Help me get my family to understand: Moving from California to Houston. (San Antonio: sales, renters)

[MNCold]

First of all, I think your family is acting out of love. They simply don't want to see you too far away.

I'm extremely close to my family. When we were researching Houston, I visited a few times and did a lot of online research. Once I have landed the job and accepted the offer, I told the that I'd like to spend the last few weeks with them and tell them the move date. I don't open the topic for conversation.
I'm lucky that I have a very supportive network of family and friends who are happy for us so our move has not been a big deal.
I travel back a few times a year to visit my family and invited them to come here to visit.
I don't think that you can make them understand. You have to make the right decisions for your family.
Eventually, if you're happy here, they will come to that understanding.
If you're not happy here, then you will hear something like "See, I told you".

What you can do is do thorough research and make informed decision. Should you decide to move here, do you best to make Houston a happy place for you.

[texas7]

I know a couple of people who moved here from out of state to take a job offer they received before moving here. They moved and after 3-6 months, the new job layed them off and they've been without work for months now. Be careful what job you find before moving here as well.

[Bily Lovec]

Originally Posted by txdemo

Give it a rest. You lost.

this isnt a win or lose, this is a

"we dont need any more people tired of what they have turned their state into coming here and screwing up ours"

people are leaving CA by the thousands, they are on the verge of screwing up colorado, we dont need um here. keep on going to NY...

you're obviously not Texan,
so how about you drag your single wide to CA and have your welfare check forwarded there ?

[swopoe]

We too left our families back east and came to Houston for my husband's job in oil and gas. This was almost 9 years ago. Our families were sad, sure. But we have never looked back. Two kids later, two homes later (we just closed on a beautiful new home yesterday), and we have made a life for us here. We don't ever want to go back. Houston is our home, and we want to stay. We visit the east coast a few times a year. And everyone has gotten used to it. And guess what? My parents are moving to Houston this summer. My point is, let your life take you where it takes you. Your family has made their choices, and now you can make yours. Follow your path, and if it leads to Houston, so be it. You may be happy here too.

Good luck.

[txdemo]

Also Tilly check out Houston Real estate, Houston homes, Houston Realtors: HAR.com if you haven't already. A couple of neighborhoods that may suit your family are Montrose, the Heights and Oak Forest. You can search on CD and there's a lot of info on these neighborhoods. They can be pricey depending on location. But rental pricing can vary widely depending on whether you want to live in a 600 sq ft 1 bedroom four-plex (common in Montrose) or a single family home.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by tillymonster

We are most likely making the move from California to Houston and our family and friends are devastated and angry. If we stay in CA we will be collecting unemployment benefits, food stamps/welfare and personally, I don't see that being a very pleasant way to live. My DH could find a decent paying job in Houston pretty quickly (is in the midst of waiting for an offer now) while we are getting almost zero response or a big pay-cut if we stay in California. There are just so many positives in Houston. Much better cost of living, amazing rental prices, clean and safe neighborhoods to raise our kids. The cons? The weather. Or is this just hype? The distance from family. The pros outweigh the cons, for me.

Mine and my DHs family (some who have been to Houston but most who have not) are telling us how horrible it would be for us to move to Houston. The main argument is "Oh the weather is just terrible, you would be miserable!!!" and the fact that it is two states away. I'm so angry that people can't just be happy for us and tell us IMHO what they should say, "you do what you have to for your family". We have a 3yo with another baby on the way and the clock is ticking.

No offense to your friends/family, but you sound vastly more intelligent and realistic than them. It also sounds like you have a work ethic that would fit in well here (Texas/Houston has an independent culture and "living off the government" is generally frowned upon.)
Assuming you have job opportunities here, it sounds like you'd be much better off moving here. You need to live your life for you and your family that you have created... not a life to please others.

By the way, we have tons of Californians in Texas... and not all just in Austin as many assume. The weather in just about all of the rest of the US isn't as good as in California, but there are more things to consider than just weather.

Originally Posted by swopoe

We too left our families back east and came to Houston for my husband's job in oil and gas. This was almost 9 years ago. Our families were sad, sure. But we have never looked back. Two kids later, two homes later (we just closed on a beautiful new home yesterday), and we have made a life for us here. We don't ever want to go back. Houston is our home, and we want to stay. We visit the east coast a few times a year. And everyone has gotten used to it. And guess what? My parents are moving to Houston this summer. My point is, let your life take you where it takes you. Your family has made their choices, and now you can make yours. Follow your path, and if it leads to Houston, so be it. You may be happy here too.

Good post, and typical of a lot of the experiences I hear about with people moving here from out of state.

[crone]

If the job your DH is up for pans out, welcome to Texas.

Those of us who are children of people who remember the depression understand that families go where there is a paycheck.

I have family who left Houston to go to southern California and Tahoe. They would not move to Texas if you held a gun to their heads. Tahoe is as conservative as Houston IMO.

Initiative and referendum ruined California.

I talked to some old guys down in San Diego when Arnold was running for governor. They truly thought that they were voting for The Terminator. Ignorance has no borders.

[gsmj]

Follow the money, everything else will fall into place. What's the point of living in Shangri-La, if you're miserable?

Where in California do you live?

[tillymonster]

MNCold-- thank you for sharing, I know it's out of love but I also think some people just wont get these trials and tribulations of life (layoffs, babies, debt) until they experience it, so I am trying to stay tolerant. We just learned about my brother-in-law who ended up moving in with his wifes' family because they couldn't afford to live on their own. They have a 2 year old. I can't imagine how that must feel, but I'd like to never be in that situation.

AK123-- thanks for the compliments, I have been researching this for over a month now, so when someone tells me Houston is full of hicks and dirt roads I sort of want to slap them a little. And YES the weather is *nicer* in CA if you don't mind 100 degree weather. That's awful no matter how much humidity you've got, if you ask me. I know of humid weather, I was born in Maryland and have lived back east a few times in my childhood.

Where we are now, there are a good 3 months I don't want to go outside--- I live in the San Gabriel Valley. It's pretty smoggy here too, so it feels hotter than it is a lot of the time. That cannot be good for me 3 year old. UGH. And you know what, you can't have everything!

crone-- Haha. He's still called the "govenator" here. Not even joking.

I am praying that my husband gets this gig! It would save us!!!

[Katy4life]

Originally Posted by tillymonster

If we stay in CA we will be collecting unemployment benefits, food stamps/welfare and personally, I don't see that being a very pleasant way to live.

Elections have consequences. That goes from the lowest level, all the way up to the highest levels of government. Just remember that if you move here.