This is Houston? (Sugar Land, Pearland, Katy: home, job market, transfer)
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EA's point about housing costs is true, to an extent. Exclusive neighborhoods inside the loop cost as much as pricey NE cities. But Houston has many more affordable options. But other costs are much lower here than in NY. My sister lives in Westchester Co., outside NYC. She pays $20/hour for a babysitter, I pay $10. My kids' private school tuition is about $9K/yr. In NY it would probably be 20K. It costs us about $50 for our kids to play on a sports team. In NY it might cost $200 or more. Summer camps, same story. Pool membership, same story... my neighborhood pool (which is beautiful) costs us less than $100/season. My sister pays something like $600 to use her town pool. It's these things that make Houston so much more affordable than NY.
I think that maybe that was a big misjudgment on my part to look for apartments and not a house. It seems that the affordable (very affordable by nyc standards) apartments have shady characters within them. So either to look for a more luxury complex or a house in a nice neighborhood might be the way to go. I was quite surprised that the woodlands had so much crime since it is supposed to be an upscale neighborhood.
I stayed at the element westin hotel on the NW side and every time I was about to enter or exit of the interstate I had homeless running up to my window which freaked out my girlfriend. We did go a bit off the arteries to see some apartment complexes but it seemed that unlike you drive quite some ways away from the city itself to the master planned communities the areas really seemed beat up. It's just not what I expected from such a huge city in the south, but the openness did seem very comforting.
So basically now I understand that anything but the West, or North West I shouldn't live in. Crime is still high even in those areas, and what about the floods? Do they happen on the NW side also?
When you look at crime statistics, I assume it is by zip code. One side of my zip code is very different from the other side. Crime is much higher in the other side - which skews the number higher for my side.
We really don't have all that many master-planned communities. Where did you go that they appeared beat up? Or are you talking about the area between downtown and the master-planned communities?
On the homeless running up to your window at intersections - I guess we all have gotten to where we don't see them (don't assume they are really homeless). I think you are going to have that in any city where the populace drives instead of mass transportation. You do know about the Park & Rides, right?
Flooding - some neighborhoods do flood - others don't.
On the homeless running up to your window at intersections - I guess we all have gotten to where we don't see them (don't assume they are really homeless). I think you are going to have that in any city where the populace drives instead of mass transportation. You do know about the Park & Rides, right?
New Yorkers get to see (and smell) the homeless up close and personal in the subway every day. Believe me - hobos are not rare and exotic to a New Yorker.
I was talking more about the area between downtown and the master-planned communities. The luxury and gated ones looked very nice, I went to the Reserve at Woodwind Lakes and the ones around there were quite pleasant. What I didn't like about the place that there was a $100 of additional hidden charges per month on top of the rent that they were advertising.... one was mandatory cable TV charge. Never heard of such a thing before, if I see $1425 a month advertised than it is $1425 I will be paying... no more and no less.
Also as houston-nomad pointed out overall costs in Houston are much less, and it still has a decent job market to choose from unlike many areas in the US. I would much rather live in Florida or maybe Portland but if a place has 15% + unemployment it doesn't make sense during these times. The point is that we all want to move forward in the world, and have things get better not worst.
I never heard of Park & Rides.
cheryjohns - As a real estate agent which specific communities would you recommend for a nice start?
New Yorkers get to see (and smell) the homeless up close and personal in the subway every day. Believe me - hobos are not rare and exotic to a New Yorker.
I know!! At least you are in a car in Houston when they run up to you. New York there's nothing to seperate you from the smell.
I know!! At least you are in a car in Houston when they run up to you. New York there's nothing to seperate you from the smell.
lol... I have a car in New York and haven't taken a subway in years, but oh yeah... that brought back memories... sometimes people will leave one entire subway car empty because of one HOBO's smell.
I'll give you my experience having move to Houston last Jan. from Elmhurst, Queens.
Cons:
1. Everything is spread out. There's a lot to do in Houston, but you'll probably end up driving a lot to take advantage of it.
2. Lack of fine dining. The supposed nicest restaurants in Houston are mediocre to NYC standards. Too many chains. One type of food that Houston has better IMO is Viet food and BBQ (central texas is much better but Houston at least is better than NYC).
3. Lots of Toll roads. Drivers just as bad as NYC.
4. Stores close earlier and only thing really open 24/7 is walmart, but you can get everything from walmart lol.
5. For some reason a lot of places are closed on weekends like doctor's offices, dentists, vets.
Pros:
1. No state tax, cheaper cost of living in general. I'm making less than I used to in NYC but I'm actually taking home much more.
2. Little to no snow to deal with. Might be a con if you like snow but I'd rather not have to shovel.
3. Cheaper real estate, but you'll probably have a 30-45 min commute depending where you work.
4. Lots of cheap eats, not necessarily fancy or healthy but $3.50 for lunch isn't bad.
One thing I have learned since moving to Houston is that Football is serious business and people actually take personal checks here. Also I don't know why but it's tough to get a Texas license and yet it's so easy to just buy a car. They let me drive a brand new car off the lot without any financing provided I get it to them in a day or two... They needed all sorts of documents for the Texas license though.
