OK, Texas you win. Now which city should I move to? (Houston: 2013, apartment)

[radiolibre99]

The COL here in LA even with a relatively ok salary for my fiance and I has gotten way out of control. LA is no longer the paradise we once thought. At first it was cool to live the laid back life of working and traveling around the State every weekend but after a while you start to notice that you're stuck.

So far I am looking at three cities where my fiance can relocate to in Texas: San Antonio, Houston or Austin. Her company would take in any of three cities and not lower her CA pay to TX level. I on the other hand must look for a job that pays close to 12 an hour to maintain our current salary. She makes aprox. 34-35k and I make 25k. In a given year we make anywhere from 57-60k combined salary.

She works for a clinic for kids with autism and I currently work in Legal as a legal asistant but would be willing venture out of my field for the same pay or more money. We have no initial worries since she is established at her company but I am on the more nomadic end of the job spectrum and am planning to go back to school to solidify a career. I have no worries about paying for grad school because my folks would help as well as financial aid, but the field I want to pursue is not considered lucrative in Houston; urban and regional planning/urban design. At least I assume since Houston lacks zoning.

Anyways, we're not looking for anything super fancy. We don't like areas revolving around the Town Centre look or mini-little Sugarland burbs. We like eclectic little hoods; Montrose, Heights, Rice, Museum. Or perhaps Medical Center, Almeda, UH area, Washington Blvd, Midtown. etc. I know there are good deals too because I remember turning down a cool 1 bedroom apt owned by an independent owner near Bagby for 650! Yes, 650! At the time I thought that was outrageous money but now I am stuck in LA paying 1000 bucks for a so-so old STUDIO apartment at the tail end of a nice area a track track away from a sketchy hood.

So with a combined income of 60k, no major bills, no car payment (we both own our cars), just cell phone and insurance for now. Which city would be the best fit for us?

Can this be done in Houston? I haven't been back in three years and with how fast you guys build (it takes a long while for anything to get done in LA) I can only imagine what Houston looks like now!

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

The COL here in LA even with a relatively ok salary for my fiance and I has gotten way out of control. LA is no longer the paradise we once thought. At first it was cool to live the laid back life of working and traveling around the State every weekend but after a while you start to notice that you're stuck.

So far I am looking at three cities where my fiance can relocate to in Texas: San Antonio, Houston or Austin. Her company would take in any of three cities and not lower her CA pay to TX level. I on the other hand must look for a job that pays close to 12 an hour to maintain our current salary. She makes aprox. 34-35k and I make 25k. In a given year we make anywhere from 57-60k combined salary.

She works for a clinic for kids with autism and I currently work in Legal as a legal asistant but would be willing venture out of my field for the same pay or more money. We have no initial worries since she is established at her company but I am on the more nomadic end of the job spectrum and am planning to go back to school to solidify a career. I have no worries about paying for grad school because my folks would help as well as financial aid, but the field I want to pursue is not considered lucrative in Houston; urban and regional planning/urban design. At least I assume since Houston lacks zoning.

Can this be done in Houston? I haven't been back in three years and with how fast you guys build (it takes a long while for anything to get done in LA) I can only imagine what Houston looks like now!

The legal profession is huge in Houston so on that Houston is the better choice for your current experience. As far as your future prospects in Unban Design I ran a indeed.com search for Urban Design in the three cities you are considering. Here are the results of the number of adds in each city

Houston had 51
Austin had 34
San Antonio had 10

So over all it appears that Houston would indeed be the best place for you to choose at this time.

The numbers for Legal assistant

Houston had 321
Austin had 94
San Antonio had 62

[crono_clone]

I'd say Austin because of your planned career track, but rents have risen up in both cities considerably in the last couple of years due to the influx of people from California. From what I understand, living in the core of Austin is more expensive than living in the core of Houston, if only because there's a lot less space to go around in Austin, and it doesn't sound like you'd enjoy living in their version of the burbs.

What rent budget are you two looking at? Do you need a 2-bedroom, or will 1 suffice?

Here's a recent article about the neighborhoods in Houston, if you need to brush up: 25 Hottest Neighborhoods (Page 1) | Houstonia Magazine

Obviously, most of the suburbs are on there, but they list some "up-and-coming" neighborhoods that might be worth looking into.

As far as work, try Houston Tomorrow (an urban planning non-profit think tank) to see if they have any employment or internship opportunities.

[radiolibre99]

I wanted a change of venue and LA had me used to the scenic natural landscape wrapped around an urban area. That is why I assumed Austin would be perfect but judging now by the COL there and the job prospects Houston might be the best choice.

San Antonio was another major choice considering it has the lowest COL of the three and has better job prospects than Austin but worse than Houston. But I bet it probably has the lowest opportunities of the three. It looks like a fun city but lacks the upward mobility and growth of the other two plus Dallas.

