Relocating to Houston from NJ (Galveston, Pearland: transplants, crime rate, houses)

[North2TX]

My wife and I are contemplating a move from northern NJ (right outside NYC) to Houston (due to a career opportunity). Can anyone give me some insight into the Houston way of life? How does it compare to NY metro area? i.e., lifestyle, traffic, restaurants, etc.

Is the cost of living really as cheap as we've been told? The inner loop neighborhoods that we looked at, e.g. West U, River Oaks, and Bellaire, were not as affordable as we expected.

The weather -- is it truly as hot and humid as everyone says? I was told that June -Sept is Extremely hot and humid but the rest of the year is not "that bad". Is this the truth?

What is the weather like between October - March????

Are there many NY metro area transplants now living in Houston???

I appreciate the insight

[EasilyAmused]

The suburbs are a good price. Inside the Loop and Inside the Beltway on the west side are not.
Winters are very mild with a few days that snap down near freezing.
Cost of living is personal and does depend on where you live. Taxes are higher in the burbs, along with gas prices and the cost of commuting. Taxes are less in Houston, the commuting is less but the dwellings are more expensive.
We have tranplants from everywhere.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

The suburbs are a good price. Inside the Loop and Inside the Beltway on the west side are not.
Winters are very mild with a few days that snap down near freezing.
Cost of living is personal and does depend on where you live. Taxes are higher in the burbs, along with gas prices and the cost of commuting. Taxes are less in Houston, the commuting is less but the dwellings are more expensive.
We have tranplants from everywhere.

I agree with all that. Inner Loop prices are high, but coming from where you are you are probably in a good position to afford them. Inner Loop living is sweet. There are tons of transplants here (me included). We've been here for years and know lot of people; I can think of two who are from Houston. The diversity is nice.

[EasilyAmused]

Also, if you live closer to the core of the city, you won't be hurting for restaurants. Houston has amazing dining. Our Downtown is getting more liveable and walkable, but no where near NYC and Chicago standards. Uptown (Post Oak BLVD) is actually a very hip and hopping place that's starting to get that urban vibe. It has change so much in the past 5 years.

[North2TX]

Thanks.

My office would be in the "uptown" Galleria section.

We were told to take a look at Sugarland for housing -- told that you could buy a rather large home - with a pool - for $550k or so. I am told that it would be a 40 minute commute to work in the morning. Any truth to this?

I also understand that Sugarland area has lots of new construction developments going up all the time -- does it impact the ability to re-sell a home in Sugarland down the road (because competing against new construction)????

What is Pearland, Meyerland and Tanglewood like????

[Wysiwyg]

I dont know about the cost of living, but housing is definitely more affordable but you still have to buy the higher end houses to filter out the some types of neighbors. everything else seems the same to a bit more expensive. depending where you live car fuel and tolls will be noticeable. AC/electricity and water is pricey too
I'd say I miss sections like newark ironbound, hoboken, edgewater, fort lee, and other neighborhoods in NYC. people in houston dont really stay in one spot and develop it to be almost self sufficient and buzzling with human activity and character most of us drive 10-30miles from the suburbs "outside the outerloop", mostly in communities just a few years old so most of it has that *up and coming" look and lifestyle everywhere. kinda like dover, nj without the trees.
the business areas looks and feels like pavonia newport without the subway. not much going on. a clifton mall type area every few miles
its hard to compare really. theres seriously no 'NYC metro' here. but its still a good place.

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by North2TX

Thanks.


What is Pearland, Meyerland and Tanglewood like????

Tanglewood starts at 800k for a 3000sf ranch house built in the 1960's.

Meyerland is really up and coming.

Pearland is very much like all the other burbs. Commute into Uptown would be harder than Sugarland.

You might want to look at Garden Oaks or Spring Valley. The homes are older, the lots are good sized and the commute isn't that bad.

[desertsun41]

Ex New Jerseyian born and raised 38 years here. Long gone from NJ for more then a dozen years and it was the best move I ever made.

I cant get too in detail here because I am only a semi part time resident (shortly full time) of the Houston area so I will leave the fine details for others to help you. Our place is about an hour above the big city on the big lake. Something we could not afford in NJ in 10 life times.

Coming from NJ you will find Houston property taxes well.....almost free. Especially since you said you live near the NYC line I am sure your taxes exceed $10,000 a year. I know you know people paying in excess of $15,000 a year. It might be $2500 for a simular home in Houston. They call that expensive.

Dont worry about the humidity. It is just about the same as Joisey. Maybe a few more bugs......ok maybe a lot more bugs then Joisey. You get used to it.

Like everyone always says, find your job first and then and only then find your home. You might laugh at Houstonians who complain about traffic after where you come from. There might be more cars in Houston area but they have the road infrastructure to carry it. NJ has nothing but one lane Horse and buggy trails left unimproved since the 1950s because there is no room to expand. Still who wants to drive in any of that. So get the job first and then the home.

The cost of living is much lower in the Houston area. I still have to pick my toungue off the floor when I go into a grocery store down there. Me and the wife just say look at this price and look at that price...do you know what we pay for this back home? It is a comedy show to go food shopping.

Like some one already said. People there are from all over. They are certianly more friendly down there which will be a strange feeling. We know how rude NJ and NYers are.

You will have to learn to slow down. I see that especially once I go up 59 and out of the city. And you wont miss the Joisey shore once you go down the Bolivar Peninsula and see Crystal Beach. Take the free car ferry to Galveston for great seafood and fishing and anything simular to Seaside Heights, Pt Pleasant, Manasquan and so on.

I promise you that you will love it in Texas.

[North2TX]

Yes the downtown did reming me of Jersey City. When we went to visit the "downtown" section, it seemed to have a lack of "human activity" - like NYC and even Hoboken --- the streets seemed rather empty for 2pm on a work day.

We were told that the crime rate is on the rise in Houston - some say it is due to many Hurricane Katrina refugees from N/O.

[EasilyAmused]

Taxes on a 550k house will be from 12,000-14,000, depending what part of the city you live in. Were does that 2800 figure come from?!?!? I WISH!

Crime fluctuates like any big city. The current problems have more to do with Mexican gangs than Katrina peeps. While some of their "fine citizens" do remain, they found the HPD doesn't baby them like NOLA's police did.