Question for people in Houston...

[ScreamingMeemie]

I have (lately and with a dire need to run away) been considering a move to the Houston area. The Spring area/Klein schools. I went and looked at a few model homes (holy crap is housing almost half what it is here in the Detroit area) and was impressed by the craftsmanship-you may laugh here-but we have none.

The weather (the two times I visited) was wonderful for my RA and it was good to not run into horrible, ripping memories at every turn... and I fell in love with Love Dip as well.

So tell me

The good
The bad
The ugly
That you don't want to see my ugly face in your hometown.

Help a girl out?

[Horse with no Name]

1. No offense to the Houstonites

But I lived down there and HATED it!
I hated the hurricanes.
I hated the humidity.
I hated the traffic.

I did love the nightlife, proximity to the coast, and the wages (for my profession they are the highest in the state).

Good luck to you!

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. I will take that under advisement.

We have everything except the hurricanes here... and our humid season (which is quite icky) is much shorter.

[Lisa0825]

2. Hi there!

Spring/Klein area is pretty nice, and far enough from the coast that you won't have to worry much about hurricanes. The main worry with a big storm would be trees knocking over. That area tends to have a lot of pine trees, which do go down during high winds.

The summer is long, hot, humid, and pretty tiring. Winter is short and relatively painless, and our somewhat fleeting spring and fall are beautiful.

Commuting from the burbs can be a pain in the ass, but if you will be living and working in the same area of town, it's nice.

There are quite a few Houston DUers and some great active Democratic clubs in the Houston area. We're gonna turn this stinking state blue again eventually, and you'll want to be here for it!!!

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. Luckily, I am a self employed appraiser (recipricol licensing) but

I am lucky in that we had/have investments. My cousin in law was telling me the commute is a bear and a half.

[Lisa0825]

7. We would love to have you here!

If you come down for a visit, be sure to let us know, and we'll get the DUers together for a night out!

[Longhorn]

3. I graduated from Klein High 35 years ago and my mother still lives in the area

in Cypresswood off of Kuykendahl (pronounced "KER-ken-doll") Road. Everything you need is out there -- hospitals, car dealers, malls, performing arts centers, and even a new branch of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The commute into Houston can be bad but I've seen worse traffic in Austin, which is much smaller. They also have a pretty decent Park 'n Ride service. But there are plenty of employers in the Spring/Tomball/Conroe area so not everyone has to commute to the city. My mother rarely has to drive more than five miles from her home to get everything she needs.

It's definitely humid in Houston but they also get more rain than we do here in Central Texas and they don't get as many 100-plus days as we do. They can also occasionally go an entire winter without a freeze. Housing is also less expensive than here. My mother has a 3000 sf home built in 1971 and she said it would sell for less than $150,000. She has taken good care of it and it sits on a beautifully landscaped corner lot but there is so much competition with all the new homes.

I prefer living here outside of Austin but if I was going to live in the Houston area, I'd probably live in Spring. Good luck! :hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. I have relatives that live off Cypresswood in Wimbledon.

I like that there are the pine trees there...that I do love so much here.

After the events of tonight it looks better and better.

[bookman]

8. I moved to the Houston area...

... about 9 years ago from the northeast.

I live in The Woodlands (n of Houston).

Schools have a pretty good reputation.

Where I am we have plenty of trees which makes it a really nice place to live. A bit higher cost for homes compared to other areas nearby, but still great compared to most of the nation.

Houstonians love to complain about the weather, but I think it is just fine. July-August is warm, but I laughingly refer to it as "Texas winter". Texas knows air-conditioning.

Winter is about 3 weeks in January.

February to May is wonderful.

Worth a serious look.

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. The Pineys is where we are looking.

So far, my relatives like it very much there and the real estate I looked at (in Klein schools) was extremely affordable...especially when compared to the real estate here.

Thank you so much for your input.

[cosmik debris]

10. Austin is better in almost every way!

You will be further from the beach, but there are a lot of lakes in central Texas.

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. I haven't visited Austin...yet...

because I have relatives in Houston (that I am rather close to and miss immensely)is why I am thinking there. But I suppose it would be good to look at all options.

[cosmik debris]

19. Family is everything n/t

[Richardo]

11. We would LOVE to have you here!!

The good:
Cost of living
No state income tax
Friendly people
Housing costs
Spring, Winter and Fall
Arts and Entertainment
Food
Gulf water is warm
Trees

The bad:
Property taxes (got to make up for no state income tax)
Summer - Heat/Humidity/Rain
Insects
Gulf water is sandy and brown
Lots of red-staters
Traffic (not as bad as Los Angeles)
Some say the air, but I'm from SoCal so it's not that bad to me.

The ugly:
Perpetual highway construction
Increasing toll roads

On edit: The Klein/Wimbledon area is a good place. I'm a Yankee transplant since 1993 and I love it. (My wife's a native Texan and her family's here).

