To Move....or not to move, that is the question (Houston: condo, home)

[jakebrake]

A little about me: Been living in Denver now for 10 years and while i love it, it has become too expensive for my salary anymore. I could spend 190k for my lil 2 bedroom condo and purchase from my land-lord or 190k to purchase a house...to me the choice is obvious.

I would not be able to make any kind of move for at least another year but it gives me time to line up all my ducks in a row and get prepared. Why Houston you may ask? Well, from the looks of it housing seems to be affordable at least on the outside of Houston, what 150-190k gets you on the North end would cost you 350-400k in Denver.

My job would be in the Jersey Village area of town and would prefer to be close at least until i could get a feel for what traffic is like.

I know that a potential move to Houston would be a lil bit of a shock compared to Denver. I wouldn't have access to the beautiful outdoors and the abundant sunshine, but i also lived in suburban Chicago for most of my life before Denver as well as Kansas City, so the "doom and gloom" is nothing new to me.

I have never been to Houston, nor had i ever been to Denver or KC before i lived there, i guess you just learn how to adapt. Its a serious decision either way, but i would be willing to make the sacrifice to finally own a home and maybe stretch my bucks a lil bit further and not have to worry about just working to be able to afford a roof over my head.

So with that being said...is there any reason why i should not move here??

[Houston321]

Do your research on the cost of living, it isn't as cheap as you might think. Property taxes are killer, count on about 3%. But, no state income tax, so that helps. Also, buying in the 150-190K areas may not be ideal depending on what you are used to. Come down for a little vacation and check it out.

[jakebrake]

I might just do that....My potential employer would be in the 77040 zip. If anyone has suggestions on areas nearby to check out for housing while on a short trip to visit the city, that would be great.

[77030]

No legal weed here, remember that. I lived in Denver for a few years, and 100 degrees at 25% humidity is a whole different deal than 100 degrees at 85% humidity. I would stay put if I were you, and I am a Houston native.

[shortel]

I think you need to come visit during the summer to make sure you really want to deal with our weather. Its not something you really get used to. You can either handle it or not. I have live in houston for 37 years and still hate the humidity.And it last basically end of april - October.

[jakebrake]

Appreciate the replies. Not having access to weed is not an issue because I do not smoke the stuff. I'm sure the heat is oppressive and I will take all the considerations given seriously, thanks again!

[Sunderpig2]

Originally Posted by jakebrake

I know that a potential move to Houston would be a lil bit of a shock compared to Denver. I wouldn't have access to the beautiful outdoors and the abundant sunshine, but i also lived in suburban Chicago for most of my life before Denver as well as Kansas City, so the "doom and gloom" is nothing new to me.

I have never been to Houston, nor had i ever been to Denver or KC before i lived there, i guess you just learn how to adapt.

I'm familiar with both Houston and Denver, so I think I can throw in some worthwhile comments. I'm originally from Houston, and moved north of Denver. I can imagine doing the reverse.

Concerning your comments, I find Texas to be much more beautiful than CO. I always thought CO would be more "pretty", but I found the reverse to be true. It was disappointing to go from a greener, wetter, area with more dense trees in TX to the very dry and faded looking Front Range. CO stays in the shadow of winter much longer too, which I find depressing. There may be a little less hours overall of sunshine in TX, but it's not noticeable. "Doom and gloom" definitely doesn't apply to TX. It isn't the PNW or the north. TX is plenty sunny enough. Texas has scenically much more variety than CO, including the coast and the deep woods of East Texas.

It would be a culture shock, but you sound adaptable. The culture won't match Denver's or Chicago's. There's no northern feel to it. It's more of a combination of southern and midwestern. Another adjustment would be the combination of heat and humidity during May-October. But, you can go from car to building and get by fine. After that, you'd have six months straight of mild weather (November to April) which is awesome.

Yes, your money will go much farther in TX. Rents and cost of living will be lower. Also, your auto registration will be much less and you won't have to throw away you hard earned money on stupid income tax, since TX doesn't have that.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by jakebrake

A little about me: Been living in Denver now for 10 years and while i love it, it has become too expensive for my salary anymore. I could spend 190k for my lil 2 bedroom condo and purchase from my land-lord or 190k to purchase a house...to me the choice is obvious.

I would not be able to make any kind of move for at least another year but it gives me time to line up all my ducks in a row and get prepared. Why Houston you may ask? Well, from the looks of it housing seems to be affordable at least on the outside of Houston, what 150-190k gets you on the North end would cost you 350-400k in Denver.

My job would be in the Jersey Village area of town and would prefer to be close at least until i could get a feel for what traffic is like.

I know that a potential move to Houston would be a lil bit of a shock compared to Denver. I wouldn't have access to the beautiful outdoors and the abundant sunshine, but i also lived in suburban Chicago for most of my life before Denver as well as Kansas City, so the "doom and gloom" is nothing new to me.

I have never been to Houston, nor had i ever been to Denver or KC before i lived there, i guess you just learn how to adapt. Its a serious decision either way, but i would be willing to make the sacrifice to finally own a home and maybe stretch my bucks a lil bit further and not have to worry about just working to be able to afford a roof over my head.

So with that being said...is there any reason why i should not move here??

Do you enjoy the winters in Denver ? You won't have to deal with that in Houston. Also in the next year in your price range I might expect a price decrease in housing in the Houston area. You will also avoid most of the hassle of the US 290 expansion by that time.

[Denver303TJC]

Hi Jake,

As is probably obvious from my user name, I'm a Colorado (Denver) native who left back in 2011, before legalization and before the crazy surge in traffic and living costs. Currently I live in Austin and like that the BBQ is good throughout TX and there's no snow in central TX or Houston (or at least nothing to be concerned of on those rare occasions). In the past I had too many days in Denver in the winter where it was literally freezing out and the cold felt like it was biting me, so I don't miss that at all, or the snow in general. As you know, commuting on snowy roads can be quite stressful, I'd imagine even more so now that so many people have moved to Denver. I've been in TX a year and agree that no state income tax is nice. I like in my area that there's the TX Hill Country, which is scenic. I don't have a lot of experience in Houston, so I posted this as a way to perhaps give you a backup plan if you decided on another Texan city. I miss summers in Denver, since the low humidity and heat made it quite enjoyable. As mentioned, beware of the humidity in Houston in summer, since it ain't gonna always be comfortable. I miss the fact that in Denver you can look West and see the mountains in the distance, go skiing/snowboarding, and do a lot of outdoorsy things. As others mentioned, the actual metro area isn't ultra scenic in Denver, but once you get out, there's a lot to see. But, not to bad mouth Houston either, since it has it's scenic areas, too.

[jakebrake]

No i do not care for the winters but they aren't as bad as the spring time, bi-polar weather patterns.....75 degrees and sunny then 12-24 hours later your getting a blizzard which leaves behind a foot or two, yeah it melts in a couple of days and its good for the mountain snow pack, but im over it.

I do love all the outdoor rec that this state has to offer but i could always come back as a tourist. Im targeting Houston specifically because its far enough south that i hope there would not be an issue with snow or ice. This move is all about wiping the slate clean, and starting over fresh.