*Thinking about moving out of Houston ** (West, Howe: real estate, to live in, cost of)

[Milton Miteybad]

Originally Posted by Watchful

I love me some Houston...especially the food....but Mrs. Watchful and I just KNEW we could not retire there....so we are in Roanoke, VA. Mini-metro area of about 300K so there are a few amenities. But no sprawl. Mountains. And four seasons that each last three months.

Did I mention there are four seasons that each last three months?

Here in Houston, we found that four seasons were just too many. We got rid of most of them, and we're doing just fine. Everybody was a lot happier once we did that. After all...all you really need are summer and August.

Well...maybe not August. But it's still good to know you can play golf 350 days a year if you want (sometimes it rains), and you can fire up the grill on the porch any old time and not have to worry about your eyelids freezing shut. This four seasons thing is really overrated, if you ask me.

Added for topicality: If the OP wants to leave, by all means, he/she should find some place that suits him/her better than Houston. Don't hang around if this place makes you miserable. Life is too short, and all that.

[TiredofTexas]

I totally understand where the OP's sentiments are coming from. We have been in Houston for eight years, and while we have enjoyed it, we knew this was not a place we were going to stay. We just cannot handle the extreme heat and having to stay indoors for months at a time (we're both very active and outdoors lovers), the politics, the concrete jungle, the lack of topography, and the lack of public transportation options. Houston is a great city overall, but for us the negatives finally outweighed the positives. With that said, we're packing up and relocating to the Bay Area and are fully prepared to pay three times the price for a home for half the space. Life is an adventure and it's too short to stay put if you're not happy with your location. I'll always have soft spot for Houston, but it's time to go. Best of luck, OP!

P.S. What's up with there being a gun show here almost EVERY weekend?! Won't miss that, either.

[lipbalm]

traffic is the only thing that will probably "drive" me out of town (*ba-dum PSH*, thank you I will be here all week)

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig2

Well, I lived in Houston even longer than that, and despite those two reasons mentioned above for staying, I threw it all away to relocate in a completely different area. Fast forward 4 years, and I can't wait to get back. Yeah, when you're in the midst of the big city, it can seem like crap, but it can also be an illusion that life is going to be automatically better elsewhere. I picked a place essentially opposite of Houston (dry climate, small town, easy mobility, four distinct seasons, etc.) and although it seemed good at first, the benefits and desirability didn't last long. The whole image of the very new and different place ended up being more illusion than anything beneficial and significant. I now see a lot in Houston that I can appreciate, while also not dwelling on issues that I made bigger than necessary. A different perspective changes everything!

People think the solution is the opposite of the place they dislike, instead of a place slightly different.

I grew up in Louisiana and decided to head away to the Northeast for college because I was tired of heat and humidity. I figured the Northeast would be good to escape that. Not only did I not escape the heat and humidity up there because they didn't have A/C in my dorm room, but the winter was bitter cold.

Fast forward 4 years and I moved to California. I loved it out there. Mild weather meant I could do stuff all year.

I live in Texas but I am still fond of my CA days. If my son didn't love his school so much I might get the notion to move, but I'm stuck here for the moment.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Los Angeles is booming right now. Some posters in the L.A. forum want to move out because recently there is more traffic (= more people) than usual. I was surprised that the freeways were clogged mid-day like it was a weekday (by Texas standards) on a Sunday, something that never happens here in Texas! It must be horrible on an actual weekday!

I guess the recession is over, at least in California, for now.

LA is booming but SF is booming even moreso. Average home prices are above $1M in SF and $900K in San Jose. All of the apps that the millennials use are based in the Bay Area and there are satellite campuses in LA for those that like the beach lifestyle. For instance, google has HQ in Bay Area but a campus right near Venice Beach.

I wouldn't move back to Northern California if I moved back to CA because it's too expensive, even though I prefer the Bay Area climate to S. Cali. But one day I may move to Southern California if I get the chance.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

I don't want to live anywhere with the winter season. That's my preference anyway.

But there's places like CA without winter that also don't have humidity in the summer.

[the topper]

Originally Posted by TexanGirl007

After 25 years of living here I feel like its time to move on. Houston its being over run by people moving in and there is construction around every corner. Also it seems that its just getting hotter and hotter every day. I have been here since high school and college and post college and feel like now its just being taken over. Anyone else thinking of moving on to something new?

I love Houston of 1989: Friendly people, low cost of living, mellow pace and lots of cheap housing with open lots right next to downtown

Fast forward to now: rude people because of so many Californians/New Yorker taken over the place and teaching people their lousy value, very congested, relatively expensive and lousy vibe.

What a difference 25 years make! Head to Montana or Idaho: lower cost of living, cool vibe and good economy

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by the topper

I love Houston of 1989: Friendly people, low cost of living, mellow pace and lots of cheap housing with open lots right next to downtown

Fast forward to now: rude people because of so many Californians/New Yorker taken over the place and teaching people their lousy value, very congested, relatively expensive and lousy vibe.

What a difference 25 years make! Head to Montana or Idaho: lower cost of living, cool vibe and good economy

Not sure who you've been running into but 99% of the folks I meet are friendly regardless of where they came from. There are snooty folks all over the country even back in 1989 Houston.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by cBach

But there's places like CA without winter that also don't have humidity in the summer.

Agreed:

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

SoCal has beautiful weather, no doubt about that.

Personally, my SoCal lifestyle wouldn't be possible in SoCal; therefore, I have to stay in Houston for it.

Now, if I was very rich, I could do SoCal. I guess I need to buy some lotto tickets.

I really like SoCal.

In my head, I see myself surfing on Saturday mornings, playing volleyball in the afternoon and hanging out around a fire listening to the surf at night. Who wouldn't want to ride a skateboard along the beach to go have lunch and a couple of beers on a patio watching the people walking past with the ocean in the background?

Sure, the water is kind of cold and there are a lot of restrictions, but it's still a great place. Family and money keep me from living there.

[statisticsnerd]

Originally Posted by the topper

I love Houston of 1989: Friendly people, low cost of living, mellow pace and lots of cheap housing with open lots right next to downtown

Fast forward to now: rude people because of so many Californians/New Yorker taken over the place and teaching people their lousy value, very congested, relatively expensive and lousy vibe.

What a difference 25 years make! Head to Montana or Idaho: lower cost of living, cool vibe and good economy

Iowa has friendly people too, as well as many places in the South. Tennessee is nice and has down to Earth, friendly people. I have some relatives who live there and they are very nice. I hear you on Houston's rudeness. It especially shows in the way people drive around here. Many people, especially those with the gigantic pickup trucks, act like they are driving in the Grand Theft Auto game. Nobody around here knows how to use a blinker when changing lanes either. I've worked in three offices here that have had plenty of rude people. I don't get the supposed friendliness of the city that I hear people talk about. Maybe if they are from New Jersey and 95% of the people are a-holes, so 70% of the population consisting of a-holes impresses them.

As far as the supposed cheapness of the city, if you are from New York or Los Angeles, it is cheap. Not so if you are from Macon, Georgia or Cedar Rapids, Iowa. $500/month will get you a decent 1-br apartment in those places. Anything under $700/month in Houston will literally be in the middle of the ghetto where you will hear gunshots at night and have your car broken into regularly.