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. Our property taxes here are huge and my cousin in law says

they are pretty comparable there. We have the perpetual construction, but with potholes up the wazoo... The Hardy toll Road thing didn't make me happy on the way in from the airport to their house but I blame my GPS. ;)

[crispini]

12. Do NOT buy a new house.

Seriously, JohnCoby in this forum can give you the scoop, but basically, the homebuilders have you over a barrel down here and they build CRAP.

And, get used to living in a Red area -- but if you get hooked up with the local Dem clubs you'll find plenty of likeminded friends and allies!

Oh yes, but don't forget about the *cough* "palmetto bugs" .... code word for GIANT FLYING ROACHES. :scared: If you can handle them you can handle anything.

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. Thank you crispini...

The ones I looked at (I'm an appraiser) seemed fairly decent but I am also looking in some of the established neighborhoods. Here there be fish flies and I just keep the blinds closed for the season so I don't have to see their gross, radioactive looking bodies. :)

[ceile]

13. Lucky. I miss Houston.

Living in Austin now, but was born and raised in Htown. Not too familiar w/ Klein area, but my fiance was raised there and he liked it. I grew up in Spring Branch schools (Memorial area) and loved it. Moved downtown (Montrose) when I was in high school and loved that too. Museums, plays, culture, music, outdoor events, sports....Houston's got it all.

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. Thank you ceile.

I am not sure I just know I need to go... somewhere. It's good to see the positive responses I am getting.

[NMDemDist2]

18. I haven't lived in Houston for decades, but IMHO

a change would do you good

:hug:

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. Thank you...I am leaning that way.

:hug:

[GOPisEvil]

20. See? Told ya we're a fountain of information down here.

If you come for a visit, you have to let me know. I'm just 2.5 hours from NW Houston. :)

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. I will probably be back sometime in late summer to...

1. check out the weather

2. see about housing.

I'm really starting to think that this is the way to go.

Thanks... :hug:

[GOPisEvil]

25. Keep me posted.

There is a lot to like about Texas.

We'd love to have you here. :hug:

[PDittie]

21. I'd only live

in a larger city at this time in my life (NY, LA, Chicago). We live well inside the Loop but Spring is a fine suburb. That's where the red is, as you likely know.

People live in Houston primarily to earn the best living, as HWNN has previously noted. It is a remarkably diverse city with all the benefits -- arts, sports, restaurants, 24-hour living and so on. The economy remains strong, including hiring and the mortgage markets, for buyers and sellers both (depending on the area).

Yeah yeah, it's polluted and hot as hell and the traffic is bad most all the time.

It also has a huge (and mostly unknown to non-natives) progressive community. The Harris County Democratic Party is rising to the challenge of turning Houston -- and Texas -- blue in 2008. After being here through the bad times, I wouldn't trade it right now for anywhere, as we get ready to flip it.

Course, I'm biased.

[ScreamingMeemie]

24. It's polluted here with crap traffic...and humidity (for 3 months anyway)

Yeah, my cousin's next door neighbors are pretty red, but they are decent people and I am finding that living in this blue town can be just as horrendous...as WannaB's recent troubles attest to.

Thanks!

:hi:

[NatBurner]

26. my only complaint:

it's oppressively hot

but the winters are great

good luck tho

[ScreamingMeemie]

35. Thank you Nat.

:)

[babylonsister]

27. I'm chiming in with the 'hot, hot, hot'. If you're able and consider

moving here, consider getting a pool (just remember, if there are a lot of trees surrounding said pool, you'll be raking them out in the fall).
It starts cooling down end of October/start of November. I start gardening in February which is usually when we have our last cool front, and springs can be very nice. I've seen snow here once in about 13 years.
It's lots less expensive here than other places, though like other places, gas and food are going/have gone up.
I live south of Hobby Airport if you're ever out this way, I'd show you around this end. Less trees here than north of Houston, closer to the beaches.
Good luck, Mrs. Grumpy. Do let us know what you decide, so we can introduce ourselves to you.

[ScreamingMeemie]

34. I will do that. Thank you babylonsister.

My relatives live just south of Hobby. My cousin in law took BabyG to the WWII plane expo they had there in the beginning of April and he had a wonderful time. I will let you know what I come up with.

[yellowdogintexas]

28. oh you think you might come to Texas?

I have only been to Houston a couple of times but it has some great attractions.

North Texas (DFW Metro Area) is nice too. I LOVE living in FW even if it is fairly RED, but we are working on that.

Less humid than Houston area; occasionally we get snow and at least one good sleet storm per year

Lakes but 6 hours to the coast

in FW traffic is much nicer and FW is one of the easiest cities to learn I have ever experienced

great cultural stuff, museums, zoo, gardens, live theater

not so hot school system in FW proper, but with some exceptional individual schools
however the surrounding county has some top notch schools

a few weeks more winter, longer spring and fall
still hot as hell in summer

lots of homes available in established neighborhoods w/ shade (about 6 within 5 minutes walk of my house..old folks built em when they were in their 40s back in 1959 - 1962 and now they are dying/moving/going to assisted living, etc.) These are 3/2/2 brick homes; ranging $100K to $150K probably. Mine appraised for taxes at $146K this year. We pd $85K for it in 1998

Austin is very neat, but beware of the allergens. I love Austin but it would kill me to live there. DO check out the pollen info on any area of Texas that you investigate. Seriously. Our growing seasons are so long and weather so good that we have some sort of pollen causing trouble all the time.

