close to work as possible. Don't waste your life commuting, get close by so you can make the soccer/baseball/dance events.

This is just my 2 cents based on my experience in Houston over many years commuting around the city as a new college grad and now as a parent with kids.
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Old 11-16-2014, 09:19 AM
 
19,573 posts, read 8,449,285 times
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Lake Conroe.
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