Would Houston be our best bet? (Dallas, Plano: 2013, homes, neighborhoods)

[30_miles]

I would like to know if Houston would be a great pick for my family. We’re planning on making a move in 2013 and looking at different cities to consider. I’ve lived in Dallas for 3 years in my mid 20’s and I loved it but I’m not sure if my hubby would like it. I loved the southern hospitality, family oriented type environment, affordable living, and laid back/easy going atmosphere. We are in our late 20’s /early 30’s with two small children. We’re from South Florida and read that Houston has similar whether so I’m adding Houston to our list of cities to consider moving to. My husband is a business owner (auto industry) and I work in IT within the healthcare field. We would love to purchase a home in a neighborhood that fits our needs. With all this said please advise what cities should we be focusing on based on the following needs:

Great schools maybe private or Montessori schools (still debating)
Access to family fun type activities
Access to scrape yards, auto auctions, auto parts, grave yards/junk yards
Organic or grass fed farms ( no more than 1 hour away)
Well manicure neighborhoods/ city…yes I love the ritzy look. For those of you that know Dallas think of Plano, Frisco, Allen areas.

I know I may not be able to get all on my list but suggestions are welcomed.

I’m also interested in gardening (veggies and fruits) so areas or builders that build homes with a good size back yard would be a plus. I’m thinking South Houston would be best to garden fruit tree’s etc but, I haven’t read great things about South Houston. Also, we’re planning on doing some work in the Island of Haiti and would need to transport a lot of things to the island can someone please advise how we would be able to do this if we decided to move to Houston.
Thanks in advance

[jbarn]

if your husband wouldn't like Dallas, he won't like Houston either, very similar cities.

[Johnhw2]

I agree they are very similar cities from a national viewpoint. Since OP is guessing hubby wont like DFW, lets list some differences for them.

Houston is more humid and has less cold weather than DFW. DFW has zoning and an organized/planned look more so than Houston. DFW tends to be more focused on status than Houston imho. Houston is called more blue collar than DFW by many, I dont see it that way with the high end energy based professional jobs there but agree Houston is a more casual dressing city than DFW. Both have good economies for this poor US economy. They have some meaningful differences but both are cities worth considering if the characteristics work for your family. (Houston claims to have flights to more Latin American cities than any other, I dont verify that claim but agree its an easy non stop flight to many parts of Latin America from Houston.

[Sunderpig2]

Houston and Dallas are much more similar than they are different

[Oildog]

Get job first, then move.