Moving from Seattle to the Houston Area (Howe, Bellevue: best city, insurance)

[SEA>HOU]

Hi everyone,

We are moving to the Houston area (Kingwood more specifically) from the Seattle area. I know it is hard to compare the two as they are so different.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, we are SO sick of the grey and gloomy weather. We visit TX often and have loved every trip (the people, food, weather)...just hoping the same is true once we live there. Sounds like the schools in Kingwood are good too. We haven't spent much time in TX during the hottest months but pretty much know what to expect.

What the biggest pros and cons of the Houston area? Seems like there is a ton of stuff to do. The bugs, heat and humidity are given cons during the summer months. It can't be that bad though with A/C, a pool, and pest control.

Thanks!

[cheryjohns]

A LOT more house for the money. Kingwood has trees so it is attractive. Not nearly as much rain as you have in Seattle.
Don't forget to figure in high property taxes when figuring budget. However, we have so state income tax here so it seems a wash.

[Texascrude]

Houston's great, love living here. On the downside, it's a giant city and has all the normal problems that come with that -- huge amounts of congestion, crime, pollution, politics, etc. In addition, it's also hot and humid in the summers, completely flat (I'm pretty sure the highest elevation most people get in to in the city is on the overpass), bugs are terrible and the city drainage leads to flooding in most places when it rains hard.

With that said, there are tons of great things about the city. Great food, wonderfully diverse, great museum district, fantastic parks and public areas, good zoo, friendly people, very good cost of living, thriving (relatively) economy, close to the beach, fun NASA museum, family oriented people, etc.

I guess it just depends on what your'e looking for in a home -- if I were young and single I'd live in about a dozen other cities before I'd choose to live in Houston. Being married with a family, there isn't another city in the country where I'd rather be.

Kingwood is great, as Cheryjohns said, it's a beautiful city. Nicely planned, lots of trees, good place. You will, however, miss the mountains more than you think.

[just4ivaylo]

There are no sidewalks on some big streets, and everything's flat. There are also very few trees compared to Seattle and most of them are planted.

The heat sucks...a lot. During the first summer or two, you'll go outside and be disgusted with how humid and sticky it is.

However, it is MUCH cheaper than the Seattle area. Along with that comes more crime, more pollution, more congestion on the "freeways" and less educated people.

There are less parks in the area than there are in Seattle and the zoo sucks, but so does Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

If you don't floor it right when the stoplight turns green, ten cars will honk at you.

Nobody (and I really do mean nobody) follows the speed limits. I was told that the speed limits here are simply guidelines.

The newer houses in subdivisions are exactly the same and have tiny backyards.

Seattle and Houston are totally different places. If all of the things that I listed don't matter to you, then, by all means, you have found your new home.

Don't think I'm exaggerating anything...I used to live in Bellevue.

[fnh]

We moved to Houston from Seattle six years ago, and I still go back and forth a lot. (Actually I'm in Seattle at this moment, where it's freezing outside.) The previous poster is right, they are completely different (except both are congested with traffic and people and both are afflicted with awful climes at different parts of the year.) Biggest pro of Houston is the cost of living, period. The biggest con is the summer heat, in my opinion. I grew up in Houston more or less and am partial to Seattle for its urban buzz, scenery and recreational opportunities. My husband grew up in the PNW and is partial to Houston for its sunny temperate winters, nice affordable neighborhoods, and family friendly conveniences. I guess you grow up to appreciate what you missed as a child?

(Which raises the question of whether our kids, who spend a lot of time in both places, will grow up to appreciate everything or nothing about both cities...) :-)

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by just4ivaylo

There are no sidewalks on some big streets, and everything's flat. There are also very few trees compared to Seattle and most of them are planted.

The heat sucks...a lot. During the first summer or two, you'll go outside and be disgusted with how humid and sticky it is.

However, it is MUCH cheaper than the Seattle area. Along with that comes more crime, more pollution, more congestion on the "freeways" and less educated people.

There are less parks in the area than there are in Seattle and the zoo sucks, but so does Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

If you don't floor it right when the stoplight turns green, ten cars will honk at you.

Nobody (and I really do mean nobody) follows the speed limits. I was told that the speed limits here are simply guidelines.

The newer houses in subdivisions are exactly the same and have tiny backyards.

