Bf and I considering Houston Or Sugar Land (Howe: apartments, amusement parks)

[zumbacutie1]

Originally Posted by mingna

Re: gyms - there are numerous gyms scattered throughout SL, from the higher priced Lifetime Fitness, to the more moderate LA Fitness or 24Hr. Fitness, to the budget friendly Fitness Connection ($10/month, no initiation fee). Most will let you try out the facilities for free. The Town Square hosts free weekly Zumba and Boot Camp classes in the main square.

Sugar Land has won several consecutive state sponsored fitness competitions, being named "Fittest in Texas". There are several parks for running/biking, numerous local 5/10K to marathon competitions throughout the year, and a dog park for the furry ones.

If you like cooking, SL has a wide range of grocery stores from large HEBs to ethnic East Asian (99 Ranch) Indian, and Latin American/Hispanic. They are also due to get a Costco and Fiesta (large Mexican/Latin American grocer). Also many local ethnic restaurants (Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern, etc.) without having to drive to Chinatown.

Hi Mingna! Thanks so much for all the info! Ooh Fitness Connection has No initiation? Do they have a pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, all that good stuff? Is it nice there/have you been there? And that’s cool that there’s free zumba and boot camp.. I’d imagine there being lots of people passing by and watching, which is not something I’m totally into, but hey, it’s free haha. Wow I totally see similarities in Sugar Land and where I live which is in Mililani (this is the Pleasantville of Hawaii). We too have free zumba offered every Saturday at our Mililani Town Center.. haha, omg.. similar to Sugarland’s Town Square... Sounds like destiny to me Lol!

Nice and nice to the 5k and the park.. I should sign up for one in the future.. most likely not during the summer time though, I don’t want to die lol. Doggie park is a must for the lil pooch.

I love Indian/Hispanic food.. we used to have a 99 Ranch here (only 1) but it shut down like 8 years ago but I’m familiar with the place. I remember it smelling very fishy in there, and you definitely know you’re at a seafood market while there. I don’t know how it’s like in TX but that’s how it was here. And I cannot wait for all the different types of foods!! Ahh I wanna fly there now! Lol. Good thing there will be a lot of activities to keep me fit haha.

And yes, I have read that Sugar Land was voted Fittest in Texas. I read something about that on Wikipedia that it won like 2 or 3 years in a row.. that’s sooo awesome and very impressive!

[zumbacutie1]

Originally Posted by slbnoob

After reading through the thread, feel like I should also pitch in.

I'm Indian and my wife is Chinese. We moved to Sugar Land from Minnesota where we went to school. From what I see, there are ample job opportunities in the Houston area. Sugar Land is a good place to live, so much so that my wife wants us to buy only in Sugar Land whereas I am of the opinion of seriously considering the more affordable Katy. We're kind of a vanilla couple (if you can say so) and so are perfectly happy with what Sugar Land and Chinatown offers us in terms of food.

But as many people advise: Secure a job first (you and/or your bf) and then move. That may take you to San Antonio, Austin, DFW, they're all (probably) just as good as Houston to live.

Hi slbnoob! Thanks for stopping in and for commenting! Yes, I do feel like I need to secure a job, but as mentioned to others, we’re going to stay with our friends in Corpus temporarily for about a month or 2 til we get on our feet… so I’m probably going to go with a Job agency temporarily so that at least they’ll have my skills on record and will be able to help me get my foot in the door. And temp jobs may turn into permanent positions soo, wish me luck! Lol.

[zumbacutie1]

Originally Posted by annals

Hi Zumbacutie,

I've been in Houston seven years; I am Russian and my boyfriend is from India. As others have said, this is a really diverse place -- you can find basically everyone here in Houston. Do be prepared for a bit of heat, but there are plenty of pools around! Many of my colleagues live in Sugar Land and like it a lot. Traffic there has picked up in recent years, especially on Highway 6 near 59. I've driven in Honolulu on H1 and it's bad. But Houston is just on a different scale -- many freeways are 5-lane and the traffic is intense. And yes, the restaurant scene here has endless variety. Our favorites are Kubo's for Japanese and Shiva for Indian in the Rice Village, Thai Gourmet for Thai, Blue Nile for Ethiopian, Kasra for Persian.

