Places Long Islanders could move too. (New York, Long Beach: middle-class, sex offenders, home)

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by lifetimeliguy

I have been to northern Calif . a few times -- its geography is pretty diverse. Many folks only think of the bay area when mentioning northern california - but parts of it are soooo remote. Once visited a town named Cool, California, which is near the site of the gold mine rush of the 1800s (western foothills of the Sierra Nevada I think). It reminded me of upstate NY in many ways . The Bay Area has a great climate as mentioned , but drive inland to Sacramento in summer (maybe 2 hours), and it's 100 degrees there when it's 65 degrees in the bay area. Even Marin County and the Napa area have vastly different climates.
I have traveled around the country a fair amount, but nothing beats the scenery of Northern Ca.

Except for maybe Eastern Long Island.

crooks

[dman72]

Originally Posted by Crookhaven

Pretty ....but Id still take the North Fork.

All the beauty and none of the pesky earthquakes.

crooks

I love the North Fork as much as anyone, but the sheer scale of things on the West Coast makes just about everything on the East Coast a joke. The drive through Western NC is pretty breathtaking, but it still doesn't compare to driving past Mt. Shasta in Northern CA.

The North Fork is great, but it doesn't compare to California Wine Country.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by StephM

We've been mainly looking in Sugar Land and Memorial Northwest. We're planning a trip down this year. I want to go 2x, once in the summer so I can see how bad it really is and then maybe again in December.

I live in Sugar Land, and it's great. It often makes those lists you see for "best places to live"... a few years ago it was #3. A lot of the people here are from out of state originally, and mention how surprised they are with Sugar Land after hearing the typical negative stereotypes about Houston/Texas.

City of Sugar Land - One of America's Best - Offering recent news, streaming media, online tools and updates for Sugar Land residents and visitors.

Also, Sugar Land does have zoning, since I've noticed that is mentioned as a negative for Houston. Yet it's still close enough to Houston to enjoy all of the big city amenities. If you decide to go that route, I can give you names of specific neighborhoods that are the nicest.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by dman72

Take the hottest day you've ever experience on LI..it's like that all summer.

100 degrees AND HUMID....not 100 degrees California Central Valley, beautiful in the shade, and dry. 100 degrees- start sweating the minute you step out the door.

It's rarely 100 degrees in Houston. Maybe in Dallas, which is more inland. Peak of summer is typically mid-90's, and humid, yes. But I suppose the very mild winters make up for that... you can basically be outside all winter.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

Great job opportunities = low low COL

THAT DOES NOT COMPUTE!

The reason buying a house is so cheap in Houston is because the jobs don't pay well. The reason the jobs don't pay well is because there aren't a lot of them available, so the employers know they don't have to pay well. I am not kidding. I know people who live there.

That's not exactly true.

No. 1: Houston, Texas - Kiplinger.com

There was also a story that came out last year about the cities with the highest paying salaries by job category. Houston came out on top of several of them, especially in engineering and medicine. On a few, the salaries were much higher even after taking cost of living into account.

And the reason the real estate is "cheap" is because there is a lot to choose from in many different areas. Nothing else is cheap - property taxes, insurance are higher than many other places. That being said, the most desirable areas of Houston are not cheap at all, and probably on par with prices in desirable parts of other large cities.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by AlexisT

Houston isn't just "bad" air quality--it's near the top of some lists.

