Thinking of moving to Texas... (Houston, Sugar Land: for sale, real estate, insurance)

[eshkeman]

Hello,
I just wanted to get your input and see if Texas would be the right place for me and my family. I'm from California and my husband and I want to move to a state where the cost of living is much cheaper. Also, we like that Texas seems to be on the conservative side in regards to values, etc. We have two small children and want them to grow up in a safe area and we want to be able to afford a house. We were thinking about the Houston area around Spring or the woodlands. Also, how's the weather there most of the time. Please give us your input. Thanks!

[Lake Conroe resident]

You will find The Woodlands to be very similar to most middle class suburbs of Calif with a few exceptions...

They are; the lack of Mountains and beaches to go to (no these beaches do not count as they are no where near the same league as any of the West coast beaches, you will go once to see and probably never return). You also will not find places like Disney, Universal, Sea World, Yosemite, Napa etc to frequent.

What you will get is cheaper housing from what you can find in similar areas/neighborhoods of Calif, no state income tax, cheaper insurance, DMV fees. and cheaper fuel.

In addition to that you will also find/get way more fire ants, mosquitoes, snakes, rain and humidity.

Please do not under estimate the humidity here as you will find it quite brutal coming from the West coast. Expect to stay in the house, car, mall, or any place where there is AC from the end of May until October unless of course you like to sweat a lot; something as simple as walking to your mailbox will result in your sweating like a pig. Also, we get about 50 inches of rain per yr here compared to the 12 inches (or less) you have there. It will rain three times a week here in the summer; for about 20 minutes you will see rain like you have never seen it before with more thunder and lightning out of one storm than you would likely see in a life time in Calif. The good part about this is that it stays very green here from Early spring to mid fall, while your hills and grass areas are brown by late April the sides of the roads here are deep green.

On a more postive note you will find a lot more trees; coming from Ca to Tx I did not expect to see so many trees, I guess I had an impresssion of it looking barren like west Texas.

Other than housing, taxes, DMV, insurance and the price of gasoline you can expect just about everything else to cost the same. Clothes, food, utilities, and other goods and services will be pretty much the same. Of course if you have your own business, or plan to, this is a much friendlier state for that. (for another thread)

Only you can weigh in on whether the pros of cheaper housing and more conservative values will out-weigh the fact that you will more than likely be leaving family and friends behind along with the above referenced items...

[predatorprey]

I can't believe you forgot to mention the heat combined with humidity!
But what Lake Conroe Resident said above.

[descovy]

Originally Posted by eshkeman

Hello,
Also, we like that Texas seems to be on the conservative side in regards to values, etc.

I live in a very popular family friendly master planned community. I have 3 beautiful, kind, compassionate, and well-mannered children. Very active in church activities and girl scouts. But I'm a bleeding heart liberal, so no, you won't want to live next to me!

Other than that, TX is what you make of it. Enjoy...

[vertigo5110]

I think you'll find that Texas (and most Houstonians) are conservative with regards to their values which is probably what makes Texas so stable politically and economically however we also have an appreciation and respect for the values and circumstances of individuals around us which is why I think that you'll find Houston and much of urbanized Texas to be quite welcoming. I often find it unfortunate that much of the nation stereotypes Texans as having a backwards/backwoods mentality. I think that if you move to Houston it won't matter where you live - in the sprawling suburbs of Katy or Sugar Land or in the nestled, inner city enclaves of Montrose or The Heights, you'll find that there are people from both liberal and conservative persuasions who coexist uncommonly well together.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by descovy

I live in a very popular family friendly master planned community. I have 3 beautiful, kind, compassionate, and well-mannered children. Very active in church activities and girl scouts. But I'm a bleeding heart liberal, so no, you won't want to live next to me!

Other than that, TX is what you make of it. Enjoy...

Same here. I live in a popular family friendly master planned community in the suburbs. I have 2 beautiful, kind, compassionate, well-mannered children. I am active in church activities. I am a bleeding heart liberal in many ways as well, although I think West Coast liberals think I am conservative because their frame of reference is different.

