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Old 05-30-2007, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
82 posts, read 614,511 times
Reputation: 45

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Hello im new to the forums but me and my wife are stumped on what city to move too, I have been reading up on other threads to give me an idea but I really see no comparisons to these two cities.
Right now we are living in Washington State, but our last winter was icing on the cake to moving to a warmer climate. I was in Houston last September catching a cruise out of Galveston and loved the heat and everyone I met was very friendly.
I love to explore and my wife loves to shop, what wife doesnt. We love to goto the beach. I was never really into the downtown thing in Seattle, probably due to the cold weather.
My wife can pretty much transfer anywhere in Texas (kinkos) but I will be going without a job, I pretty much work in the delivery field driving vans to 26,000 pound delivery trucks (non-cdl). My wife is planning on a career in nursing in the fall.
We narrowed it down to San Antonio or Houston, but thought about Ft. Worth area since the wife has family in Weatherford, but we both love the ocean and Ft. Worth is just to far away.
We are looking for what would be best in our situation, a job for me in the delivery position, good nursing school for the wife. Cost of living seems to be lower in San Antonio, but my father in law told me there are alot more higher paying jobs in Houston.
We are looking into getting an apartment for around the 600-750 range for a 1 bedroom until the wife graduates nursing school then we will be looking for a house and San Antonio seems to priced reasonable on the housing market, like a brand new house with a pool for around 140k.
Two things that seem to scare us about big cities, high DUI's rates since im a driver and violent crime, we both are coming from areas that pretty much have non-existent murder rate, most crime here is drug related crimes, thefts etc. etc. from my readings, parts of Houston to stay away from are the SW to south side and same with San Antonio SW to south are not so safe zones.

Pluses... Employment, Nursing school, Cost of living, Shopping, Things to do, Distance to the beach.
Negatives... High crime, High DUI's.

Ack did I miss anything

Oops forgot to add im half asian married to a caucasian woman, so gotta have some diversity.

Last edited by Grimacus; 05-30-2007 at 10:24 AM.. Reason: Forgot to add something
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Old 05-30-2007, 10:53 AM
 
Location: Texas
2,703 posts, read 3,416,860 times
Reputation: 206
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimacus View Post
Hello im new to the forums but me and my wife are stumped on what city to move too, I have been reading up on other threads to give me an idea but I really see no comparisons to these two cities.
Right now we are living in Washington State, but our last winter was icing on the cake to moving to a warmer climate. I was in Houston last September catching a cruise out of Galveston and loved the heat and everyone I met was very friendly.
Glad you liked your visit down here.

Quote:
I love to explore and my wife loves to shop, what wife doesnt. We love to goto the beach. I was never really into the downtown thing in Seattle, probably due to the cold weather. My wife can pretty much transfer anywhere in Texas (kinkos) but I will be going without a job, I pretty much work in the delivery field driving vans to 26,000 pound delivery trucks (non-cdl). My wife is planning on a career in nursing in the fall.
Well, if your wife is planning a career in nursing, Houston is absolutely the best fit. Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center, the largest in the world. They have great medical schools there that could help your wife start a successful career.

Quote:
We narrowed it down to San Antonio or Houston, but thought about Ft. Worth area since the wife has family in Weatherford, but we both love the ocean and Ft. Worth is just to far away. We are looking for what would be best in our situation, a job for me in the delivery position, good nursing school for the wife. Cost of living seems to be lower in San Antonio, but my father in law told me there are alot more higher paying jobs in Houston.
Yeah, though San Antonio has some white collar, Houston definitely more white collar business. There are more high-paying jobs here. I actually think Houston's home prices (at least out in the suburbs) are lower, but I may be wrong. It isn't much of a difference (a few thousand between both cities).

Quote:
We are looking into getting an apartment for around the 600-750 range for a 1 bedroom until the wife graduates nursing school then we will be looking for a house and San Antonio seems to priced reasonable on the housing market, like a brand new house with a pool for around 140k.
You can get the same, in a safe area, in Houston.

Quote:
Two things that seem to scare us about big cities, high DUI's rates since im a driver and violent crime, we both are coming from areas that pretty much have non-existent murder rate, most crime here is drug related crimes, thefts etc. etc. from my readings, parts of Houston to stay away from are the SW to south side and same with San Antonio SW to south are not so safe zones.
SW Houston is bad, until you get to Sugar Land. South Houston is bad, until you cross over Beltway 8. It changes over one intersection in both areas.

