Houston Traffic and other Relocation Advice (Galveston, Allen: house, neighborhood, school districts)

[jagged34]

Hi all! My fiance and I have been talking about moving out of Chicago. My fiance especially would like to move. The winters, the traffic/congestion and the cost of living are the main reasons for the move. I'm from St. Louis and can say that it's never felt like home to me due to the reasons above. Anyway, that being said, we thought we'd look into Houston since it's close to the ocean, weather is warm, and it seems a lot of possibilities for jobs (he's a computer programmer and I'm an environmental engineer). But, from what I've been reading it seems the traffic may be pretty bad there as well. Also, what areas of the Houston should we look into when we go there for a visit? Any other advice is much appreciated...

[KWPN]

Originally Posted by jagged34

Hi all! My fiance and I have been talking about moving out of Chicago. My fiance especially would like to move. The winters, the traffic/congestion and the cost of living are the main reasons for the move. I'm from St. Louis and can say that it's never felt like home to me due to the reasons above. Anyway, that being said, we thought we'd look into Houston since it's close to the ocean, weather is warm, and it seems a lot of possibilities for jobs (he's a computer programmer and I'm an environmental engineer). But, from what I've been reading it seems the traffic may be pretty bad there as well. Also, what areas of the Houston should we look into when we go there for a visit? Any other advice is much appreciated...

Galveston is nasty, just FYI... if you want pretty water go east towards Florida, or down to South Padre.

The weather is HUMID, in addition to being hot. On the hottest day of the year, it feels like being in a sauna. Most people don't venture outside for any period of time between 11am-4:30pm. And there are bugs... lots of them!

I live in the NW Area... its pretty up here, tends to be cooler than down south, downtown is accessible by 290/45/249viaBltwy8.

I would say look anywhere between I-45 to 290, Beltway 8 to Cypress, and Conroe to FM 529. That's a pretty broad range.

While Houston has its negatives, it also has many great positives.
There is ALWAYS something to do here. Many of the best concerts and museum displays come here. There's ever nationality of food you can think of. Winters are mild... Typically from October-May is nice, February is probably the coldest/wettest/miserable cold month. June-September, you'll feel as if everyone in the South left their heaters on blast, and the ovens on flaming!

Good luck!

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by jagged34

Hi all! My fiance and I have been talking about moving out of Chicago. My fiance especially would like to move. The winters, the traffic/congestion and the cost of living are the main reasons for the move. I'm from St. Louis and can say that it's never felt like home to me due to the reasons above. Anyway, that being said, we thought we'd look into Houston since it's close to the ocean, weather is warm, and it seems a lot of possibilities for jobs (he's a computer programmer and I'm an environmental engineer). But, from what I've been reading it seems the traffic may be pretty bad there as well. Also, what areas of the Houston should we look into when we go there for a visit? Any other advice is much appreciated...

Traffic can be a challenge here, but it is in every major city. The winters here are generally fantastic, but the trade-off is hot and humid summer weather. So you are going to be about the reverse of what you have in Chicago. And yes, we are close to the ocean, but it isn't the white sand beach, blue water part of the Gulf (that is east of the Mississippi).

As for areas to look at, that's a loaded question. What types of activities are you into? Do you want to focus on the city or the suburbs? We don't have a ton of attractions (touristy stuff), but we have a lot of land and it takes time to see it.

[Wysiwyg]

I dont get this senseless whining about traffic in Houston. It looks fine to me. This place just need to ban cellphone use while driving

[jagged34]

I like outdoor-type of stuff such as hiking and running, so I'd like to be somewhat close to things where I could do that kind of stuff. My fiance is into cars and actually has 2 nice cars that he rarely drives and 1 old truck (that I'd wish he's get rid of but that's a different topic) and then his daily commuter and my car. So ideally a place where he could build a 3+ car garage and maybe have the house be a 2 car attached or something like that. Thinking about 0.5 acre at least. I'd like to be close to civilization, so not out in BFE. I've gotten used to living in Chicago where everything is at my fingertips. At the same time, I'm from St. Louis area, so I could easily get used to driving everywhere again as long as the traffic isn't as bad and unpredicatable as it is here in Chicago.

[tstone]

Hmm, my little experience visiting Chicago tells me the traffic there isn't much worse than it is here. Drivers in Chicago tend to move a good deal faster when they can, though. Toll roads? Yeah we have plenty of those too.

[cjester]

Originally Posted by KWPN

Galveston is nasty, just FYI... if you want pretty water go east towards Florida, or down to South Padre.

Good luck!

I have a relative who has a beach house down in Galveston. We go visit there once in a while. The beach is wide open. I do some jogging there and the water is refreshing. To me it's real a joy. By the way the water is not nasty, but it does contain silt that makes it look lite-brown. But if one ventures outwards, one will find the water to be clear.

[Josci]

I personally like Houston weather except for summer....yes summer is awful....but Fall, Spring, and Winter are all nice. February can get cold but no where near as cold or nasty as Chicago. I lived in Denver...that is REAL winter...Houston winter is barely winter.

The inner loop has some nice parks. Allen Parkway/Buffalo Bayou is a great place to bike and jog as is Memorial Park.

Everyone BIG city has traffic...there is NO avoiding it.

What are you looking for in a neighborhood? In the city or suburb?

[Josci]

Originally Posted by jagged34

I like outdoor-type of stuff such as hiking and running, so I'd like to be somewhat close to things where I could do that kind of stuff. My fiance is into cars and actually has 2 nice cars that he rarely drives and 1 old truck (that I'd wish he's get rid of but that's a different topic) and then his daily commuter and my car. So ideally a place where he could build a 3+ car garage and maybe have the house be a 2 car attached or something like that. Thinking about 0.5 acre at least. I'd like to be close to civilization, so not out in BFE. I've gotten used to living in Chicago where everything is at my fingertips. At the same time, I'm from St. Louis area, so I could easily get used to driving everywhere again as long as the traffic isn't as bad and unpredicatable as it is here in Chicago.

Do you have any kids or plan to? School districts are often a main concern for couples planning to have kids.

You might like the Heights...

[KWPN]

Originally Posted by cjester

I have a relative who has a beach house down in Galveston. We go visit there once in a while. The beach is wide open. I do some jogging there and the water is refreshing. To me it's real a joy. By the way the water is not nasty, but it does contain silt that makes it look lite-brown. But if one ventures outwards, one will find the water to be clear.

I'm used to beaches from the Mississippi River-East, go back and read what I said in that regard of beaches east. I've been to Galveston many times, and every time it seems the beaches are littered with trash, the smell in the air isn't pleasant, etc.

I have been deep sea fishing, about 70miles off Freeport, out there it was beautiful.