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Both my wife and I grew up in So Ca. We have lived in Kingwood NE Houston for 15 years. There is no simple answer to this thread's main question but I will go through it point by point.
1. What matters most to you? When we came here we had no money, a young family and didn't care much about the weather. Houston, especially Kingwood is the best price to house performance in all of Texas and maybe the country. Kingwood is safe, somewhat pretty and CHEAP. Easy access to i59 and Bush intercontinental airport. The Woodlands is nicer then Kingwood with better shopping, but i45 blows. Still, you couldn't go wrong with either. STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING SOUTH OF HOUSTON. Ever since the post Katrina "migration" from New Orleans, the southern part of the city has crashed and along with it, house prices there.
2. Sooooooooo....How was the transition? It would be "Ok" for a young family where weather is not much of an issue......IF WEATHER IS OF ANY CONCERN TO YOU DO NOT COME TO TEXAS from CA AND SPECIFICALLY HOUSTON. I can't be any more clear then that.
Consider this:
Houston get's 55+ inches of rain per year and on "wet" years we can go over 60". Imagine that for a minute. Over an inch a week? My kids have not been able to play outside for 15 years because it is either raining "torrential" or the humidity is soooooo bad that they beg to come indoors.
We run our AC 24/7 for over 10 months out of the year...utilities suck, and if an AC is rated to last 20 years? If you get 10 out of it in Houston you are lucky. They are easily replaced though at 5k a pop.
The reason you can buy a 3200 sq/ft house for $250k? Because you will live in it 24/7 close to 10 months out of the year.
Now lets talk about the mosquitoes......They are in a word... unbelievable. I gave up playing golf around here in the spring/summer because the bugs will eat you AND your kids alive. Not to mention the horrific humidity.
Just about everyone I know has had to install a three thousand dollar house mosquito spray system just to give their kids a chance to go outside and play. I am NOT exaggerating either. It really is that bad.
In the last 6 years we have had to pack EVERYTHING we own of value up and EVACUATE our house. Hurricaines are real and they are nasty. We took a direct hit from Ike which left us out of power for 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS........... Not to mention out of work during that time, and this is a chance every single year.
Home taxes are very high which makes it a bad place to retire as taxes on your cheap home keeps going up and up. Our house is around $225k....yearly tax are OVER $6k per year. Ouch. No state income tax does help, but that is no consolation to retirees here living off SS.
In the end, we are selling our house and getting the hell out of here. Back to So Cal we go. My wife and I can not take one more year where we can't go outside because of humidity, heat, 55"'s of rain, mosquitoes.........
It's funny, I meet people from So Cal who have been transferred here....The first month they LOVE it. 6 months later they are like.....Yea it's ok but is it always this hot and humid? lol its always the same questions. 12 months out they are like......omg get me the fook out of here!!! And they are gone......I've seen it half a dozen times at least.
Remember, just because a place is affordable does not make it livable. People who grew up here don't seem to mind it, but I guess that makes us snooty Californians because we feel bad that our kids beg to come in out of the humidity and when they do play outside they are covered in Mosquito bites....west nile virus carrying mosquitos. I will never forget the 2 years we had my 6 year old in soccer. The first season had 40% of the games rained out.....the second season made it 3 games and they cancelled the ENTIRE SEASON BECAUSE OF RAIN. Yea, call me the crazy Californian because that bothered us.....
Katera, your post is absurd. I'm sorry, just calling it out. Almost everything you said in that post is true to a minor extent but it's at the extreme. It would be like me describing southern Cal as having constant earthquakes around the clock, Rodney King Riots every year, forest forest fires that burn down your home on a monthly basis and kids afraid to go outside because they will be shot if they do. Certainly all those things I just listed happen in CA, but they are not the norm and neither are the things you described about Houston.
Regarding the rain, perhaps you missed the "drought" the last 2 years where most of East TX had to ration water!!!!!! Because there was ZERO rain! In the Woodlands residents could only water their lawns on certain days of the week with heavy fines if you violated it. Trees were dying, flowers were dying. Dude, did you not notice the brown grass?!?!?!!?!?
