How is the job growth/future for senior level IT execs(vp level)..and other questions! (Houston: real estate)

[mom2gurls]

I had this posted on the dallas board, but I will be posting on the houston and austin board as well. We have narrowed down our area of preference to DFW, however, the landscape of the greenery, hills and lakes from the austin area are appealing, as well as the proximity of beaches to houston. So in lieu of that, I would like to get an idea of comparisons.

Situation:

1. Looking at colling county in DFW..specifically the plano school district
2. I have my own business, so for me, location not an issue.
3. Would like a masterplanned community as we live in one know..gated is nice "to have"
4. Living abroad as expats but coming back to the USA next march, so we will wrap things up on the east coast and head out.
5. Schooling is a priority as the kids have been attending international schools for a couple of years now.
6. Would prefer an IB school
7. We will rent before buying but rental budget is about 2500
8. Purchase budget is about 400-500 (but would like to spend around 400).
9. We are south asian brought up in the US, so having some indian temples around is a nice to have for cultural reason, but def dont want to be pigeonholed into living where the "indians live"
10. I like to be with a short driving distance to all facilities..shops, food stores, cvs, walgreens, malls. Dont want to live where it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere.

11. Would like to livin with 30 minutes of downtown or the airport as my dh will need to travel occasionally for his work.

We are a pretty active family (swim and soccer), so would like the area we buy have walking trails, outdoor facilities..pretty liberal in our views.

How does houston match up for job growth and schools, quality of life. We had an expat friend that moved from south asia (they are from the UK)...to houston, they were excited to go!

Any particular zip codes where we should look into or master planned communities we should look at.

Last but not least...if you could compare the weather..how humid, christmas time, any snow? thanks so much.

[RPS13]

Having lived in DFW for 7 years, and Houston for about 6 months (and having family live here before), I'd say the climate in Houston is quite a bit better. Being in close proximity to the Gulf helps regulate the temperature, keeping it warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer.

This graph explains it all (average daily high):



Plus the rainfall is so low in DFW for months on end that everything turns brown. Typically you get a few months of green in the spring, then it'll go brown sometime during the summer and stay that way unless you get a wet fall. It's pretty depressing compared to the cities with more vegetation due to their climate (like Houston).


As for areas to look at, Telfair in Sugar Land (77479) seems to satisfy most of your wants, but depending on the house you want the budget might start limiting choices somewhat. It has a large Indian population, but is pretty diverse overall. You could maybe do a new build (might be built out at this point, or close to it in your price point) or resale (more likely). There's also Riverstone in Sugar Land, but IMO the location is not as nice as Telfair due to how far it is off 59 (Hwy 6 has a ton of lights and traffic).

Katy south of I-10 might also be a contender (77494), but I believe the south asian demographics will be somewhat less concentrated. Cinco Ranch is popular in Katy, other neighborhoods like Seven Meadows, Pine Mill Ranch, Cardiff Ranch, Church Hill Farms, Cross Creek Ranch are all in that general area. They're all master planned, and you can get quite a bit of house there for your budget. There will be new build and resales here.


Both areas should meet your commute times except at peak rush hour, and traffic is comparable between Houston and North Dallas, with North Dallas having some more "problem children" roads that are just clogged at all hours IMO. Plenty of shopping around both areas, but newer areas of the Katy/Fulshear area are less built out at this moment. More stores should come into that area over the next year or two. Katy Mills Mall isn't very far away from Katy.


www.har.com is the best place to search for Houston real estate IMO.


Hope that helps you get started.