Quote:
Pluses... Employment, Nursing school, Cost of living, Shopping, Things to do, Distance to the beach.
Negatives... High crime, High DUI's.
Houston added the most jobs in the U.S. over the past year, nursing school (TMC), you should have no problem. Cost of living is slightly better in San Antonio. Houston has far better shopping options, and more exclusive stores. San Antonio has Sea World and Six Flags, but there are many things to do in Houston (Museum District, Kemah Boardwalk, Schlitterbahn, NASA, beach!). Depending on where you live in Houston, the beach (Galveston), could be an hour and a half, to five minutes away.

Quote:
Ack did I miss anything
I hope not .

Quote:
Oops forgot to add im half asian married to a caucasian woman, so gotta have some diversity.
If you move to Houston, you will be in the most diverse city in Texas. Houston has you covered.
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Old 05-30-2007, 11:47 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, Texas
634 posts, read 2,922,474 times
Reputation: 243
San Antonio
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Old 05-30-2007, 11:48 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, Texas
634 posts, read 2,922,474 times
Reputation: 243
Why do you think I am moving there??

I never move to a boring, crime stricken city...
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Old 05-30-2007, 11:58 AM
 
Location: Texas
2,703 posts, read 3,416,860 times
Reputation: 206
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyun-Soo View Post
Why do you think I am moving there??

I never move to a boring, crime stricken city...
At least give some reason as to why he should move to SA.

Also, Houston crime has dropped dramatically in the past year. It rose after we absorbed many Hurricane Katrina evacuees, but the police force has since taken care of the problem.
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Old 05-30-2007, 02:34 PM
 
Location: #
9,598 posts, read 16,565,019 times
Reputation: 6324
Houston. San Antonio has much less diversity and is not near a beach. Houston has more jobs. San Antonio is nice, but Houston seems to be more of what you would be looking for.
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:51 PM
 
37 posts, read 192,209 times
Reputation: 20
It depends on what type of lifestyle you are looking for. San Antonio is a big city with a small town feel. Everyone seems to get accustomed to their particular areas in town. We also have a major medical center that is the hub for research and education in Texas. We have several major hospitals in the area, as well as the medical school, and there is always a high demand for nurses whether you choose Houston or SA. In all honesty, SA's housing market is on the rise. You can still find decent apartment rates, but as far as housing, I would say $150's will get you a decent home in a "safe" area. We also have many suburbs to choose from which would lower your housing costs. Traffic is tough is both areas but SA definitely wins this one. Commute times are far less than Houston. There is less humidity in SA, as well. As far as water activities, there are 2 - 3 good lakes in the area that most people go to, as well as Port Aransas which is only 2.5 hours away. SA is very central in Texas and it seems to only take 3-4 hours to get to other major cities. We are also only 50 minutes to Austin which has a great Central Texas vibe. The Hill Country will be your backdrop here in SA as well. Good luck with your decision!
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Old 05-30-2007, 04:58 PM
 
Location: Texas
2,703 posts, read 3,416,860 times
Reputation: 206
The Houston area has Lake Conroe and the areas around Galveston Bay for good water activities. $150 in Houston will get you a lot, in a safe area, too. There are so many suburbs here to choose from.
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Old 05-30-2007, 05:31 PM
 
Location: Laredo, TX
78 posts, read 191,585 times
Reputation: 47
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyun-Soo View Post
Why do you think I am moving there??

I never move to a boring, crime stricken city...
Wow! I used to talk to a guy online from Ipswich in Suffolk I guess who ended up moving down here! Talk about small worlds!
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Old 05-30-2007, 05:59 PM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
314 posts, read 2,539,726 times
Reputation: 208
We moved to San Antonio from the Seattle area (Lynnwood) 14 months ago. San Antonio is very laid back. It's a great city to raise a family.
San Antonio is 30 miles wide in any direction, so it's like many towns in western WA put together. Think Seattle to Marysville, and Lynnwood to Bellview but WAY less dense and better traffic.

I live on the far West side, and I love it. It feels like a cross between Mill Creek and Monroe. I live 2 miles from Sea World, 15 miles from 6 Flags, and 40 miles from Schlitterbaun in New Braunfels. I'm only 25 minutes from downtown, 3.5 hours from the beach, and 1.5 hours from Austin. The medical district in on the Northwest side of SA, as is UTSA which is the largest University in SA. They are both about 30 minutes from here.

For a breakdown on the Crime rates in SA try this thread:
!! Zip Code Index !!
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