QuickSilver

iTrader: (22)

Alright guys my wife and I are thinking leaving Ohio and Tx is one state we are thinking about.
She cant find a good full time Job here (she is a MRI Tech) and has found some in the Houston area on the internet.

How is the cost of living down there? What are some pros and cons that you have if you live in that area?

Her Job would carry us till I found something there. I'm an ASE certified auto Tech, and currently work for Summit (racing) in Ohio. Is the job market dried up dow there for someone like me that just has an assoc degree in nothing from a decent school?

Any cons about the weather?

What are some good areas to look at for a place to live?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Nothing is for sure yet we are just looking at our options.
Thanks
Josh

BAD2000TA

iTrader: (6)

Having grown-up in Buffalo and endured the snow, cold, and terrible economy up north, I'm glad I moved to Texas. I made the move in August 2000 and have never regretted it. While the summers can get hot, every place is air conditioned and it's really not that bad. Now, if you work outside, well, that might be another story. I don't.

Up north, I would not be able to drive the '01 Trans Am year-round. Same thing goes for the motorcycle. I only had about 5 months worth of good riding weather. So, Houston is a bonus for year-round riding and driving fun.

As for the cost of living, I think it's actually pretty good compared with other parts of the US, especially when you look at the largest cities. Houston competes well. Housing in Washington DC, New York, San Fran, etc is crazy. Here, it's quite affordable. You can get a really nice house in the $200-$300K range and not be an hour from downtown. I live in Pearland and it takes me 20-30 minutes in morning traffic to get to work. My wife works in the Medical District and we carpool, taking the HOV lanes home. Works out well.

Good luck!!

2 SLOW

Cheap

Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio are all very different cities. You should definatly visit.


Might be hard to find a job right now with how the auto industry is right now and how cheap some people are being

Closer you are to the ocean, the more humid it is. Other than that there aren't many "seasons". No snow or ice to really worry about.

Houston or Austin. Maybe Dallas. definitely need to visit.

QuickSilver

iTrader: (22)

We are looking into the Houston area.
She founf a job at Park Plaza Hospital. How are some of the areas around there?
Thanks again
Josh

TXZ28LS1

iTrader: (5)

i lived in san antonio for almost 6 years and the cost of living is very, very cheap. u can get a house built from the ground up 3 bdrm/2 bthrm for atleast 120-130k. nices ones too.


i actually didnt mind san antonio. i wouldnt mind moving back.


but the most importantly is that all the baddest LSX shops were just 2 hours away from me...

2 SLOW

There are some really nice areas around the med center. It gets a little worse the closer you get to 610 (south of hospital).

Definitely visit the area. I think you'll like it

BigBronco

iTrader: (2)

It is a HUGE upgrade from Ohio. My gf is from Cincinatti. Been to Cleveland, Columbs, and Cincy multiple times. Never could live there in comparison to what we have to offer down here.

Most areas around the Med center are very nice. There are a few splotches that are bad because we have no zoning laws down here.

You just need to take a visit and go around town checking the suburbs out. Kingwood, Spring, Woodlands, Cypress, Katy, Sugarland, Pearland, etc. out.

BizZzatch350

iTrader: (33)

Get out of the rust belt and move to the sun belt.

QuickSilver

iTrader: (22)

I dont know what i would do beeing able to drive the car year round. Hell and race year round for that matter.

DarkblueTA

I just recently moved to Katy Tx from Kingman, AZ (aka...hell).

The cost of living here and taxes(no state/local/county), car registration, etc are cheap vs. AZ. Only thing that went up is the car insurance, but I expected that since the only thing that you might hit in Kingman is a wild animal.

I love Texas as a whole(people/food/weather/etc). I left once and told the wife that you'll never see me live in another state again.

QuickSilver

iTrader: (22)

No state or Local taxes hell that would be great.

bballr4567

iTrader: (5)

It depends on what area you move into on the local taxes. The state does have a tax but its a sales tax. I think its around 6% on everything you buy except natural products. Then some cities tack on an extra 2% on top of that.

I grew up in TX, joined the Army and moved up to TN/KY and I CANT WAIT to get back to TX. Im going to be going to school in IN and then will be moving back ASAP. My wife is from Nashville and she cant wait to move to TX because its just so different there.

All in all, you NEED to visit before you make the choice. San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Austin are all totally different.

bud8fan

iTrader: (9)

i live near corpus christi ...there are alot of hospitals and such here as well but i really like san antonio out of all these other citys

bballr4567

iTrader: (5)

Holy crap!! I lived in Orange Grove.

I love Corpus and that is probably where Im going to end up moving when I get done with school.

crAzy95Z28

iTrader: (3)

Like others said. Pros are huge city, tons to choose from and cheap living for a nice comfortable home. Cons are humid, nasty and retarded weather lol...During the winter it would be hot one day then the 3 days later it would be cold as hell. Then it goes back hot again... Another con is traffic during rush hour. Its just riduclous. Drivers here are bad if not worse that where you are prob. Try to move to a place that is opposite of what rush hour traffic is like. 59 North during morning traffic bad, I-10 east and west im sure are bad depending on which side you live on. 290 ive heard is the worst out of them all. 45 is just as bad as the others.


Some good areas which are good to live in that i know of are Sugar Land 15 miles or so to downtown Houston, Katy 30+ miles to downtown Houston, Pearland 15+ miles to downtown houston. These that i have listed are all southwest part of houston. Not too familar with north and southeast houston.... But there are houses down here that are dirt cheap and nicely sized. For instance you can get a 2000-2500 square foot house for under 180K. Im pretty sure of it. If im wrong then someone correct me.

QuickSilver

iTrader: (22)

Thanks for all the info guys. we are just looking around to see what are options are.
As long as you dont get 18 inces of snow dropped in 30 hrs like we did last year it would be better.

stevesebest

moved there lived in north austin near lake travis and hill country it was very nice cost of living like cleveland suburbs im in aurora and am paying more to live here its 100 degrees from apr. till oct. moved back because of my wifes family matters first winter back . went christmas shopping in shorts and sandles last year

Sunset01TA

iTrader: (7)

Nice Josh get your car back together and then move to Texas.

QuickSilver

iTrader: (22)

Nothing is for sure Brian just looking at some options. Besides havnt you been bitching about winter yourself????????
And beside you guys might come visit.

bigbadblack93z

iTrader: (8)

I helped a guy move down here from another state, started working at my company and found something better and is doing well. There is opportunity around houston if you look hard enough. Lots of nice houses in good areas that are easily affordable.