Seattle and Houston are totally different places. If all of the things that I listed don't matter to you, then, by all means, you have found your new home.

Don't think I'm exaggerating anything...I used to live in Bellevue.

This is actually VERY different from my experience. I've never been honked at once, the driving is about what I've seen in other major cities, and there are TONS of trees, none of which are planted. Go to google map and enter in kingwood, go to the satellite picture, and you'll see a sea of green.

[chris_ut]

Keep in mind that a lot of the negatives listed above apply to Houston itself and not Kingwood. Kingwood does have sidewalks and trails connecting all the neighborhoods and parks. Most of the homes are older and custom with large wooded yards. People here are typically college educated and work a professional job.

[fnh]

While according to some lists the population of Seattle has on average more years of education, it's important to note that Seattle 'proper' includes only a small fraction of the Seattle metro area. More of Houston is included in those comparisons due to the city's tendency to annex surrounding areas. You don't have to go far outside of Seattle central to be surrounded by 'uneducated' people. Think Shoreline, Burien, Issaquah...

The drivers in Houston do drive much faster, I agree, but this is a plus with fairly consistent adherence to 'rules of the road'. Most slower drivers know to stay out of the way in the right lane. Seattle drivers choose lanes randomly, resulting in greater frustration and lane changing as slow drivers block traffic in all lanes. I live off Hwy 290 in Houston, considered by many on this forum to be the worst freeway in Houston (not my experience inside beltway) and the traffic on 290 is a breeze compared to I-5.

Seattle has more big green spaces and parks, but Houston has more neighborhood parks for kids.

I don't think Seattle has more trees than central Houston, but most trees are hugely tall, full evergreens perhaps giving that impression. Also, the freeways in Seattle aren't lined with strip centers as in Houston. The newer suburbs of Houston are essentially bereft of trees, so Seattle suburbs win this comparison in my view. (Kingwood is very green and I'm not including it here.) And while many bemoan the cookie-cutter look of newer suburbs in Houston, the same is true in Seattle for both newer suburbs and older in-city neighborhoods. Driving north yesterday through the U-district we were commenting on how all the (old) houses are essentially identical. It doesn't look bad, but why do we tend to malign the same thing in newer neighborhoods?

[just4ivaylo]

Kingwood is very green, but I highly doubt that's where the OP will be spending all of his time. I just listed what's different here. Some things are good, some things are bad. It goes both ways.

[RocketSci]

Originally Posted by SEA>HOU

Hi everyone,

We are moving to the Houston area (Kingwood more specifically) from the Seattle area. I know it is hard to compare the two as they are so different.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, we are SO sick of the grey and gloomy weather. We visit TX often and have loved every trip (the people, food, weather)...just hoping the same is true once we live there. Sounds like the schools in Kingwood are good too. We haven't spent much time in TX during the hottest months but pretty much know what to expect.

What the biggest pros and cons of the Houston area? Seems like there is a ton of stuff to do. The bugs, heat and humidity are given cons during the summer months. It can't be that bad though with A/C, a pool, and pest control.

Thanks!

Pros will be the much more diverse culture of the Houston area, more sunshine year-round (than Seattle), more house for the dollar (if you stay in the burbs), better economy than most of the US, no state income tax, great variety of good restaurants, proximity to beaches, and relatively warm winters (maybe even hot by Seattle standards).

Cons will be the unrelenting heat and humidity from May to October (you do NOT know what to expect until you've been here, lows could be 80 deg with 100% humidity), the torrential rains Houston receives (2 to 5 inches some days is not uncommon, with local flooding, not including hurricanes and tropical storms), the relative lack of beautiful natural scenery, relatively little outdoor activities compared to PNW, lack of vibrant walkable areas, huge differences between how rich and poor live (often within the same neighborhood), car-centric transportation is required everywhere, poor infrastructure in many areas (a result of lower spending by the state), high property tax and insurance, and lots of polluting industry to the east and southeast.

Overall, Houston is a city of immigrants and emigrants, but it is a big city, so you should have no problem finding a place as all types of people and cultures are represented. I personally think it is the best city in Texas, as it is the most accepting of new people.

And also the daylight hours are longer in Houston than Seattle in the winter, and shorter in the summer by about 2 hours. That makes for less gloomy winter days, at least.

Welcome!