From CA to Houston worth it anymore? (Pearland, Friendswood: chapel, houses)

[morgansa55]

I have always heard A Californian could move to TX and have a much better quality of life. Mostly find more affordable housing. My husband and I were thinking of relocating. His commute is pretty intense and his hours are not ideal. We do live in a nice city in So Cal Inland Empire. We could sell our home for around 400,000. Our property taxes are 1.25 percent. But looking at the "good" areas like....the woodlands, Katy area. It does not seem like houses are that much cheaper. We would hope to buy a 4 bedroom house, in a nice area with a decent commute to downtown. We have always liked the idea of owning an acre for hobby farming, but that is seeming to be a rarity anywhere now. Schools don't matter because we plan to send our children to private school. Can anyone help me out and recommend some areas for us? A 4 bedroom house with a somewhat rural feel but close to downtown for commuting around $250,000?

[SugLandDAd]

An acre of land, somewhat rural feel but close to downtown for commuting around $250,000

That's not really possible in Houston; sorry.

To understand what is available, look into HAR.com, its the best site for finding homes in the Houston area.

Given Houston's size, you also really need to have a feel for where you will be working. There are a great many jobs in the Houston area that are not downtown, where it might actually be possible to get closer to what you are looking for.

Start with where you will be working, figure out what is commutable from there.

Other, smaller, Texas cities may very well be able to meet your criteria, so you might want to re-post this to the Texas forum

[BurgersUnlimited]

Check out Pearland or Friendswood if you want to be close to the city.

[Houston321]

I think you should stay put.

[RoamingTX]

Let me get this straight:

You want an acre of land with an easy commute to the downtown area of the 4th largest city in the US...
You want that for $250,000...
You're willing to forgo the 1%ish that you'll pay for ISD taxes...

And this is somehow different from when?

What you're looking for was never a reality.

ETA: A "nice" city in the IE is a definite oxymoron when comparing to the Houston area. Unless you're looking for flatbrim bro culture, in which the IE wins by a mile.

[IndyRC]

I think it also depends on the OP's definition of close to downtown.

[Lbjen]

You’ll also be looking at double the property taxes, at least.

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by morgansa55

I have always heard A Californian could move to TX and have a much better quality of life. Mostly find more affordable housing. My husband and I were thinking of relocating. His commute is pretty intense and his hours are not ideal. We do live in a nice city in So Cal Inland Empire. We could sell our home for around 400,000. Our property taxes are 1.25 percent. But looking at the "good" areas like....the woodlands, Katy area. It does not seem like houses are that much cheaper. We would hope to buy a 4 bedroom house, in a nice area with a decent commute to downtown. We have always liked the idea of owning an acre for hobby farming, but that is seeming to be a rarity anywhere now. Schools don't matter because we plan to send our children to private school. Can anyone help me out and recommend some areas for us? A 4 bedroom house with a somewhat rural feel but close to downtown for commuting around $250,000?

Willis, Brenham or Chapel Hill is your best bet. My friend from Cali did the same thing. But beware of the crosses, since you say you are from Cali

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by morgansa55

I have always heard A Californian could move to TX and have a much better quality of life. Mostly find more affordable housing. My husband and I were thinking of relocating. His commute is pretty intense and his hours are not ideal. We do live in a nice city in So Cal Inland Empire. We could sell our home for around 400,000. Our property taxes are 1.25 percent. But looking at the "good" areas like....the woodlands, Katy area. It does not seem like houses are that much cheaper. We would hope to buy a 4 bedroom house, in a nice area with a decent commute to downtown. We have always liked the idea of owning an acre for hobby farming, but that is seeming to be a rarity anywhere now. Schools don't matter because we plan to send our children to private school. Can anyone help me out and recommend some areas for us? A 4 bedroom house with a somewhat rural feel but close to downtown for commuting around $250,000?

What you heard might've been true for people from coastal California, not those from the cheaper part of the state. The COL here wouldn't necessarily be lower for someone like you.

[HTownNearNative]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

What you heard might've been true for people from coastal California, not those from the cheaper part of the state. The COL here wouldn't necessarily be lower for someone like you.

This!