[deckhanddavy]

Originally Posted by crono_clone

I'd say Austin because of your planned career track, but rents have risen up in both cities considerably in the last couple of years due to the influx of people from California. From what I understand, living in the core of Austin is more expensive than living in the core of Houston, if only because there's a lot less space to go around in Austin, and it doesn't sound like you'd enjoy living in their version of the burbs.

What rent budget are you two looking at? Do you need a 2-bedroom, or will 1 suffice?

Here's a recent article about the neighborhoods in Houston, if you need to brush up: 25 Hottest Neighborhoods (Page 1) | Houstonia Magazine

Obviously, most of the suburbs are on there, but they list some "up-and-coming" neighborhoods that might be worth looking into.

As far as work, try Houston Tomorrow (an urban planning non-profit think tank) to see if they have any employment or internship opportunities.

I'll mirror what crono said, Austin will be more expensive, and less job options. Montrose usually has some decent studio's and 1 bedrooms that can be pretty affordable (unless pricing has totally changed in the last few years).

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by crono_clone

I'd say Austin because of your planned career track, but rents have risen up in both cities considerably in the last couple of years due to the influx of people from California. From what I understand, living in the core of Austin is more expensive than living in the core of Houston, if only because there's a lot less space to go around in Austin, and it doesn't sound like you'd enjoy living in their version of the burbs.

What rent budget are you two looking at? Do you need a 2-bedroom, or will 1 suffice?

Here's a recent article about the neighborhoods in Houston, if you need to brush up: 25 Hottest Neighborhoods (Page 1) | Houstonia Magazine

Obviously, most of the suburbs are on there, but they list some "up-and-coming" neighborhoods that might be worth looking into.

As far as work, try Houston Tomorrow (an urban planning non-profit think tank) to see if they have any employment or internship opportunities.

Thanks! I need that little bit of info!

The only problem is that I would have to take an online program if I want to do urban planning because there are no urban planning/design programs in Houston. They have one in San Antonio and one in Austin.

I wouldn't have minded doing landscape architecture which is a sister field but there are no landscape arch programs in Houston either! It's a tough choice and I would've loved to have attended either Rice or UH.

At the same time I would like to something in Houston, be a part of the city in the sense of establishing a career, joining local politics, claiming a stake, ya know? Not just work and go home and leave it at that. I have had so many opportunities to do that here in Los Angeles in major ways but it's all volunteer and the COL is having me work overtime to keep up.

[deckhanddavy]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Thanks! I need that little bit of info!

The only problem is that I would have to take an online program if I want to do urban planning because there are no urban planning/design programs in Houston. They have one in San Antonio and one in Austin.

I wouldn't have minded doing landscape architecture which is a sister field but there are no landscape arch programs in Houston either! It's a tough choice and I would've loved to have attended either Rice or UH.

At the same time I would like to something in Houston, be a part of the city in the sense of establishing a career, joining local politics, claiming a stake, ya know? Not just work and go home and leave it at that. I have had so many opportunities to do that here in Los Angeles in major ways but it's all volunteer and the COL is having me work overtime to keep up.

I was once interested in landscape design/architecture. There are online programs, but mostly for landscape design. You're probably more interested in the other I think.

[radiolibre99]

Differences between making it in Houston vs LA.

Houston has a way more educated professional class viying for top spots in business politics and such. The plane is smaller I would say but probably more insider, IDK.

LA is actually more accepting and surprisingly open in all industries minus entertainment, but there are just too many people. I actually found it easier to get what you want out of LA than Houston and there are way more opportunities but at the same time you have to manage an insane COL by comparison that it renders you working more to sustain than actually pursuing your goal. Plus there are so many less qualified people here. Too many. They just flood the job market so it gets a bit harder for you to get noticed.

I don't know much about the top jobs in Houston both for the city and business since I left right after college so I never experienced it much but I am assuming that it's competitive in the traditional sense. Lots of major players from the big three: Rice, UT, A&M. Frat guys, A-males, connected future good ol boys, old money, etc etc etc. A bit of a Dallas type crowd thrown in. Right?

It's not like here in LA where a tattooed hipster can get a degree in sociology from Cal State LA and then work in the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (a real department here), make a decent salary and move up in the city. There are a lot of jobs like that here.

Houston in terms of business makes LA look like a slow aging train.

[crono_clone]

It looks like TSU has a master's program: Urban Planning & Environmental Policy

Or is this something different?

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by deckhanddavy

I was once interested in landscape design/architecture. There are online programs, but mostly for landscape design. You're probably more interested in the other I think.

Yeah, I am really interested in planning; environmental, urban, physical.