Relocating to Houston? Texas not a good state to be poor in (Austin: apartment complex)

[texas7]

Texas as a state (and that includes Houston) consistently makes all sorts of top 10 lists. One that Texas is always on is "the worst states to be poor in." For those of who want to move here with no specific skills and hoping to find a job; keep in mind that if you don't make enough to support a family - your life will be very difficult in Houston or Texas for that matter. A car is a necessity here and not really optional. This editorial article from the center of public policy can be an eye opener for many considering relocating because you believe it when the media says this is the place to be to make your dreams come true. Think about it, evaluate your skills/opportunities and do your homework first. It might be the place for you and your family but it might make things worse too.

It

[cheryjohns]

So true.

That's why we all cringe when the post comes in: hey, I am moving to Houston because of the job market. I will have no car, no support system, 3 kids and one on the way, no particular set of job skills, and just a little money.

In 6 months time or less, that family is going to be in dire circumstances.

The problems:
No apartment complex will rent to you, without a job, unless you pay sveral months up front, and a deposit (as usual).

The job you finally get may be across town from the apartments, with a 2 hour commute one way.

You have to get a car, insurance, and pay for gas.

Those jobs that the articles write about? Engineers, medical, etc.

If you have the skillsets in demand here, you are going to love Houston. You will have a job and the housing is much cheaper here than in other large cities. You're set.

However, if you go from a minimum wage job, in a town where you have family (support system) and mass transit (avoiding car expenses) - and you trade that for a minimum wage job, in a large spread-out, unfamiliar city, with no back-up support and the added expense of a car - you are going to be worse off than before you moved.

[Oildog]

Thanks Cheryjohns. I should copy and paste that into many of the new threads that pop up here.

[texas7]

Definitely some stats to pay attention to for sure.

For example, in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area, a single parent with two children would need to earn nearly $42,000 a year, about $21 an hour, to generate the necessary annual income to pay for basic expenses, assuming their employer pays for their insurance premium and half the children’s premium and that the family saves nothing. Nearly one in three children lives in a single-parent family. About 65 percent of the area jobs don’t pay enough for this family to meet its needs at even this most basic level.
Texans work hard, regardless of their income. Only one other state has a higher share of poor families that work. Texans are working hard, but they’re not earning enough. One of every seven working families lives in poverty. Nearly one of every two Texas families working full time have no financial cushion and limited financial assets. In some areas of the state, that number is significantly higher. While a job is a critical component for economic stability, many families find that employment by itself is no protection against financial struggle or even poverty.
Certainly, we don’t have enough jobs. The job market in Texas is weaker now than it was five years ago, barely adding enough jobs to keep up with population growth. More than 250,000 more Texans are out of work today than five years ago, an increase of more than 50 percent.
But good jobs — employment with family-supporting wages, decent health coverage, and access to retirement savings — are in particularly short supply as wages continue to lose ground to the basic expenses of family life: housing, food, child care, education, and transportation.