California RN planning to move to Sugar Land (Houston, West: for sale, to rent)

[lhafer]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Teaching and nursing are completely different though. Unless you are specifically talking about those industries, it's an apples to oranges comparison (especially with oil).

OP, if you are a pro-union type, you can see what I mean with these statements. Nobody knows much about unions here, and they lump them all together as if they are all the same.

Not sure where teaching came into play in this conversation?

I specifically said I was not familiar with the medical field unions in my post. I specifically talked about oil industry unions - which my husband's company has sites world wide. And the one here in the ship channel is the ONLY one to have unionized employees. I was not making general statements about all unions. Please do not put words in my mouth.

I was only telling the OP that unions are not the norm here for nurses. That is all.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Teaching and nursing are completely different though. Unless you are specifically talking about those industries, it's an apples to oranges comparison (especially with oil).

OP, if you are a pro-union type, you can see what I mean with these statements. Nobody knows much about unions here, and they lump them all together as if they are all the same.

I am completely aware that they are not the same Unions.

However being in the Medical Profession myself...I would be quite concerned with any medical professional that had to run to the Union for protection.

CA has the same working conditions and workers rights as TX in the Medical Profession. The exception being the TMC where the standards are held very high compared to the Bay Area in this profession.

If a medical professional has to run to the Union for protection I would be suspect of that employee.

Unions in CA protect bad behavior and incompetent workers...I have seen it with my own eyes.

If any nurse wanting to relocate to Houston to work as a nurse but has issues that require Union protection I would suggest that you stay in CA because in Houston it will not be tolerated...especially in the TMC.

BTW I have learned all about Unions in my 3 years in CA and I am not impressed with protecting incompetence in the work environment...especially when it comes to health care and teaching.

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Nobody knows much about unions here, and they lump them all together as if they are all the same.

Don't lump me into this as I know exactly what I am talking about.

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by TVC15

Don't lump me into this as I know exactly what I am talking about.

If you believe a union's purpose is solely to protect bad employees, guess what? You don't know what you are talking about.

And seeing that the OP is long gone, they probably agree.

[Topaz]

If the OP is still reading, Methodist is always winning awards as a great place to work. Not sure if that is because it is true or just an awesome PR department, but something to investigate...

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

If you believe a union's purpose is solely to protect bad employees, guess what? You don't know what you are talking about.

And seeing that the OP is long gone, they probably agree.

Where did I say that is their ONLY purpose.

That is a huge practice that they do. I have been in CA for 3 years and have seen some of the worst employees both in and out of the medical profession that should have been terminated for their lack of ethics and just poor job competence and very toxic behavior. But no the Union makes it very difficult for them to be fired...almost impossible. Unions should have zero power to protect these types of worthless employees. Unions have been given power that they should not have. Unions at one point and time in the US were good.

Many Unions do companies more harm than good.

That is a fact and if you don't know it then you don't know what you are talking about.

I hope the OP thinks this over. If this OP has to rely on a Union for protection as a nurse...then I would be suspect of them as an employee. I have worked with Bay Area nurses and believe me many would not make it in the TMC. Some of them should have their license taken away...but no that Union will never let them be termintated or punished for poor skills or unprofessional behavior. And the employee knows this as well. What a terrible system.

Let me add my own story to this. When I moved out here and took a job in my profession...I was in dismay to learn that certain sectors my profession were Unionized unlike it is in TX or any other state for that matter. I did not want to join the Union. But guess what...I did not get that choice since it is forced Unionism here. Forced as a condition of employment. I fought hard to not join...when it came down to the wire I quit. Gladly.

The other people that I worked with that were also in my profession were disgusted that they had to join against their will. How they dealt with the Union stealing their money was to not think about it...or they get too angry since there is nothing they can do but get out of a job they have a passion for.

Guess what I went into a sector of my profession that is not Unionized and I make 25K more a year with better benefits! Good for me.

I find it hard to believe that in the USA we are forced to join a Union as a condition of employment. This should be against the law IMO. It is a violation of our rights.

[jeremy2788]

Originally Posted by TVC15

Where did I say that is their ONLY purpose.

