Considering moving my family of 5 to TX (from IL...) (Houston: house, neighborhood)

[flea060]

Hello

Probably a TON of similar threads going on in this forum. Family of 5 here from IL. We're seriously considering moving to TX within the next 2 years or so.

Major reasons:

- Tired of the long midwest winters (makes for extremely tough commutes, kids can't run in the backyard, etc)
- Politics and culture. Me and my wife are never loyal to one party, we don't treat politics like sports. However, we DO value things like: tradition, the family unit, religion, personal accountability and responsibility, work ethic.

About us:
- 3 very young children. eldest in pre-K. kids haven't established true relationships here in IL which makes the move way easier on them.
- I work in tech/IT and my wife works as a registered nurse.
- household income about 160k-180k annually.
- We're Filipino American. So SOME ethnic diversity in the area would be a nice to have. Not a must have. Guess moreso in terms of foods, different types of restaurants.
- Me and my wife enjoy the occasional night out. Drinks/dinner. So would likely venture out to city some days of the year.
- We are fine with living in a "cookie-cutter neighborhood". Safety, security is more important to us than having a house that is in a hip neighborhood or has character.
- Value education. So good schools are a must.

Austin suburbs is on the short list. But I heard prices are getting crazy high. Would consider midpoint between San Antonio and Austin too I guess. Dallas suburbs...open to the idea. Houston area we sort of nixed due to potential weather related incidents.

Anyone have any idea of areas that might be a good fit for us? Again, household income about 160k-180k annually.

Thanks in advance!

[supfromthesite]

San Antonio or Dallas suburbs are probably best option. I was going to recommend Houston as it is the most diverse but you nixxed that idea.

San Antonio has a pretty decent population of Filipinos, I think many of them came through the military. There is a Filipino Catholic Church.

It really depends if you want the big city life (Dallas) or if you are fine with a smaller city (San Antonio). There is plenty to do in both places but San Antonio still has that “small town vibe” even though it is actually pretty big. There are a lot of retirees and families so this is probably why.

If you are open to smaller cities than San Antonio your money will go even further. All depends what y’all want.

I agree with saying no to Austin. It is a great city but getting very expensive.

[ChristieP]

I agree that Dallas/Fort Worth or San Antonio will have what you're looking for, especially the Filipino community. The suburbs in both areas will generally have better schools than the bigger cities, although there are some exceptions. Of course, where you're able to live will also depend on your housing budget, and the location of your jobs. The good thing is that both of your professions are easily portable, and there are IT jobs and hospitals all over both metro areas.

San Antonio is smaller than DFW, but it's not a small town. It's still the second-largest city in Texas, and is larger than the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. If you want a true smaller city, look at Tyler, San Angelo, Abilene, etc. but know that there will not be as much diversity, especially in food.

I agree with skipping Austin and Houston.

[tmtex]

Also keep in mind, the weather to totally different than IL. Summers can be miserable (Dallas) with the humidity.

[Pilsn3r]

Originally Posted by flea060

Hello

Probably a TON of similar threads going on in this forum. Family of 5 here from IL. We're seriously considering moving to TX within the next 2 years or so.

Major reasons:

- Tired of the long midwest winters (makes for extremely tough commutes, kids can't run in the backyard, etc)
- Politics and culture. Me and my wife are never loyal to one party, we don't treat politics like sports. However, we DO value things like: tradition, the family unit, religion, personal accountability and responsibility, work ethic.

About us:
- 3 very young children. eldest in pre-K. kids haven't established true relationships here in IL which makes the move way easier on them.
- I work in tech/IT and my wife works as a registered nurse.
- household income about 160k-180k annually.
- We're Filipino American. So SOME ethnic diversity in the area would be a nice to have. Not a must have. Guess moreso in terms of foods, different types of restaurants.
- Me and my wife enjoy the occasional night out. Drinks/dinner. So would likely venture out to city some days of the year.
- We are fine with living in a "cookie-cutter neighborhood". Safety, security is more important to us than having a house that is in a hip neighborhood or has character.
- Value education. So good schools are a must.

Austin suburbs is on the short list. But I heard prices are getting crazy high. Would consider midpoint between San Antonio and Austin too I guess. Dallas suburbs...open to the idea. Houston area we sort of nixed due to potential weather related incidents.

Anyone have any idea of areas that might be a good fit for us? Again, household income about 160k-180k annually.

Thanks in advance!

By far, Houston AREA has the most Filipino-Americans. Houston metroplex is very spread out also so you won't have huge hurricane worries in some place like Sugarland. Sugarland is super-diverse, and you can get large yards. Good schools also, and access to 2 airports - very busy international airport and Hobby which is Southwest Airlines, and the amenities (concerts, sports, zoo, etc.) are available near the city whenever you want to go to Houston.

