Young family from So. CA (Houston, Wichita Falls: apartment, rent, house)

[ktoves]

Hi,

We are a young family of soon to be 5 and are looking to move to Texas because we can no longer afford CA. Our rent for a tiny run down 2 bedroom apartment is $1300 not including utilities. It's come to either you are rich or you are poor in CA and I don't want my children to be raised in a bad area just to stay in CA. We are looking for a nice family town preferably a city or suburban area where there is opportunities and is a good environment to raise a family. I am hoping for somewhere green, not desert. If anyone might be able to help point us in the right direction as to where would be a good place in Texas that would be great.

Thank you so much,
Kimberlee

[Squirl]

Jobs are not that easy to find. Are you going to move without a source of income?

[ktoves]

That's something that I've been worried about. My husband works for FedEx and is hoping to transfer to whatever center we will be closest to when we move, we are also hoping to keep his same wage.

[Squirl]

If he gets the transfer, then you will know his work location base. At that time you can start researching communities that offer a decent commute. There's an abundance of great places to live with good schools and reasonably priced housing. However, there is not an abundance of well-paying jobs, the weather is almost unbearable between Aug-early Oct. and our traffic is horrific. So, it should be the goal of every newbie to come with a job lined up and a home search centered on minimal commuting time.

[ChristieP]

Get the job first, then decide where to live. Texas' unemployment rate is almost 9%. Although that is less than many other states, including California, that means there are still a LOT of Texans looking for work.

[FiddleDeeD]

And you will pay 1300 minimum-3000 for a 2 bedroom 1 or 2 bath apartment here (DFW) in a good area with good schools. You could maybe live in a not so nice area or pretty far from one of the cities and rent a small older 3 bedroom house for that amount. I would wait a year if I were you. With all of the impending layoffs and the budget shortfall, you would then have a better view of how the economy is going to go here. If you had a few possible towns or cities to list it would be easier to look at costs.

[getmeoutofhere]

D/FW isn't really that much cheaper than other places. Maybe by a bit, but it's not the drastic amount it's made out to be.

[txsizzler]

If you can find a much smaller place to live, and a place your husband can transfer to (like Wichita Falls, for example), you may find alot cheaper rent. The larger cities though, like getmeoutofhere suggested, will still be fairly expensive.

I also agree with the earlier posters. Once he finds a position to transfer to, THEN start looking and asking questions specific to that area. Texas is a big state, and without a job in place, its illogical to start asking questions without you knowing more about your situation first.


Ian

[ejonestexas]

Im in Houston and the traffic is not that bad considering I moved here from Southern California. I use to live in Cypress but moved inside the loop now. But California its way worse, traffice jams on weekends in CA.

Originally Posted by Squirl

If he gets the transfer, then you will know his work location base. At that time you can start researching communities that offer a decent commute. There's an abundance of great places to live with good schools and reasonably priced housing. However, there is not an abundance of well-paying jobs, the weather is almost unbearable between Aug-early Oct. and our traffic is horrific. So, it should be the goal of every newbie to come with a job lined up and a home search centered on minimal commuting time.

[TexasVines]

don't move here period

if you are not smart enough to stop having kids at 1 when you can only afford, and still live in, a crappy 2 bed room apartment then you can't afford to move and there is not going to be anything here that will be easy for you

a family of 5 living on one FedEx employees wage (unless they are higher management) will have ZERO improvement in lifestyle by moving ANYWHERE in the USA

so stay where you are now and make things better for yourself there because they positively will NOT be better here and anyone that tells you that is a fool

lower income people in one area of the USA do not magically get a huge bump in standard of living by moving to some other place in the USA PERIOD......this is just a simple FACT

you will still be renting a crappy apartment, having your kids in crappy schools, and having very little additional money for anything but food and rent wherever you live

THERE IS NO PLACE IN THE USA THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO HAVE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE WHEN THEY MAKE POOR PERSONAL DECISIONS ABOUT THINGS AS BASIC AS FAMILY PLANNING!

AND HAVING A THIRD KID WHILE LIVING IN A CRAPPY TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT WITH A SINGLE WAGE EARNER IS POOR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO ANYONE THAT IS NOT A FOOL

STAY WHERE YOU ARE!