Moving to Houston; Advice & Info much appreciated

[mingna]

Houston_Dreams,

Regarding money and expenses, I think you should seriously reconsider taking out loans. Any hard sciences major is going to be rigorous, but engineering especially so. You do not want to expend unneccessary time and energy in dealing with public transportation, and relying on biking is not a realistic option in Houston. You will need every free minute to further your studies and gain invaluable internship experience. My impression is that landing good internships in engineering is tightly linked to a high g.p.a.

I used my loan to buy an older, beat-up, but very affordable car that gave me access to cheap groceries at the discount mart, but more importantly, transported me to a high-paying summer job that enabled me to completely fund my last year of undergrad. Since the first two years of your studies will be mostly about classwork, you can also look into part-time work that will not interfere with your coursework. How about free dorm housing as a dorm advisor? What about campus work-study programs? And off-campus part-time jobs?

I worked part-time as a bank teller my first two years because of the flexible hours and relatively high pay. It did not interfere with my studies and allowed me to pay for all of my living expenses. I know someone else who put himself through law school working nights as a janitor in office buildings. It pays very well, you work evenings after classes, and if you get your job done quickly, you can use the remaining time to study.

Believe me, no one hates carrying debt more than me, but I found those loans were integral to my surviving AND succeeding in undergrad and beyond. Besides, I was able to completely pay off those loans within two years of graduating with my undergrad. degree because my degree and work experienced enabled me to land a very good job.

I wish you all the best.

[mingna]

Also, thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army) and consignment stores are good options for affordable office wear. The ones located in the wealthier areas may give you better chances of finding nicer designer wear.

[Houston_Dreams]

Thanks mingna, that was great advice! At one point I was considering it, but seeing friends and coworkers drowning in nondischargable debt turned me off from loans.

But you're absolutely right, I'm being penny-wise and pound-foolish. Small student loan will enable me to buy a used cheap car ---> save time and headache ---> focus on academics/GPA ---> which lead to strong internships ---> good job. As opposed to daily battling public transit which may or may not serve the areas I need to go. I could then use the time-savings to work side jobs. That night-time janitor idea is awesome and will look into it and other jobs like it.

Thanks again mingna, I gained a completely new perspective!


On my prospective neighborhood, I found this:

Is Baldwin Park Area Dangerous to Live in? - Midtown - HAIF - Houston's Leading News Forum

Anyone with any knowledge of that area(HCC-Central/Baldwin Park)?

[Houston_Dreams]

Shameless bump would appreciate any additional input on any of the points I raised.

Aside: Bmore Ravens for the win tommorow

[55degrees]

I'm not sure if you'd qualify for the Gold Card or not. I'd recommend getting a cheaper health insurance plan that would cover you if you ended up in the hospital. There are some community clinics around that you can use instead of going to an ER, but I don't think there are a ton of them.

[mingna]

Originally Posted by Houston_Dreams

Thanks mingna, that was great advice! At one point I was considering it, but seeing friends and coworkers drowning in nondischargable debt turned me off from loans.

But you're absolutely right, I'm being penny-wise and pound-foolish. Small student loan will enable me to buy a used cheap car ---> save time and headache ---> focus on academics/GPA ---> which lead to strong internships ---> good job. As opposed to daily battling public transit which may or may not serve the areas I need to go. I could then use the time-savings to work side jobs. That night-time janitor idea is awesome and will look into it and other jobs like it.

Thanks again mingna, I gained a completely new perspective!


On my prospective neighborhood, I found this:

Is Baldwin Park Area Dangerous to Live in? - Midtown - HAIF - Houston's Leading News Forum

Anyone with any knowledge of that area(HCC-Central/Baldwin Park)?

Ha,ha. Yeah, you managed to distill my verbiage quite succinctly Lots of opportunities in Houston - go for it!

p.s. Sorry can't help you with Baldwin Park area. Perhaps look into getting roomates so you can pool $ and live in safer, more convenient area? Look to engineer dept. message boards for other similarly-minded students seeking roomates. Good option would be grad. students if you are older, "non-traditional" undergrad.

[newlymarried]

If you're young and healthy, you could apply for individual insurance. Not the cheapest, but that's how I was insured through grad school. And far better than finding yourself uninsured in a crisis. Is staying on your parents' plan an option? That's probably the cheapest if it's a possibility.

You might also check with your school to see if they have some student health programs -- but be sure what you need will be covered. I had a classmate with diabetes who found out too late that his student prescription insurance only covered 3 months worth of medication!

As for the loans... be smart, but don't be afraid of them. Federal student loans are flexible (if you're unemployed, become disabled, etc, they work with you), interest is tax deductible, and good for your credit report.

I'm with you about debt, but think about the costs of what you're giving up by working constantly. All of my grad school loans were retired 18 months after I graduated, but my grades never would have been as high as they were if I was trying to hold down a job instead of taking loans. (And I could afford to take unpaid internships.) It was a worthwhile investment. The grades and internships opened doors that led to a higher paying, more interesting job than I could have ever had with middling grades.

As for food -- yes, if you're a good cook, you can probably feed one person for $150/mo. I could carve some fat out of our grocery bill (fancy fruits, some seafood and sirloin, organic milk, etc), but we're spending about $200/mo for each adult in our house. Back when we were living the student life, we could feed two adults for about $250/month. We are both good (but not fussy) chefs, so if you can keep yourself happy with your cooking, you should be fine. (Although other than prepackaged cereal and bread, we do almost everything from scratch, so if you rely on frozen foods, granola bars, individual yogurt servings, or other convenience foods, you may find it hard to meet your budget.)

There's good competition with grocery stores, so if you have a car, you can take advantage of sales or discounts at different chains that are within easy proximity of each other.

As far as health advisories -- Houston can be painfully hot in the summer, so I'd make getting a car a priority. If nothing else, you don't want to show up everywhere sweaty, exhausted and dehydrated. There are some air advisory days if you have respiratory issues, but I don't know anything about the likelihood of them being in the summer versus any other time.

And no, no information about the area you're looking at. My one word of warning is to never agree lease an apartment until you've seen it in person. Houston doesn't believe in zoning, so a nice apartment could be (literally) next door to a crack house, manufacturing center, or an all night dance club. Artful photos on a website can hide a multitude of sins. When we were looking at wedding venues, there was a beautiful garden location that we loved -- until we checked it out in person and realized there was a tire burning shop next door!!!!