Most Polluted: Short-Term Particle Pollution
#1 Pittsburgh
#2 Los Angeles
#3 Fresno
#4 Bakersfield
#5 Birmingham
#6 Logan
#7 Salt Lake City
#8 Sacramento
#9 Detroit
#10 D.C./Baltimore

Most Polluted: Year-Round Particle Pollution
#1 Los Angeles
#2 Pittsburgh
#3 Bakersfield
#4 Birmingham
#5 Visalia
#6 Atlanta
#7 Cincinnati
#8 Fresno
#9 Hanford
#10 Detroit

Most Polluted: Ozone
#1 Los Angeles
#2 Bakersfield
#3 Visalia
#4 Houston
#5 Fresno
#6 Sacramento
#7 Dallas
#8 New York City
#9 D.C./Baltimore
#10 Baton Rouge

[AK123]

Originally Posted by AlexisT

it's more than the economy that keeps Houston RE costs low. The city has no zoning, so developers can just throw houses up anywhere. (Of course, this means Houston had more gun stores and nudie bars than any other city I've ever been to.) There's an enormous amount of empty, flat, easy to build on land. The only thing that stops sprawl is the Gulf and people's willingness to sit in their cars. (DFW sprawls even more and is even more eye-wateringly awful in this respect. At least Houston has a center.)

There are decent jobs in Houston. The universities, medical center, oil/energy, some tech, banks, government. The issue comes as you go down the job pyramid, and they're endemic to Texas: low pay, poor benefits.

On zoning: There is no formal zoning, but it's more complex than that.

The city does have ordinances. In many instances, this has taken the place of zoning. The city recently used a few of these ordinances as reason to order the removal of hundreds of billboards, and shut down at least one "nudie bar" for being too close to an area designated as being for churches and/or schools.

Also, there are HOAs. If you live in a subdivision with an HOA, you are basically safe from anything weird being built next to you (unless you are on the edge of it backing up to a main road or something).

Then you've got city "scenic districts" which have all kinds of rules about what can/can't be there.

So, the lack of zoning isn't as much of a problem as people make it out to be (though yes, I think it would be better if Houston had it).

[AK123]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

You would have to get me to drink a lot of Promethazine to go anywhere near Houston....and I hate the Astros.

Interesting. But, I find it rather naive to diss what you don't know (sounds like you've never been?)

Well, I think I've addressed everything in this thread. I'm not trying to be a braggart. Just hate seeing all these silly misconceptions and stereotypes. Houston is a nice place, and I think it's really underrated. Just one viewpoint.

But LI is nice too. You guys shouldn't hate on it so much.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by AK123

I live in Sugar Land, and it's great. It often makes those lists you see for "best places to live"... a few years ago it was #3. A lot of the people here are from out of state originally, and mention how surprised they are with Sugar Land after hearing the typical negative stereotypes about Houston/Texas.

City of Sugar Land - One of America's Best - Offering recent news, streaming media, online tools and updates for Sugar Land residents and visitors.

Also, Sugar Land does have zoning, since I've noticed that is mentioned as a negative for Houston. Yet it's still close enough to Houston to enjoy all of the big city amenities. If you decide to go that route, I can give you names of specific neighborhoods that are the nicest.

As per the article you posted below on Houston, Sugar Land appears to be quite different from Houston itself and its only connection to Houston is that it is geographically nearby (approx. 20 miles). Sugar Land is much more affluent. That is where you live and that is where your expertise lies. How connected are you to the city we are actually discussing, which is Houston? Do you commute to Houston everyday? If so, how long does it take? Are there decent paying jobs available in Sugar Land or do the affluent people there have to go to work in Houston or are they retirees with money they saved?

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by AK123

There was also a story that came out last year about the cities with the highest paying salaries by job category. Houston came out on top of several of them, especially in engineering and medicine. On a few, the salaries were much higher even after taking cost of living into account.

And the reason the real estate is "cheap" is because there is a lot to choose from in many different areas. Nothing else is cheap - property taxes, insurance are higher than many other places. That being said, the most desirable areas of Houston are not cheap at all, and probably on par with prices in desirable parts of other large cities.

Where is that story you mention? Engineering and medicine pay well everywhere.

So the cheap real estate is a result of overbuilding?

My cousin lives there and she doesn't think her property taxes and insurance are expensive compared to what we put up with on LI. She would like for me to join her in McMansion-ville, but I am not interested.