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I just relocated to Dallas from the East Coast (Washington, DC - but grew up near Philly). I actually lived in Dallas from 2008-2012, went back home for 2 years and recently moved back with my company. Long story short, there may be a great opportunity for me at Chase ( I believe they are located Downtown, near UH downtown campus, maybe you all can clarify?).
I've been to Houston twice, and it seems much more urban/metropolitan than Dallas does, which I like.. of all the bigger cities I've been to in TX thus far, it seemed to feel the closest like home to me.
I have a friend who lives in Clear Lake, and it seems to be a really nice area.. I did like it when I was there a few weeks ago to visit. My question is the commute? Also, Clear Lake seems to be really suburbia, though I noticed quite a few people in my age group (late 20's - early 30's). Here are my questions:
- Im salaried at 70k/year - is this doable in downtown Houston? (Not sure what you all consider "downtown", but I'm speaking of somewhere near work I guess) I like the walkability of being downtown.
- Commute from Clear Lake into my potential office?
- Any other suburbs with easy access to my office area that could be a good mix of downtown lifestyle meets suburbia?
- Is Clear Lake too suburbia, or are there actually people in my age group out that way? I like the proximity to parks/Kemah (been there once) and Galveston.
- Does Houston weather differ GREATLY from Dallas? Here it gets HOT, but not so much humid as often. Definitely less humid here than in DC.. and I'll take 95 degrees and dry over 85 and humid any day.
Well, it is more humid here than in Dallas. And hot. Forget 85 and humid. We are talking 95 and humid for a long summer. If you can't handle that, then maybe Houston isn't for you. That said, I am from the East coast (my husband is from the Philly area even), and well, you kind of just deal with it.
I live on the opposite side of town from Clear Lake, so will let others answer the commute questions for you.
There are a couple of Chase buildings downtown but if you are going to be at the one in Texas and Travis there is a building just across called Post Rice Lofts, they run like $1400 for smallest 1 bedroom up to 6k for a 3 bedroom. Look at getting a place in Midtown, why subject yourself to sitting in traffic 1.5 hours a day to live in the suburbs.
yes JP Morgan is located downtown not far from UHD
on 70k a year you can afford rent in Downtown. Check HAR.com
Dallas and Houston weather are very similar, Houston slightly has more humidity, but 'you' won't notice the difference in my opinion. on the bright side, Houston is slightly more attractive as it's more green
to me, Clear Lake is too far out. with the city growing so fast, traffic is slowly becoming unbearable during rush hour. find yourself either a closer suburb or live inside the loop. GL
- Im salaried at 70k/year - is this doable in downtown Houston? (Not sure what you all consider "downtown", but I'm speaking of somewhere near work I guess) I like the walkability of being downtown.
- Commute from Clear Lake into my potential office?
- Any other suburbs with easy access to my office area that could be a good mix of downtown lifestyle meets suburbia?
- Is Clear Lake too suburbia, or are there actually people in my age group out that way? I like the proximity to parks/Kemah (been there once) and Galveston.
- Does Houston weather differ GREATLY from Dallas? Here it gets HOT, but not so much humid as often. Definitely less humid here than in DC.. and I'll take 95 degrees and dry over 85 and humid any day.
Thanks in advance
1) Yes, your salary should be fine if you want to live downtown or somewhere inside the loop (the core of the city surrounded by I-610)
2) Clear Lake is about 30-45 mins to downtown, depending on traffic. The commute has been getting worse though....
3) The only two suburbs that would qualify that description would be The Woodlands and Sugar Land. Both of them would be a really far commute though (Sugar Land would be closer, if you're really curious about it)
4) I've spent a lot of time in Clear Lake and it's definitely sleepier than some of the other popular suburbs (and a lot of things close on Sunday). There's a small population of younger professionals there, but nothing like you'd find inside the urban core.
5) Dallas is less humid, sometimes you'll notice the difference and sometimes you won't. It's more prone to tornadoes and snow/sleet than we are, though Houston of course has to watch out for hurricanes.
There are a couple of Chase buildings downtown but if you are going to be at the one in Texas and Travis there is a building just across called Post Rice Lofts, they run like $1400 for smallest 1 bedroom up to 6k for a 3 bedroom. Look at getting a place in Midtown, why subject yourself to sitting in traffic 1.5 hours a day to live in the suburbs.
What does midtown have to offer? Is the Kirby area considered midtown? If I'm going to be in the city I'd definitely be looking for lots of walkability to groceries/shopping/nightlife etc.. thanks!
