Is moving from New York City to Houston Texas a good idea?

I made the same move from the Upper East Side a few years ago & I've been pretty happy with it. I bought a 4 bedroom home with a guest house, pool & large back yard in one of the nicest parts of town for less than I sold my 2 bedroom NYC apt. for!

The pros: very inexpensive cost of living, great restaurants, direct flights to most anywhere in the world, friendly people (so much so I was scared at first!), great shopping, mostly nice Winters, lots of job opportunities, & great cultural events (but do not try to compare them to NYC's). We do get the traveling Broadway shows & I was pleasantly surprised at their quality.

The cons: the serious heat & humidity in the Summer, traffic & time spent driving (similar to LA but better freeways), not many walkable places (again, more like LA), & a lot of Bible Belt mentality.

It sounds like you might like Midtown, Montrose or the Museum District.

The restaurants typically give you masses of good food for very little money.

The beaches in Galveston (the closest beach) are okay. The best are on S. Padre Island, about a 6 hour drive but beautiful, clear water.

At least your car moves here in rush hour & not much gridlock. There are lots of back streets to avoid the bad traffic.

I've never had rust on my cars.

Lots of jobs here. We were not hit as hard as the rest of the country.

If you live "inside the Loop" (meaning Loop 610 which belts the inner city) your drive times will not be bad. The neighborhoods I mentioned are all inside the Loop. The best site for home shopping is the Houston Realtor's Assoc. site.... http://www.har.com/ Midtown & Downtown's ZIP is 77002 Montrose is 77006. Just enter those on the site & it will pull up housing options.

Why not come for a visit first?

Good luck!!

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Yes. The money you would save on cost of living would be immense.

There are plenty of places that can put 30 min or less out of downtown. ReaMontrosends on how much you would like to spend. Galleria, Uptown, Richmond, Westheimer...i could go on. Like i said depends on what you want to spend and how urban you want. Also you want to know where you will be working. That can be a large factor.

I have never been to the Big Apple, but im sure New York has worse traffic than Houston. It is a larger city. Traffic can be bad though. Whoever told you the rust thing does not know what they are talking about. Cars rust up north because of the salt. I have never heard of cars rusting down here because of the humidity. Just silly.

There are plenty of great jobs here. If you can not find a job, you are not looking hard enough. Jobs in energy and the medical field are plentiful. Have a degree, will travel.

Off the top of my head I cant answer the question about the houses in the galleria. I do know that they will be way cheaper than New York. Best would be to check craigslist or HAR.com

I love Houston. There are jobs every where in so many different fields. We have a great night life in so many different parts of town. From country bars to latino clubs.

Hope this helps :)

YES! Definitely do it!!! Houston is one of the best places on Earth. I'm still angry that my parents moved us from Houston to Maryland. The restaurants there are good. Like what you would find in any other city. Get alot of mexican places though.The beaches are fantastic! Galveston has beautiful beaches(just have to look in the right places; some are amazing, some not so great)! Traffic is nowhere near as crazy as New York Traffic! The Highways are incredibly made! Its virtually impossible to get lost! Driving from city to city does take a while because Texas is so big (4 hour drive from Houston to Dallas) but for everyday task its completely normal distances. I'm not sure about the car not lasting thing if it is true the car probably only loses about a year of driving. Finding a job all depends on your career but I'm sure that plenty of good jobs well paying jobs are available. And another plus is that everything in Texas is really cheap! Everything from groceries to housing is amazingly cheap. Especially since you lived in New York where everything is crazy expensive, you'll be pleasantly surprised! Moving to Houston is definitely worth it :D !

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RE:

Is moving from New York City to Houston Texas a good idea?

What would be a nice place to move to? I want to buy a house in a quiet area but not country (I was born and raised in the city). I am young and I like to party occasionally but not to much. How are the restaurants? How are the beaches? I want to be close to the city, no more than 30min drive. Is...

Houston is a great place to live...I moved here in 96' from Wisconsin as a teen. The suburbs are nice as is city living. Check into Pearland, Sugarland, The Woodlands, and Katy. Housing is incredibly priced in TX. Everything is brick. It's hot as h#!! in the summer but after suffereing through the first summer, you will get used to it. And when your friends back home are crying in January about -20 degree weather...you can tell them about your 60 degree sunny day! The beaches are o.k. Jobs are everywhere. Houston is one of the least affected cities by the recession. If you like sports, the Texans are a team on the rise and since they're not even 10 years old its easy to become a fan, even if you already have a team (Diehard Cheesehead here!.) The Astros & Rockets also have great venues! Plus with all the transplants from northern cities living here, you can probably find a bar where fans of your favorite team gather. Houston is one of the best restaurant cities in the country too. We have everything. And the Tex-Mex is AWESOME!!! We have great concert venues, bars, etc. The freeway system is easy. Traffic can get messy but don't compare to NYC. Lets put it this way...many many athletes call Houston their home. Or atleast own a home here. If these millionaires choose to live here, it must be a nice city. Heck, Shaq owns a house a few blocks from me in Pearland. Cars last longer here than they lasted in wisconsin. You get very little rust on your cars here. I can't remember the last time I even seen a rusty car. and last tip, I fought this from the day I stepped foot in Texas...I swore I would NEVER use the word "y'all" or ever listen to country music or drive a truck. But 14 years later, I admittedly use the word "y'all", I don't listen to country music but ain't nothin' like hangin' out at a country bar kickin' back longnecks, and I did at once have a truck (and dammit I miss it!) Good luck with whatever you decide!

Houston traffic is not nearly as congested as NYC. Most people keep their cars for a few years. I've lived here over 30 years and have never had a car rust. But I also don't drive my car into high water because I'm not into getting swept away with the currents. Homes are less expensive, so that's a plus.

Look at www.har.com and see what the housing is like right now. Best of luck if you decide to move.

WWW.HAR.COM

^This has all the houses for sale in Houston on it!

Houston is great and ive lived here all my life...

-Restaurants are great! Best mexican food anywhere (technically tex-mex)

-Beaches are pretty good...never crowded!

-Traffic isnt that bad...

-Ive had my car for 10 years so I don't know about the rust thing

-Always good jobs!

Hope this helps!

Houston Texas is a place where you can always find a good job and just about anything else when compared to anywhere else unless you like snow.

That's a good question!