The only option is Texas. (Orange: high school, office, county)

[BeefSupreme]

Are wonderful. Unless you're way up north (ie sandy hook), which is near the entrance to NY Harbor. Of course its filthy up there. Although there are swimmers (very rare) and jetskiiers (somewhat common) in the Hudson River now. But go further south (Long Beach Island and south) and the water is beautiful. I love that there are boardwalks and houses on the beaches, not roads and automobiles (or pickups) I haven't been to Corpus or Padre yet, I hear its much better down there. My wifes family has 2 beach houses and proerty in Point Bolivar, but unless we put in a pool (not sure about options for that due to the low lying land), there isn't much to do unless you take the ferry to Galveston.

[sunny57]

Thanks for the great post about Houston...well written and needed. Alot of "yankee folk" think of Houston as a less than desirable place to live. After reading the multipal posting here... I realize how good we do have it. Welcome partner...Sunny



quote=The transplant;3677988]I recently graduated with my Master's degree in Special Education. I live in Buffalo, NY and I was offered a job as a teacher in the Houston area. Even though I'm a yankee, my wife is a Texan and I have embraced the wonderful values that my wife holds; I share them as well. Much of her values stem from her upbringing and time at church in the Ft. Worth area. Any ways, upon our visit, I was absolutely fascinated by Houston and the people I encountered. Here are some of the highlights:
1) Plenty of jobs in houston and a "working" population.
2) Kind and respectful citizens that believe in church, work, education, sports, "winning" and hospitality.
3) A generation of students that say "yes sir"; you don't see that up north.
4) Beautiful homes at a decent price.
5) Everything you want: A huge city to the north of I-45, pastures on the west, shopping on the east and the beuatiful Gulf cost on the south.
6) Many church goingt folk and republicans like myself; maybe that's why they accepted a yankee like me.

I can't say enough great things about Texas. A great place to raise a family and live. I am looking forward to my new carreer there![/quote]

[Texas Mack]

I don't think it's the tax payout that gets people as much as it is the tax rate. The rate in Texas is higher than a lot of places, but as has been discussed (almost ad nauseum), part of the reason for that is a) no state income tax and b) property values are typically lower so you're taxing off a smaller base.

For example, I don't think anyone paying 1.5% on a $560,000 property in the New York City suburbs is going to be too overwhelmed by the actual dollar amount on a 3.0% rate for a $220,000 property in Houston, Dallas, Austin, etc. But the rate does make some people do a double take.

[live-fit]

Originally Posted by Texas Mack

I don't think it's the tax payout that gets people as much as it is the tax rate. The rate in Texas is higher than a lot of places, but as has been discussed (almost ad nauseum), part of the reason for that is a) no state income tax and b) property values are typically lower so you're taxing off a smaller base.

For example, I don't think anyone paying 1.5% on a $560,000 property in the New York City suburbs is going to be too overwhelmed by the actual dollar amount on a 3.0% rate for a $220,000 property in Houston, Dallas, Austin, etc. But the rate does make some people do a double take.

So if I'm moving from WNY (Orchard Park) to a suburb of Houston will I see a savings if we buy the same priced home? $350k - $450k?

[Texas Mack]

Originally Posted by live-fit

So if I'm moving from WNY (Orchard Park) to a suburb of Houston will I see a savings if we buy the same priced home? $350k - $450k?

No, if the tax rate in Orchard Park is less than in the suburb of Houston that you're buying then, assuming both houses cost the exact same amount, you'll pay more money in property taxes in Houston (although, again, you don't pay a state income tax in Texas, which often covers such gaps).

FTR, I don't know what the average home price in Orchard Park/suburban Buffalo is compared to a typical Houston suburb. I just know that the average home price in suburban New York City (NJ, PA, NY, CT) is higher than in Houston by a considerable amount.

[Jammie]

You had me curious about the rate of taxes up in your direction so I checked. I definitely thought you'd pay more in Tx. then in NY, but here are what the stats say~

Orchard Park~26.46 per thousand

Houston~20.63 per thousand

Your 300,000 house in Orchard Park will cost you about 100,000 less in Houston so besides being ahead in cost, you're way ahead in real estate taxes.

[Texas Mack]

Hey, thanks for digging in to that. Quite interesting to see the actual breakdown, area-to-area.

[live-fit]

it just keeps getting better..thanks for looking that up! A recruiter just called from Houston today we'll be in the area in the next few weeks. Can't wait to check it out!!

Originally Posted by Jammie

You had me curious about the rate of taxes up in your direction so I checked. I definitely thought you'd pay more in Tx. then in NY, but here are what the stats say~

Orchard Park~26.46 per thousand

Houston~20.63 per thousand

Your 300,000 house in Orchard Park will cost you about 100,000 less in Houston so besides being ahead in cost, you're way ahead in real estate taxes.

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by cjester

Nothing against your political leanings, but Houston tends to lean center left in the political spectrum. (Check out the voting results). In TX the rural areas tend to lean towards the center right. Urban areas are the opposite.
Houston is too cosmopolitan to worry about, whether you are a yankee, a Vietnamese resident or even a church goer.

Agreed, and while it's nice that the OP has found his church-going niche, Houston isn't as religious as he thinks either.

Percent religious from Sperling's Best Places
DC 73.16%
Salt Lake City 67.50%
Oklahoma City 65.70%
New York City 62.97%
Boston 60.02%
Atlanta 58.72%
Los Angeles 58.08%
Denver 58.02%
Minneapolis 57.71%
Chicago 57.63%
Dallas 55.11%
Houston 50.03%
Charlotte 47.97%
Austin 46.17%
Portland 45.71%
New Orleans 44.13%
Raleigh 43.82%
San Francisco 41.83%
Miami 39.63%
Seattle 37.26%

[tstone]

Look at that, nearly 50%. Describes this place well.

50/50 liberal/conservative is a pretty accurate way to describe Houston as well.

Whatever you're looking for, you'll find it.