Look at property taxes before you start looking. That tends to be the biggest sticker shock for folks moving to Texas.
off the top of my head - SF, san diego (to an extent), milwaukee, paris, tons of european cities.. So your argument is that houston is not spread out and you dont have to drive a lot to get around houston? Yeah everything is close in houston
I doubt this opinion will help much, but I can't imagine how Houston would offer a better quality of life (for Asians) over San Francisco or Seattle. I grew up in Houston, but it was just...bland (compared to other metropolitan places...just not Dallas...Dallas is the epitome of artificial). Houston is a good choice financially I guess, but I personally prefer areas that have a downtown-like draw, not so spread out and suburban-y. Good place to raise a family, sure, but, again, if you're looking for a true international vibe...I just don't see it.
the environment and setting are pretty bland. I could see how that gets to be a downside.. along with the large distances, periods of isolation (car time) this could hamper the development of a real city culture
What really could help Houston is some public transportation. Imagine people being able to go to Rockets games from the suburbs.
Wow, and an hour commute every day. Totally not worth the wear and tear on your person and your car. My time is more valuable than sitting on the freeway. Houston, when you live inside the loop is one of the nicest places in the country. When you don't have to drive on 59 or 45. The tree canopy is amazing. The museums are fabulous. And life is affordable (yes, much more expensive than further out, but significantly cheaper than the arts/cultural areas of practically any other city worth living). If you are more than five miles from the Museums/Medcenter/Rice, you live too far away and might as well chose one of these other cities that people discuss.
65,340 sq ft, enjoy that tax bill due in January. Also, that's a whole lotta yard to mow, upkeep and water, and your electric bill would be quite large from April to November. More moneys, mo problems. Living inside the loop in a smaller but new home, for what I pay in taxes I could buy a nice, new car every year. HISD school taxes are ****ing insane.
that property is listed at 17k taxes per year. Is that too high? A place that big would probably be over 20k annual property tax in NY/NJ.
If you can afford it along with all the other utilities of a large house, then it's not too much. I pay more than that living across from Memorial Park but I don't mind it as I love my location.
We've been considering moving back to The Woodlands from Round Rock. I've been looking for a job down there since July. I've resisted applying for jobs that I'd be perfect for merely because they were south of downtown (one in particular was in Pearland). The reason we're moving back is to be closer to family and friends currently in The Woodlands/Spring. Taking a job that would have me on the road for hours a day would be stupid. Moving to Pearland when the idea of moving back was to be closer to family would be counterproductive...I'd be nearly as far away as I am now. Currently, I have a 15 minute drive to work that doesn't require the use of a freeway. Same with my wife's job. I'm slightly dreading a longer commute...but I'm not going to do something that's going to take hours per day away from my family.
didnt think about the utilities for a place that big My eyes got the better of me. I've never imagined that I could actually afford a house that big
Property tax rate in Houston and surrounding areas is around 3+ %. There are more Asians in Sugar Land and areas South West of Houston. The shopping and restaurants are closer to town, the nicer neighborhoods are further out. Woodlands in the North. Clear Lake, League City in the South are also nice but they have fewer Asians. You don't want to live on the East side. You don't want inside Beltway 8 except for certain sub-divisions and they are more costly than the suburbs. The downtown areas have improved but you have to be at specific neighborhood.
Regarding the talk about having to drive a lot in Houston...that same principle applies to LA (which has a ton more traffic), Chicago, Dallas, Charlotte, Orlando, etc... Sure, cities like SF dont require much driving...but then you are stuck with extremely high parking costs, public transportation, etc...There are only a handful of cities that are like that compared to cities which require longer commutes. Speaking of SF...it was mentioned that it is all around better than Houston. That is completely false. My fiance lives there...great cafes, restaurants and scenery...but high cost of living (she has a 950 sq foot apartment for $750k in SOMA) and terrible weather. Plus, its not like Houston is lacking in the restaurant department. And if you want to throw eye candy into the equation, Houston wins by a landslide. I live on Kirby and Westheimer...I work about 15 miles away on Kirkwood and Richmond. I chose my location to live...and I chose my location to work. Im also choosing to open an office in Katy (35 miles away). If I had an issue with it, I would either not choose to open in Katy or I would choose to live somewhere closer to work. However, I love the location I live in...and I dont mind taking a drive to and from work. I have a whole foods market literally 200 feet from my apartment...I have restaurants smothering me in every direction...there isnt much more I could ask for and I barely have to get in my car on the weekends since everything is right around the corner.
I vaguely recall property tax being 3% in FBISD when my family moved away in 1995. Also, Kempner was the laughing stock of FBISD 20 years ago. Don't know if that has changed.
Kempner is a tier 1 school, just below Kingwood and just above Woodlands College Park. Ranked 31st in greater Houston. That's pretty good. http://blog.chron.com/k12zone/2012/04/see-how-your-childs-school-ranks/
Memorial ranked higher than Clements? Stratford at no. 20? Bellaire at no. 24? Oh how the mighty have fallen. Never heard of any of the top 10 schools.