In fact, Stafford/Missouri City (next to Sugarland) has a Filipino stores and large pinoy population - As Above So Below and ParaguaneroSwag will probably know more if they jump in the topic. I believe they have Filipino churches also for your religion requirements and many other churches if you do not go to filipino ones. Also due to the diversity of Sugarland area and Houston in general, you'll find great restaurants almost everywhere from BBQ, Tex-Mex, Steak, Filipino, Southern/comfort, and all other sorts of any Asian food you can think of.

I think there is a "filipinotown" emerging near Texas Medical Center also so it may work for your wife as a RN.

I wouldn't nix Houston unless you've already decided against the western suburbs of Houston.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Pilsn3r

By far, Houston AREA has the most Filipino-Americans. Houston metroplex is very spread out also so you won't have huge hurricane worries in some place like Sugarland. Sugarland is super-diverse, and you can get large yards. Good schools also, and access to 2 airports - very busy international airport and Hobby which is Southwest Airlines, and the amenities (concerts, sports, zoo, etc.) are available near the city whenever you want to go to Houston.

In fact, Stafford/Missouri City (next to Sugarland) has a Filipino stores and large pinoy population - As Above So Below and ParaguaneroSwag will probably know more if they jump in the topic. I believe they have Filipino churches also for your religion requirements and many other churches if you do not go to filipino ones. Also due to the diversity of Sugarland area and Houston in general, you'll find great restaurants almost everywhere from BBQ, Tex-Mex, Steak, Filipino, Southern/comfort, and all other sorts of any Asian food you can think of.

I think there is a "filipinotown" emerging near Texas Medical Center also so it may work for your wife as a RN.

I wouldn't nix Houston unless you've already decided against the western suburbs of Houston.

While I agree they should consider the Houston suburbs, it should also be stated that the whole Houston area is subject to extreme rainstorms and in many places high flood risk.

[supfromthesite]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

I agree that Dallas/Fort Worth or San Antonio will have what you're looking for, especially the Filipino community. The suburbs in both areas will generally have better schools than the bigger cities, although there are some exceptions. Of course, where you're able to live will also depend on your housing budget, and the location of your jobs. The good thing is that both of your professions are easily portable, and there are IT jobs and hospitals all over both metro areas.

San Antonio is smaller than DFW, but it's not a small town. It's still the second-largest city in Texas, and is larger than the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. If you want a true smaller city, look at Tyler, San Angelo, Abilene, etc. but know that there will not be as much diversity, especially in food.

I agree with skipping Austin and Houston.

San Antonio is the third biggest metro behind DFW and Houston and it feels much smaller than Austin which technically has a smaller metro. You can’t just go by city population. San Antonio is not a small town and I don’t think anybody would ever claim it is but it has that fee compared to the other big cities.

[flea060]

Thanks for the input all! I can take the heat, but heard Houston gets a little more humid? SA and Dallas area look interesting. Goin to dig in and do a bit more research. We'd be looking at the suburbs

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by flea060

Thanks for the input all! I can take the heat, but heard Houston gets a little more humid? SA and Dallas area look interesting. Goin to dig in and do a bit more research. We'd be looking at the suburbs

Ive lived in Dallas and I currently live in Houston. Based on that, my thoughts would be this.

If diversity is important, Houston is one of the best places in the US for that. I don't say that as an exaggeration since I've been through the data multiple times. Houston also has the largest Filipino community in Texas by a good clip if that is important. That said the Dallas area is also extremely diverse. The Houston area is top 5 nationwide for diversity. Dallas is top 10. San Antonio isn't very diverse. Austin is getting there, but I wouldn't call it that diverse right now.

Houston is going to be better for nursing as its a huge medical city. Dallas will be better for IT. Austin is a tech city but not really an IT city if that makes sense. San Antonio has a huge military presence.

Cost of living San Antonio is lowest followed by Houston. DFW has gotten pricey and Austin is about as expensive as Seattle.

You wont have any problems finding things to do in any of the above for your kids or for you and your wife.

You can find great suburbs and great schools in any of the above. I would say Dallas has the most very good suburbs. Plano is, IMO, the best suburb in the state. Its got great schools, its safe, its super diverse, and politically mixed. In Houston, Sugar Land is very much like that but its a lot smaller than Plano. You aren't going to find the value in the suburbs of Austin that you would in Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. But the suburbs of Dallas and Houston are very diverse. The suburbs of San Antonio really are not.

As for Houston and weather related incidents, that really isn't something we deal with often. Just don't buy a house in a flood plain and you're good.

As for weather, DFW gets four seasons. You will see snow from time to time there and it's summers are hot. It has a nice fall and spring though. Houston is more sub-tropical and doesn't have seasons to speak of. But the winters are the easiest in Houston of all the above. Austin and San Antonio are more hot and humid than Dallas but not as humid as Houston.

You would be fine in any of the above.

[detachable arm]

Maybe look at Meadows Place TX and the area around it.