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Old 10-12-2007, 02:22 PM
 
3 posts, read 12,154 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi All,
First, Thanks you all for sharing your honest opinion on these forums. Its a goldmine for someone like me looking for info before deciding on a move.

I have an opportunity to move to Houston. I guess I will be working near the down-town area.

Here is what I am looking for. I would appreciate if you can help me find the right area. My budget is around 350K

Family Friendly and Crime Free
large Indian Population
Great Schools
Decent Commute to Downtown.
recreation activities.

I understand I may not get everything in 1 place.

Also, from looking at the posts, here are few things that have concerned me. Please comment on whether its really that bad.

1) Property Taxes. How much would I have to pay for 350k.
2) Electric Bill for summer months. is that more than the $300-$400 that we pay up North for gas during winter months.
3) Mosquitoes, Snakes, etc. I am really concerned about snakes. Is that an issue inside homes(yard) or Is it only otdoors with homes facing the woods.
Whats the remedy. any particular areas to stay away from?
4) Commute to work.
5) Humidity.


Please chime in.
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Old 10-12-2007, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Cinco Dinero
967 posts, read 2,609,081 times
Reputation: 1354
Alright, I'll start...

I live in Katy... great schools, very family friendly, a fair amount of Indian families in my neighborhood (as evidenced by the school bus stop) Not being Indian myself, I don't have a "pulse" on the most populated Indian areas... But a long commute downtown.

$350k get you a large house in the 'burbs and still a decent house closer to town but schools may be hit and miss unless you go private. Taxes around 3-4%. A good estimate of PITI would be $3500/mo on a $350k house.

Summer are the most expensive utility bills. My old house was 1700 sq ft and 25yrs old and not very energy efficiant with summer bills $200-$300/mo. My new house is brand new 2800sqft with $170-$220/mo this summer. Our elect is deregulated which means we choose our power companies... 12-15 cents/kw is average

see power to choose.org

Snakes... been here since '99 never encountered one. Not on my list of worries.

I have high school friends that just moved here from Omaha, NE To them the cost of living is even-steven to life in the mid-west

Good Luck and don't be too scared
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Old 10-12-2007, 10:49 PM
 
54 posts, read 192,193 times
Reputation: 21
This doesn't do much to answer your question but you can find decent schools, safe neighborhoods, and more or less equidistant commutes in all directions from downtown, although I'd say the commute currently is the easiest from the south (Pearland) and northwest (Kingwood). So the main differentiating criteria for you is the Indian population and hopefully someone can help you out there.

Property taxes: Yes, a big change. It is high. The tax rate will be listed with the info on each house you see.

Electric bill: We have a 12 year old, 5000 sf house and our August electric bill was $420. And I don't work so I'm home (meaning AC on all day but we do have zoned AC units).

Snakes: I have never seen a snake. Don't worry!

Mosquitoes: They do seem to bother my kids much more than they did in the midwest.

Commute to work: To downtown will suck. Chicago traffic would be the only decent midwest comparison to the traffic here.

Humidity: yes, it is that bad.
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Old 10-13-2007, 07:37 AM
 
Location: San Antonio-Westover Hills
6,884 posts, read 20,399,779 times
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There are Indians all over here in Houston, but I know many work in the Med Center so you might find a larger population in Pearland and Sugar Land.
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Old 10-14-2007, 07:07 AM
 
2 posts, read 11,341 times
Reputation: 10
We're originally from the Midwest and love it here. The cost of living is pretty good. Althought the prop taxes are pretty high depending on were you live can range from 3% to 4%. Pearland is great because it is close to the city and has a lot of really nice communities and schools. I have't seen any snakes and the mosquitos seems about the same as anywhere else.
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Old 10-14-2007, 10:34 AM
 
Location: Houston, TX
8,895 posts, read 19,990,094 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Houstongal View Post
We're originally from the Midwest and love it here. The cost of living is pretty good. Althought the prop taxes are pretty high depending on were you live can range from 3% to 4%. Pearland is great because it is close to the city and has a lot of really nice communities and schools. I have't seen any snakes and the mosquitos seems about the same as anywhere else.
If you move near a creek or tributary to a creek of any sort - you will have more snakes and possiblity mosquitos than someone who chooses to live a bit further away. Years ago I lived in Pearland in a small area called Twin Creek Woods - and yes we had snakes (never inside) more often than some of my friends ... but we were right on a creek, which occasionally flooded.
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Old 10-14-2007, 01:17 PM
 
344 posts, read 1,250,420 times
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New Territory in Sugar Land has a large Indian population.
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Old 10-17-2007, 07:17 AM
 
3 posts, read 12,154 times
Reputation: 10
Default Thank you all

Thank you all for your feedback. So I take it that as long as I stay away from creeks/ponds etc, I dont have to be concerned about snakes.
If the electricity bill in peak summer is only gonna be like 250-300 dollars, its pretty much like what we would pay for Gas alone here in Midwest during the months from Dec-March.
I guess the property tax is more compared to what we pay but I dont know if the Zero tax would kind of offset the increase. Is that accurate?
Please comment on the benefits, if any, of not having to pay any state tax.
Thanks.
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Old 10-17-2007, 08:04 AM
 
Location: Clear Lake, Houston TX
8,376 posts, read 30,691,505 times
Reputation: 4720
You can find snakes anywhere around here. It doesn't matter if you're around a lake or not. Growing up on the SW side I saw them the same frequency as I see them now in Clear Lake. That is -- very rarely. The good news is that they were all non-poisonous. Bull-nose, garter and grass snakes are the kinds that I've seen around here. Now when I was hanging out in the country parts of Conroe I stumbled upon a copperhead, which is poisonous. (Also an alligator or two.) Just walk away calmly. Learn the what the 4 poisonous, native-US snakes look like and you'll be A-OK. That is: copperhead, cottonmouth, rattler and coral. There is a (very slim) chance you can find all of these down here in this part of the South-Central US.

Travel USA Travel - Poisonous Snakes - USA Tourist
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Old 10-17-2007, 07:07 PM
 
19 posts, read 70,233 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by tstone View Post
You can find snakes anywhere around here. It doesn't matter if you're around a lake or not. Growing up on the SW side I saw them the same frequency as I see them now in Clear Lake. That is -- very rarely. The good news is that they were all non-poisonous. Bull-nose, garter and grass snakes are the kinds that I've seen around here. Now when I was hanging out in the country parts of Conroe I stumbled upon a copperhead, which is poisonous. (Also an alligator or two.) Just walk away calmly. Learn the what the 4 poisonous, native-US snakes look like and you'll be A-OK. That is: copperhead, cottonmouth, rattler and coral. There is a (very slim) chance you can find all of these down here in this part of the South-Central US.

Travel USA Travel - Poisonous Snakes - USA Tourist
First, let me say that I lived in Houston for over 40 years and only saw one garter snake in the back yard. Of course, I lived in River Oaks. Live near a creek or river and you will find them, but I would not worry about it.

Houston, I feel certain, has the largest Indian population of any city in the US. That's why Air India chose Houston over Dallas to start nonstop flights to and from here, hopefully in 2008.
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