Possibly moving to Houston.... need advice

[SoFresh]

I'm looking into moving to Houston from Seattle, WA... I've lived in Scottsdale, AZ reciently as well...

So what areas are decent, and what areas should I try and avoid? Ill be looking to buy a house as well, in the 250k range.... any advice!? Which neighborhoods are nice and which ones look nice, yet have high crime, etc. Any info would be appriciated! Thanks in advance

[GO-GOTEKNO]

sugarland and clear lake are nice..

[Four Play]

I'm looking into moving to Houston from Seattle, WA... I've lived in Scottsdale, AZ reciently as well...

So what areas are decent, and what areas should I try and avoid? Ill be looking to buy a house as well, in the 250k range.... any advice!? Which neighborhoods are nice and which ones look nice, yet have high crime, etc. Any info would be appriciated! Thanks in advance

I lived in Atascocita(NE Houston) for almost 1.5 years, and I loved it, my apartment complex was very quiet, and the area in general was pretty nice.

Kingwood is right next to Atascocita, and its a very upscale part of town, the CEO of the last company I worked for lived in Kingwood [eek]

My favorite part of town has got to be The Woodlands(N Houston), you have access to a tremendous amount of shopping/restaurants, and besides the Westheimer area, is the nicest area of Houston IMHO.

Sugarland and Clearlake are nice areas as well, I wouldn't mind living there either...

[SoFresh]

Thanks guys for all the advice!!! Anyone got anymore advice? Maybe pics of the areas? I've been searching the web 24/7 for more info since I cant seem to take a quick trip down there right now from Seattle, the office has been extremely busy this month. But as soon as I get the chance I'm gonna make a couple weekend trips down there to get a feel of the areas.

Any preference between Houston and Austin?


It is kinda hard to explain. The town is very VERY chill and the people here are really laid back. The music scene is by far one of the best on planet earth and we are the largest growing city in the USA. I don't mean any dissrespect to the Houston boys on here, but it is kinda the arm pitt of Texas. It is hot and humid as hell and there are sooooo many people it is insane. Just not as laid back. Either way you can't lose because you are in Texas and once you are here for a while you will understand what I mean by that. Good luck on your transfer.

Thanks!

Also, what are some good suburbs of the greater Houston area? Yet are just a short drive into the city?

[Four Play]

Thanks guys for all the advice!!! Anyone got anymore advice? Maybe pics of the areas? I've been searching the web 24/7 for more info since I cant seem to take a quick trip down there right now from Seattle, the office has been extremely busy this month. But as soon as I get the chance I'm gonna make a couple weekend trips down there to get a feel of the areas.

Any preference between Houston and Austin?



Thanks!

Also, what are some good suburbs of the greater Houston area? Yet are just a short drive into the city?

If you have a choice between Houston and Austin, I would definitely choose Austin. Its a college city, FULL of younger people(and STD's! [eek] ) but everyone I've talked to has nothing but good to say about Austin.

Have you lived in WA all your life? Having lived in Washington for 4 years(mainly in Edmonds) and So-Cal for the rest, I'm still having a hard time getting used to humidity, it gets so bad in summer, its almost suffocating(to me at least)
I would imagine Austin would have quite a bit less humidity since it isn't so close to the Gulf...

[SoFresh]

^^^ I've lived in the Seattle area for the most part, spend 4 years in the east side of the state as well while in college (WSU, Pullman, WA), then moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in the summer, so got to experience the while 120 degree dry summers down there, however just moved back up to WA again, and am missing the warmer weather.

Pullman, WA would get down to the -10-20s in the winter, and as most know who have ever been to WA... it rains 5 out of the 7 days a week... I hate rain.

[Four Play]

^^^ I've lived in the Seattle area for the most part, spend 4 years in the east side of the state as well while in college (WSU, Pullman, WA), then moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in the summer, so got to experience the while 120 degree dry summers down there, however just moved back up to WA again, and am missing the warmer weather.

Pullman, WA would get down to the -10-20s in the winter, and as most know who have ever been to WA... it rains 5 out of the 7 days a week... I hate rain.

I spent my last year or so in Monroe(near Snohomish if you know where that is) and it was either raining, getting ready to rain, or had just rained. And in winter, it was like that with the snow [:D] I miss Washington.

When I lived in Bakersfield, it would get near 110-115, but it was a dry heat, you could step in the shade and cool down. But here in Texas, you can't escape the shit, and you have to take 4 showers a day to stay feeling clean [O_O]

What's bringing you down this way? Just looking for a change of scenery?

[SoFresh]

^^^ yeah mainly, its either Houston, TX, or back to Scottsdale, AZ. I lived in Scottsdale for only 6 months and loved every minute of it, even the 120 degree summer. I was in the real estate field and it was sucking horribly down there (and everywhere else)... I just graduated college from (Washington State University) and I was having problems mainly in Real Estate due to my age, and being about 20 years younger than everyone else in the field. I am just looking for a change in scenery, as well as possibly a career change.

So either Houston or Scottsdale.

P.S. I know where Monroe is, you must had grown up in Texas, or somewhere warm, cause most people who grow up in WA want to get away from it!!!

[Four Play]

^^^ yeah mainly, its either Houston, TX, or back to Scottsdale, AZ. I lived in Scottsdale for only 6 months and loved every minute of it, even the 120 degree summer. I was in the real estate field and it was sucking horribly down there (and everywhere else)... I just graduated college from (Washington State University) and I was having problems mainly in Real Estate due to my age, and being about 20 years younger than everyone else in the field. I am just looking for a change in scenery, as well as possibly a career change.

So either Houston or Scottsdale.

P.S. I know where Monroe is, you must had grown up in Texas, or somewhere warm, cause most people who grow up in WA want to get away from it!!!

I don't know a whole lot about Scottsdale, but Houston has a very large car scene. I go on car cruises a lot with a group called HPD(Houston Performance Driving) and its always a pretty big turnout, usually at least 50-60, sometimes a few hundred! We start in Houston and make our way to Galveston going the scenic route, and then hang out in Galveston for the rest of the day. It's neat to see such a broad range of cars grouping together to hang out.

And I did grow up in So-Cal, lived in Washington from age 8-12, and then back to Cali, then just a few years ago moved here to Texas for a job at a major refinery. But yea, I guess if you did grow up there, you would get sick of it, but I've always wanted to move back...

[syckklam]

I've been in Houston most of my life with stints elsewhere.

Housing market here is great. People are still buying and the market is still going up. Even with market slowdowns elsewhere. Sugarland is the boomarea right now and most people love it that like that sort of thing. If you liked Scottsdale, you'll probably like Sugarland.

For city living, Montrose/Midtown are the only way to go. They are trying to modernize Rice village but its still 10 years off.

Email me if you have any more questions. I'll be happy to answer them.

klymacks [at] yahoo [dot] com

[SoFresh]

^^^hey man, thanks! Ill have to google search up Sugarland, I've been planning a trip to the area, so ill add Sugarland to the spots to check out. Thanks [up]

[audimeister]

I may be moving to Seattle from Houston! I'm getting a divorce, and I have a spectacular house I would dump for just a little more than the price you mentioned. It needs a little work, but there's probably $20-$50k profit in it for someone with the time/money/inclination.

[audimeister]

http://houston.craigslist.org/rfs/606956866.html

Here's the house...