Relocating from Ohio...Where do I start? (Houston, Cleveland: rentals, day care)

[Float]

My family is considering relocating to the houston area because my wife has a great job offer. I am a laid off construction project manager so my job is not holding us back.

I have one child who just graduated high school and will be looking to start college. 2 younger school age children and a newborn.

I have lots of questions about how to do this but my most important are....

1. Does it make sense to rent a house while our house in ohio sells? Any recommendations on how to find a rental in the same school footprint that we would later buy in. Thinking maybe telfair, riverstone, or sienna plantation. Maybe even considering cross creek ranch.

2. What are my oldest's best options for a school to attend this year then maybe transfer to UT next year?

3. I know its down everywhere, but what is the commercial construction market like there. Anybody looking for Project Managers?

4. Any recommendations on a good day care in the areas listed above?

Need to pull the trigger on this pretty soon so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[chris_ut]

I would suggest enrolling to the local community college wherever you settle for one year so your son can establish state residency and then apply as a transfer student to UT. He needs to maintain a minimum 3.6 GPA, preferable 4.0, to transfer to UT as it is very competitive.

[girlshawnee]

My husband & I are also considering a move to Houston from Ohio. My husband is a laid-off Carpenter. He is traveling this week to register with the Carpenters Union there in Houston. The BA at the union says they do have work but I was interested in hearing from a local there in Houston. Possibly on the Union construction sites going on now or anything about the Union and work??

[rusheib]

Originally Posted by girlshawnee

My husband & I are also considering a move to Houston from Ohio. My husband is a laid-off Carpenter. He is traveling this week to register with the Carpenters Union there in Houston. The BA at the union says they do have work but I was interested in hearing from a local there in Houston. Possibly on the Union construction sites going on now or anything about the Union and work??

I just moved down from Ohio. The economy here is strong compared to the Ohio area. there is tons of construction everywhere you look. Homes, business construction, roads, etc.

[rusheib]

Originally Posted by Float

My family is considering relocating to the houston area because my wife has a great job offer. I am a laid off construction project manager so my job is not holding us back.

I have one child who just graduated high school and will be looking to start college. 2 younger school age children and a newborn.

I have lots of questions about how to do this but my most important are....

1. Does it make sense to rent a house while our house in ohio sells? Any recommendations on how to find a rental in the same school footprint that we would later buy in. Thinking maybe telfair, riverstone, or sienna plantation. Maybe even considering cross creek ranch.

2. What are my oldest's best options for a school to attend this year then maybe transfer to UT next year?

3. I know its down everywhere, but what is the commercial construction market like there. Anybody looking for Project Managers?

4. Any recommendations on a good day care in the areas listed above?

Need to pull the trigger on this pretty soon so any help would be greatly appreciated.

what part of Ohio? I moved down from Findlay recently.

[girlshawnee]

Originally Posted by rusheib

I just moved down from Ohio. The economy here is strong compared to the Ohio area. there is tons of construction everywhere you look. Homes, business construction, roads, etc.

Thanks so much for your reply! That's great news for us! We are located in Columbus.

Did you have a job to go to prior to your move there? We are just hoping or for a better word "PRAYING" things will work out for us! My husband went to Vegas for work last year. At that time the market was saturate with people looking for work even though there were tons of construction sites! So, no such luck there - even though no place compares to Vegas!

[rusheib]

Originally Posted by girlshawnee

Thanks so much for your reply! That's great news for us! We are located in Columbus.

Did you have a job to go to prior to your move there? We are just hoping or for a better word "PRAYING" things will work out for us! My husband went to Vegas for work last year. At that time the market was saturate with people looking for work even though there were tons of construction sites! So, no such luck there - even though no place compares to Vegas!

I did have a job - a promotion is what brought us here. We are actually looking to move back to Ohio soon. We are very close to extended family, and due to some health issues and my father passing away we are going to head back. I need to line up a job first in Ohio, and that's tough right now. I heard Ohio was really sinking fast.

Houston is doing much better compared to Ohio in this economy, I don't know about how many people are coming here looking for work though.

Good luck and PM me if you need to.

[karuna95]

Originally Posted by Float

My family is considering relocating to the houston area because my wife has a great job offer. I am a laid off construction project manager so my job is not holding us back.

I have one child who just graduated high school and will be looking to start college. 2 younger school age children and a newborn.

I have lots of questions about how to do this but my most important are....

1. Does it make sense to rent a house while our house in ohio sells? Any recommendations on how to find a rental in the same school footprint that we would later buy in. Thinking maybe telfair, riverstone, or sienna plantation. Maybe even considering cross creek ranch. Definitely rent first and see how the area works for you. Check out HAR.com for rentals/sales in the area you like. Great website!

2. What are my oldest's best options for a school to attend this year then maybe transfer to UT next year? Options for colleges: University of Houston (several campuses throughout Houston), University of St. Thomas (Catholic, in midtown Houston), Houston Baptist University (Southwest Houston), Rice University (close to Medical Center, if your child is top student). Community College also an option.

3. I know its down everywhere, but what is the commercial construction market like there. Anybody looking for Project Managers? New construction has slowed a lot. Banks not making any loans to builders. So while the market may still be slightly more robust than other areas, mostly it is people finishing up current projects. Several big construction projects in the Texas Medical Center have been put on hold. Check business section of Chronicle on Mondays for networking meetings, and attend. There's usually something for people in construction business. You may get lucky!

Welcome to Houston, and good luck with your job search!

[vicket]

We just moved from the Cleveland area last August. One daughter was in the same (college) situation as yours. I would definitely rent until you know where the second job will be. If you move close to wife's work and find a job on the other side of town you could be in for a hellish commute. We used HAR.com and found tons of houses. (Home prices are lower here...but property tax is higher. Make sure you ask your realtor a lot of questions about the safety of the neighbohoods.) My daughter is attending a community college for this year to establish residency (otherwise tuition will KILL you). No idea on child care, but if you are church-goers you will find lots of friends who can help you with kid connections.
For what it's worth- our whole family feels we made a great move. Too bad you missed the BEAUTIFUL Houston "winter". Don't let coming here in summer make you think the weather is unbearable. There are four months of brutal heat and humidity...but the rest of the year is gorgeous.
Economy is still decent, people are very welcoming...and you'll have palm trees!

[Float]

Thanks everybody for your posts. We too are from the columbus area.

Vicket, what did your daughter do about college?