African-American family searching for the "Good Life" (Houston: relocating, real estate)

[bostoniangal]

Thanks for all of the information, folks. My husband and I are looking at moving to either the Houston or Atlanta areas with our 2 children (ages 5 & 2). Both of us are AA & have been born and raised in Boston. I appreciate your frank discussion of the benefits and challenges Houston has to offer.

We are both in the information technology field (management and software development). Any suggestions of Houston companies that we should more closely investigate?

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by FutureTexan

We're looking for a mixture of races and good schools. I've also heard rumors that on houses in Houston that Property Taxes can exceed 5k a year but when I look at the property taxes websites and match them with houses for sale, usually for a house valued at around 150k I get a yearly propery tax of $1,200

does anyone know the truth on that ?

Tax rates vary depending on location anywhere from 2.5%-4% but for a 150k home you should expect to pay around $5k before homestead and slightly lower after. A good rule of thumb in Houston is your total monthly payment works out to $100 per $10k of your mortgage so for a $150k home expect to pay around $1500 per month for mortgage/taxes/insurance.

The $1200 tax might be the city tax only and not counting school taxes, MUD taxes etc.

[ColdSenior]

As a Senior planning to move to Houston I appreciate the "racial strife" info. Of course, I have got to find the location of the "Panhandle' among many other things.

[texas7]

I think you'll like Houston -- I have friends of all ethnicities and part of what makes Houston great is that close friends can share and learn about each other and grow as a person! The races mix fairly well in Houston. I see very little prejudice in general (guess it depends on your work and day-to day environment) except that of course which is taught by parents - and that crosses all ethnicities.

[AGGIEZ]

Originally Posted by bostoniangal

Thanks for all of the information, folks. My husband and I are looking at moving to either the Houston or Atlanta areas with our 2 children (ages 5 & 2). Both of us are AA & have been born and raised in Boston. I appreciate your frank discussion of the benefits and challenges Houston has to offer.

We are both in the information technology field (management and software development). Any suggestions of Houston companies that we should more closely investigate?

Houston is an Oil & Gas city. I hear Atlanta is nice though...

[DeltaSigmaTheta]

I am a 31 y.o. professional african-american woman residing in Pearland and have resided in Houston for 1/2 of my life. I personally prefer Atlanta over Houston by a long shot. That's my personal preference being that I'm cultural and like to attend various events/shows. Someone reading this thread may say to themselves that Houston offers the same. I disagree. Atlanta is a convention/major business, tourist city so trust me, more artists/performers frequent that city considerably more so than here. There's more museums, attractions, shows, etc.

I was just there 2 weeks ago ( have been several times) to look at the city again. As most people do, I absolutely fell in love with Atlanta when I first visited. To me, there's just more to do in Atlanta and have actual scenery (more trees/hills/mountains).

Now, be careful not to move so soon as the city is experiencing a major drought & water is close to being rationed. Visit ajc.com | Atlanta Journal-Constitution and also read the Atlanta thread. Also, the crime is increasing but crime is high here in Houston as well. Those I know who live there recommend the suburbs (Northwest). And, you already may know, Atlanta's traffic is heavily congested just like it is here.

Good luck with your move wherever you decide to go!

[houstonianatheart]

Originally Posted by FarewellLA

There are also a significant Black/Latino tensions in Los Angeles....I would imagine this to be the case in most major cities in U.S. where there is a significant Black/Latino population. However, just like L.A., it may or may not impact everyone....depends on the area you live in.

I'm also considering a move to Houston.....but now Austin is sounding more like it might suit me best. I'm 40 something y/o black female, very tired of living in L.A., looking for a nice change of pace.....aside from lower housing cost, Houston is sounding a lot more like Los Angeles......filled with busy people with busy/hurried lives......I might have to take another look at Austin.

No, no, no. Sure Austin has a few AAs, about 5 percent of the population. But a good place for Blacks, not really. People are far ruder here than in Houston.

AAs in Austin are very segregated, mostly east of I-35 in the central area. Yes, AAs live throughout the city, but are so sparsely populated, that if you dropped a bomb in almost any area in West Austin, I doubt you would need a very big church service the number of AAs killed.

