If Texas is soo great, why is it so cheap? (Houston: relocate, property taxes)

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by Midway_FUBAR

Agreed, the lack of zoning in Houston is just plain silly. Why would I spend a ton of money developing something in the city just to have another neighborhood dive bar pop up next door or worse yet another porn shop...

I wouldn't spend a penny to develop inside the city of Houston. The outlying communities of Katy or Sugarland however provide the kind of protection that builders really need and that drives the sprawl as much as anything else.

What I'm seeing at the moment is master planned communities that are zoned and protected and in essence are mini-cities with their own infrastructure of commercial zoned area supporting groups of 2k-3k homes. That is the future of this area IMHO...

As to the original poster's question, same answer that has been given repeatedly, lots of land and people willing to drive further to save more on their home.

The zoning doesn't bother me that much. Or anyone I know, for that matter. Look what it's allowed the city to attain: the tallest building in the world outside of a CBD and mass production. I like that there are no zoning restrictions.

[love roses]

I lived in Rice Village and the lack of zoning was ruining the neighborhood. People were putting McMansions in and taking up entire lots to do it. Made the whole neighborhood look out of proportion. And the condos developers put up smack in the center of residential streets. The proportions were just all wrong. The whole thing was out of balance. The heights was/is still the best managed area as far as that goes (keeping the original character of the neighborhood).

[mpope409]

New York has the same effect, in my opinion. You'll see high-rise apartments that cost an arm and a leg, and right down the street there's peep-shows and hole-in-the-wall spots.

[Sri]

Bad Schools, Poor Towns!

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by Sri

Bad Schools, Poor Towns!

Who has bad schools and poor towns? Texas?! I don't think so, Dallas' Townview High School was rated the best in the nation by Newsweek.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by Sri

Bad Schools, Poor Towns!

Not true. There are great schools and cities all over Texas.

[momof2dfw]

Ya'll, give the kid a break. He is only 12 and lives in Mass. You can tell that he has never been to Texas just by the comment alone.

[Guerilla]

Honestly, I can't really tell the difference between Houston's no-zoning, and the zoning here in DFW.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Honestly, I can't really tell the difference between Houston's no-zoning, and the zoning here in DFW.

Then you have not been paying attention. It is VERY noticeable.

[hamiltonpl]

Texas is just one company away from tying with New York for the most Fortune 500 companies. Because Wachovia announced that it will be moving to Dallas -- Texas will share the number 1 place with NY next year.

Fortune 500 companies by state.

New York 57
Texas 56
California 52

People who say we're poor and don't have any jobs are lying to themselves.