Potential relocation to Houston from the Midwest (Sugar Land, Rosenberg: sales, rental)

[Kluch]

Hi all, looking to get some info from people about potentially relocating to Houston fall of 2022 from Indiana. My wife and I are considering moving south and Houston is at the top of our list for places to relocate to. Tampa, FL is the other potential location but there seem to be more downsides to living in Tampa/FL than being in Texas based on our pro/con list. Here's a bit about us...


-Both my wife and I are from the Midwest (she from Chicago and myself from Columbus, OH). We've moved around a decent bit however. Lived in Nashville, TN originally, moved to Chicago for about 2.5 yrs and currently live near Indianapolis
-We've got two young boys (4 & 6) and my wife home-schools them
-I work remotely (IT) so we can pretty much live anywhere with good internet access
-If we move to Houston we'd probably live near Sugar Land since the church we plan to attend is well established and located there.
-We'd be renting for the first year
-Not that it matters too much but we're pretty conservative from a political stand-point


My biggest questions are around COL, which seems to still be somewhat affordable in Houston (at least compared to Tampa). Looking at home/rental prices they seems marginally higher than what we're paying here in Indiana ($1650 per month for an 1800 sq ft house, this is on the cheaper side I know). For comparisons sake it seems the market in Tampa has driven home sales AND rental prices through the roof so much so we'd be paying closer to $2200 per month for something similar.

Also trying to price out things like internet (we pay $60 a month for 400mbps through comcast), food costs and insurance. I'm guessing most things are more expensive I'm just trying to quantify how much more expensive everything could/would be.

I know Texas has had a huge influx of people moving there in the past few years so I'd love any info on things to be aware of and/or to keep in mind regarding relocating to Houston or Texas in general. I know the weather most of the year is very hot and humid (we experienced some of that when living in Nashville, though I know it's much worse in Houston). How often should we be prepared to deal with hurricanes? And are most areas prone to flooding? Lastly are there any sketchy areas in the south/west suburbs we should be aware of/stay away from (trying to stay relatively close to Sugar Land)?

THANKS!

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Do you mind telling us what you most look for in deciding to move? Oh

[Kluch]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Do you mind telling us what you most look for in deciding to move? Oh

To be honest, currently it's finding a good community and for us that involves being part of a good church. That's the reason we targeted both Houston and Tampa. The church network we run in has it's "home" church in Sugar Land. Another affiliated one is in Tampa. Where we live currently it's very sparse trying to find a reputable church connected to the network. I won't delve into this too much but that's the short of it.

Beyond that our criteria has been focused on states with less covid related restrictions and cities who have pediatricians/family practices that are vaccine friendly (by that I mean the doctors that won't require everyone to be fully vaccinated in order to be a patient).


Outside of those things we're probably a lot like any other young family. Since we have young kids having access to parks and/or other recreation is ideal. We have boys so they like to run around outside, haha. We definitely want to be in a suburban area (not close to downtown) or an area that's more rural but still has close access to amenities (as in, a 15 minute drive to a grocery store, etc.).



Not sure what else to say. Let me know if you have other questions.

[mojo101]

I live in a subdivision outside Houston(Richmond),we have 2 schools,one is George Bush High school and the other is Barbara Jorden ,I think it is a grade school,a Walgreen,Autozone and a shopping centre anchored by Kroger Supermarket with liquor store,drycleaner,dentist and SUbway Sandwich and a Chinese restaurant run by Latinos!
All of the above are either right outside our subdivision or a short ride from the subdivision ,like 5 minutes drive .
Our subdivision has a small park and a swimming pool.
We used to have a CHase Branch,but it is closed.
Most of us run our errands in Houston,we are right off 1093 which turns into Westheimer Rd where you can find everything from WMT,HD,LOWE,to Capital Grille,Bestbuy ,Wholefood.
Sugarland is not far from us,I think Sugarland tends to flood while Richmond is not as bad,we are west of Houston so a hurricane coming up from the gulf has to be wide enough to affect us.
We also have a receiving pond behind us ,after heavy rainfall,we find egrets,ducks etc feeding on ??
A house in our subdivision was just sold,3 bedroom,2 baths,fireplace ,asking price is $249K,you can find it on Zillow,address is 7319 wimberly oaks lane ,richmond tx 77407 .
I dont know if there is a church nearby,most of my neighbors are either latinos or Caucasian,we hardly socialise so I dont know much about them .
Someone from Sugarland could give you more information on Sugarland

[airdrawndagger]

Originally Posted by Kluch

Hi all, looking to get some info from people about potentially relocating to Houston fall of 2022 from Indiana. My wife and I are considering moving south and Houston is at the top of our list for places to relocate to. Tampa, FL is the other potential location but there seem to be more downsides to living in Tampa/FL than being in Texas based on our pro/con list. Here's a bit about us...


-Both my wife and I are from the Midwest (she from Chicago and myself from Columbus, OH). We've moved around a decent bit however. Lived in Nashville, TN originally, moved to Chicago for about 2.5 yrs and currently live near Indianapolis
-We've got two young boys (4 & 6) and my wife home-schools them
-I work remotely (IT) so we can pretty much live anywhere with good internet access
-If we move to Houston we'd probably live near Sugar Land since the church we plan to attend is well established and located there.
-We'd be renting for the first year
-Not that it matters too much but we're pretty conservative from a political stand-point


My biggest questions are around COL, which seems to still be somewhat affordable in Houston (at least compared to Tampa). Looking at home/rental prices they seems marginally higher than what we're paying here in Indiana ($1650 per month for an 1800 sq ft house, this is on the cheaper side I know). For comparisons sake it seems the market in Tampa has driven home sales AND rental prices through the roof so much so we'd be paying closer to $2200 per month for something similar.