As for the heat, this past summer was almost downright cold!!!!!!! Sure, this past summer was an anomaly, but weather works like that. You get rainy years, cold years, hot years, dry years.
Now on to property taxes. In Chicago we pay more then twice what people pay in TX in dollar terms and the same in % terms. In CA, you may pay less in % terms because of prop 13, but in dollars terms you pay MUCH more in property taxes because that sh*ty 1200 sq ft ranch house in the valley that was built in 1952 is 800K!!!!!! And on top of that you pay over 10% in state income taxes and over $1 a gallon more for gas. And I've got news for you pacho, your taxes are going up in CA. Both your state and your property taxes. Your state is broke. Not sure if you realized that or not and business are leaving and high income people are leaving. Why do you think most celebrities own homes in FL even though they don't live there. They claim FL as their residence to get away from the CA taxes.
Yes, Hurricanes are real. And TX gets hit usually once every 10 years. Ten years!!!!!! You know what is also real? Earthquakes!!!!! Fires!!!!! Mudslides!!!!! The good thing about hurricanes is you get ample warning to get the hell out of dodge. Earthquakes don't extend the same courtesy.
You sound like a drama queen. You also sound a little bit like a troll. I suspect you are from the CA board and just trying to start trouble. Because honestly, almost everyone I have talked to in Houston from CA would never move back to CA. And "almost" all of them rate Houston higher. Most still give CA the edge in weather but in every other category they rate Houston higher.
Have you ever lived in Houston but grew up in So Cal? Right.....I have.
I have lived here since 1997. In that time we have evacuated multiple time from hurricanes including taking a direct hit from Ike as I mentioned, Tornadoes have hit within a mile of our house on three occasions. And the lightning strikes are very dangerous.
The mosquitoes are horrific, go to Kingwood underground and search "mosquitoes".
We run our ac 24/7 from the end of feb through the end of Nov.
You friend have NO idea what you speak of. You pick one year of drought out of the 15 I have been here as your example? Lol how simple minded! Don't take my word for it ....look at the average rainfall here. Look at the % tornado and hurricane risk.
Earthquakes lol. I'm not even going to dignify that stupid comment.
Remember the title of this thread.....I and my wife are Californians who have moved and lived here. I know of what I speak...unlike you pacho.
Have you ever lived in Houston but grew up in So Cal? Right.....I have.
I have lived here since 1997. In that time we have evacuated multiple time from hurricanes including taking a direct hit from Ike as I mentioned, Tornadoes have hit within a mile of our house on three occasions. And the lightning strikes are very dangerous.
The mosquitoes are horrific, go to Kingwood underground and search "mosquitoes".
We run our ac 24/7 from the end of feb through the end of Nov.
You friend have NO idea what you speak of. You pick one year of drought out of the 15 I have been here as your example? Lol how simple minded! Don't take my word for it ....look at the average rainfall here. Look at the % tornado and hurricane risk.
Earthquakes lol. I'm not even going to dignify that stupid comment.
Remember the title of this thread.....I and my wife are Californians who have moved and lived here. I know of what I speak...unlike you pacho.
I have spent the last 5 summers, yes summers, in Houston with family that lives down there. Let me repeat that, summers, not winters. You are a drama queen. You run the AC when it's 75 degrees out? Not much of an environmentalist are you pacho?
Wow, lightning huh? Scary stuff. Yeah, gotta watch out for that lightening. LOL. Seriously, are you being serious? This thread is a joke right? And the rain? TX has been begging for rain the last 3 years. And yes the "total" rainfalls are high but it's very clustered. You get very heavy down pours in small amounts of time. I wish it rained as much as you said. Have you ever lived in FL? It rains almost every day almost at the same time. People who live in the south like rain. It actually reduces the heat!!!!
