Possibly moving From Florida (Houston, The Woodlands: for sale, apartment, rentals)

[Tmd1990]

Hey everyone, knew here and I may be transferring locations through work from Naples, Fl to The Woodlands, Tx. If all goes well next August Texas will be my new home. I however am curious of some stuff. I was born and raised in Naples which is a small, wealthy, retired, beach community for the most part. Very seasonal. I am a commissioned sales associate and during season (Nov-June) I can make some very good money. The times in between that though I'm scraping to pay bills. So I'm curious first off is The Woodlands area going to be very seasonal place, does it stay steady or what? As well as I keep reading it's a wealthy area and I'm curious to as what the main "industry" is that brings the families there their wealth. Third how is it in Houston and the surrounding area? I keep hearing I want to stay the North side of Houston. Is the housing/renting market expensive? Here in Naples for our 2 bed/ 2 bath apartment we pay $1100 which is fine but would love to pay less for a nice place (obviously). The bottom line is I'm 23, my fiance and I figured we wanted a change and I didn't want to play it safe by choosing to move to Jacksonville. Overall is Houston in general a place you would recommend? I know she'll love the libraries, museums and all the nerdy stuff lol I'm happy I can be in a town to see live sports even though I'm a Packers fan! But any insight or help would be great. I'm not to concerned about the weather because in SWFL it too is hot as h#ll, nor schools for we don't have children yet. Thank you very much guys!

[testmo]

there is no need to stay to the north side of houston if that is some warning you were given. some would argue the city itself and the west and sw sides have more to offer, but with your work being in the woodlands you want to stay in that area. you cant be much farther from the city of houston than the woodlands. its a typical suburban neighborhood/city. it has all the amenities of a little city. the draw to that area is for people with kids or planning on kids and don't want to live in a city. there is the exxon HQ and little med center there which i imagine is one reason why a lot of people live there. you can commute from the woodlands to the city for work but itll be hell on the best of days.

wealthy is subjective. there are simple, moderate, and million dollar homes in the woodlands. fairly typical for the major suburbs in houston. the area of north houston isnt all the great especially the closer you get to the border of montgomery county or closer you get to Spring. again that is subjective. im sure some people love what that brings

the around outside the woodlands looks horrible, but its right on a major highway. houston highways are nothing but strip malls, fast food joints, and tire centers. the woodlands itself is set back from the roadway to create a little buffer zone from all of that. traffic leaving the woodlands and returning is awful. the traffic within the woodlands can also be bad. if you do ever plan on venturing out fairly often you will want to consider where your home is in the grand scheme of things and see how long it'd take you to get to a major roadway/highway. nothing like traveling for 20 minutes just to get to the point where you hit your highway commute

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by testmo

its a typical suburban neighborhood/city.

Actually, no it's not.

Can you show me another typical suburban neighborhood containing a 16,500 seat music venue, lake, water taxis and 160 miles of trails and hiking paths?

[crono_clone]

Umm, if his work is going to be IN the Woodlands, why bother ranting about the commute into downtown Houston? Someone's projecting...

Anyway, no, the Woodlands is not a seasonal place. Families that live there are in it for the long haul to raise their kids. It's the largest master-planned community in Texas and is a little city in its own right.

Main industry, like the rest of Houston, is Oil & Gas and the medical field. There's plenty of corporate headquarters there, and more coming.

The housing/renting market around here is nuts right now. It's cheaper compared to one of the other major cities like New York or San Francisco, but if you compare it to a small city like Jacksonville then obviously it'll be more expensive since we have more people.

If your fiance is into theaters, museums, etc then you're in luck -- Houston is pretty much the cultural capital of Texas. Our Theater District (we're one of only 5 cities that have permanent resident companies in every performance arts discipline), Museum District, arts and dining will have plenty for her to do. As for sports, we have all the major ones too (though my favorite is watching the women's roller derby.....those ladies are fierce).

Only thing is that you'll have to drive into Houston for those from the Woodlands, but it shouldn't be too bad since you'll probably only do it every weekend or so.

[Svensk08]

I suggest you and your fiancee visit Houston as much as possible prior to packing up and moving here to get a better idea of what this area is like. Meanwhile, do some research about Houston and Texas online and elsewhere. Low-tech idea: buy a copy of the Sunday Houston Chronicle occasionally.

[Meyerland]

The Woodlands is a great area. Search on har.com under rentals to see some homes and townhomes for sale in your budget. The entire Houston area is booming right now, so housing is more difficult to find. The Woodlands is an upscale suburb, so it is in demand right now.

Good luck!