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Old 05-24-2012, 09:26 AM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
5,525 posts, read 13,950,687 times
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How much does a house within the desirable core, walkable neighborhoods of Houston cost? I know housing in general in inexpensive down there, but I'm assuming the vast majority of that cheap housing is in the outer reaches of Houston, which at 600 sq miles, would correspond to somewhere in suburban Cook county.
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Old 05-24-2012, 10:14 AM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
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I don't know Houston very well, but I was down there last year for a Rice graduation, so I walked around the neighborhood nearby, and admired the lovely older homes. The surrounding neighborhood is clearly wealthy and gentrified. Here are some representative houses for sale in that area:

2250 Robinhood Street, Houston TX | MLS# 11736964 - Trulia
6106 Lake Street, Houston TX | MLS# 71344340 - Trulia
2423 Dryden Road, Houston TX | MLS# 97829714 - Trulia
2526 Goldsmith Street, Houston TX | MLS# 66178074 - Trulia

Nice houses, but not significantly cheaper than what you'd pay for in a comparable neighborhood in Chicago.
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Old 05-24-2012, 10:17 AM
 
14,798 posts, read 17,685,669 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oakparkdude View Post
I don't know Houston very well, but I was down there last year for a Rice graduation, so I walked around the neighborhood nearby, and admired the lovely older homes. The surrounding neighborhood is clearly wealthy and gentrified. Here are some representative houses for sale in that area:

2250 Robinhood Street, Houston TX | MLS# 11736964 - Trulia
6106 Lake Street, Houston TX | MLS# 71344340 - Trulia
2423 Dryden Road, Houston TX | MLS# 97829714 - Trulia
2526 Goldsmith Street, Houston TX | MLS# 66178074 - Trulia

Nice houses, but not significantly cheaper than what you'd pay for in a comparable neighborhood in Chicago.
Look at the RE taxes too.
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Old 05-24-2012, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,323 posts, read 23,923,075 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlajos View Post
Look at the RE taxes too.
That's ridiculous. I have some relatives with 8000-9000 sq foot houses in other big cities who pay just as much in property tax as some of the 4000 sq foot homes listed here. Ridiculous. Had no idea their tax was so high there. No income tax, but it's all made up for and then some if you want to own a house.
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Old 05-24-2012, 12:19 PM
 
896 posts, read 1,399,937 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marothisu View Post
Ditto. It frees up $$ not owning a car too. Pretend your rent in Houston is $500 and you have to have a car. $100 for car insurance a month let's say, $375 for car payment or lease per month (study average), and about $150/month for gas (in the middle of an average). That might be $625 for a car (maybe $550 if you're paying for a "lower quality" car) you don't own, but pay for, per month. No you're up to $1125 (maybe $1050), which you can easily get a 1 bedroom in a great neighborhood in town with tons going on without needing a car in Chicago.

There's always intangibles. People will see these very low rents in Houston vs. Chicago, but they don't realize you can ditch your car and still be completely fine here and after awhile, it could end up being similar or even more for Houston if you're leasing or paying for a semi new car.
You know everyone does not have a car payment. My car expenses like insurance and gas when I lived in Forest Park was same as me paying for the CTA I might have spent a little changing my oil like once a year. For me at the time it was worth having a car. I might have spent a little more total for the year. But is does free up the repairs which I do love!
However, I just wanted to give the OP something to think about
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Old 05-24-2012, 12:27 PM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephei2000 View Post
You know everyone does not have a car payment. My car expenses like insurance and gas when I lived in Forest Park was same as me paying for the CTA I might have spent a little changing my oil like once a year. For me at the time it was worth having a car. I might have spent a little more total for the year. But is does free up the repairs which I do love!
However, I just wanted to give the OP something to think about
Well, if the car owner doesn't have a car payment, than he or she has a depreciating asset that could be exchanged for cash. Depending on the circumstances, the cash might be more useful to the individual than the car.

BTW, if the OP isn't already aware, there are car-sharing services like Zipcar and I-go in Chicago which are great for those who need a car occasionally, but don't want the full-time burden of owning a car.
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Old 05-24-2012, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,323 posts, read 23,923,075 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephei2000 View Post
You know everyone does not have a car payment. My car expenses like insurance and gas when I lived in Forest Park was same as me paying for the CTA I might have spent a little changing my oil like once a year. For me at the time it was worth having a car. I might have spent a little more total for the year. But is does free up the repairs which I do love!
However, I just wanted to give the OP something to think about
Oh, I agree as I have said in other posts. If you don't have car payments, and don't mind paying insurance and some gas money, owning a car here is no big deal. You can get zone parking (hopefully )for cheap if you can't get it with your apt.

However, many people either have car payments or they lease their cars, meaning they pay extra. But yes, I agree no big deal if you already own the car.

But even if you own the car, you don't really need it if you live in many areas. Just a "nice to have" sometimes. If you never use it, it's probably more useful to sell it and get money than keep it. Not to mention depreciation..but yeah.
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Old 05-24-2012, 10:36 PM
 
Location: Chicago
422 posts, read 812,754 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stephei2000 View Post
You know everyone does not have a car payment. My car expenses like insurance and gas when I lived in Forest Park was same as me paying for the CTA I might have spent a little changing my oil like once a year. For me at the time it was worth having a car. I might have spent a little more total for the year. But is does free up the repairs which I do love!
However, I just wanted to give the OP something to think about
A 30 day CTA pass with unlimited ridership is $86. Even without a car payment I don't see how you can own a car for $86 a month with insurance and gas money unless you drive very little and always travel places with free parking, even then I don't see it.
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Old 05-25-2012, 03:08 PM
 
1,092 posts, read 1,504,621 times
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Born and raised in Houston for close to 20 years. Moved to Chicago last year.

Houston doesn't compare to Chicago.

Chicago's on another tier.
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Old 05-27-2012, 05:41 AM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
3,816 posts, read 6,447,728 times
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Word of caution: I got rid of my car when I moved to Boston a while back, and while I certainly didn't miss the associated costs, I did in fact start missing my car a few months down the road. Make sure getting rid of your car is something you're totally fine with before you do it. Public transportation is a great thing, but totally depending on it in every circumstance can get irritating......at least this was my experience.

OP, if you've already lived in Florida and are looking for a big change, I wouldn't go to Houston unless you find you simply can't afford Chicago. SE Texas and Florida are much too similar in terms of cities, topography and weather, IMO. Chicago may not be able to stack up to Houston when it comes to COL, but the ol' adage "You get what you pay for" definitely applies here.
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