Also trying to price out things like internet (we pay $60 a month for 400mbps through comcast), food costs and insurance. I'm guessing most things are more expensive I'm just trying to quantify how much more expensive everything could/would be.

I know Texas has had a huge influx of people moving there in the past few years so I'd love any info on things to be aware of and/or to keep in mind regarding relocating to Houston or Texas in general. I know the weather most of the year is very hot and humid (we experienced some of that when living in Nashville, though I know it's much worse in Houston). How often should we be prepared to deal with hurricanes? And are most areas prone to flooding? Lastly are there any sketchy areas in the south/west suburbs we should be aware of/stay away from (trying to stay relatively close to Sugar Land)?

THANKS!

A couple comments:
- Rental costs in Houston may indeed be lower than in Tampa, but if you ever plan on buying you should know that property taxes in TX are quite high, especially in suburban areas like Sugar Land that have HOAs. For context, average property tax in Florida ~1%; my property taxes in city of Houston (no HOA) are roughly double that figure. There are a number of folks on this forum who live in SL and can give more detailed info.

- You will need to prepare for hurricanes every year. That's not to say we get direct hits every year, but you need to have a plan in case a major storm comes our way. We have had some close calls the past couple years, including a powerful cat 4 (Laura) that was barreling our way until it turned north at the last moment and demolished Lake Charles.

- Always always consult a topographic/flood map before you rent or buy in Houston. Don't buy in the floodplain (100 or 500 year) - it's not worth it. Again, someone from SL will have to advise, but IIRC most of that area doesn't have too many issues with flooding.

- Sugar Land is one of the safest areas in the Houston metro and you don't really run into "sketchy" areas until you get inside the beltway. Some neighborhoods on the SW side of Houston (again, inside BW8) get a bad rap, but believe me, there are much worse spots than Alief, Braeburn, and Fondren Gardens.

[mojo101]

I am under the impression,the name Sugarland comes from sugar canes,swampy area is good for growing sugar canes/
https://search.aol.com/aol/image;_yl...v_t=loki-tb-sb

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by mojo101

I am under the impression,the name Sugarland comes from sugar canes,swampy area is good for growing sugar canes/

It's Sugar Land, and is centered on the old Imperial Sugar mill, not on an area where cane is grown. The name was based on sugar processing more than growing.

[Sugarlandbubba]

Originally Posted by Kluch

To be honest, currently it's finding a good community and for us that involves being part of a good church. That's the reason we targeted both Houston and Tampa. The church network we run in has it's "home" church in Sugar Land. Another affiliated one is in Tampa. Where we live currently it's very sparse trying to find a reputable church connected to the network. I won't delve into this too much but that's the short of it.

Beyond that our criteria has been focused on states with less covid related restrictions and cities who have pediatricians/family practices that are vaccine friendly (by that I mean the doctors that won't require everyone to be fully vaccinated in order to be a patient).


Outside of those things we're probably a lot like any other young family. Since we have young kids having access to parks and/or other recreation is ideal. We have boys so they like to run around outside, haha. We definitely want to be in a suburban area (not close to downtown) or an area that's more rural but still has close access to amenities (as in, a 15 minute drive to a grocery store, etc.).



Not sure what else to say. Let me know if you have other questions.

Hi Kluch,

I believe Sugar Land (Fort Bend County)has one of the highest vaccination rate (84% with at least 1 dose over the age of 5) in the state and the three biggest hospitals in Sugar Land required their employees to be vaccinated.

Here is a property for rent in Rosenberg TX which is a 15 minute drive to Sugar Land.

https://www.har.com/mapsearch/?map_t...1800#m14305648

https://tabexternal.dshs.texas.gov/t...romVizportal=y

[Kluch]

Originally Posted by Sugarlandbubba

Hi Kluch,

I believe Sugar Land (Fort Bend County)has one of the highest vaccination rate (84% with at least 1 dose over the age of 5) in the state and the three biggest hospitals in Sugar Land required their employees to be vaccinated.

Here is a property for rent in Rosenberg TX which is a 15 minute drive to Sugar Land.

https://www.har.com/mapsearch/?map_t...1800#m14305648

https://tabexternal.dshs.texas.gov/t...romVizportal=y

Thanks. We will probably stick with our current rental company since we can fairly easily swap rental properties.


I saw Rosenberg is not far from Sugarland. What's it like?

[mojo101]

Originally Posted by Sugarlandbubba

Hi Kluch,

I believe Sugar Land (Fort Bend County)has one of the highest vaccination rate (84% with at least 1 dose over the age of 5) in the state and the three biggest hospitals in Sugar Land required their employees to be vaccinated.

Here is a property for rent in Rosenberg TX which is a 15 minute drive to Sugar Land.

https://www.har.com/mapsearch/?map_t...1800#m14305648

https://tabexternal.dshs.texas.gov/t...romVizportal=y

not a bad deal,with tiles ,not carpets.
having a refrigerator helps,you need to bring your own washer/dryer