The REAL Cost of living in Houston? (Conroe, River Oaks: sales, insurance)

[BeanTwnJ]

Hi everyone,

How are you all? I am a 52 year old husband and father who works in the contrsuction field and my wife cleans homes for a living. We have a 6 year old daughter. We live about 60 miles from Washington DC in Charlestown, WVA.Financially things have been tough. We have really been considering relocating to Houston as we have family down there who say we would really benefit from the cost of living.

We understand that homes are cheap and there is no income tax but lately we have heard from a few people that other taxes are double what we pay now? is this true and if so, which ones?

also, what are the chances that at age 52 and in the contruction field and my wife who is 47 in the house cleaning business really do well for ourselves. Please advise.

I know you all love and are proud of your city. We love it too and thats why we are looking into moving there but dont want our situation to get worse. With the housing, job markets, etc hurting right now we just want to make the best decision for our family.

Thank you for your time and honesty

[tstone]

Compare:

Texas sales tax = 6.25%. In the city limits it's usually another 2% on top of that. No tax on OTC & prescription drugs nor food.

Property tax will be roughly 3% (give or take 0.3%) of the appraised value less homestead exemption. For example I live in a suburb that's within the Houston city limits (30-45 minute commute). 2200 sq ft = roughly $200k. Homestead exemption is usually 20%, which means you're taxed on $160k. At 3%, that's $4,800/yr.

Homeowner insurance would be $750-3,000/yr on that house depending on how close to the water you are and how good your credit is.

Flood insurance would be $300-1,300/yr depending on if you're in a flood plain or not.

(The same house in suburb-towns will be a little cheaper and exurbs far from everything, cheaper still.)

Electric bills can run sky high for 4 months depending on your habits, but are usually in control for the other 8. My bills this year peaked at $225 for the summer months. They will drop to $50 in the winter. You'll want a gas heater because it is cheaper than electric and gas will drive you out of your house quickly. $75 peak bills for Jaunary here.

Oh yeah and I filled my gas tank for $3.29/gal this morning.

See how that compares.

[Va-Cat]

Originally Posted by BeanTwnJ

Hi everyone,

How are you all? I am a 52 year old husband and father who works in the contrsuction field and my wife cleans homes for a living. We have a 6 year old daughter. We live about 60 miles from Washington DC in Charlestown, WVA.Financially things have been tough. We have really been considering relocating to Houston as we have family down there who say we would really benefit from the cost of living.

We understand that homes are cheap and there is no income tax but lately we have heard from a few people that other taxes are double what we pay now? is this true and if so, which ones?

also, what are the chances that at age 52 and in the contruction field and my wife who is 47 in the house cleaning business really do well for ourselves. Please advise.

I know you all love and are proud of your city. We love it too and thats why we are looking into moving there but dont want our situation to get worse. With the housing, job markets, etc hurting right now we just want to make the best decision for our family.

Thank you for your time and honesty

From a former resident of Culpeper Va, hello! Most of what you have heard is true. There is no state income tax but the property taxes are at least double what you are paying now. As for earning a living, are you in a skilled trade for contruction, or management or unskilled? There is still work to be had for skilled construction and management positions but you would find a serious amount of competition if you are looking more in the unskilled trades. I think your wife would also find a lot of competition so you may want to proceed cautiously and make sure you either move when you already have a position or have at least have 6 to 8 months of living expense savings as backup before making the move. Good luck!

[BeanTwnJ]

I am an electrician but do not have any management experience. I have my journeysman. At my current job I make $15.00 per hour

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by BeanTwnJ

I am an electrician but do not have any management experience. I have my journeysman. At my current job I make $15.00 per hour

I just checked Craigslist and there are dozens and dozens of help wanted for Electricians. Some paying $20/hr and more. Monster.com has more then 20 currently.

Houston and some other Texas cities are the best bet for a construction professionals these days with much of the country in a deep recession. There are a few other bright spots in America but this thread is about Houston. Construction is doing very well in Houston right now.

Good luck to you. Dont worry about the higher property taxes. They ain't that bad. You more then make up the difference in the lower cost housing.

[MissDaisy]

Originally Posted by tstone

Compare:

Texas sales tax = 6.25%. In the city limits it's usually another 2% on top of that. No tax on OTC & prescription drugs nor food.