Oh yes, the dream of owning a piece of sh*t ranch house in CA for 850k while stuck in traffic 4 hours a day. Where can I sign up for that? Oh yeah, and how about those state wide blackouts? You know, when the entire state loses power for 2 weeks? Fun stuff. I guess that gives your kids a chance to play outside with the drug dealers and hookers that probably populate your neighborhood. Of course all the food goes bad in your house and you have to live under emergency conditions, but it could be fun under the right circumstances. Please, take your wife and your kids and get the hell out of Houston ASAP. Anyone who complains about 80 degree temps ion Oct should be personally escorted out of the state with tax payer money and should be forbidden from ever returning.
Yes this thread has become a joke. #31 is certainly the drama queen. Funny how people from the NE or the Midwest seem to acclimate and even enjoy Houston's weather, but people from a certain state out West just develop a need for loads of pamprin. I cannot believe your kids can't play outside, ever, due to the weather. Really. In mid July I see kids wandering all over our neighborhood in the afternoon. I think that has more to do with the parents than the kids.
To the kind person that started the thread "Why are people in Houston obsessed with California?" this thread is your answer.
Last edited by DanielWayne; 10-21-2012 at 12:16 PM..
I've given the facts, people can judge me right or wrong it's up to them. The last thing I will say to Californians planning to move to Houston is this: Rent a house and live here from march through sept and then decide if you want to buy here.
Oh and bring an umbrella....and a lot of mosquito spray
I've given the facts, people can judge me right or wrong it's up to them. The last thing I will say to Californians planning to move to Houston is this: Rent a house and live here from march through sept and then decide if you want to buy here.
Oh and bring an umbrella....and a lot of mosquito spray
Your posts were long on hyperbole and short on facts. You'll fit in perfectly in CA.
Here's the perspective from a 26 year old who grew up in The Woodlands, moved to California (Marine Corps) and then moved back.
1) It's hot. No joke it is hot. But having been to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait...It's really not that hot. Especially when the high 90s and 100s only lasts for 3 months. The rest of the year is 90 during the day and 70 at night into a short cold winter (winter is cold even if it only gets into the 30s or 40s and that comes from Norwegians due to the wet cold). The Woodlands has a lot of fun activities like golf, frisbee golf (yes, 6 courses or so), top tier athletic programs with offerings for every sport imaginable (High School is nationally renowned academically and for sports and select teams are all high quality). I used to play Select soccer and wrestled. I spent my whole childhood outdoors and didn't mind the heat one bit. It takes acclimation. If you are constantly inside it will get overbearing but spend time outside and you get used to it. Not a lot of hiking though, I miss that.
2) Mosquitos CAN be bad but it's off and on, dependent on rain. Avoid areas with standing water and not well maintained or sprayed (*ahem Kingwood). After a while they lose their taste for you. Don't ask me how but it happens, I rarely get bit by mosquitos anymore. I've had 4 bites this year and they were all in Matagorda county working around livestock and I spend roughly 12 hrs a day outside.
3) Rain. It rains a bit but it's not 1 inch a week. We just had a drought last year so that's pretty misleading. I've seen it rain 3 inches in an hour. In one hour that's 3 "weeks" of rain. In 3 hours that's 2 "months" of rain. it is tough to figure out how to keep your windshield from fogging though. It's a balancing act.
4) A/C will be running 24/7 most of the year, heater the rest. My electricity bill was still 1/2 of what it was in San Diego County and Orange County.
5) Hurricanes. I lived here 21 years before going to Cali. I was never once hit by a hurricane. All you have to do is board up your windows if you live Kingwood/The Woodlands inland and I've only done that twice. It's not going to be that bad. Tropical storms did hit semi yearly. It happens but it's not too bad. I actually missed the rain when I was in California. The first thunderstorm after I came home made me feel ecstatic. It's warm rain, it's fun. Clean up sucks though but it's just limbs in your yards, not a cracked foundation from an earthquake.
