Houston has a high COL for Texas (Dallas, San Antonio: transplants, home equity)

[asknow123]

Originally Posted by kwr

Think you and a few other posters are missing the point. Relocating form Boston (the 3rd most expensive city in the US behind San Francisco and NY — Yes, Boston is more expensive than Los Angeles), I was surprised how expensive Houston is INSIDE the loop considering all the low cost of living headlines. You have to live far in the suburbs to get cheap housing here. It is difficult to find a nice home in any of the good neighborhoods inside the loop for <$800k. Even at that price, you most likely will end up in a townhouse. From a rental perspective, downtown has the highest avg rent at $2k a month for a 1 bdrm. When you factor in the low cost suburbs, the metro area looks deceivingly low.

Exactly. The problem is Houston has a reputation as a low COL area-- which is completely false. When people say that they often don't mean "Houston" but rather "the surburbs surrounding Houston where you have to commute for an hour in traffic" are low COL. A lot of these suburbs are their own cities so they aren't even part of the city of Houston. When you get to prices in the half-million dollar range for homes inside and just outside the loop-- Houston is no longer low COL and is in fact much higher priced than other cities in Texas.


There are many metro areas in Texas-- Fort Worth, Austin (consider 183, 290, 360 a loop), San Antonio, even Dallas where you can buy a house inside their loops for much less than a half-million dollars.


This isn't a slight on Houston-- the city has a lot of things going for it. But low COL needs to stop being mentioned as one of those things.

[fbf2006]

Originally Posted by bu2

The same is true pretty much anywhere. Close in nice neighborhoods are a lot more expensive than the average. Houston's pricier neighborhoods are less pricey than similar areas in almost all other major metros (and a lot less than the east and west coasts) and the suburbs are less expensive than comparable suburbs elsewhere.

Exactly! I'm a little confused. Close in nice neighborhoods everywhere are expensive, even in random places that are not NY or Cali.

As someone who has lived in both the Boston and NYC metro areas, the Houston area is definitely cheaper to me. NYC and Boston area property taxes are lower, yes, NJ property taxes are about the same, if not higher. Plus income tax. You tend to use more gas in Houston, so that's higher. The big thing I look at is property though. The Houston area was even cheaper than the Dallas area when I searched last year.

Someone complained about using the term "Houston" when not looking in Houston proper, but that's just how it is. It's the same way everywhere. People looking in Boston are not necessarily looking in Boston proper. People in lots of places are commuting an hour or so, whether by train, car, bus or ferry. This is not limited to Houston.

[kwr]

Originally Posted by fbf2006

Exactly! I'm a little confused. Close in nice neighborhoods everywhere are expensive, even in random places that are not NY or Cali.

As someone who has lived in both the Boston and NYC metro areas, the Houston area is definitely cheaper to me. NYC and Boston area property taxes are lower, yes, NJ property taxes are about the same, if not higher. Plus income tax. You tend to use more gas in Houston, so that's higher. The big thing I look at is property though. The Houston area was even cheaper than the Dallas area when I searched last year.

Someone complained about using the term "Houston" when not looking in Houston proper, but that's just how it is. It's the same way everywhere. People looking in Boston are not necessarily looking in Boston proper. People in lots of places are commuting an hour or so, whether by train, car, bus or ferry. This is not limited to Houston.

Most people know Boston, NY/NJ and the majority of California (including suburbs in these areas) have a high cost of living. You are confused because you are overlooking the point that Houston is viewed overall as having low COL. It’s misleading! I explained this in my previous post. See asknow123’s posts as well. Only the suburbs have low COL like Cypress where you live. There are many other places in the country with lower COL compared to inside the loop.

[fbf2006]

Originally Posted by kwr

Most people know Boston, NY/NJ and the majority of California (including suburbs in these areas) have a high cost of living. You are confused because you are overlooking the point that Houston is viewed overall as a low COL and it’s not. I explained this in my previous post. Only the suburbs are low COL like Cypress where you live.

I am not confused though. The Boston, NYC, NJ suburbs are all quite expensive, compared to the Houston suburbs. That's what we are saying. Houston proper nice neighborhoods are still somewhat cheaper than comparable neighborhoods in NY and California for what you get.

I don't think anyone expects every single corner of Houston to be low COL, There are expensive areas everywhere. But compared to the east and west coast city proper, Houston proper is still cheaper for what you get.

[kwr]

Originally Posted by fbf2006

I am not confused though. The Boston, NYC, NJ suburbs are all quite expensive, compared to the Houston suburbs. That's what we are saying. Houston proper nice neighborhoods are still somewhat cheaper than comparable neighborhoods in NY and California for what you get.

I don't think anyone expects every single corner of Houston to be low COL, There are expensive areas everywhere. But compared to the east and west coast city proper, Houston proper is still cheaper for what you get.

Duh, the point of this thread is not to say the nice neighborhoods inside the loop are more expensive than comparable neighborhoods in the NE or West. The point of the thread rather is to highlight that it is deceiving to say Houston has a low COL. You are confused and I hope this now makes sense.

[AliefNorth]

There are many decent neighborhoods inside the city limits (Houston proper) that aren’t considered expensive. Stop excluding everything outside loop 610

[fbf2006]

Originally Posted by kwr

Duh, the point of this thread is not to say the nice neighborhoods inside the loop are more expensive than comparable neighborhoods in the NE or West. The point of the thread rather is to highlight that it is deceiving to say Houston has a low COL. You are confused and I hope this now makes sense.

LOL Ok, thanks for the information. I didn't realize there are people out there that don't know there are expensive areas in every decent city.

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by kwr

Duh, the point of this thread is not to say the nice neighborhoods inside the loop are more expensive than comparable neighborhoods in the NE or West. The point of the thread rather is to highlight that it is deceiving to say Houston has a low COL. You are confused and I hope this now makes sense.

Which is a strawman, because these comparisons focused strictly in terms involving other major metros.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by AliefNorth

Stop excluding everything outside loop 610

Much of Houston outside 610 combines the less desirable elements of big city life (e.g. trash, crime) with the less desirable elements of suburban life (e.g. sprawl, car dependency) into one. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

[westhou]

For a city of its size Houston is very cheap