Houston questions!

[javaj]

Trying to research all I can about moving to and living in Houston. I'm trying to figure out how much house we can afford but I know we have to readjust our budget for some differences. So there is no state income tax, but property taxes are high -- 3% to 4%? And I should expect higher electric bills? Are schools okay or should I factor in private schools? What else should I expect in our change of expenses?

Right now, we're looking at the Magnolia area -- can anyone give me input on Magnolia? This is currently based on DH's job only, where we really end up may depend on where I find a job also.

Thanks!

 

[TXTink]

I would recommend living "around" Houston and not "in" Houston if for no other reason than the school districts, unless you want to go the private school route.

Magnolia is a nice little town on the outskirts of Houston. If you are looking at The Woodlands just know that a large part of it is on track to be annexed by Houston in a few years. They are fighting it, but that never seems to work.

Housing is pretty cheap here, so that's a good thing! We have a 3,000 sf home and our electric bills are around $500 a month in the Summer (at most) and around $200 a month in the Winter (but we have a pool, so that hurts).

I like Magnolia and that whole area! Good luck!!

 

[Jpgirl]

Welcome to Texas. I live in Kingwood on the NE side of Houston. You can expect way higher electric bills (I'm on even billing at $400.00/month-when we lived in Ohio our even billing was $200.00/ month and that included the gas part). Our highest summer bill ever was $800. Also car insurance is outrageous here-ours quadrupled from Ohio. We also picked up flood insurance for $200 a year something we didn't have in Ohio. Property taxes are very high in my neighborhood-school tax part is1.64% and the city part is about 3%. You're right there is no state income tax.
I have to say I love Houston and would never move out of Texas. You're first priority would to pick a school district if that's applicable. Then you need to pick a neighborhood that you really love because you'll be spending a lot of time there. I was very shocked that people don't really venture out of their "area". But here I am 4 years later and I very rarely leave Kingwood. The city is so large that it's not worth it to me to spend the time driving to the other side of town to do anything because chances are I can find it within 10 miles of my house. I do love to go over to the Woodlands. So when you pick a neighborhood you want to make sure you love it and it fairly close to work-the commutes are a real pain here. Dh works on the west side of Houston and he leaves for work at 5 AM to avoid traffic. At 5 the commute is 30 minutes, at 6 or 7 it can be an hour and a half. We looked at Magnolia but it was too far from everything we needed. Kingwood got us because of the school district for our learning disabled son and the fact that it has over 80 miles of hike/bike trails-I used use them with my bike, but now I ride the road-but the point is I do a lot of my errrands by bike because everything is so connviennant. Good luck- you can go to www.har.com to look at homes-just type in the zip code or area where you're looking. That's how we found our house-the realtor we got was awful and knew nothing about our area. If you have anymore questions ask away-I know there are other Houstonians on this board. I know one is from The Woodlands which is a very nice area too-I go over there a lot.

 

[missypie]

If you want a LOT of info, go to the US board at fodors.com and do a search...don't ask a new question, because lots of folks have asked about Houston in the past. There are several very long threads about Houston.

 

[M 'n C]

I live in the Heights area - apartment of course for right now. Houston is a great place to live but from what I've heard and seen the public schools in the city of Houston are not nice (I've volunteered through work at a few).

The commute is what tends to kill people (Katy is horrible) so you should definetly look into that when you are figuring out where to live. Other areas people like to live in and where a lot of young people in my age group are moving to are Pearland and Sugarland. Both are growing areas with decent schools from what I understand and are south of the city.

Some people find it nuts but I can live without running the A/C and the Heat for most of the year. On the way extreme days I run it but only for a few hours here and there. It keeps the bills lower. I rely on ceiling fans and usually can't tell a difference - a house may be a bit different though. Electricity is deregulated though so you can switch companies fairly easily without being locked into a contract if you find a lower price with someone else. Reliant is the known one around here but they run fairly high on the bills. I use Gexa and like them. TXU is another decent one.

Can't help with much else except shopping areas and food since I don't own a home or have kiddos yet.

 

[TheDoctor]

The schools in the Woodlands have a good reputation. HISD is hit or miss for the most part. The gifted and talented program in HISD is not very good.

Try to live as close as possible to work becasue comutes and road construction are a mess.

Starting in 2008 there is suppose to be some property tax relief but I will believe that when I see it.

 

[tiberius]

I saw your month old post regarding the Houston area while searching old posts on the DIS. I live near the Magnolia area (a pretty broad area). If you still have some questions, I would be happy to try to help you with them.

 

[clm3]

Well as you can see I'm in Magnolia. Its a very spread out area, we're in SW Magnolia about 5 miles from town (it you call it that). I mostly go into Tomball to shop which is about 20 minutes from us. It has just about everything you did. I love living out here, you have to travel for almost everything, but your out of the hustle and bustle of suburban life.

My oldest DS went to Magnolia schools from 1-3 grade. We then put him in private Catholic School in Tomball. All 3 kids go there. There are several private schools in the area covering all religions. I'm just not real crazy with the school district.

Taxes are very high! When we moved in 98 we were at 2100 a year. We're now up to 4100. Our house value also increased though. So there is good with bad.

Would be happy to answer ANY questions you may have.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

As someone who moved from Missouri to Texas recently....Housing, LAND, electricity, & taxes are HIGH.
We about choke on our electric bill every month.
Even groceries and produce are higher.

People that think Texas is cheaper are people coming from the Coasts...although CO is pretty high too.
So maybe it won't be a shock.

Oh I am in DFW so maybe it is higher here than Houston.