6) Property taxes are high (averaging 3%) but if you file for a homestead exemption you can get 20% of your homes value written off so you only pay property taxes on the other 80%. At 200k you should pay 2.3% in taxes or $4,600 a year with that exemption. But you have to file for it, it's not automatic. When you are a senior you get another exemption so it's even lower. Then you also don't have to decide between sale tax and income tax on your federal tax return. You also still end up with a FAR larger house. They're also usually built on slab foundation with higher quality materials than the garbage construction I saw in California. Plus it's never going to slide around.
7) We have Trader Joes and health food stores. Sorry about it.
Summary: I was about to join LAPD and make 70k+ a year starting. Then I looked into buying a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath house built on a hill prone to landslides with dated appliances and horribly weak construction materials for 300+k. Everything is more expensive, utilities and all added up to way more than the cost of living here.
I came back and within a month got an entry level position in the oilfield and make over 100k a year. I should be making 160k in 2 years. I can buy a trendy townhouse downtown or a 4 bedroom 2 story house in the 'burbs. I work outside and the heat hasn't bothered me one bit. The heat never was a far cry from California and the humidity retains it in the evening so I don't have to grab a sweater every night. I can ride my motorcycle without hitting cold spots and freezing for 5 miles. It's not overcrowded, I can get out into the country within minutes and take a breather. I also drive a diesel truck averaging 16 mpg and pay less for diesel than Californians pay for gas.
People in Cali love that counties and cities just run into each other with no spacing. I love that I can drive for an hour in the hill country and just see ranches, nature and livestock with no excessive housing developments. I wanted to puke in SoCal when I saw what must have been beautiful hills literally covered in houses. I couldn't look anywhere without multiple houses marring the view.
I've flown to Cali multiple times (I have plenty of money to buy last minute tickets to Lake Tahoe, Reno, Las Vegas (thrown away a lot of $$$), San Diego, Europe...) and when I'm there hitting traffic 90 miles from the coast I just feel sickened. It's so senseless. I go to houses there and just wonder WTF the appeal is, they are small cramped and bunched together. The roads are all rough and cracking. The market is horrendous. The nature isn't that nice, the mountains aren't that great (I fly to Colorado for mountains), the houses are small, the people are fine I like the people but I don't like it there. I have a snowboard and parachute and will just up and fly to Colorado, New Mexico or Utah in winter and board or I can go skydiving at the many skydiving establishments here or Norway. I live life to the fullest because I can afford to and I can afford to because I live in Texas, not California.
Nice post bog and thanks for serving our country. Just curious what job you have in the oil industry. Everything you said was spot on. If someone were literally made of money, I guess you could enjoy CA quite well. My argument has always been if you are not made of money, then that wonderful lifestyle you see on TV is just a fantasy. TX is really one of the only places I have ever seen where the middle class can actually live the American Dream. It's good to see a veteran landing a well paid job. I know a lot of veterans are not so lucky. Thanks for the post.
Nice post bog and thanks for serving our country. Just curious what job you have in the oil industry. Everything you said was spot on. If someone were literally made of money, I guess you could enjoy CA quite well. My argument has always been if you are not made of money, then that wonderful lifestyle you see on TV is just a fantasy. TX is really one of the only places I have ever seen where the middle class can actually live the American Dream. It's good to see a veteran landing a well paid job. I know a lot of veterans are not so lucky. Thanks for the post.
So what you're saying is... if we can't afford CA than we should settle for TX?
The one major negative that people have leveled against CA on this thread is that the cost of living. There might be a few more negatives might be justified but the bottom line is California is a highly desirable place and due to its physical geography has limited space for every household to have a ginormous house. Hence the prices go up...
Now Texas(Houston) has its problems, from the mosquitoes, to the weather, to the crappy beach, to the greedy developers etc.
But the only argument you and others like you have made when comparing to California is that Texas is cheap...
Then we can all solve this bickering quite easily with one sentence....
You get what you pay for.
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Funny how people from the NE or the Midwest seem to acclimate and even enjoy Houston's weather, but people from a certain state out West just develop a need for loads of pamprin. I cannot believe your kids can't play outside, ever, due to the weather. Really. In mid July I see kids wandering all over our neighborhood in the afternoon. I think that has more to do with the parents than the kids. 