I just relocated to Dallas from the East Coast (Washington, DC - but grew up near Philly). I actually lived in Dallas from 2008-2012, went back home for 2 years and recently moved back with my company. Long story short, there may be a great opportunity for me at Chase ( I believe they are located Downtown, near UH downtown campus, maybe you all can clarify?).
UH downtown is on the north part of downtown. Good location. It is close to Market Square.
I've been to Houston twice, and it seems much more urban/metropolitan than Dallas does, which I like.. of all the bigger cities I've been to in TX thus far, it seemed to feel the closest like home to me.
I have a friend who lives in Clear Lake, and it seems to be a really nice area.. I did like it when I was there a few weeks ago to visit. My question is the commute? Also, Clear Lake seems to be really suburbia, though I noticed quite a few people in my age group (late 20's - early 30's). Here are my questions:
- Im salaried at 70k/year - is this doable in downtown Houston? (Not sure what you all consider "downtown", but I'm speaking of somewhere near work I guess) I like the walkability of being downtown.
Houston is about the same price as Dallas
- Commute from Clear Lake into my potential office?
You could, but no idea why you would want to. You can afford to live in the city.
- Any other suburbs with easy access to my office area that could be a good mix of downtown lifestyle meets suburbia?
Nope... the suburbs are the suburbs
- Is Clear Lake too suburbia, or are there actually people in my age group out that way? I like the proximity to parks/Kemah (been there once) and Galveston.
Kemah is a tourist trap that you will never go to. Same with Galveston. Galveston is a dump.
- Does Houston weather differ GREATLY from Dallas? Here it gets HOT, but not so much humid as often. Definitely less humid here than in DC.. and I'll take 95 degrees and dry over 85 and humid any day.
It is similar to Dallas, but more humid. We also never see snow.
I don't understand why anyone in their 20-30s that are single would ever want to live outside of Montrose, Midtown, or the Heights unless they can't afford it. As I have posted in the past. Everyone.. and I mean everyone I have ever known that moved to Houston and signed a lease in the burbs moved the instant it was up. The suburbs in Houston sucks for single professionals.
You are young, make 70k, work downtown. You make enough to live most anywhere. All the fun areas are right next to your work. I would look at apartments off Washington, W. Dallas, and in Midtown. If you want to look at cheaper apartments I would look around the Greenway Plaza area. Don't make the rookie mistake when moving here.
I just relocated to Dallas from the East Coast (Washington, DC - but grew up near Philly). I actually lived in Dallas from 2008-2012, went back home for 2 years and recently moved back with my company. Long story short, there may be a great opportunity for me at Chase ( I believe they are located Downtown, near UH downtown campus, maybe you all can clarify?).
UH downtown is on the north part of downtown. Good location. It is close to Market Square.
I've been to Houston twice, and it seems much more urban/metropolitan than Dallas does, which I like.. of all the bigger cities I've been to in TX thus far, it seemed to feel the closest like home to me.
I have a friend who lives in Clear Lake, and it seems to be a really nice area.. I did like it when I was there a few weeks ago to visit. My question is the commute? Also, Clear Lake seems to be really suburbia, though I noticed quite a few people in my age group (late 20's - early 30's). Here are my questions:
- Im salaried at 70k/year - is this doable in downtown Houston? (Not sure what you all consider "downtown", but I'm speaking of somewhere near work I guess) I like the walkability of being downtown.
Houston is about the same price as Dallas
- Commute from Clear Lake into my potential office?
You could, but no idea why you would want to. You can afford to live in the city.
- Any other suburbs with easy access to my office area that could be a good mix of downtown lifestyle meets suburbia?
Nope... the suburbs are the suburbs
- Is Clear Lake too suburbia, or are there actually people in my age group out that way? I like the proximity to parks/Kemah (been there once) and Galveston.
Kemah is a tourist trap that you will never go to. Same with Galveston. Galveston is a dump.
- Does Houston weather differ GREATLY from Dallas? Here it gets HOT, but not so much humid as often. Definitely less humid here than in DC.. and I'll take 95 degrees and dry over 85 and humid any day.
It is similar to Dallas, but more humid. We also never see snow.
I don't understand why anyone in their 20-30s that are single would ever want to live outside of Montrose, Midtown, or the Heights unless they can't afford it. As I have posted in the past. Everyone.. and I mean everyone I have ever known that moved to Houston and signed a lease in the burbs moved the instant it was up. The suburbs in Houston sucks for single professionals.