Looking for homogeneity in point-of-view may disappoint you no matter where you move in the Houston metro area.

I grew up in California and I don't think I will ever move back. The weather is better in California but the cost-of-living is crazy there. In Houston a person with average income can afford a nice house in a place zoned to exemplary public schools. That means a much better quality of life for a lower price than you can find in most (all?) areas of California. You can deal with the weather (shockingly hot and humid summers) if you know your family is happy and thriving.

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by Lake Conroe resident

You will find The Woodlands to be very similar to most middle class suburbs of Calif with a few exceptions...

They are; the lack of Mountains and beaches to go to (no these beaches do not count as they are no where near the same league as any of the West coast beaches, you will go once to see and probably never return). You also will not find places like Disney, Universal, Sea World, Yosemite, Napa etc to frequent.

What you will get is cheaper housing from what you can find in similar areas/neighborhoods of Calif, no state income tax, cheaper insurance, DMV fees. and cheaper fuel.

In addition to that you will also find/get way more fire ants, mosquitoes, snakes, rain and humidity.

Please do not under estimate the humidity here as you will find it quite brutal coming from the West coast. Expect to stay in the house, car, mall, or any place where there is AC from the end of May until October unless of course you like to sweat a lot; something as simple as walking to your mailbox will result in your sweating like a pig. Also, we get about 50 inches of rain per yr here compared to the 12 inches (or less) you have there. It will rain three times a week here in the summer; for about 20 minutes you will see rain like you have never seen it before with more thunder and lightning out of one storm than you would likely see in a life time in Calif. The good part about this is that it stays very green here from Early spring to mid fall, while your hills and grass areas are brown by late April the sides of the roads here are deep green.

On a more postive note you will find a lot more trees; coming from Ca to Tx I did not expect to see so many trees, I guess I had an impresssion of it looking barren like west Texas.

Other than housing, taxes, DMV, insurance and the price of gasoline you can expect just about everything else to cost the same. Clothes, food, utilities, and other goods and services will be pretty much the same. Of course if you have your own business, or plan to, this is a much friendlier state for that. (for another thread)

Only you can weigh in on whether the pros of cheaper housing and more conservative values will out-weigh the fact that you will more than likely be leaving family and friends behind along with the above referenced items...

Very accurate... expect to be driving ALOT more. There is less glamour and activities... but the day to day stuff is cheaper and you can always visit.

[cantwaittomovetotexas]

I moved form California to Texas and I LOVE Texas. I live in Sienna Plantation and could not be more happy. We looked at almost every part of the Houston area before deciding on Sienna Plantation. We wanted something suburb since we came from city living but we wanted to be close to amenities. My husband and I are in our early 30's. We do miss the beaches and food (only Californians will know what I mean) but the cost of living and the people here are amazing. I think you will love Texas. The humidity sucks but its not THAT bad.

[GreenTree8]

Originally Posted by eshkeman

Hello,
I just wanted to get your input and see if Texas would be the right place for me and my family. I'm from California and my husband and I want to move to a state where the cost of living is much cheaper. Also, we like that Texas seems to be on the conservative side in regards to values, etc. We have two small children and want them to grow up in a safe area and we want to be able to afford a house. We were thinking about the Houston area around Spring or the woodlands. Also, how's the weather there most of the time. Please give us your input. Thanks!

What do you do for a living? Can you find jobs easily in Houston?

You should also consider Katy and Sugar Land.

[Kandy]

We also moved here after living in CA (Orange County). We thought we were going to hate it but ended up loving it way more than the OC! We live in a great community called Fall Creek. Top notch schools and lots of families only 15 miles north of downtown. Fall Creek | Houston New Homes
You can also do a search on Houston Real Estate - Houston Homes, Houston Home Value and Houston Relocation using zip code 77396 to find homes for sale in FC.

Enjoy!