Scoop on Houston (San Antonio, Austin, El Paso: sales, apartments, HOA)

[Relocating from Idaho]

We are thinking of relocating to Houston (we hear Sugar Land is great for family). We are from Idaho and pay state tax PLUS sales tax...but our property tax is much lower than texas. I believe our electricty/gas bill is lower as well (150/mth total). I'm not crazy about "muggy" weather and really enjoy the mountains. Crime is not big in Idaho. What can I expect??? Any other suggestions beside Sugar Land?

[oc2eire]

I lived in Houston for about 4 years and it's much better of a city than most people think. If you don't like muggy weather, then why are you moving here, we don't have any mountains either. If you want that I suggest Austin or El Paso. However, if Houston still is your only choice, another go area besides Sugarland would be the Spring Branch ISD, great area and even though it does have some nasty parts, it's surprisingly safe. Lots of convineces to, when I lived there, I was literally walking distance from an HEB, WalMart Neighborhood Market, KFC, McDonalds, and plenty more. The school are great too, a lot of people from all over Houston commute to some of these schools. Hope you have a great time living in Houston, I'm sure you'll love it (maybe not the weather, but plenty of other things that tourists could never discover.)

[amywynn]

Hello and welcome if you choose to have Houston as your new home. To address your specific topics:

Areas to live:
Sugarland is very good for families as is the Cypress area, and further north in The Woodlands and onto Conroe. Where you work will depend a lot on where you live (or at least it should, as commutes can be brutal).

Areas to avoid:
SW Houston, Gunspoint...eh hem, I mean Greenspoint.

Schools:
Another consideration if you have children is the school district. I would suggest you stay as far away from Houston ISD and Alief ISD as possible.

Taxes:
Depending on where you live and if there are HOA and MUD and school taxes involved, it can be pretty expensive. Most sales tax around the city is 8.25%.

Utilities:
The winter is best for Houstonians because we're not running our A/C's as much and because the weather is 30 one day and 70 the next, the heater's are used sparingly too. Depending on the size of your home, you can expect your summer energy bills to be (my home is btw 1100-1500 sq ft. 1 story = $325, my sisters is btw 4000-5000 sq ft 2 story = $700 (easily)).

Weather:
We have 4 seasons believe it or not, warm, hot, very hot, and hot, hot hot! Seriously, the summer's are killer with the heat and humidity mixed together, not the best place if you like 4 seasons and mountain views. The misquito's are awful and the weather is unpredictable other than it being hot 80% of the year. We have terrible polution and don't even dream of living on the east side if you have allergies or asthma (or even Houston for that matter). Trust me I have both and the environment is horrible.

Landscapes/Entertainment:
Houston is flat, no way around it. The only hills in Houston are the overpasses. Traffic is about par with other cities our size - it blows bigtime. 290 and I-10 are 2 of the worst culprits. We have one of the best theartre districts in the country in Downtown and a nice skyline and a cool tunnel system. We have a light rail that services Downtown to the Reliant Center (roughly). It's new so it's still clean and graffiti free. As far as any type of mass transit Houston has none. We have the busses but they are not to be considered reliable transportation if you live in the burbs. There are several museums and we have a pretty nice zoo and a children's museum. I can't say much for family entertainment per se. Other than a couple of all inclusive restaurants (think chuck e cheese on steroids, haha), the bowling alleys, movies, etc. The good thing is Galveston is only about an 1.5 hours away (or less) and has Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn (open year round). But don't get excited about our "beach" it's disgusting and I wouldn't swim in it if I were paid to. To get nicer beaches you have to go south, Corpus Christie, Port Aransas (about 4 hours away) and futher to South Padre Island (about 7-8 hours away). Close enough are San Antonio (always fun) and Austin (pretty scenery and lakes) and the Hill Country (Fredericksburg, Boerne, etc).

Medical and Misc.:
We have excellent medical facilities located all over Houston and surrounding areas, especially The Medical Center near Downtown. Crime is crime anywhere you go just practice safety and be aware of your surroundings. To say that Houston is a diverse city is an understatement at best. Vehicles, most commuters drive alone, but there are park and rides which are nice. A lot!!! of people have trucks and SUV's, so keep that in mind.

I hope all of this information will help you. For all of you other Houstonians, if something I've said above offends you or you don't agree with, please remember these are my solely my opinions.

Good Luck

[oc2eire]

Very Helpful Amy, but why Southwest Houston? I have friends who lives in areas like Walnut Creek and Mission Bend and they love it. Even though the crime has been going up in Mission Bend, they're still nice places to live. As for the weather, Houston isn't just "hot, hot, very hot, and hot", they have winters, one night when I was there, it got down to 25 degrees. It's in a dedicious forest so they actually do have four seasons.
Other than that pretty good.

[Poltracker]

Mission Bend is not considered SW Houston.

OP, Houston is a huge city, landwise, especially when you include the suburbs. It is hard to recommend a good neighborhood when we have so little information. Good information would be what area of town you plan to work in and what length of commute you prefer not to exceed.
Houston is a great city, there are no mountains but verdant greenery has its own appeal. I recommend you visit before making any decisions.

[EasilyAmused]

If you give a price range and a work location, its much easier to recommend a neighborhood. If you live too far from work, Houston is all about 1 hour commutes. But if you don't have a big enough budget to buy close to work, then you need to chose the burb with the easiet commute.

[oc2eire]

Originally Posted by Poltracker

Mission Bend is not considered SW Houston.

OP, Houston is a huge city, landwise, especially when you include the suburbs. It is hard to recommend a good neighborhood when we have so little information. Good information would be what area of town you plan to work in and what length of commute you prefer not to exceed.
Houston is a great city, there are no mountains but verdant greenery has its own appeal. I recommend you visit before making any decisions.

What? How so?

[jfre81]

I think he means not the run-down parts of SW Houston (a very broad description of an area that has many places that have little in common with each other)

If you want to be really broad about it (and stay geographically accurate), you could say that "SW Houston" is everything outside the loop, south of I-10 and west of 288. That would include everything from the slum apartments along outer Bissonnet to the Galleria.

As for muggy weather and mountains...if you want the latter and not the former, stay away from the Gulf Coast.

[texas7]

Houston is so big and there are really good neighborhoods on practically every side of it - so it is best to give a general area of where your employer location is and then try and find a neighborhood with everything you are looking for and the bonus of a good commute.

[sterlinggirl]

I'm looking at transferring to the Houston VA hospital from Colorado and was wondering about the area close to the hospital. I really don't like commuting and love to live close to work, but finding a good school for my 14 year old would be the most important thing.

Does anybody have suggestions on a neighborhood with low crime, a good school, close to the VA hospital, where I could pick up a single level 3-bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage at a fairly low price?

I can afford $150-200K if needed, but would really prefer a less expensive house that would be easier to sell, have lower taxes, etc.