Property tax will be roughly 3% (give or take 0.3%) of the appraised value less homestead exemption. For example I live in a suburb that's within the Houston city limits (30-45 minute commute). 2200 sq ft = roughly $200k. Homestead exemption is usually 20%, which means you're taxed on $160k. At 3%, that's $4,800/yr.

Homeowner insurance would be $750-3,000/yr on that house depending on how close to the water you are and how good your credit is.

Flood insurance would be $300-1,300/yr depending on if you're in a flood plain or not.

(The same house in suburb-towns will be a little cheaper and exurbs far from everything, cheaper still.)

Electric bills can run sky high for 4 months depending on your habits, but are usually in control for the other 8. My bills this year peaked at $225 for the summer months. They will drop to $50 in the winter. You'll want a gas heater because it is cheaper than electric and gas will drive you out of your house quickly. $75 peak bills for Jaunary here.

Oh yeah and I filled my gas tank for $3.29/gal this morning.

See how that compares.

Hi Tstone-
So doing straight across math, our house in Conroe being 3500 sq ft, We should expect a high of about $350 and a low of about $80 for electric (I took your $$ and divided it by your sq ft, multiplied by our sq ft)
Is you home one or two story? Do you have a pool??

[tstone]

Originally Posted by MissDaisy

Hi Tstone-
So doing straight across math, our house in Conroe being 3500 sq ft, We should expect a high of about $350 and a low of about $80 for electric (I took your $$ and divided it by your sq ft, multiplied by our sq ft)
Is you home one or two story? Do you have a pool??

That might be right; I don't know. Depends on your equipment and habits. Mine is 1 story with no pool. I have upgraded some of the lighting and put in a high efficiency AC system controlled by a programmable thermostat. It runs 75 at night, 78 in the day and 82 when we're gone. The house is 13 yrs old or so, and I haven't done anything with the insulation or windows yet.

[bamba_boy]

I think you will have no problem finding work as an electrician. However, I'd suggest looking for industrial or commercial work in the refinery upgrades, revamping of old skyscrapers downtown, etc. Garden variety household wiring guys are a dime a dozen with lots of aliens doing unlicensed work holding down wages. Another thing, if you can stand working offshore on rigs, platforms, and seismic boats where electrical systems are constantly being fixed and rejiggered in configuration often have an electrician/general handyman onboard. Again, pay is tremendous, esp if you let them train you for instrumentation work, and you often have copius time off after working 7day weeks offshore. Kind of tough on family life though.

I think the MRS will have a hard time competing with the south-of-the-borderers. She shouldn't dismiss the idea of finding a job, just perhaps lower wage than she's used to. However, I think some well-healed River Oaks and Memorial types might pay a premium for someone who does a superb job and can understand English instructions.

As far as cost of living, I think for a big city it's excellent if you remember not to bite off more house than you can maintain. You can buy a big house very cheaply but taxes and summer electric have sunk two friends of mine over the years and they lost or sold prematurely the houses they couldn't afford and had to downsize. If you're used to heat you might keep thermostat at 80 or 82 and get by on $300 a month in August in a well-insulated 2000 sq ft house but if you insist on 72 and have a drafty, poorly-insulated house you might see $6-700/m! Also, with no income, food, or medicine tax something has to pay for state services and that's a property tax well above the rate in most other states. Get the minimum house you need, at least until you get a feel for how much income you and your wife can generate.

[MissDaisy]

Originally Posted by tstone

That might be right; I don't know. Depends on your equipment and habits. Mine is 1 story with no pool. I have upgraded some of the lighting and put in a high efficiency AC system controlled by a programmable thermostat. It runs 75 at night, 78 in the day and 82 when we're gone. The house is 13 yrs old or so, and I haven't done anything with the insulation or windows yet.

Okay, so ours is a new Energy Star home, terrific insulation, two programmable a/c units (zoned) dual paned windows, radiant barrier roof,etc.

So I would imagine the electric wouldn't be higher than my calculations? And lower would of course be nice..

Do any other folks out there have a similar setup as ours? And with a pool?

Except for guests, it is just hubby, me, and our 3 fuzzy kids (but we would want to keep them cool/warm in the day while we work)

I have read from some posters that they don't heat the pool...Houston's heat does the trick?

Tstone, if you were to take the highs and lows on your billing, what would you say was the mean average?? Thanks!