Native Californian moving to Texas - what am I in for? (Houston: for rent, low crime)

[Cathleen]

Hope41day , I sent you a private message to your forum inbox.

[wills]

Tomball is pretty nice. Or used to be, growth is metastasizing all around it, but there is still some small town ambience. Compared to the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia, it will be paradise. It is one of the more conservative areas of the county, so you won’t have to tolerate left wing political correctness.

[Premont]

Tomball has about 10,000 people, so your daughter might be bored by the small town atmosphere. It is a pretty little town. Its got a Luby's, some other decent restaurants and a movie theater. The good thing is that its about a 20 minute drive from either 290 or I-45 which will put you into the Houston area.

[DFWMike]

I doubt your daughter will have much problem fitting in, I would imagine the kids in Tomball are much like what she's leaving if not a tad more conservative. It's a middle to upper middle income area so the kids are on the cutting edge and it's growing which means she will fit in better with the kids. So I would say you chose well, but hey, if you don't like bugs and humidity move to Dallas. Still hot, but you don't sweat near as much and we don't have mosquitos the size of jumbo jets.

[sgd]

Originally Posted by DFWMike

I doubt your daughter will have much problem fitting in, I would imagine the kids in Tomball are much like what she's leaving if not a tad more conservative. It's a middle to upper middle income area so the kids are on the cutting edge and it's growing which means she will fit in better with the kids. So I would say you chose well, but hey, if you don't like bugs and humidity move to Dallas. Still hot, but you don't sweat near as much and we don't have mosquitos the size of jumbo jets.

Tomball is a small town. NOTHING like an urban neighborhood. Kids in Tomball join the 4H club. Does your daughter even know what that is?
There is a huge variety in income there - from the very wealthy who live on huge estates with horses and stocked ponds, to those who live in trailer parks. I imagine that this will add stress to your daughter's move.

In north Houston, there are more populated and suburban areas. Cy-Fair, Cy-Creek, Jersey Village, The Woodlands, Spring, Kingwood and Humble are farther east.

[sandiegan_transplant]

[quote=LastDallasNative;327266]

Originally Posted by Cathleen

The most difficult thing for us to get used to was the conservative views of the "locals" - but that seems to be changing."


We provide a nice state to live in, but then we get criticized for having conservative views. No mention that maybe the conservative views provided the "people here are much friendlier, far more polite, and helpful."

I'm from Texas. I live in San Diego moving back to Texas when my husband's Navy contract ends in May. That being said Texans are far more politically and socially conservative than Californians. At the same time, you get a flat tire in Texas and ten cars line up next to you to help you. Same flat in California and the other drivers give you the finger, cuss at you, and moon you. Personal experiences. Admit it and move on.

[Midnitecruzer]

I'm also moving from San Diego, but to Katy. TX. In my case, my 16 year old is leaving a boyfriend and her group of girlfriends. My 5 year old is already saying that she will miss her daycare center friends at Camp Pendleton and all her new friends at her kinder class in Vista, CA. And even though we own our own business, it is our second marraige for both. We are also newlyweds and starting over. My wife comes from a good family in Venezuela and she does not mind my situation. We also shop at Payless, Walmart, Kmart, Kohls, Burlington Coat Factory and once in a while at the thrift shops.
1st couple of years on a business is in the red but with us we have barely kept it in the black. We pay $1650.00 in rent for a 2brm 2bth house. And we would like to own our own place. Katy to us, is the place to go. We are letting our daughter go out with her girlfriends more often as long as she keeps bringing "A"s on her report card. We know that it is going to hit her hard (maybe) because they learn from what they see in their parents. And I don't demonstrate any hessitation on leaving and that I learn while in the service. I learned to accept moving from place to place every 3 years. If you can get used to it then nothing will bother you.
If by chance our house has roaches when we get it, I will make sure that I personally spray the house various times before we set foot in it. We do not care for the critters and we have experience of moving from a roache infected apt to the house we live in and stopped all intruters. We did discover in our boxes, that we packed ourselves insuring that no free riders got in but when we unpacked our boxes a month later, we discovered at least eight dead at the bottom of different boxes. But what got them was that we sprayed every inch of the garage including the walls, concrete floor, corners and ceiling. Then when we moved we left all the boxes in the garage and one by one we unpacked to a well sprayed home. And if any escaped our unpacking, they were killed by coming in contact with the sprayed area.
Whoops! got carried away here! LOL, anyway good luck with your move.
Best Regards,
Papermaker4u

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by Premont

Tomball has about 10,000 people, so your daughter might be bored by the small town atmosphere. It is a pretty little town. Its got a Luby's, some other decent restaurants and a movie theater. The good thing is that its about a 20 minute drive from either 290 or I-45 which will put you into the Houston area.

You all are making Tomball look small. Did you know that Katy has 13,000 inside its city limits? Would you call that area small? Highway 249 runs right through Tomball, and is a freeway just south of it. A lot of growth in the area. Many new subdivisions, especially on 249. Has many wooded sections, and not flat throughout the whole area.

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by DFWMike

I doubt your daughter will have much problem fitting in, I would imagine the kids in Tomball are much like what she's leaving if not a tad more conservative. It's a middle to upper middle income area so the kids are on the cutting edge and it's growing which means she will fit in better with the kids. So I would say you chose well, but hey, if you don't like bugs and humidity move to Dallas. Still hot, but you don't sweat near as much and we don't have mosquitos the size of jumbo jets.

Dallas is barely less humid, and I live in Arlington, there are plenty of bugs. The first was a large mosquito the size of a gorilla. Came in right through the front door.

[JoyRider]

I am a Native Texan (born and bed). I have lived in the DFW area up until I was 32 yrs old and then moved into Houston for 9 years then moved out to Katy and am still here. First off, the DFW is hot but just a dry hot (sometimes not much rain other times it rains forever, and don't get me started on the storms..), bugs (yes we have them, any place south of a decent frost line will have bugs, you just have to spray for them), crime (any place you have people your going to have some bad apples) certain areas should be avoided. My suggestion would be a short term lease 6 months or so on a apartment or house. Look around, drive thru neighborhoods ask questions of the locals. When my husband and I moved to Houston we moved into the Greenspoint area, came highly recommended, (nick named GunsPoint), (and we had 2 small children) after our lease was up we moved out. All I'm saying is everyone can give you suggestion on were to move but you have to really investigate it for yourself. And just because Texans are a little more conservative doesn't mean we are closed minded. Give me a break if I believed half of what I have heard about New Yorkers and Californians I would run screaming..... (I'm laughing here...)