Houston or Phoenix (houses, job market, good schools)

[jsutton82]

My husband are making the big move from small town life to city living. I am a fresh college grad with my Bach. and he has his masters. We have narrowed our choices between Houston and Phoenix but need some insight. We are currently in NM so we are accustomed to the differences in weather and the general southwest culture.

We have a small family, 2 kids and 1 dog, and we are fresh out of college. We are not fresh in the sense of we have lived with our parents our whole lives and never had to deal with any kinds of grown up things.....we own a house, we have two cars we pay for, we both have full time jobs.......we get it!

We are looking for a place that gives us options of employement, good housing choices, good schools, friendly people, and the ability to take our kids to places for fun...unlike our small town right now.

I am not looking for slamming or bashing of either, just facts from the people who live there......PLEASE HELP!!!!

[()_T]

Houston would be great since you want a "big city" feel and Houston has more job opprotunities, great schools and friendly people.

There are more fun places to take your kids in the Houston area than Phoenix.

[Master Shake]

I think Houston is an overall bigger city (including the greater Houston area) than Phoenix (including the greater Phoenix area), and there are probably more options/opportunity (everything that you listed above, that you are looking for) in Houston. There is a much larger downtown in Houston, compared to Phoenix, but if you want to live in the downtown Houston area, it will also be much more expensive than the downtown area of Phoenix. There is no state income tax in Texas, but the property taxes are much higher than Phoenix.

Houston has much worse traffic, and in my opinion, the weather is more extreme than Phoenix -- both the colder winters with occasional icy roads and the humidity in the summer. Phoenix does get hotter based on the thermometer reading, but I personally prefer the dry heat, compared to the humility factor. Also, Phoenix does not have hurricanes! Phoenix has more of an "out west" feel compared to Houston, which might be more like what you are used to in New Mexico.

Your best bet would be to visit both and see for yourself. Try sometime in July/August and then again in January/February to get a good feel for the weather extremes.

[coog78]

If you still want the Southwest culture, I would recommend Phoenix. Houston has a very unique Houston feel, which you more have to experience than describe.

It does get very hot here as well, and the humidity will be a shocking contrast to what you are use to. I love living in Houston though, and you should at least check it out.

[MalteseJane]

Another thing to take in consideration is the housing market. The houses in Houston are cheaper than in Phoenix. A lot. Prices here in Phoenix in the supermarkets are also higher than in Houston. We lived for 30 years in Houston and moved recently to the Phoenix area. So I know. I don't know the job market. We are retired. We moved because our daughter lives here and the weather.

[ziz_zum]

Houston has troubles like most large cities do, but if you are well educated (like it appears) it should be easy to start a career here. More fortune 500 businesses here than anywhere else in the nation. I have been coming here my whole life on weekends for fun and just made the move.

Museums, plays, operas, a great zoo, great professional sports teams, lots to do for a young family. You can get tickets to all I have mentioned for 30 bucks or so for adults. In fact my girlfriend and I will be going to the zoo, nasa, and two museums for 60 bucks total this weekend. Not bad.