Anyone From California Here? (Houston, Dallas: home, schools, pros and cons)

[LRobbins]

I am from Cali, I live in The Woodlands now for 6 years and life is pretty good here but I am on my way back home on the 7th!
Can't take the humidity anymore!

[maggie2101]

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, moved to Little Rock in my early 30s, and have now lived in Houston/Katy for the last two years. I much prefer California and would go back there if I could maintain my current standard of living.

[jzntx]

My husband and I are from the los angeles area live there all of our lives, 3 years ago we came to live here, northwest side of town.

I do miss california sometimes, but life here has been good to us here. We recently had a chance to go back, after pricing apts. for rent and seeing that a 1 bed is currently going for 1k+ and houses are still in the 300k+ in the ghetto areas, we decided to stay here.

In my street block alone there is 2 other families from california, one came from the san francisco area and the other from bakersfield. We all like it here=)

[usc619]

Wife and I are from San Diego and moved here due to a job relocation. For the most part we like it here, but we really miss CA and understand the possibility that we may raise our family up in TX. I don't think the weather & beaches is that big of a deal, but the thing I do miss is a city with stricter zoning laws, better public transportaion, and cleaner streets/freeways LOL I swear I've never seen so much trash laying around in my life.

Don't get me started on the leaning/tilted overhead power lines

BTW; I do love the gun laws in TX

[JL]

How are property taxes appraised and calculated over in Cali exactly? I heard it is something where you pay on the appraised value of when you originally purchased the home?

[usc619]

Originally Posted by JamesLang

How are property taxes appraised and calculated over in Cali exactly? I heard it is something where you pay on the appraised value of when you originally purchased the home?

1.2%(give or take) of the purchased price as long as you own it.

[Cassino]

Originally Posted by usc619

BTW; I do love the gun laws in TX

You got that right, especially in comparison to California!

[LRobbins]

Originally Posted by Cassino

My wife and I are both born and raised Californians currently living in the Bay Area. We will be moving to Houston in September and are moving because the company I worked for offered me a transfer. We decided to take it due to several factors including the price of housing in Houston compared to the Bay Area and the state of the California economy.

Moving will also be quite the adventure for us and we are eager to spread our wings. On a personal note, I officiate high school football and the football doesn't get much better than in Texas.

I'm from Sacramento and been in Texas for 6 years. I'm returning home this month, YIPPIE! I hope you like hot , humid, sticky weather,and ungly beaches with dirty, smelly water,your poor wife!

[AK123]

Originally Posted by LRobbins

I'm from Sacramento and been in Texas for 6 years. I'm returning home this month, YIPPIE! I hope you like hot , humid, sticky weather,and ungly beaches with dirty, smelly water

Sacramento has beaches?

[Reivax]

Moved here in fall of '07 from Orange County, CA.
We moved originally just to have a house big enough for all of us (have 6 kids) and shed that $5,500 mortgage.
I don't think we'll move back to CA anytime soon. We very much like it here.
Some people complain too much about heat or humidity, but then they'd just find something dislike no matter where they are in life. You go from the AC house, to AC car, to AC store, and so on.

The other funny thing I remember people complaining about was mosquitoes. Other than in the days after Ike, when they were blown in from wherever, I never see mosquitoes. And keep in mind, I am very non-Texan in that I sit outside on my patio all the time. I can sit at dusk on my unscreened porch, and mosquitoes never bother me.

Job wise, we earn more here, traffic is nothing compared with 405/5/55 in Orange Co.

But most important of all, we just like it here. 1,001 reasons that it would take me a long time to explain. But if you like, we can sit on my patio, listen to birds (not traffic), drink Shiner and I can tell you all about it.