I am allergic to mountain cedar and some of its relatives,and cottonwood and bradford pear. I did not know these things until I came to Texas to live. Just a word to the wise on that. If you have pine/cedar/allergies get ready to sneeze over it, and you may want to consider allergy shots.

I do hope you do find the spot you want and make that change. It could be a very good thing for you indeed.
my best to you as always

[ScreamingMeemie]

33. Thank you so much for your input yellowdog.

The pollen was high when we were out there. It's so hard to weigh. One, the weather (February) was excellent for my RA but then there's the pollen. BabyG has allergies but they are seasonal mold. Which means he gets really bad at seasonal change time (rotting leaves at Fall/Winter and then again during the thaw). I appreciate, so very much, all of your help.

[texanwitch]

29. Beward new houses here.

My neighborhood is being townhoused.

The houses built here are just crap.

You would do better with a old house, build with decent lumber.

Houston isn't a bad place to live.

Property taxes are high, trust me.

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. We are used to high property taxes.

My relative actually caught a break (much cheaper taxes than his house here) when they moved down. As an appraiser, I was impressed with the couple of builders models we toured. The stuff up here is paper and spit, and yet priced three times as much. We are glutted with it. Thank you so much for your input. My relative moved into an established neighborhood too and she keeps sending me listings near them. :)

[flying_wahini]

30. I live in The Woodlands - and highly recommend it!

If you ever get time and want a tour - let me know.....

I hated the thought of living in a planned community BUT have to say
I am a convert.

Housing is very reasonable, schools are wonderful,
they make it easy to live here.
Traffic is only bad for about 2 hours, and what I call bad
is a cakewalk compared to Spring.... anywhere.
Hated the congestion/traffic/lousy zoning in the areas off of
1960..... Yes Klein schools are good, but I have to say
I have been very happy with the quality of education that my boys
got.
and the gardening is fabulous!
and you get a real community feeling. check out
woodlandsonline.com

yes, it is hot and humid in the summertime, but you get used to it.
(at least, I did)
Check all the other neighborhoods out and then call me.

and Yes, there are a lot of conservatives here, but not so many
"bubbas"

[ScreamingMeemie]

31. We actually looked at a couple of homes (Darling builders) in the

Woodlands. As an appraiser, I am anti-PUD (planned urban development...that's what we term them here) but that community has me swayed a bit. :) Thanks.

[texastoast]

37. The old part of The Woodlands is better than the new part

The original developer, George Mitchell, sold The Woodlands to the new operating company in the 90s, and the new folks have not held to George's vision nearly enough. George wouldn't let the trees be taken down that didn't HAVE to be taken so everyone ended up with some pretty old growth trees on their lots. He designed public facilities (schools and churches) so they could share the same parking lot and keep more trees. No buildings taller than four stories could be built. Greenbelts were huge and provided habitat to the deer about which newbie residents would complain of eating their petunias (hello, don't plant petunias).

But a lot of that wonderful in-the-woods atmosphere is missing from the sections developed by the current Woodlands Operating Company. And if you have to commute, get close to the freeway. The inroads to the back neighborhoods are awful at rush hour.

[texastoast]

36. Just don't buy a new home

We don't have that many trees left here in the "Piney Woods" and the "developers" are taking the sprawl to very sad levels, razing the forests to the dirt before building.

And my advice is to buy a house close where you are going to work. Traffic into downtown (if you don't take a bus) and across town is horrible all over Houston during rush hours and in certain parts of town, rush hour never ends. Ironically, traffic generally is better in the heart of the city than in the burbs, so depending on your trade, you will pay a little more for a house there, but make up the difference in fuel costs (especially now). And for lots of folks, traffic and commuting sucks up a major portion of your life in this town.

One thing about the city--it is not like the rest of Texas at all. There are aren't many natives here and many of the natives are Dems.

[ScreamingMeemie]

38. I am lucky in that I am a stay at home/work at home mom.

MrG planned for that in case something ever happened. That's the only reason why I would even consider a move. The area where my cousin in law is (Spring) has a lot of trees in the neighborhood and reminds me a lot of up North MI without actually having to confront the Up North.

Thank you so much for your input. You guys don't know how good you have it builder wise. The newer models are looked at there were far superior to the construction that goes on here. Although, the neighborhoods I am more interested in were built in the 70's which are more on par with our 40-60 year old stick builts here. What is odd is that we have a ton of older homes (1900-1939), while the relative "newness" of development in Houston doesn't have that.

Thanks again.