Personally, I like Houston and I don't think either city is better but you'll definitely miss some things from NYC. They're totally different and I've fully adjusted to life here in Houston.
Houston is such a diverse city that it's hard to describe or get an impression until you've lived here for a yr or so. That's one reason why I love it. With some cities, I get bored in just a short time. In Htown, I'm still discovering neighborhoods and new shops/restaurants all the time. Houston is not for everyone and plenty do not like it. HOwever, I just don't think you go the right impression so you should give it another chance. Here's how I see Houston, but I've only lived here 2yrs so take it with a pinch of salt:
Downtown proper is more a place of business and theatre so you're right in that it's pretty dead afterhours. However, "downtown", meaning inside loop 610 and galleria, is alive and fun.
There are many clean and safe and really affordable suburbs, ie, Cinco Ranch, Woodlands, Pearland, etc. If you want more upscale and closer to downtown, check out West University, Bellaire, River Oaks, deep Memorial.
There's lots of things to do here. Theatre, Professional Sports, Memorial Park, Comedy, Concerts, etc, etc. By no means is it as cosmo or as diverse as NY, but in the south, it's as good as it gets aside from LA.
Restaurants can't compete with NY, but not too many cities can brag that. However, we do have some superb high end restaurants as well as really authentic mom-and-pop ethnic restaurants. I don't think you'll be disappointed unless you are a true connoisseur.
Houston city center is dirty and somewhat ugly "overall", imo, but so is NYC, so I'm surprised that bothers you. At least we don't have as much of the smell to go with the appearance. Lol. But near the center are some nice and green neighborhoods such as Memorial where you think you're driving into the countryside. Houston has many many faces.
Weather: You came at a bad week. I moved to Htown to get away from the cold and I love it!! I can play sport all year round, some days it still reaches 70F in winter. It is sunny most days of the year. In the summer, it is crazy hot and humid though, and that is probably the #1 complaint people ahve about Htown.
Traffic: This is probably the #2 complaint I hear about Houston. It's awful and unlike NY, there isn't a subway system. You have to drive to get anywhere within reasonable time. I'm telling you this b/c it'd be more ideal if you found a job, then moved here. Or else, rent until you found a job and have been with them long enough to have job security b/f buying. Otherwise, if you have to do long commute every day, you'll be miserable! You are right in your impression that ppl here can't drive and they stop on a dime!
In short, I don't think u got the right impression of houston. U should come again at least 2 more long stays. Tell us more about yourself, what stuff you like to do, what price range and amenities for homes, etc. -take note of posts and then come visit again. You may decide you hate it, but at least you would have gotten the right impression. Reallize that you're coming from NYC and it's hard to beat that city if she's your kind of city...there's only one NYC. Personally, Manhatten is one of my fav cities to visit, but I wouldn't enjoy living there. Houston is where I like to live b/c it has enough dynamics and variety for me, the warm weather and sunshine, etc but minus the crowding, high rent and stress.
I think that maybe that was a big misjudgment on my part to look for apartments and not a house. It seems that the affordable (very affordable by nyc standards) apartments have shady characters within them. So either to look for a more luxury complex or a house in a nice neighborhood might be the way to go. I was quite surprised that the woodlands had so much crime since it is supposed to be an upscale neighborhood.
I stayed at the element westin hotel on the NW side and every time I was about to enter or exit of the interstate I had homeless running up to my window which freaked out my girlfriend. We did go a bit off the arteries to see some apartment complexes but it seemed that unlike you drive quite some ways away from the city itself to the master planned communities the areas really seemed beat up. It's just not what I expected from such a huge city in the south, but the openness did seem very comforting.
New York is overall very run down but that is due to the cost, and zoning laws. Also there's no where to go but up so things rarely change much although most of Harlem looks just like Manhattan now. Unlike some I'm not as much sick of New York as I just can't accept that while working at Nestle, Hilti and Unifirst at company meetings I always hear that someone in Houston, Tulsa, Denver, Orlando etc. is making the exact same amount of money as me while their cost of living is almost 1/3rd of the same here.
So basically now I understand that anything but the West, or North West I shouldn't live in. Crime is still high even in those areas, and what about the floods? Do they happen on the NW side also?
haha - no you shouldn't just live in the North or Northwest. It is about where you will be commuting to and from and what your free time interests are. Seriously, there are great areas on pretty much every side - but some people will only view their own immediate area as the "only place to live" because that is their personal opinion. If you are interested in moving and have a tentative work area - you can post what area of town you are working in and the sort of things that you enjoy living near and people will be able to recommend a nice area of town that is clean, safe and has what you are looking for and a good start would be to look in those specific areas and if you don't like - then move on to the next recommended area - regardless of whether it is N, S, E or W. Every side has its good and bad areas and the commute here can be a royal pain so a nice neighborhood near work can be necessity which is why you find good areas on all sides.
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