greekss

I am thinking about moving to houston from SF Cali....

how do u guys like it out there? what are the pros/cons.....the plus side for me is the price of homes out there 300k for a huge house. Where as out here you dont get squat...my possible school choices are the Texas A&M, University of Houston, or maybe Texas A&M at corpus christi...what are your opinions ?

your input would be greatly appreciated....

greekss

ttt...

marc_longview

east texas is great. not from around houston but north of it. houston is a great town. corpus is better to me. if corpus wasnt so far from family i would live there.. very nice place.

CySevans

I grew up in the bay area (born in Oakland), primarily North bay (Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, Vallejo, Vacaville among others). My sister still lives there in SF. I've been in Houston for about 6 years now. Been in Texas over 10 years. Biggest challenge in Houston was getting used to the weather in the summer. If you can handle high-humidity (where you feel sticky all the time) and over 100 degree temperatures, then come on down. You absolutely cannot beat the cost of living and the fact that there are no state taxes (though property taxes can make up for that). Houston is a nice town for the most part (it has its bad areas and its bad drivers, but what large city doesn't?). Ignore the "boots, hats and tumblweeds" stereotypes because it simply isn't true in East Texas (west Texas, maybe ). It's the exception, not the rule.

To give you an example, my sister and her husband are looking to buy a duplex (both levels) there in SF, and they will pay around $900,000.00 for a total of 2600 sq. ft. I have over 3300 sq. ft. on ~1/3 acre for one third of that. And traffic is MUCH better since almost all major highways have frontage (access/feeder) roads where you can still get around if there's a major accident unlike California where you just sit there for hours and hours.

After spending 26 years in California's SF bay area and over 10 years in Texas, I will never go back to live in California unless I absolutely had to. That should say something right there.

Oh, and my wife graduated from U of H. If I had my choice of schools, I'd go to Austin and attend U.T.

Spazdout

Looks like you're gonna make a school move.

Whats your major?

ZL1SS

iTrader: (4)

You're joking right! You want to move from San Francisco to Houston? I love San Francisco, it is my 2nd home and this concrete jungle is good for only two things, evacuees and work. Other than that it is a dirty, boring, city full of wannabe G's and alot of fat people. If I were you I would stay and enjoy that damn weather and view! I wish I had enough money to buy a home there! Anyways, good luck with whatever you do!

CySevans

I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. The "views" get old after awhile. You most certainly pay for them. And in NW Harris Co. where I am, there are zero problems with the evacuees and it is by no means a "concrete jungle". If you think SF doesn't have its share of crime and "evacuee" like degenerates, then you haven't spent enough time there. You're also talking about a massive population difference. SF is really small compared to Houston.

The only things I miss about California are the mountains and the beaches being within a few hours in either direction. Everything else I could care less about.

Tracey

I am also from the Bay Area. I have lived here in Houston for the last 20 years. All of my family lives in San Francisco, Fresno and Redding. I visit often and about 2 years ago thought of moving out there. I just couldn't do it. I am a Realtor here so I know how to do my research. There was no way to live a life that I have grown accustomed to out there. Housing is just crazy.

As for Houston, I think its great here. Our weather is the only thing I can really complain about. Other than that Texas is great and the Houston area is awesome.

-Tracey

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

What is your intended major in school? The actual degree you are pursuing will typically mean more than the school you select. A worthless degree from a popular college is going to be less valuable than a high demand degree from an average school.

Houston is nice, been here all my life and have no plans on leaving. There is plenty to do, and like you said the cost of living is hard to beat for a city of this size. I honestly don't see how people afford to live in CA.

...and in your signature:
Does that make you a "real G"? lol

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

SF is super expensive, but it's one of the coolest places to live in the US, you are near nature stuff, you have world class restaurants and events, the ocean, etc.

Covet

iTrader: (1)

PARTS of East Texas are great. Parts of it most people hate with a passion. Personally I hate Nacogdoches with an ungodly passion.

Also...concrete jungle? I guess some parts of Houston are...but then again any major city has parts that are like that. I also live out in NW Harris County and I love it. Plenty of nature around as well as convenience, and if I really wanna get out into nature I can drive for 45 minutes and go to Huntsville State Park or go drive out to Hempstead.

Houston's a great city with a pretty bum rap, there is plenty to do and the people are a hell of a lot nicer than I've seen anywhere else in the country.

99 bad aSS

iTrader: (3)

I'll be getting out of the coast guard here in a few months and i'll be moving to Houston as well. Don't know much about it but im excited anything is better than the DC area. As for Corpus it's a great place i grew up there and eventually want to end up there again. Not too big and not too small lots of fun out at the beach at spring break and the first weekend of june for the C101 c-sculptures.

ZL1SS

iTrader: (4)

Not a G, I just like to know I can protect my family and property!

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

you might be the only person with guns listed in your signature, with nearly 60K members....on a car site.

Just thought your "wannabe-G" comment was somewhat ironic

ZL1SS

iTrader: (4)

[QUOTE=Nine Ball]you might be the only person with guns listed in your signature, with nearly 60K members....on a car site.

Well the car isn't fast enough to mention

greekss

I will be selling an apartment complex here to buy a complex there and my home...so I will only really have to worry about ulities and property tax. I am looking at Katy, Sugar Land, NW houston area, and college park to buy a home in. I will apply to Texas A&M and U of H, the upside to these school is their proximity to MD anderson in houston (ultimately where I wanna work as a radiation oncologist). At any rate I am heading down to houston mid march to check it all out, I will go from there.

Thanks for the input guys

-Constantino

btw- what is the smog situation there ?

Spazdout

not good and not bad, its better than LA

greekss

i meant about passing smog....

Spazdout

depends on the shop, you can find one though. plus there are shops that do premium inspections

If you were to live in College Station, there isn't a problem with it. With all the major cities/counties they have sniffer tests. but out lying areas don't.

some cops are dicks about emissions, there's a state trooper in NW houston that i hear is completely horrible with emissions stuff, but some aren't

CySevans

That very much depends on who tunes your car. They don't put OBDII cars on a dyno or put a sniffer in the tailpipe. They just plug them into a computer. As long as you don't have any emissions related codes, you pass (provided other safety items and visual inspection make it through okay). I don't know if CA is doing safety inspections now because they weren't when I lived there. Here, you have to have a specific tread depth, legal tint on the windows, all lights and blinkers in working order, a functional horn, and good brakes to pass state inspection aside from the emissions check.