compare Charlotte to Katy, TX (Houston, Galveston: homes, employment, neighborhoods)

[Charlottetohouston?]

Hi - I am the mom of 4 boys (ages 13, 11, 9 and 3). We have lived in Charlotte for 18 years (all of our adult lives since getting out of school). A move would be a big deal - my whole family is in Charlotte. However, my husband has a great career opportunity in Houston. What factors should we consider in comparing Houston to Katy (sounds like Katy would be the most convenient place to live based on job location). Anyone familiar with both cities? Thanks!

[jfre81]

Well, taken for how it was asked....Charlotte is a lot bigger than Katy with a lot more big-city stuff. Katy is 30 miles from any of that, in Houston. You might mean compare the Charlotte area to the Houston area? Is the job in Katy? Katy isn't exactly an employment center, although people do work there. Giant mall called Katy Mills along an equally giant interstate. Katy is a lot flatter than Charlotte too.

This is assuming you're not talking about Charlotte, Texas after all...but anyway, I lived near Raleigh for awhile, but haven't seen much around Charlotte. It had been my intention to make a trip down there but it didn't work out, and I might go make a visit next time I go into NC.

[EasilyAmused]

Charlotte: You're 4 hours to gorgeous beachs and 2 hours from the mountains. You get four full seasons. Big city but not sprawled. You have tree galore

Houston/Katy: You are 10 hours from nice Gulf beaches, 13 hours to the nice beach on the Atlantic and a hella drive to the mountains. Two season here, mildly cool and hot. 7 months of the year you Thank God AC was invented. This place sprawls fro miles and it "international." Katy has no trees unless you plant them.

[CitrusFruit]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Houston/Katy: You are 10 hours from nice Gulf beaches, 13 hours to the nice beach on the Atlantic

Honest curiosity here. What are you considering "nice Gulf beaches and nice beach on the Atlantic" versus not so nice Gulf beaches/Atlanic beaches? Qualifiers/disqualifiers?

[EasilyAmused]

Nice beaches on the Gulf don't really start until Florida. West of the Mississippi the water is brown and brackish. The beaches are rather dirty and the sand brown. Galveston isn't a great Beach IMHO. Atlantic Coast beaches of Florida, Georgia, SC and NC are 13+ hour drive.

Some say Corpus and Padre are nice, but they just don't compare to Eastern Beaches. I say nice beaches are clean, fluffy white sand, and blue waters. Dunes are a perk.

Of course you can always jump on a plane and be in Hawaii in 8 hours.

[CitrusFruit]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Nice beaches on the Gulf don't really start until Florida. West of the Mississippi the water is brown and brackish. The beaches are rather dirty and the sand brown. Galveston isn't a great Beach IMHO. Atlantic Coast beaches of Florida, Georgia, SC and NC are 13+ hour drive.

Some say Corpus and Padre are nice, but they just don't compare to Eastern Beaches. I say nice beaches are clean, fluffy white sand, and blue waters. Dunes are a perk.

Of course you can always jump on a plane and be in Hawaii in 8 hours.

Ok, this makes sense. (I haven't been to Galveston yet, not on the beach anyway)

I think one of the things I'm going to miss about the NC coast is the seashells. I used to LOVE walking along the coastline and finding neat little shells and sometimes pebbles to collect.

[Premont]

Actually Katy is only 2 hours 45 minutes away from the hill country in Texas which I think is very attractive country. It's also only a few freeway exits from west Houston. I live in west Houston and very rarely feel the need to go downtown. What do you really need other than a mall, Home Depot, Walmart, some restaurants, a few banks, and some parks? If I feel the need to see a ballgame or the opera or something, I simply go on Katy Freeway and drive downtown. In Katy you also should be able to afford a bigger home than Charlotte and they have excelllent schools. I think it's a good place to live.

[Alatex]

Nice beaches on the Gulf don't really start until Florida.

Gulf Shores, AL actually fits the bill quite nicely, but that's "almost" Florida.

[breethecowgirl]

Katy is a lot flatter and a lot more suburban, but they have plenty of fast food restraunts and a giant mall, so I don't think you'd need to go towards the inner city that much. The schools are great and it's a lot cheaper than Charlotte. It does get a lot warmer here than in Charlotte.

[sophie5]

Hi Charlottetohouston - we are moving from Houston to Charlotte this summer. Katy is a suburb, like Concord, Huntersville, Fort Mill (we're moving to Fort Mill). Like Concord, Katy has a Mills Mall. The main difference between the two areas are the neighborhoods - Houston suburbs are sprawling with Master Planned communities, some of which have several thousand homes (check out Cinco Ranch in Katy). Of all the suburbs, Katy is a nice one - great shopping, schools, churches, etc.... But the traffic on I-10 is horrendous. Where will your husband be working?