Southeast Texas-Vs. South Florida? (Houston, Corpus Christi: for sale, how much, houses)

[cvap]

As you all may know from my previous thread,I'm interested in relocating to the Laguna /Bayview area. Does anyone think this area can turn out resembling south florida?It's the only other place in the US with garanteed warm warm weather all year round.I've never been there so i don't know if there are a lot of dumpy areas that will turn off people who want to build high end homes and shopping areas.
Also, does Texas have an income tax or excise tax on vehicles or a sales tax? The property tax on the homes for sale in this area seem rather high,things like this can hold back development but maybe thats what the people want.

[Jammie]

Texas does not have an income tax. Sorry, that's all I can answer for you.

[tstone]

Neither does Florida.

Individual Income Tax Rates-2007 (http://www.taxadmin.org/FTA/rate/ind_inc.html - broken link)

Their property taxes are up there just like Texas.

[mitchdd]

Originally Posted by cvap

As you all may know from my previous thread,I'm interested in relocating to the Laguna /Bayview area. Does anyone think this area can turn out resembling south florida?It's the only other place in the US with garanteed warm warm weather all year round.I've never been there so i don't know if there are a lot of dumpy areas that will turn off people who want to build high end homes and shopping areas.
Also, does Texas have an income tax or excise tax on vehicles or a sales tax? The property tax on the homes for sale in this area seem rather high,things like this can hold back development but maybe thats what the people want.

No, the RGV will never resemble South Florida, because you'll never see hundreds of thousands of people from up north with big money looking to move to an area that is 90% hispanic. Most people from outside the RGV consider it to be a huge culture shock when they come here, and aren't interested in becoming a minority. This is especially the case for the very rich. This is great for those of us who do choose to move here, like myself, because we don't want over-population, and we don't want the cost of housing to rise to rediculous levels as a result of rich people who come with tons of money, and bid up prices all around. That's what happened to South Florida, where I have lived.

Considering how cheap housing here is versus South Florida, I wouldn't even bother spending much time thinking about property tax rate differences.

[luvsafeadventures]

We are looking at possible moving to the Southern or South Eastern part of Texas in a few years. We are down to earth middle class people from small town Iowa. I want to move somewhere warmer but be in an area with a lot of opportunities for job growth and good medical care. That being said, we are not afraid of diversity but it would take some getting used to. I have been relearning and brushing up on my Spanish as I have not used it much. My question is, what can anyone tell me about drastic culture change in how to prepare for it and what to expect? I do not want to live in an all white upper class, well to do community, but I want to to be accepted in a diverse community since we are white, english speaking people. I am more worried about being accepted as a minority than accepting of minorities. Thanks for your input.

[case44]

Personally, I wouldn't mind visiting South Florida and seeing the white sands. But for settling down, I'd rather be in Southeast Texas.

[NOTAM]

yep you should be worried, because most likely you will not be accepted. you may, to a superficial extent, depending on the circumstances.
for instance, my coworkers were friendly to me at work (we were all health care professionals), but i noticed how i never was invited to socialize with them OUTSIDE of work.
i did not feel comfortable there at all. it was very difficult being a minority. i felt like i was in a foreign country, not my home state of Texas. i cant imagine the culture shock someone from small town Iowa would experience.
i think the only minorities there who seem to thrive are the elderly snowbirds, but that is because they all flock together in the RV communities, and have comraderie-i notice that they always had activities together-going shopping together in Mexico etc.
if you are caucasian, i would strongly encourage you to visit and spend a good amount of time in the area you wish to relocate to. a good gauge of community would be to spend a few hours walking around in Walmart. had i just done that ONE simple thing, i would have never sold my soul for all those big bucks down there.
personally, i recommend Central Texas for you...it's still a mild climate, esp compared to where you are coming from.

Originally Posted by luvsafeadventures

We are looking at possible moving to the Southern or South Eastern part of Texas in a few years. We are down to earth middle class people from small town Iowa. I want to move somewhere warmer but be in an area with a lot of opportunities for job growth and good medical care. That being said, we are not afraid of diversity but it would take some getting used to. I have been relearning and brushing up on my Spanish as I have not used it much. My question is, what can anyone tell me about drastic culture change in how to prepare for it and what to expect? I do not want to live in an all white upper class, well to do community, but I want to to be accepted in a diverse community since we are white, english speaking people. I am more worried about being accepted as a minority than accepting of minorities. Thanks for your input.

[robertpolyglot]

Timely thread. I might have an interview in South Florida next month but have yet to line one up in Southeast Texas. So far, we are talking about dollars and cents. What about the people vibe, though?

I wound up looking at some Montgomery County properties on the MLS courtesy of HAR. (I love looking at MLS sites for pricing). I was surprised to find houses with property tax assessments in the 2.5 % range. On a $ 200,000 home, considering you don't pay income tax, that's pretty darn good.

[tstone]

You have to remember bellstar was in the Rio Grande Valley, the furthest south/border area in the state. Also home to some of the worst poverty in the entire USA, barely ahead of parts of South Dakota, and has been that way for decades. You can't go there and expect San Diego!!! And by copying/pasting the same spiel about the valley over and over again - she obviously feels more comfortable being in the white Baptist (northern) part of the state, as it is her right. But she does not speak for most of S or SE Texas. If you can't find people to get along with & hang out down here (Houston/coastal area), you are socially retarded.

[NOTAM]

nope i wasnt even THAT far south-i was in the Corpus Christi area...i could only imagine how much worse it would have been in the RGV which i visited several times while living down there.
yes i definitely feel more comfortable being in the white Baptist area of the state, even though i am not Baptist. i go to Cowboy Church (which is non-denominational, very down to earth laid back services)
i admit i cannot speak for the Southeastern part of Texas, i have not spent a significant amount of time in the Houston/Beaumont/Galveston areas...
p.s. didnt copy and paste my "spiel"...just speaking from the heart

Originally Posted by tstone

You have to remember bellstar was in the Rio Grande Valley, the furthest south/border area in the state. Also home to some of the worst poverty in the entire USA, barely ahead of parts of South Dakota, and has been that way for decades. You can't go there and expect San Diego!!! And by copying/pasting the same spiel about the valley over and over again - she obviously feels more comfortable being in the white Baptist (northern) part of the state, as it is her right. But she does not speak for most of S or SE Texas. If you can't find people to get along with & hang out down here (Houston/coastal area), you are socially retarded.