So, my wife got a teaching job in Conroe ISD, her first classroom, and will be starting later this week. That means it's time to pack up the house in Round Rock after spending about 15 years in central Texas. I grew up in The Woodlands and my family is still there. It's a move we've discussed over the past few years but it quickly became real when she got the call on Sat morning that she had gotten the job. The Woodlands is no longer the place that I grew up in...it's a full blown city now...but I'm pretty excited to get back. It's hard to leave Austin. It really is a great place to live. But with me still unable to find a job here and her facing the same fate (she was working as an Ed. Asst in an elem school which doesn't pay much more than min wage) and a teacher surplus here, we had to go. I'm pretty damn excited to be able to actually go to games and see them on tv again, too.
Good news. Property values are going up and up there thanks to Exxon. I strongly considered The Woodlands about 3 years ago, and back then a house with the same style and on the same street was going for about ~$180. Now it's $250. http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=91157455&backButton=Y
My brother's company has season tickets behind the north side goal. I will definitely be at more games. I left in 1999. There was no traffic inside The Woodlands. It's absolutely crazy what it's become from what it was when we moved there in 1985. Trust me, we know. We've been watching it since we started considering it a couple years ago. You have to have a good realtor who's on top of things because houses are selling before they hit the market. As soon as that pending sign goes up, they're getting offers. For my wife, they absolutely do...about $5k+ more on average than districts in central TX. For me, hopefully. Still looking so if any of you have the line on a good headhunter, I would definitely be interested in their contact info. On the brisket...yeah that's going to be tough. I haven't located a decent breakfast taco place in The Woodlands, either. Not sure what I'm going to do there for either of those things.
You best bet is to find people working for Oil/Gas/Energy...which is everybody except the medical folk
Man, this is harder than I thought it would be. My wife left today to start her new gig tomorrow. It's all happening so fast. We've already started packing the house but a large portion of this is left to me...along with the kids, looking for work down there, and trying to work at a job here I don't particularly want to do. Need the cash, though. Just the thought of doing all of this without my wife here is panic-attack inducing. Plus, going through the nostalgia and remembering the great times we've had since we moved to Austin makes packing up and leaving that much harder. I know this is what we were meant to do. In the 10 days since I told her, "Hey, you should look at CISD. They've got a ton of openings.", she's had 2 interviews, requested to interview at 3 other schools, and got the job she wanted. That is more interviews than she's had here since the districts started hiring for this school year back in May. She didn't even get calls from the school she student-taught at or the one she long-term subbed at. I think that's something telling us to get the f*** out of here. I will feel a WHOLE LOT better when I get a good job down there. My parents were in their early 30's when they decided to pack up and leave Philadelphia for Houston. I was 5 and my brother was 3. I'm a little older and my kids are a little older than we were then but I feel like this is very similar. With The Woodlands not being the place I grew up in, it's like moving somewhere totally new...just with friends and family and teams already in place. Still excited...but freaking out a bit.
I feel your pain leroy! In a similar situation...with the exception I'm the only wage-earner and having to worry about getting my wife and kids packed up and to a new location. I've got two potential opportunities lined up that would move us very far away from where we are now and the knots I'm getting in my stomach thinking about leaving the comfortable routine I'm in now is driving me nuts. I did read something that made a lot of sense regarding making big moves...it was along the lines of not seeing the process as a necessary burden that is difficult to deal with...but rather see it as a new opportunity or as an adventure that will lead into a new chapter of your life. That's sort of thinking has helped me in dealing with the decision to possibly leave. Good luck with the job search and move! Hopefully, six months from now you'll be wondering why you ever stressed any of the process.
Purge your crap and it will make packing easier. On the plus side, you won't have any problems selling your house
Yeah, the "Conroe-The Woodlands" area is now its own urban area with about 250K people. That area is getting so big.
That's what I can keep telling myself. It's getting easier to remember it the more I pack. 2 loads to Goodwill already.
ItsAllHappening.gif Wife has been there for almost 2 months. House in Round Rock is under contract (option period ends tonight), signed lease on a house in The Woodlands this week (1 street over from my folks and where I grew up), and got a new job last week that starts next month. All that's left is to pack and move over Thanksgiving week. Even happily able to transfer my Uverse service to the new place...though they don't have the internet speeds available that they have in Austin. I had 24 and I'm having to drop to 18. But, getting Root Sports Houston is a nice plus. Still not ready to leave the Austin area. So much here we love but sometimes the universe works in funny ways.
make houston weird. too much normal going around here thats how you will get over how boring this place can be