Moving from Mesa, AZ to Houston or Dallas suburb (Katy: home, income)

[Beto]

Originally Posted by aznative1964

Thinking about relocating from Az to NW Houston suburb. I am an insurance broker, can work anywhere. I'm born and bred old, small town-charm Phoenix. Phoenix has grown to a melting pot of concrete and houses. I miss the natural landscape. Looking for close knit community, and natural landscape.
We want a safe area with lots of trees, outdoor activities. We have boys that play tackle football, golf, soccer, etc.
We are Christian homeschoolers and would like information about support groups and sports.

Katy, TX would be what you are looking for. Plenty of close knit communities, churches and outdoor activities. Here is a link on what Katy has to offer.http://www.katymagazine.com/churches.htm

[Lady Lake]

Don't rule out South Houston down I 59. Lots of open space there and you don't have ice storms to contend with like you do in North Houston-Get Licensing info at Texas Department of Insurance.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Lady Lake

Don't rule out South Houston down I 59. Lots of open space there and you don't have ice storms to contend with like you do in North Houston-Get Licensing info at Texas Department of Insurance.

I'm sorry but this post doesn't make much sense to me.

First of all 59 is US-59, not Interstate. The Trans Texas Corridor will change a small piece of it into I-69, but that's it.

''South Houston'' is an actual city SE of Houston. Sandwiched between the Hobby airport area to Pasadena and centered somewhat along Tx highway 3, it is very blue collar and somewhat run down.

Ice storms? There are no ''ice storms'' anywhere in the metro area, much less any ice worth mentioning. The northern outskirts get frostier mornings sometimes, and maybe the roads have a tiny bit of black ice, but that's it.

[EasilyAmused]

Uh we had an ice storm in Houston, back in 96 or 97. I remember it pretty clearly.

[donie]

How about the Clear Lake area? Kemah, League City, and Seabrook. I also lived in Phoenix, AZ for 25 years. Loved it! My kids were born and raised there but as you said, it is so different now. I left about 7 years ago and even though I will always miss AZ, I'm better off in TX and so are the kids. The crime in Houston is not as bad as Phoenix. The traffic in Houston is worse then Phoenix. Way worse, the driving is really bad in Houston. If you love the SW flavor of AZ, I would suggest San Antonio. That would be familiar to you and your family. Austin is also a great family town. TX is so much more inexpensive then AZ is now and the wages are good in TX. Good luck!

[laniec]

Originally Posted by Mr. Football

For large lots and small town settings, check out Tomball, Magnolia, Montgomery or Conroe. All are very nicely wooded, mostly pastoral settings with slightly rolling (sometimes even hilly) terrain. Lake Windcrest is beautiful. There are dozens of great choices in these areas.

If you want to be near-ish to Houston, I would agree with these suggestions. Tomball and Conroe are the first that came to mind for me. But in general I don't really think "natural landscape" and "Houston" together.

I agree that San Antonio might be worth looking into.

[aznative1964]

donie - thanks for your input. It's nice to hear a former Zonie not having regrets of moving. I think that's what I'm most concerned about. My husband is much more willing to leave. He said, we can always move back if it's not what we want. I just think of the kids and what's best for them.
I'm also considering the Allen or Mckinney area near Dallas. Any one have knowledge to share, etc.

[kiriath_jearim]

I lived in Houston from 1997-2000, then in Dallas until 2003. I now live in Glendale, AZ. I think of going back to East TX, but not in Houston proper.

As you probably know, AZ recently passed an "employer verification" law requiring employers to verify the citizenship of potential employees. There are reports that many illegal immigrants are leaving AZ and are migrating to Texas, especially to the greater job potentialities of Houston and Dallas. So, if you are hoping to escape the crime and other problems caused by many illegal aliens concentrated in an urban area, you may want to wait and see what happens to Houston and Dallas in the next several months. Houston had its massive influx of Katrina refugees and now there will likely be an influx of "illegals" because Texas reportedly does not have an employer verification law.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Uh we had an ice storm in Houston, back in 96 or 97. I remember it pretty clearly.

Ah yes, Jan 97. Was in College Station at the time.

'89 was pretty cold, too right?

Ok, I take back my previous comment. We have ice storms about once every 10-15 years.

[jfre81]

I can categorically say there was about an inch of snow in Texas City on December 22, 1989. Don't know much about what happened anywhere else that morning. That was the closest to a White Christmas until '04, when we had as close to a blizzard as we'll probably ever see here (5-6 inches).