Would you stay in Houston if you were independently wealthy? (Van: 2014, living)

[Layitdown33]

Just moved here 6 months ago from WI. I don't like the traffic and the mass transportation system is much better in Chicago, when comparing Large Cities. I would split my time between here and there. The winters in the Mid West are brutal.

I haven't had a reason to travel to NYC - so I haven't gone their yet. No knock on it, but for those who I know that gone, they only talk of the shopping, going to Manhattan or Times Square. I would need another reason to go outside of shopping and visiting those land marks.

[Jack Lance]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=3WAZ60xA9wo

To all of you who are looking for that special place to be happy, good luck !

[jfre81]

For some of us, happiness isn't a physical place at all.

[0825spring]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=3WAZ60xA9wo

To all of you who are looking for that special place to be happy, good luck !

I know mine already and we've lived there....Denver, England and South Africa. I too hope everyone can find there own happy places...the ones that take your breathe away each and every day! It's an incredible feeling

[madrone2k]

This is a fun thread and I've read many things one could respond to, But ... instead I'll go back to OP's question, since I'm considering what I want to do after I retire.

One financially prudent scenario (already mentioned here) would to maintain my principal residence here but travel elsewhere in the hot, humid months. I've considered buying a 2nd home elsewhere, but there are disadvantages to that. Instead, renting a place somewhere for 4 months or so might be cheaper and more fun, in that one isn't committed to a single place to summer.

If I maintained my principal residence in Texas, I might move it from Houston to Austin. However, property taxes are high in Texas and Austin's assessed values are higher, so that is something to consider. In any case, I'm not into country living -- at least for any length of time -- so I guess I'm stuck with paying higher property taxes if I stay in Texas. Alternatively, if I moved to CA I'd be trading high property taxes for a state income tax. Financially, the worst-case scenario would be to be hit with a large state income tax combined with equally high net property tax (due to the higher property values in CA).

[3shipguy]

Originally Posted by madrone2k

This is a fun thread and I've read many things one could respond to, But ... instead I'll go back to OP's question, since I'm considering what I want to do after I retire.

One financially prudent scenario (already mentioned here) would to maintain my principal residence here but travel elsewhere in the hot, humid months. I've considered buying a 2nd home elsewhere, but there are disadvantages to that. Instead, renting a place somewhere for 4 months or so might be cheaper and more fun, in that one isn't committed to a single place to summer.

If I maintained my principal residence in Texas, I might move it from Houston to Austin. However, property taxes are high in Texas and Austin's assessed values are higher, so that is something to consider. In any case, I'm not into country living -- at least for any length of time -- so I guess I'm stuck with paying higher property taxes if I stay in Texas. Alternatively, if I moved to CA I'd be trading high property taxes for a state income tax. Financially, the worst-case scenario would be to be hit with a large state income tax combined with equally high net property tax (due to the higher property values in CA).

But if you'll be retired--no income tax. You'll just need good health care.

[I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA]

Would you stay in Houston if you were independently wealthy? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Prey521]

I was born and raised in NYC, living in the Houston area for the last 2 years and I have never, ever, ever, etc.....visited a State where its citizens had so much pride in it. I love taking my kids to all the diff historic places to read and learn about Texas history. Us NY'rs aren't like that when it comes to NYS as a whole. Given Texas' rich history, I can't blame people for having such deep pride for being Texans. It's one of the things I love the most about living here. If I were a first Gen Texan, I'd be quick to dress down someone whom spoke ill of the State. Texas is awesome and I don't plan on ever moving from this State!

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Prey521

I was born and raised in NYC, living in the Houston area for the last 2 years and I have never, ever, ever, etc.....visited a State where its citizens had so much pride in it. I love taking my kids to all the diff historic places to read and learn about Texas history. Us NY'rs aren't like that when it comes to NYS as a whole. Given Texas' rich history, I can't blame people for having such deep pride for being Texans. It's one of the things I love the most about living here. If I were a first Gen Texan, I'd be quick to dress down someone whom spoke ill of the State. Texas is awesome and I don't plan on ever moving from this State!

People from NYC are more like that about the city than the state, yes. This is lost on a lot of people down south, but most of NY state is rural and has little in common with the city, and it generally has more in common with Pennsylvania and the Midwest, New England in some parts.

Texas was indeed its own republic for nine years, and even had a few countries (notably France, Belgium and the Netherlands) that officially recognized it and had diplomatic relations. This is not even true of the Confederacy, which never held status higher internationally than a breakaway belligerent within the US in a civil war. But, for example, even I'm not one who can go "well, my great-great-great grandfather and uncle fought for Sam Houston etc." even though I was born and raised in Texas. My dad's family was actually in Ohio (where I am now) and Indiana when Texas was fighting for independence, fought for the Union in the Civil War, and before that some of his mom's people were Dutch and they were in some settlement called "New Amsterdam" up there in NY. Prey521 and others may be familiar with that story.

Even if my great-great-greats died at the Alamo, I'm not one for rose-colored glasses. I'll tell you what I think is the truth about everything from where I live to my favorite football team and it's not always cheery. Same goes for Houston as a city. There are a lot of things going for it, and at one time (including the years I lived there and posted here) I was willing to accept its shortcomings for being a good value all in all. Then it got quite expensive to live there. Standards start getting raised. I'm really sure Houston's ready to realize that higher standard. Maybe it's because of the "well, no matter what, Texas is God's country and it's the best place on Earth" mentality, or maybe it's the mentality of the types who move there, looking for work, a bigger house and such. There's a lot of work out there to be found. I landed here somewhere near the Great Miami River in western Ohio, not because I went "wow, this is so much better than Texas!" but because of business. Basically, an effort to one day become "independently wealthy" like we're talking about. It had nothing to do with either Ohio or Texas, really. While this probably also isn't where I endeavor to stay forever - I'm actually hoping to be traveling and likely moving a few times in the coming years - it's not to say I dislike it here. Not in the slightest, really. It's got its problems, but every place does.

I enjoy the topography, and honestly it would be hard to leave it for a landscape like the Texas Gulf Coast.

I enjoy not having to leave two or three hours before I should have to in hopes of not getting stuck in traffic.

I enjoy being able to leave the city within 20 minutes or so and being in the country. Not subdivisions and strip malls. Farms like Katy and such places used to have.

I enjoy the seasons, and I moved just in time for winter. Should be in the teens for New Year's Eve. I'm fine with it. I was in the park playing disc golf in ~50-degree sun just a couple days ago. At its worst, I'm sitting inside like most people in Houston are five months out of the year.

People have been good to me for the most part. You tend to get back what you put out there. If you're miserable, and you treat the locals in a new place with contempt, rest assured you will get it in kind. This works the same way everywhere. I've made friends.

This was only my second Christmas not in Texas, and the first one I was preparing to return within a month, which I did. I certainly miss some family and friends, more than Houston or Texas themselves.

[wintersbone]

What i can't believe is the amount of people wanting to move to nyc. Must be a lot more liberals in houston then i thought.