That is a huge practice that they do. I have been in CA for 3 years and have seen some of the worst employees both in and out of the medical profession that should have been terminated for their lack of ethics and just poor job competence and very toxic behavior. But no the Union makes it very difficult for them to be fired...almost impossible. Unions should have zero power to protect these types of worthless employees. Unions have been given power that they should not have. Unions at one point and time in the US were good.

Many Unions do companies more harm than good.

That is a fact and if you don't know it then you don't know what you are talking about.

I hope the OP thinks this over. If this OP has to rely on a Union for protection as a nurse...then I would be suspect of them as an employee. I have worked with Bay Area nurses and believe me many would not make it in the TMC. Some of them should have their license taken away...but no that Union will never let them be termintated or punished for poor skills or unprofessional behavior. And the employee knows this as well. What a terrible system.

Let me add my own story to this. When I moved out here and took a job in my profession...I was in dismay to learn that certain sectors my profession were Unionized unlike it is in TX or any other state for that matter. I did not want to join the Union. But guess what...I did not get that choice since it is forced Unionism here. Forced as a condition of employment. I fought hard to not join...when it came down to the wire I quit. Gladly.

The other people that I worked with that were also in my profession were disgusted that they had to join against their will. How they dealt with the Union stealing their money was to not think about it...or they get too angry since there is nothing they can do but get out of a job they have a passion for.

Guess what I went into a sector of my profession that is not Unionized and I make 25K more a year with better benefits! Good for me.

I find it hard to believe that in the USA we are forced to join a Union as a condition of employment. This should be against the law IMO. It is a violation of our rights.

Well, not everyone views unions in such a negative light. So what you feel is a violation of your rights, someone else may feel differently.

[colcat]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

I am a former teacher still in education. I have taught in a state with a union and it was a much better experience.

Texas is fiercely anti-union to the point that even people who could benefit from them are brainwashed to believe unions are evil no matter what.

I would say really think about it because you will be shocked at what little rights and power employees have in this state.

I can't agree more with this statement.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by jeremy2788

Well, not everyone views unions in such a negative light. So what you feel is a violation of your rights, someone else may feel differently.

Read it again.

Originally Posted by TVC15

I find it hard to believe that in the USA we are forced to join a Union as a condition of employment. This should be against the law IMO. It is a violation of our rights.

I could care less if you are for or against Unions. I can have whatever beliefs I want about them as can you.

The issue that I am talking about is having my rights taken away from me and either being forced to join a Union or not work in my profession upon moving to a Forced Union state. That is the true crime...Forced Unionism. I hope to see the day when this is abolished. No person in the US should have Forced Unionism imposed upon them as a condition of employment.

[winkosmosis]

I think you have a very sugar coated view of Houston and Texas in general. It's not a low cost of living place and Texas is a high tax state.


Sugar Land is a suburb. It's not a town, it's not a small city, it's a suburb of Houston.


Property taxes are insanely high in Texas. You might find a $250k house in Sugar Land but over 30 years you will have paid as much in property tax as the value of the house. It's about 3% here.

And have you actually looked at house values? http://www.zillow.com/homes/sugar-land-tx_rb/

[War Beagle]

2) How diverse is Sugar Land? Do people mix and mingle or stay in their own corners of town?

Sugar Land is "technically" a diverse city. I say "technically" because it is a majority, minority city with very significant south and east Asian populations. However, from what I have witnessed, the Chinese pretty much stay with the Chinese, the Pakistanis with the Pakistanis, the whites with whites, etc. So in other words, it's diverse in the same way other places are - diverse people living near one another but not much more than that.

As a nurse, you will have a lot of job opportunities between Herman-Memorial, St. Lukes, Methodist and all of the smaller medical offices.

Sugar Land is a suburb. It's not a town, it's not a small city, it's a suburb of Houston.


Property taxes are insanely high in Texas.

The first part is incorrect. Sugar Land is an incorporated city and has it's own elected officials. The City of Houston has zero influence whatsoever on what SL does.

The second part is very true though. Property taxes in TX are very high, almost to the point where they are prohibitive to potential home owners compared with other places in the country. That said, SL actually has some of the lowest property taxes in the area at about 30 cents per $100 of property value. Of course, there are various other taxes in addition to the City (school district, MUDs, levee districts, etc.), so your taxes will be MUCH higher than that. There is also the fact that Sugar Land property values are somewhat inflated.