Pasadena Work and Rentals, COL, everything! (Houston, Baytown: apartments, insurance, crime)

[firefrost]

Hello all! Newbie hoping to gain some information on the area around Houston. I currently reside in Southeastern Oklahoma, nice area, nestled with the World's Highest Hill. Anyhow, the reason I'm interested in Pasadena is because I'm wanting to move to be closer to the love of my life.

As a hypothetical scenario, I move down there within 3 months. My current level of work expertise has been in call centers and uplevel customer service. I read about a few Verizon jobs that are posted, so I would try to land one of those. Any idea of cost of living in the area, rent, utilities; any recommendations on where to live around there? Any type of base income I must make to live comfortably?

We would most likely move in together if money got tight, so that wouldn't be too much of a bother. Any other towns that may be good as well?

Like I said, hypothetical, I wouldn't go anywhere until I get my insurance license and finally settle into my new position with Aflac insurance here in a few weeks. Any help is appreciated!

[jd433]

Hello,
Pasadena has a fairly low Cost of Living. You can expect to pay about $1000 a month rent for a house or about $700 a Month for an apartment. Pasadena is a mature area mostly built before 1970 and is close to the oil refineries and chemical plants to the north. pasadena is close to Houston and Hobby airport. There are a lot of jobs around pasadena and being close to the 610 freeway, I-45 and the 225 there are many, many good paying jobs within an easy commute. Also Pasadena is not too far from a lot of the attractions in Houston like Space Center, Galveston and Kemah.

One of the drawbacks about Pasadena that people may mention is the fact that the refineries and chemical plants emit pollution in the form of smoke and steam that are wastes from the production and sometimes you can smell the chemicals that are produced there. If you drive along the 225 freeway you will see nothing but oil refineries for miles and they do emit a lot of smoke. Pasadena even has a nick name because of this it is "Stink-A-Dena".

Pasadena is also a little segregated racially with most of the hispanic population living to the North, closer to the refineries and most of the white population living to the South. Pasadena has a stigma about being racist against Black people and to this day the Black population is only about 1% in Pasadena when Pasadena is in a region where Black populations are more like 20% on average. Recently in Pasadena a white man shot 2 suspected Black burgulars and I believe killed them both. So far no charges have been filed against the man who killed them.

For the most part you will not encounter problems in Pasadena it is like most other Texas towns where the people are friendly, hard working folks like yourself just trying to get by. Don't be surprised when they give you a big Texas howdy.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by jd433

If you drive along the 225 freeway you will see nothing but oil refineries for miles and they do emit a lot of smoke. Pasadena even has a nick name because of this it is "Stink-A-Dena".

Actually there are only 4 refineries along 225...Valero, Lyondell (or whatever their latest name is today), Pasadena Refining, and Shell (from west to east), the rest are chemical plants and bulk storage facilities.

The name "Stink - A - Dena" was primarily due to the old Simpson paper mill (it really did stink) but it closed several years ago and the stack and a part of the facility was imploded a few weeks ago so it will never reopen.

Air quality on this side of town has dramatically improved over the last 20 years. Odor issues are becoming much more infrequent.

[firefrost]

Thanks for the info. Kinda iffy on the burglar story!

I myself am of Native American descent, so I don't know how the locals might take to me. But, are there any other places I maybe should look at besides Pasadena? Maybe...just throwing out places, Sugar Land, Deer Park, League City, Friendswood, Pearland? I don't know; just saw them on a map.

[texas7]

Pasadena's cost of living is about the same as elsewhere in Houston - housing in the older areas may be a little less than the average. Apartments and rentals - pretty much the same. A nice "luxury" apt. will run you 800-900 for a one bedroom and $1000+ for a 2 bedroom (Look up Broadwater and The Park at Fairmont). Regular apt. - older - not considered "luxury" about $700 for a 1 br. The smell is pretty much non-existent unless you are on the Highway 225 side of Pasadena. The old Stink-A-Dena really doesn't exist anymore - that is a very, very old phrase (think 70's). Hispanics are pretty mixed throughout the city now and the black population is increasing but still somewhat low - racism really isn't a problem there -- however it was a huge problem (again in the 1970's) ........ times have changed. It's rnot a bad place and quite convenient to a lot of things. It is like two worlds collided. If you live between in teh areas bounded by Burke/Spencer/Fairmont/Red Bluff - everything is nice, new upscale. If you live in the older sections outside of that - it looks as though time has stood still. Deer Park is nice which borders Pasadena. Feels rather small town. You'll really just have to check out the areas yourself and decide. A lot of people post what they "heard" or what they have known from the past. The burglars - yeah - a white man shot two burglars who were black but it really wasn't a racial deal (although some would like to make it one). It was a bad situation all the way around - the guy was determined to shoot two burglars regardless of race and he did (think people are just sick of crime in the base case). You say the love of your life lives in this area - so he/she can probably give you the scoop on it if you are interested. Sort of yesterday's news and really not a big deal -- certainly nothing to be concerned about. Although Houston is huge so where you choose to live may depend alot upon where your significant other lives (side of town) and where your job will be. There are great communities on all sides of town and I would think you would want to let those factor your decision somewhat.

