Florida vs Texas (Orlando, San Antonio: trip , salary, house)

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I don't have any plans to leave Florida but if I did ever live in Texas again, I would live in Austin or San Antonio.

[dvcgal]

I would agree with the water comments! I never went into Gavelston Bay when I lived there and was told not to by the locals! The water in Tx is dirty and when you have lived in a state like Florida (or visited) that has the Keys, there is no comparison when it comes to the beach! Hands down Florida takes the cake!!!

[mgaines8]

I live in Texas but was born and raised in FL. My inlaws live in Orlando. The heat in the summer in Texas is really hot and dry. In the winter, it can get cold and stay cold. The taxes in Texas are higher than FL too. Sales tax is 8.25% and the property tax is not cheap either (however, there are many factors that go into that). IMO, you get better breaks on your property taxes in FL.

Secondary schooling is different in Texas. They have Independent School Districts that operate schools in the area. FL schools are run by the individual county.

Houses are built differently (wood/brick vs. concrete block) and are costly to heat and cool (though natural gas is more available in Texas than it is in FL).

I would move back to FL with the right opportunity but it seems employment wise, there are more jobs here with higher pay than in FL. However, the Atlantic Beaches and the Gulf Beaches on FL's west coast make it really hard argument to move. There is nothing like seeing the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean in the morning and feel the cool breeze walking down the beach... Its priceless!

[mrs.coach]

The heat in the summer in Texas is really hot and dry.

To the OP, make no mistake, there are areas of TX that are hot and dry, but Houston isn't one of them! The humidity here is beyond gross, and it is year round. The summers are very hot (it usually gets to 95-96++ in June and just stays there till October), and what we call, "soupy." The heat factor is easily in the hundreds each day all summer long.

And no, the gulf coast is not really worth visiting here unless you travel down to South Padre.

Houston is a very big, and very congested city. To get the real flavor of TX, you'd need to venture more towards Austin or San Antonio.....JMO.

[mgaines8]

When I came to Houston from FL, to "ME" it was hot and dry. Maybe I was farther inland (since it is such a large city) than the coast but it wasn't sticky like a typical FL July day with 95F temps, a torrential 30 minute downpour then beaming sunshine that leaves the water steaming off the pavement... Just my personal experience...

[Alphaman]

The dew points in Houston tend to be in the 70`s in the summer just like Florida. So that leads me to believe the climate is similar.

[mg83]

Houston lies further north than Gainesville (one of the peninsula's more northern cities with a more 'temperate' climate). For what it's worth.

[P+N]

I am from Texas, and am a proud Texan. But, I would never live in Houston...or Dallas for that matter. The Austin - San Antonio corridor is great.

[bierk]

I would tend to concur with those who said that just because some of Texas is dry does not mean Houston is. I grew up in the true tropics outside of the United States during my formative years and I must say that Houston is the hottest and most humid place I personally have lived. I wander outside in central Florida all summer long and am not particularly uncomfortable. My first summer in Houston there were more than a few days where the heat would come close to bringing tears to your eyes. It gave me a new-found respect for all the animals that live there as they are far tougher than anyone could imagine...

[Silence Dogood]

Just looked at the seven day forecast and Orlando is hotter by a few degrees every single day. Bottom line, Houston is on my short list of places I would never consider moving in large part because of an oppressive climate similar to Orlando. Houston and Orlando are both horribly off the charts humid. I don't care if you lived in Texas and thought that it was dry, it's not.