Thinking of moving to Houston (Pearland, Bellaire: apartments, lease, insurance)

[jade13]

Hi there
I have been asked by my company to relocate to Houston,the salary would be $150k,would this be reasonable to live on in Texas? (we are a family of four, my wife will be a stay at home mom),also does anyone know other important things to ask for in a relocation package?.Thanks in advance.

[jfre81]

Median family income here is around $40K. Obviously you would be well above this.

[Oildog]

How much temporary living expenses do you get? Do they cover moving and closing costs? Will they adjust for taxes?

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by jade13

Hi there
I have been asked by my company to relocate to Houston,the salary would be $150k,would this be reasonable to live on in Texas? (we are a family of four, my wife will be a stay at home mom),also does anyone know other important things to ask for in a relocation package?.Thanks in advance.

It's reasonable. But don't be surprised if you have a good commute to get the desired house/school combo for your family..assuming your company is near the city core. Houston is reasonable to cheap in the satellite burbs, only slightly more reasonable in the preferred areas near the core than LA and Chicago.

But yes, ask for temporary living and the cost of the move. Do you currently own a home? Will they provide you a corporate buyout if you can't sell your current house?

[d4666]

You should do great here. The cost of living is affordable here. Schools are good too. Let me know if you need any housing or school information.

[5stones]

for relo package ask for...
A 1 week home finding trip.
30 days temp housing and food allowance.
ask for a corporate buy out as someone said if your house doesn't sell.
ask for the company to pay for closing costs on your new home.
move package should include the move of all your household goods at no cost to you.

Now, they may say yes to some and no to others etc...but ask for EVERYTHING you can think of, all they can say is no. But they might say yes to all!

Now things for you to do BEFORE you ever acept the offer.... RESEARCH RESEACH RESEARCH!!
(I say this with 7 moves under my belt, 3 with kids!)

What do you love about your current area? Try to find that in your new area.
What do you hate about your current area? You know what NOT to look for.
Pinpoint where the job office is. Then draw a circle that raditates out from there to you max commute time (and then come in 5 miles!)
Ask on here what are the good neighborhoods (pros and cons) good schools, low crime etc... in your circle (most likely a hughe chunck will be deleted for many reasons)
Come up with a PRICE that you can easily live with. (a good price not the stretch the limit of our pocket book) We usually start a bit lower. Once you start too high and see the properties it's hard to come down.
After you have the names of some areas and your Pricethen start searching the Realestate sites...

If NOthing in your price ops up at ALL and you see that you have to EITHER...1) up your price by 50k or 2) move 30 minutes futher out to get what you want... then take warning this move might not be a good one.
YOu do not want to have an hour+ commute or a mortgage up to your eyeballs and struggling in a new area. That is not a positive direction for you or your family.

GOOD luck!

[HtownLove]

$150K is excellent for Houston. Median income in the most exclusive ares like the memorial Villages is about 170K so you won't be far out in the burbs like they are making it seem.

Cities withing beltway 8:
Hedwig Village is close and median income is 65K
Bellaire Texas 90K
Heights 45K
Montrose 50K

Cities outside Beltway 8:
Median Income for Katy is 50K
Median Income for Pearland is 80K

Really High ones include:
Piney Point:180+k (think this is the highest in Texas)
Bunker Hill: 175K
Hunters Creek 170K

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

$150K is excellent for Houston. Median income in the most exclusive ares like the memorial Village is about 170K so you won't be far out in the burbs like they are making it seem.

Cities withing beltway 8:
Hedwig Village is close and median income is 65K
Bellaire Texas 90K
Heights 45K
Montrose 50K

Cities outside Beltway 8:
Median Income for Katy is 50K
Median Income for Pearland is 80K

Really High ones include:
Piney Point:180+k (think this is the highest in Texas)
Bunker Hill: 175K
Hunters Creek 170K

Those median incomes are including all the apartments and townhouses in Memorial. The HOUSES in the Villages (Bunker Hill, Hedwig, Piney Point, Hunter's Creek) start at 800k..so um, if you can figure out how to pay for the house,insurance and taxes on 170k ( not to mention everything else) let me know the secret.

Western Memorial it can be done. But you looking at older and 3000 sf and less., and it will be west of Dairy Ashford for the most part.

150k a year puts you in a 400k house max. But that max price leaves such little wiggle room, I don't know why people do that to themselves. Those above Memorial neighborhoods are slim pickings,bad locations, in that price range..or in the Villages case, non-existant. That's why most people are saying BURBS in here if the public schools are wanted K-12.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Those median incomes are including all the apartments and townhouses in Memorial. The HOUSES in the Villages (Bunker Hill, Hedwig, Piney Point, Hunter's Creek) start at 800k..so um, if you can figure out how to pay for the house,insurance and taxes on 170k ( not to mention everything else) let me know the secret.

Western Memorial it can be done. But you looking at older and 3000 sf and less., and it will be west of Dairy Ashford for the most part.

150k a year puts you in a 400k house max. But that max price leaves such little wiggle room, I don't know why people do that to themselves. Those above Village neighborhoods are slim pickings,bad locations, in that price range..or in the Villages case, non-existant. That's why most people are saying BURBS in here if the public schools are wanted K-12.

Incomes and home prices are NOT the same. I did not suggest he live in the Memorial villages I said the most exclusive neighborhoods have people LIVING there and their median income is 170's.

I was responding to the people saying that an income of 150K would put you way out in the burbs, when that type of INCOME is more than adequate for many areas within the beltway.

I for one would not move to a city and by a house right away anyway. I would stay in a condo/apartment for at least 6 months and see what areas suit me. There is not one single area in Houston where 12,500 a month does not get you a condo/apartment for lease.

Again reread my post. I said the most exclusive neighbourhood were the village and they are in the 170 range, so 150 would get you almost anywhere in Houston. I think I even mentioned that Piney point was just about the most expensive place in Texas. No time did I suggest the villages. Just used it as a ceiling for how high median income go in Houston

[HtownLove]

My neighborhood is 5 minutes from downtown; most houses are between 2000-6000 sq feet. (There are a few bigger, a few are smaller). Median price 250K