[ThaBigCheese]

Hello all, I'm currently interviewing for a position in Pasadena. I currently live in Vancouver, WA and will probably have a fly out in the next couple of weeks. I have 2 young daughters, so the schools are a very important piece of the puzzle in where I'll choose to live. I will probably rent for a year before deciding where to purchase. I know Friendswood, Clear Lake and Pearland are within commuting distance. I would be willing to commute up to an hour to live in a nice community with excellent schools.

Also, if anyone has any information on Advanced level soccer clubs and gymnastics gyms in the area that would also help me in deciding where to reside.

[texas7]

If you want to be really close to work - you could choose Deer Park which is the next community over and has very good schools. Another very close distance choice would be Clear Lake which has greats schools and again brushes the border of Clear Lake and is only minutes away. I would pick either of those two - You can look in Baywood Oaks or Village Grove - Pasadena address - Deer Park Schools. Be careful in Baywood Oaks - one side is Deer Park Schools and the other Pasadena - you don't want Pasadena schools. Clear Lake, Deer Park, Friendswood and Pearland would be my choices in that order - based on your work locale and school districts. If you look in Clear Lake, I would find a neighborhood that feeds into Clear Lake H.S. versus Clear Brook. While both are good schools - Clear Brook seems to have more issues (according to my friends whose kids go there - have no personal experience there of my own).

[ThaBigCheese]

Originally Posted by texas7

If you want to be really close to work - you could choose Deer Park which is the next community over and has very good schools. Another very close distance choice would be Clear Lake which has greats schools and again brushes the border of Clear Lake and is only minutes away. I would pick either of those two - You can look in Baywood Oaks or Village Grove - Pasadena address - Deer Park Schools. Be careful in Baywood Oaks - one side is Deer Park Schools and the other Pasadena - you don't want Pasadena schools. Clear Lake, Deer Park, Friendswood and Pearland would be my choices in that order - based on your work locale and school districts. If you look in Clear Lake, I would find a neighborhood that feeds into Clear Lake H.S. versus Clear Brook. While both are good schools - Clear Brook seems to have more issues (according to my friends whose kids go there - have no personal experience there of my own).

Hey Texas7 thanks for the info. I don't necessarily need to be that close to work. A fantastic school district for my children is more important than me living close to work. I'll commute an hour if it means my daughters are in the best school district possible. I look at a commute as a necessary evil to living in a major city and earning a bigger paycheck.

[texas7]

Clear Creek ISD (which includes Clear Lake) schools are highly ranked. Students do well on SATs and your commute wouldn't be bad at all. Clear Lake provides a very enjoyable lifestyle - although part of Houston - they seem apart from it - gives more of a small town vibe.

[tstone]

I've been told by a couple black guys I know that racism is still alive and well in Pasadena. Even though it's 50% Hispanic, there has to be a reason it is only 1.6% black, while Harris county is closer to 18%. (See wiki) It is possibly the reputation, as it was once a "N-word, don't let the sun set on you in Pasadena" type of town.

Stinkadena is most definitely the case around the tollway from Spencer to 225 but when the wind shifts as it does sometimes, it can stink in other places. The south parts down Fairmont @ Space Center Blvd and to the south are quite nice & suburban and never stink. The drawback, though, is that street seriously floods when you spit on it. To be honest, it's a freakin' joke.

All in all, you can have Pasadena, Deer Park, Baytown, La Porte and Mont Belvieu. Overall I see them as culturally bland, S. East Texas refinery towns that got sucked in by Houston's growth. They may be for some folks, just not for me.