Houston is NOW less Affordable than New York City?? (school, college)
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You and any other poster who think I'm here just trying to win an argument have so far failed to point out a single property that meets my criteria, and have switched distance from commute time to miles, and you're accusing me of moving the goal post? I said I wanted something close to 30 minutes from downtown in the first post.
I am not in this to win an argument about something as nebulous as affordability. I could care less if some millionaire can build a mansion in Houston at a fraction of the cost compared to New York or wherever, or if a crack house can be had for 60k here but is four times that in west Baltimore.
I only want to speak for people like me who want to give their kids a good education but don't want to spend more than an hours a day on the road. To someone like me Houston is barely cheaper than Denver, a city that's supposed to be almost twice as expensive if you just look at median house prices. 4br single family houses in both cities that meet the criteria of 1. within 30-40 minutes of downtown and 2. zoned to good public schools start at the high 500s. I used homes zoned to Memorial High and parts of Stratford High in Houston and Cherry Creek High and Stapleton High in Denver for comparison. Maybe Denver is the exception because it's a smaller city, but the result might be similar else where. I know DC and New York probably don't have anything under a million that close to the core, but other 'coastal' cities might.
If someone knows who knows Denver think I'm off please let me know. I haven't talked to a realtor there yet.
Forget what I said about Seattle. I don't know the city well enough to do this type of comparison. It ended up being a distraction.
Your second paragraph is pretty harsh. This isn’t about crack houses or millionaires. It’s about affordability. Houston does well here. You mention Denver, they have traffic too. Houston just happens to be a bigger sprawl, so commutes can be longer. Comes with the territory. Fact of the matter is, for family value, which is what you’re after, hard to beat Houston and sugar land. Seems like you haven’t been to the cities you’re comparing Houston to. Houston is sprawlier than all of these cities, so drive time will naturally be longer. But as you’ve highlighted yourself there aren’t any sugar lands in non southern cities. This is something g to be proud of.
Your second paragraph is pretty harsh. This isn’t about crack houses or millionaires. It’s about affordability. Houston does well here. You mention Denver, they have traffic too. Houston just happens to be a bigger sprawl, so commutes can be longer. Comes with the territory. Fact of the matter is, for family value, which is what you’re after, hard to beat Houston and sugar land. Seems like you haven’t been to the cities you’re comparing Houston to. Houston is sprawlier than all of these cities, so drive time will naturally be longer. But as you’ve highlighted yourself there aren’t any sugar lands in non southern cities. This is something g to be proud of.
I've been to Denver for work and pleasure many times and am actually considering a move. I've done google map searches on some of the addresses during rush hour and the drive time were within my range for some of the houses. These places are also very close to Denver Tech Center which is another major employment hub for tech jobs. I know they have traffic too but it's not as bad as Houston unless it snows, and the worst traffic is not toward the eastern side of town. They also have better rail system so that's also an option for commute. I've been to Seattle a couple of times, liked the weather and the surrounding area for natural beauty, but found the city a bit overrated and am not considering it for relocation.
Houston might still be cheaper than Denver overall but if I add 10% to my COL here for the heat, humidity and mosquitoes I don't think it's that much cheaper anymore.
I've been to Denver for work and pleasure many times and am actually considering a move. I've done google map searches on some of the addresses during rush hour and the drive time were within my range for some of the houses. These places are also very close to Denver Tech Center which is another major employment hub for tech jobs. I know they have traffic too but it's not as bad as Houston unless it snows, and the worst traffic is not toward the eastern side of town. They also have better rail system so that's also an option for commute. I've been to Seattle a couple of times, liked the weather and the surrounding area for natural beauty, but found the city a bit overrated and am not considering it for relocation.
Houston might still be cheaper than Denver overall but if I add 10% to my COL here for the heat, humidity and mosquitoes I don't think it's that much cheaper anymore.
Sounds like you should move. Your response to my comment on Willowbend was appallingly elitist. Even if the school doesn’t have the best ratings, they offer the same opportunities (college credit, sports, clubs, etc.) for kids there. It’s just how the child chooses to take advantage of it.
Move to Denver, send your kids to schools with only white upper middle class children, and enjoy your bubble.
Be that as it may, but the fact Pennsylvania doesn’t touch the coast makes Philadelphia a non coastal city, sorry. Lake Tahoe is in Sacramento’s CSA, does that make Sacramento a mountain (resort) town too?
Nope. The fact that Philadelphia is close enough to the coast means that oceanic dynamics are able to affect the city, therefore making it a coastal city. Same goes for DC and Baltimore.
Houston too. Close enough to the Gulf Coast to be considered a Gulf Coast city, not to mention the additional coastal bay extending inland within 30 minutes from the city.
Los Angeles is similar - the bulk of the city and urban cohesion is all located a bit inland, but still a Pacific Coast city through and through.
Nope. The fact that Philadelphia is close enough to the coast means that oceanic dynamics are able to affect the city, therefore making it a coastal city. Same goes for DC and Baltimore.
Houston too. Close enough to the Gulf Coast to be considered a Gulf Coast city, not to mention the additional coastal bay extending inland within 30 minutes from the city.
Los Angeles is similar - the bulk of the city and urban cohesion is all located a bit inland, but still a Pacific Coast city through and through.
Coastal means coastal...not an hour, or more, away. A big stretch to the coast, for Philadelphia and Houston.
Coastal means coastal...not an hour, or more, away. A big stretch to the coast, for Philadelphia and Houston.
Nope, coastal also includes being near a coast, in addition to being on one. The physical distances of Houston and Philly to their respective oceans are close enough such that they are considered coastal, nonsensically-pedantic arguments notwithstanding - but Houston is under 30 miles distance anyway as bays are part of the coast.
Time doesn't really matter since it's highly dependent on transportation circumstances.
Nope, coastal also includes being near a coast, in addition to being on one. The physical distances of Houston and Philly to their respective oceans are close enough such that they are considered coastal, nonsensically-pedantic arguments notwithstanding - but Houston is under 30 miles distance anyway as bays are part of the coast.
Time doesn't really matter since it's highly dependent on transportation circumstances.
So is the St. Lawrence Seaway, so I guess the Great Lakes States are on the ocean, as well. Interesting. If you want it badly enough, there's always a way...right?
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