considering moving to Houston

there is a good job possibility in Houston and my husband and I are considering moving there from Northern VA. I have never been to TX.

What will be the biggest difference betwwn living in VA (30 miles from Washington DC) and living in suburban Houston?

We definitely need a big house with a big yard in a nice nebourhood and comute to downtown TX no more than 30 minutes - any recommendations for the areas like that?

Any other tips are welcome!

thank you.

considering moving to Houston

I%26#39;m originally from Houston, and let me just tell you first- traffic is just awful. Not to be negative, but it%26#39;s the truth. I used to live maybe 17 miles from my work and it took me 1 hr to and from work every day. Not too familiar with neighborhoods that have a 30 minute commute to downtown, I%26#39;m more familiar with condos/apartments around downtown. Someone else will probably have better advice on that. But, you may want to check out West University area. Not sure how much you are looking to spend (fairly expensive homes) but I wouldn%26#39;t think it%26#39;d be more than 30 min to downtown from there. But you never know with Houston. Sorry I can%26#39;t help much, I just had to comment on traffic!!!! If you want to live 30 min from downtown (30 min in rush hr traffic), you%26#39;ll most likely want to live in the loop, which is a very busy area of town. Not sure what kind of residential area you are looking for.

considering moving to Houston

sorry, my review seemed very negative. On the other hand, Houston has so much entertainment to offer, the theater district, tons of delicious restaurants, rodeo, Houston Ballet, etc. There%26#39;s always entertainment. I live in Austin now and I really miss the Houston Theater District.

Hi Hope4thebest,

I was born and raised in DC. I relocated to Houston from MD. So I am familiar with Northern VA.

Traffic in Houston is similar to I-95 and I-495 (basically terrible), but so does every big city around the world. No matter what suburb that you choose to reside in be prepared for the same type of traffic that you will experience on I-95. Also Houston does not have a metro system that goes out into the suburbs like in DC. Houston does have park %26amp; ride shuttle buses that commuters take who work downtown.

You will get a bigger size house here compared to the DC Suburbs. A house that may cost $700,000 in Northern VA you could get for 200,000 in the suburbs of Houston. Homes, groceries, and living expenses are cheaper, but the property taxes here are extremely high and they vary depending on the school district that you live in.

Go to www.HoustonNewcomerGuides.com to research the various neighborhoods in and around Houston.

Also go to:

www.Houston-guide.com

www.visithoustontexas.com

www.teastate.tx.us (for school reports)

There are so many threads about the great neighborhoods in %26amp; around Houston. So you may want to search some of the existing threads. However, here is a list of some of the great suburban communities surrounding Houston:

Sugarland

Clearlake

Pearland

Katy

Kingwood

The Woodlands

Spring Branch

It will probably be best for you to work with a real estate agent in order to assist you with your search and move.

thank you so much for the good info, and I am definitelly going to check the links you provided.

We will definitely find a realtor once the decision to take the job is made, but for now we are in the ';reasearch'; mode.

I found out that the job oportunity is near the airport (just south of the airport north of the beltway). what are the good communities there? (I don%26#39;t care about the airport noise, we live very close to the airport in VA and I learned to totally block that noise).

if the job is that far north, you may want to check out the Woodlands then. It is a beautiful area. It%26#39;s nowhere close to downtown Houston though.

I am assuming that your are talking about Bush airport. If so, then The Woodlands and Kingwood are two areas that you should look at. The Woodlands has its own website (type into your search engine). The Woodlands has that McClean, VA (Tysons Corner) or Fairafax County VA type of feel.

A correction about the school info site that I mentioned above: www.tea.state.tx.us or check The Houston Chronicle website. It has school reports and profiles and is easier to navigate.

Also Houston offers the same type amentities that you will find in the DC area. There are lots of arts and cultural venues, sporting venues, shopping, and restaurants.

The only thing is the big adjustment to the hot humid summers. Houston feels like August in VA during the months of May-September, but only worst. The winters are very pleasant. No snow, ice, and freezing temperatures here. What people consider cold here in Houston I consider nice. November-March feels like October %26amp; November in VA. The weather is a trade off. I have yet to wear my winter coat and clothes here.

The commute can be terrible and other times it isn%26#39;t that bad. I live in the Clear Lake area and am 21 miles from downtown. Takes me about 35 minutes to get downtown - leaving home by 6:30 a.m. About the same commute time home - maybe 5-10 minutes longer depending on what time of day I leave.

for resale homes look at www.har.com

for new look at hotonhouston.com

Wow, the houses are unbelievable there and ';cheap'; compared to VA, I checked Woodlands and Kingwood. And we can get a huge back yard for our 2 dogs. thank you for the info on the communities.

what do you guys think of hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding in that area? at this point this is the only ';negative'; on our list of pros and cons for moving...