You are young, make 70k, work downtown. You make enough to live most anywhere. All the fun areas are right next to your work. I would look at apartments off Washington, W. Dallas, and in Midtown. If you want to look at cheaper apartments I would look around the Greenway Plaza area. Don't make the rookie mistake when moving here.
Thanks in advance
Thank you for this - I wasn't sure how the suburbs work down there. Here in Dallas - almost everyone lives in the close "burbs" .. some of my friends live in Uptown, but it is most definitely the norm to NOT live "downtown". Although.. I've noticed that Dallas doesn't really have a downtown like Houston does, the only places I have ever hung out are actually uptown, and that is borderline heading to the burbs anyway.
I considered Clear Lake bc I know a few people there already .. but given the number of you that have said no bueno.. I'm dumping that idea.
I've actually never been to Galveston. Some say its fun, others say it is a dump. Growing up on the east coast I had many many beaches to go to.. so when heard of Galveston, I had originally assumed it would be close enough to what I'm used to.. apparently not! lol
We moved from the Dallas area last summer. There is a huge difference weather wise to me. Winter of course does not get as cold. Summers are horrible I think. Dallas is humid but not anything close to here which makes it 10x worse in my opinion. We have always said we would never get a pool until we were house hunting here in the middle of the summer. Then it became a necessity to us.
We moved to Friendswood which is right down the street from clear lake. We chose this only because we have 3 children and wanted these schools. The area is nice and people are friendly. Really not a lot to do and restaurants suck in this area. But we can overlook it because of the schools. We do go to the beach weekly since we are so close. We can go down after school for a couple of hours and be back in time for dinner.
As far as living downtown it can be done on that salary. But you might be rent poor depending on where you live and other bills you have. I know someone who lives in the Kirby area which I like. Her rent is over 3k for a tiny 2 bedroom. To me that is not doable on an income of 70k. I go there weekly for Whole Foods and Costco and I wouldn't want to walk every where just because of the traffic.
My husband's commute from Friendswood to downtown is 45 min to 1 1/2 hrs each way. Traffic has definitely been getting worse.
If you can stand the weather and horrible traffic then you will do fine here!!!
We moved from the Dallas area last summer. There is a huge difference weather wise to me. Winter of course does not get as cold. Summers are horrible I think. Dallas is humid but not anything close to here which makes it 10x worse in my opinion. We have always said we would never get a pool until we were house hunting here in the middle of the summer. Then it became a necessity to us.
We moved to Friendswood which is right down the street from clear lake. We chose this only because we have 3 children and wanted these schools. The area is nice and people are friendly. Really not a lot to do and restaurants suck in this area. But we can overlook it because of the schools. We do go to the beach weekly since we are so close. We can go down after school for a couple of hours and be back in time for dinner.
As far as living downtown it can be done on that salary. But you might be rent poor depending on where you live and other bills you have. I know someone who lives in the Kirby area which I like. Her rent is over 3k for a tiny 2 bedroom. To me that is not doable on an income of 70k. I go there weekly for Whole Foods and Costco and I wouldn't want to walk every where just because of the traffic.
My husband's commute from Friendswood to downtown is 45 min to 1 1/2 hrs each way. Traffic has definitely been getting worse.
If you can stand the weather and horrible traffic then you will do fine here!!!
Thanks for the advice! Yeah.. the more I read into it, the less I want to move down that way (towards Clear Lake). One of things I hated most about the East Coast (DC in particular) was the traffic, can't stand it. I laugh when ppl in Dallas talk about traffic.. traffic here is nothing compared to DC/Philly/NY etc.. 10x worse in my experience. Not sure how Houston places in that race, but I imagine it can get bad. I saw horrible traffic on going N on 45 when was there 2 weeks ago, but I think that was partly due to construction, who knows.
Overall are you happy with Houston in comparison to Dallas? I get the vibe that Houston is more diverse/open minded/more to do etc etc than I have experienced here. Again though.. I haven't spent SO much time there just yet, so I could be way off.
Right now I pay 1065/mo rent + all utilities, so its very doable on my salary.. I don't have CC debt or much else, just my car really. In DC I was paying 1550 + utilities.. so I can budget if I need too, though I really do not want to go up to that again. I really just want to be able to walk out and about if I'm living in the city.. otherwise what is the purpose, ya know?
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