Houston is not terribly segregated (divided) into racial areas. Yes, the inner wards are predominately AA, and there are other pockets of AAs. But Houston truly a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic city with just about anyone from any race and ethnicity living in any part of town.

I would have to say that the biggest area of discrimination against AAs in Houston is in the job sector, but there are thousands of AA doctors, lawyers, business persons, accountants, just as there are janitors, laborers, grocery store clerks, etc.

But, for true AA good-life, Houston is where you will find more friends, of any race and culture, inexpensive housing (compared to Austin which has the most expensive average housing cost in the state), many, many, many schools to choose from. Live is Westlake Hills or Rollingwood in Austin, and have your children attend Eanes School District and I guarantee you will find high-quality racism.

[houstonianatheart]

Originally Posted by AGGIEZ

Houston is an Oil & Gas city. I hear Atlanta is nice though...

I am sorry, but Houston is far more than an oil and gas city. Yes, it is the Petroleum capital of the United States, if not the world, but it's so much more-medical and medical research, finance, space engineering and exploration, and more.

[NorsonFernandez]

Originally Posted by madlion7

Hello everyone out there in cyber-space,
Young ,Northeastern,African-American family seriously considering moving to Houston, TX. Have been researching area, via web and will be visiting area in late Apr/2007. With 3 growing children, 8,6,3, wanted truthful experiences re: diversity in schools and neighborhoods. My husband is a School Administrator and I am an R.N. Looking to cash-out of our areas real-estate bubble and live the proverbial "good-life". Want to purchase our home on one salary and would like to spend around $250k. Like to stay active with swimming, roller-blading, basketball (husband enjoys playing in mens' leagues), hockey and ice-skating (important to kids). Any suggestions of neighborhoods to consider visiting? Any that stand out to avoid? Would like to make move while kids are still young. Thanks!

Richmond, TX might be the perfect place you're looking for.

There are gorgeous brand new homes in your 250K price range. Neighborhoods such as River Park West, Grand Mission, Lakemont, & River's Edge are ones that I've visited and found that these places were near great amenities and were very diverse.

Hope that helps you!

[Marbleann]

I'm am looking to move either to Dallas or Houston. I live on Long Island now. It is funny when I talk to my friends in Houston. I would ask questions like do they have any black people living on the golf courses?/ They would laugh at me because in the so called enlightened NY area you would never see that or it is rare. The racism on Long Island is very bad. And the areas in much of the metro NY are segregated. So it is important to us that we live in areas that our children are not ostracized like they are is some of the schools out here because they might be one of the only black children going to a school. Or wake up with a cross in front of your house, like in Smithtown a few years ago. Or go look for a house in certain towns and not be able to make a deal because of the unwritten law of no blacks. In reality Long Island and parts of metro NY were considered in a recent study almost as bad as living in South Africa during apartheid and is rated number 3 in the country as far as racism. And the other two were in Ohio and Jersey. So it is a very valid concern and question the OP asked.
I am thinking about the Cypress which is a small separate city northwest of Houston. I have friends in Spring which is near who never had to be evacuated because of floods or Hurricanes. Seems to be very pretty, with a lot of trees and nice pieces of land.
I must mention the taxes. I have done a lot of research about the taxes in Houston simply because I do not want to run into another Long Island where the taxes are the highest in the country. Go to HAR.com. Just look around at some houses you might be interested in. Get their addresses then go to HCAD.org and put in the address of the property you might be interested in. A tax statement will come up of that property. Go to the part that states jurisdictions click that and it will tell you exactly what exemptions are allowed and how much the rates are for various jurisdictions that property is in. Before you do that look under jurisdiction and you will see view property tax bill in light blue, click that... There you can see the tax they paid this year. But that is just the property tax. In Harris County the killer is the school tax. You will see that when you click jurisdictions and it will tel you the rate for the school district the house is in and the amount of the exemptions. It is very easy to figure out. Not only that there is something called MUD tax in some places. Look for that tax also. Also remember you are taxed on the amount of money the house is assessed, not how much you paid for it. I found many times the house cost more then the assessment of the house. The exemptions are good if you can get them. But in any case where you move, it should not be a surprise about your taxes if you just do that. At least you will get a idea. The other surrounding counties such as Montgomery, and Ft Bend have a info and it is easy to retrieve.