Phoenix or Houston (Sun City, Ajo, Maricopa: vehicle registration, job market, bankrupt)

[jsutton82]

My husband are making the big move from small town life to city living. I am a fresh college grad with my Bach. and he has his masters. We have narrowed our choices between Houston and Phoenix but need some insight. We are currently in NM so we are accustomed to the differences in weather and the general southwest culture.

We have a small family, 2 kids and 1 dog, and we are fresh out of college. We are not fresh in the sense of we have lived with our parents our whole lives and never had to deal with any kids of grown up things.....we own a house, we have two cars we pay for, we both have full time jobs.......we get it!

We are looking for a place that gives us options of employement, good housing choices, good schools, friendly people, and the ability to take our kids to places for fun...unlike our small town right now.

I am not looking for slamming or bashing of either, just facts from the people who live there......PLEASE HELP!!!!

[LocoAZnative]

Definitely not Phoenix. worst school system in the country and the budgets are being slashed. Plus, the job market is horrible here.

[AzDreamer]

I know both places and would not move to Houston. I love the SW deserts. I also like the Gulf but the beaches around Houston are pretty crappy.

Jobs will be easier to find in Houston but it's not always like that. In the 80's Houston was hurting and now it's Phoenix's turn to suffer.

Comments about Phoenix schools being the worst in the country don't stand up to close examination. There might be some a bad districts but there are also many good ones.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by AzDreamer

I know both places and would not move to Houston. I love the SW deserts. I also like the Gulf but the beaches around Houston are pretty crappy.

Jobs will be easier to find in Houston but it's not always like that. In the 80's Houston was hurting and now it's Phoenix's turn to suffer.

Comments about Phoenix schools being the worst in the country don't stand up to close examination. There might be some a bad districts but there are also many good ones.

Houston job market is imploding now too. Not as bad as here yet, but the oil price decline and the recession are having a one-two punch in the area with many firms announcing layoffs and some bankruptcies.

Agree on the schools. That was an inaccurate generalization.

Personally, there is practically no where I would rather not live than Houston. Way too humid with no where to escape, no mountains, and as pointed out, a rather unappealing beach. It has a better "downtown" than Phoenix though with theatres, high rises, bars and things to do there. To me Houston feels like an eastern US city, while Phoenix has the western vibe. Depends on what you like.

[miamiman]

If education is important to you, as I would presume it would be, move to Houston. Arizona's has an abysmal public education system. The state is making up for its budget shortfall by making extreme cuts to an already stressed system. Arizona is ranked 49th in the country, just above Mississippi for its public education system. Arizona spends the least amount of money per student of any state in the country, yet taxpayers still complain that too much money is spent toward education.

A few people have said that there are some good school districts. That's true. They're good relative to other districts in the state, which would make them average in any other place. With the budget cuts that are going on, all school districts, no matter how "good" they may be, will see their quality compromised.

If you insist on dragging your family out here, look at private schools. There are several, especially in the East Valley, which would provide your children with a truly good, solid education. I, however, would avoid all public schools like the plague.

[w1ngzer0]

Two bad areas. You got a city in Texas.... and then you have dieing Phoenix. Take your pick.

[jd433]

I lived in Phoenix for 11 years. Believe me you are Waaaay!! better off in Houston. Move to a place like Katy or Sugar Land or Spring and the Woodlands. It is so beautiful here. You will be happy that you did. I could go on and on but just let me help you, go to Houston.

The schools in Houston are far better than in Phoenix. Maricopa county has a lot of senior citizens and they don't pay school taxes in Sun City and most of those areas you have the same problem in Florida a low budget school system. Also Arizona has the largest budget deficit in the country right now and Texas has the largest budget surplus in the country. So who do you think will be progressing more this year???

As I said if you are a family then move to one of the family oriented suburbs not inside the loop. The loop is just too bustling with business and has a lot of traffic and congestion. The suburbs of Houston though are wonderful. i don't know if you like greenery, forests, Lakes, Bays or beaches and the ocean but Houston has them all.

[foma]

I grew up in (the 'burbs of) Houston and can tell you just like any other major metropolitan, Houston has its goods and bads. There are great school districts like Fort Bend and Katy (as there are bad, of course) but it seems that in Phoenix, good schools are few and far between. Since moving here, I haven't heard any of my (nor has my husband's) co-workers rave about any school around here. Well, there was one - some private school that I can't think of the name. With that said, we're setting our roots in Phoenix due to our jobs so I guess we'll just have to make do.

As far as work prospects go, it really depends on the industry you are in and to be quite honest, I think no city is immune to the rough times ahead. I know that the housing industry has taken a huge hit here in Phoenix and the surrounding areas. Houston probably isn't as bad b'c property taxes are high so you didn't see housing prices inflate as much as it did in Phoenix. I'm just speculating here but it seems like a lot of what fueled the economy here in Phoenix is housing and tourism and with both those industries suffering right now, things just look bad all around. I can't say anything about Houston's work prospects or economy since it has been a while since I've lived there.

Phoenix has ridiculously priced vehicle registrations whereas Houston's is more standard. Phoenix is hot and dry in the summer and Houston is humid and sticky. Both are unbearable, IMO! Houston has grass and Phoenix doesn't. Some areas do but I think it's stupid b'c WE LIVE IN THE DESERT. Houston's got a HUGE Chinatown and Phoenix doesn't (it's pidly - but that may not matter to you!). You've got state income taxes here in Phoenix, and Houston does not.

If it wasn't for our jobs, I think we'd move back to Houston. That's not to say Phoenix isn't good but it's just a feeling that a person has, you know? Like I said before though, we're here and we make the best of things and I think that's what any couple/family has to do. If I were you though, I'd be concerned about lining up a job first before moving - at least one of you. I don't think there's any city right now that's just booming with jobs so if moving to Phoenix or Houston is sort of an "arbitrary" decision, then you might as well just let finding employment decide for you which city you want to live in. GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

[beck2089]

there is about a 1.5 million difference in people *phoenix has less*
and about a 4 million difference from Las Cruces and Albuquerque, and even more from santa fe.

neither has a very STRONG cultural attraction like Santa Fe does.

ho0uston has potential hurricanes... and phoenix's heat never fails to hit atleast 115 in the summer.

i'd pick phoenix. you can battle the heat, and if you were really hoping for the hurricanes, well our monsoon dust storms get pretty rowdy, but never to MAJOR MAJOR damage...