Employment and Housing Help (Houston, Center: apartments, foreclosure, rental)

[texasboi]

NJ economy is horrible. Jobs are low paying and hard to find. Housing is so expensive and schooling. My rent for a 2 bedroom is $1300 plus about $200 for utilities. And i'm not talking anything special here. School for 12 credits is $1200.

I've been on multiple sites looking for work and received some good responses but interviewing obviously is still a problem since i'm in NJ.
Collections, CSR, Mortgage Closing, HR & Recruiting Coordination and Administrative positions and basically anything in the office is what I can do.
I want to come there as of yesterday but can't get a good lead on employment.

Also been trying to find a room and registered with a couple of websites and been looking on Craigslist too not only for roommates but for work. You should hear what some people are propositioning!
Isn't there anyone who can help me get a job so I can come there?

Are job agencies open on the weekends? Are there such things as relocation companies who help in these things?

I need a new start and to finish my schooling and find a great roommate or place to live and a job that I can rely on until I graduate so I can work in the Medical Center.

[Poltracker]

If you come here to school, you will have to pay out of state fees which will make it very much more expensive. A 2BR apt in Houston is not that much less expensive than what you are already paying and electric bills...well Houston has some of the highest rates in the country and we use alot of AC.

Just pointing out some realities to you.

[texasboi]

well i've been looking on apartments.com, craigslist, etc, etc...and Houston apartments are far less expensive then NJ and NY. I don't want a 2 bedroom, just a 1 bedroom and I can certainly find that for 600 and above. If I want downtown, smack in the center of the action then I'm looking at 1000 and up, and if I want to be in the middle of the action in NY i'm looking at 2000 and up and that's for a studio. Right now your weather is nice and I don't need to run my electric and air all that much. Also out of state fees apply for the first year only. I've done some research, but just don't understand why the employment agencies or jobs themselves won't even speak to someone before they relocate. And your property taxes are a third of what we pay here.
There are multiple benefits in relocating....now who has the hiring power?

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by texasboi

well i've been looking on apartments.com, craigslist, etc, etc...and Houston apartments are far less expensive then NJ and NY. I don't want a 2 bedroom, just a 1 bedroom and I can certainly find that for 600 and above. If I want downtown, smack in the center of the action then I'm looking at 1000 and up, and if I want to be in the middle of the action in NY i'm looking at 2000 and up and that's for a studio. Right now your weather is nice and I don't need to run my electric and air all that much. Also out of state fees apply for the first year only. I've done some research, but just don't understand why the employment agencies or jobs themselves won't even speak to someone before they relocate. And your property taxes are a third of what we pay here.
There are multiple benefits in relocating....now who has the hiring power?

Well I escaped NJ quite a few years ago. Yes indeed NJ property taxes are the highest on the face of the earth. But one thing I learned that Texans love to complain about is how high their property taxes are. So dont bring that up.

Before I came to this area I lived in Las Vegas. A city that was building and closing a new home every 14 minutes during the good times. Now those homes are worth less then half of their prime. Which now gives Las Vegas bragging rights to the highest foreclosure rate on earth.

But....during even those boom times, employers would not hire some one who did not live there. The economy is pretty good here and employers will not hire non residents here either. You must come here first and get an established address.

We have another issue here but it is more to do with construction trades. It even has a name to it already. "Storm Chasers" And let me tell you they are not very liked. And no one will hire them. Roofers might because they are desperate right now. With few construction jobs across the country many are coming to Texas looking for work. Do you think an employer would give preference to a long standing local or a newcomer. I kinda look at storm chasers as the same thing as Mexicans running here to find work cause there ain't none home. The only difference is the Mexicans do it illegally !

As for the college tuition, if you register with a local address you will pay in state and in county tuition. They will never ask you how long at the current address or anything of the kind.

Good luck to ya......

[texasboi]

Originally Posted by desertsun41

Well I escaped NJ quite a few years ago. Yes indeed NJ property taxes are the highest on the face of the earth. But one thing I learned that Texans love to complain about is how high their property taxes are. So dont bring that up.

Before I came to this area I lived in Las Vegas. A city that was building and closing a new home every 14 minutes during the good times. Now those homes are worth less then half of their prime. Which now gives Las Vegas bragging rights to the highest foreclosure rate on earth.

But....during even those boom times, employers would not hire some one who did not live there. The economy is pretty good here and employers will not hire non residents here either. You must come here first and get an established address.

We have another issue here but it is more to do with construction trades. It even has a name to it already. "Storm Chasers" And let me tell you they are not very liked. And no one will hire them. Roofers might because they are desperate right now. With few construction jobs across the country many are coming to Texas looking for work. Do you think an employer would give preference to a long standing local or a newcomer. I kinda look at storm chasers as the same thing as Mexicans running here to find work cause there ain't none home. The only difference is the Mexicans do it illegally !

As for the college tuition, if you register with a local address you will pay in state and in county tuition. They will never ask you how long at the current address or anything of the kind.

Good luck to ya......

Thank you very much for this info...it certainly helped to reasure my thoughts. I guess if I rent a room from someone first and use their address I should be ok with schooling....now if only I can find a job.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by texasboi

Thank you very much for this info...it certainly helped to reasure my thoughts. I guess if I rent a room from someone first and use their address I should be ok with schooling....now if only I can find a job.

It will be a trillion times easier to find a job here if you are here. Unless you have very specialized skills in some area of expertise where employers can't find a local candidate, the odds are incredibly against you to land a job via long distance.

[texasboi]

Does anyone know anything about the "The Westgate , Windmere and Westway" apartments? They seem to be 20 minutes away from downtown and 10 minutes away from Houston Community College. They are in a gated community, gym, pool, spacious and accept pets. They seem good to me but I don't know the area.

[texasboi]

Also it seems AIMCO APARTMENTS WEBSITE has alot on there.....I think I may go with one of those being that they're where I want to be and this is my own apartment in a gated community with nice amenities......I'd rather pay this as my own for the same price of some rental rooms....any thoughts

[ZeroTX]

Originally Posted by texasboi

If I want downtown, smack in the center of the action then I'm looking at 1000 and up...

Not much action in downtown. That's a misconception I guess because of how it may be in other cities... but here, the "action" would not be there. You might consider some of the other favorites on this forum, like Uptown, Midtown, West U/Rice Village, etc, if "action" is what you want. Downtown is a GHOST town after 6pm.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by texasboi

Does anyone know anything about the "The Westgate , Windmere and Westway" apartments? They seem to be 20 minutes away from downtown and 10 minutes away from Houston Community College. They are in a gated community, gym, pool, spacious and accept pets. They seem good to me but I don't know the area.

They may be 10 minutes away if you have all green lights, absolutely empty roads, and can travel at speed. This is Houston and I can promise you it will take more than 10 min to get from there to HCC central campus.