Hi there Annals! Niice that you are your bf are a mix-raced couple! I hope to meet more since it’s nice to see the world is mixing =) You’ve driven in HNL? When was the last time you were here? And yes, it definitely IS bad for sure! I absolutely love how the upper 48 have 5 lanes of traffic.. makes perfect sense, right? It seems that the developers who made our freeways here felt that they didn’t need to make more than 3 lanes of traffic as they didn’t anticipate a sh*t-ton of people moving there in the years to come… well… SURPRISE!! LoL. Mm, Indian food is SOOO good! I really can’t wait to try all the different types, I will feel like I’ve traveled the world through food! Hehe.

[zumbacutie1]

I also just have to mention that I am so grateful to all of you that you’ve shared so much of your much needed info with me! Thanks so much!! Please keep them comments comin!! Lol =) Thank you!

[annals]

I've just done a search on har.com for rental properties with location set for Sugar Land and came up with houses starting at $1,000. So if you spend $1,200 or a little more you could rent a decent house with a bit of a yard instead of an apartment.

Set the sort order to "ascending" to see the cheapest ones first.

[mod edit - cant link directly to properties]

[swopoe]

This post is making me want to go out to dinner! We have so many good, ethnic dining options around here. It really is great!

[zumbacutie1]

[quote=annals;29872164]I've just done a search on har.com for rental properties with location set for Sugar Land and came up with houses starting at $1,000. So if you spend $1,200 or a little more you could rent a decent house with a bit of a yard instead of an apartment.

Set the sort order to "ascending" to see the cheapest ones first.

Omg Annals, thanks so much for being so thoughtful and for doing a search for me! I really appreciate you doing that! I really like the first and last listings...the condo is nice as well, but we are eventually looking for a spacious home with a lovely yard. if we could only put the pool with the first home or the last home, that'd make me sooo happy and wanna buy it lol.My top choice would def be the first one ) I think the overall look of it and the size is really nice

Unfortunately, we can't go to Sugar Land right away since our friend lives in Corpus and we're staying there temporarily, but I def feel like the Har website will help. Thanks again, You're the bomb diggy!

[zumbacutie1]

Originally Posted by swopoe

This post is making me want to go out to dinner! We have so many good, ethnic dining options around here. It really is great!

Haha, I know right me too! we should all have a Sugar Land is awesome party and zumba party lmao.. jk! I mean every time I say Sugar Land, I get happy cause 1) it sounds like an amazing city to live in and 2) who the heck doesn't Love Sugar?? lol! Sounds like the land of happy to me lol!

[zumbacutie1]

Originally Posted by swopoe

Oh, and that second link posted....I used to live over there when I first moved to Sugar Land. Great location!!

Really.. it looks nice for sure, we are just looking for a home with a big yard and pref a pool hehe. We have lived in a condo and an apt in Hawaii and we want a home with all the awesomeness as mentioned. I have a feeling with these listings/ prices, we'll definitely be able to find what we want! =))

[mingna]

Originally Posted by swopoe

This post is making me want to go out to dinner! We have so many good, ethnic dining options around here. It really is great!

Haha, especially near dinner time! Have you tried that fairly new Indian-style Chinese restaurant near Home Depot? Apparently it's a common style of Chinese found in India. Intriguing combo.

To OP, not sure about Fitness Connection amenities. You can try looking into online reviews and their website. They have only been open a year or so, so fairly new.

Lots of good pho joints in the area, including some chicken only. Let me know if/when you are in town and need some recs. BTW, love your enthusiasm and cheerfulness.