Hey, Texas guys...

[deerfield]

…what are three things you like about Houston and three things you would change or improve? Also, how far out of Houston are the lakes for boating and fresh water sports?

Read an interesting piece about Houston in the Federalist. The area in the past fifteen years has gone through significant growth, could soon be the third largest city in the nation, is home to more than a handful of Fortune 500 companies, and yet has an amazingly modest median home value of just $144,900. Wow! Might be a go-to location to keep in mind when the rest of the country goes total bat crazy.

My wife has had her eye on Texas for years. Appreciate your perspectives on Houston. Thanks.

[rdlangston13]

I live in Katy, TX which is the first suburb west of Houston in I-10. If you live in Katy the closest fresh water body of water is 1 hour away. That 1 hour will get you to Lake Houston (north east side of town), Lake Somerville (north west of Katy in a small town off of Hwy 36), or Lake Fayette (small power plant lake north west of Katy off of Hwy 71). You cab drive a little farther from Katy and go to Lake Conroe which is about 1:15 to 1:30 minutes depending on what end of the lake you want to launch at an this is basically directly north of Houston off of I45. Then there is Lake Livingston and the Trinity River with is about 2 hours from Katy (where we go). It is the longest drive but the river provides the best riding conditions unless its been raining/storming really bad in the DFW area, which seems to be the case in the last few years.

There are private ski lake neigborhoods in the metro area but you will be looking at 600,000+ to get on the water there and most of them do not allow v drives and ballast.

What would I change? I would add more fresh water bodies of water on the West side of town. Also the rain water run off system needs to be revamped, it floods way to easily around downtown and uptown. I would change all the dang people moving here too, its getting freaking crowded. I would change the toll fees on Grand Parkway (99). Cost $17 in tolls one way to get from I10 to I45 on there with the boat. It gets stupid humid here too. All of those bodies of water have alligators so just an FYI. Traffic can be stupid at times but that is any major city. We need a better public transit system, we have a train but it ONLY services down town and reliant park, does not go out to the burbs where it would be useful.

If I think of anything else I will let you know.

[Woody929]

I think David said it nicely DFW is better! :-)

[deerfield]

I think David said it nicely DFW is better! :-)

Matt - In what ways is DFW better than Houston? - Stuart

[Woody929]

I was just giving David a hard time.
Real estate has started to go crazy up here though. With Toyota coming the market in some areas has really felt it. We just got our tax assessment in the mail last week, and the value went up by the most allowed - 10%. That was the same for most people that I know in our county.

With all that being said, I really can't see me leaving the area unless a job takes me somewhere else.

[smorris7]

Matt - In what ways is DFW better than Houston? - Stuart

Try about 20 lakes within 75 miles! That's what makes DFW better!

[trayson]

I don't live in Houston, but my Sister and her family live there, as does my Mom and her husband. My sister went down there to work as a petroleum geologist and has a great life they've built there.

Some of my observations:

Texas is a handful of states that don't have a state income tax. This made it quite favorable for my mom to retire there
They obviously have warm weather most the year, and you manage humidity with a pool, A/C, and a boat.
along with their humidity/warmth comes things like mosquitos and fire ants. I still have scars on my foot from my fire ant bites
BBQ. they have freaking amazing BBQ places everywhere
Texas Pride. They have a pride for their state that I don't really see in the PNW. It's not like you see anyone flying the state flag in WA or OR.
Their houses are stuid cheap. My sister sold her house in WA and was able to get something in TX that would have cost double the price here.
Warm Water. When I went out with David on the Trinity river, the water was well into the 80's. That's unheard of in the PNW. However, there is NO visibility in the water. None.
There are things like alligtors and alligator gar in their waters. Those are way more scary than the occasional seal we see up here.
They are a gateway city to a lot of amazing tropical destinations by airplane. You can get crazy deals on flights to Mexico and the Carribean. Also cruises.
Their gas prices are a ton lower than many other areas of the country. There are many factors that play into relative fuel prices, but refining capacity and transportation distance obviously are in their favor.

[trayson]

Try about 20 lakes within 75 miles! That's what makes DFW better!

In-n-Out burger. that's what makes DFW better! And Doomswell!

[KG's Supra24]

I wouldn't particularly view a large population with low income as a place to gravitate towards. Perhaps it's more income inequality than simply low income.

I'd bet immigration is the source of low housing costs. What is the population demographic?

I have two friends that have movend to Houston for work (different supply chains of manufacturing) and both are ready to leave. One looking to transfer to dfw.


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[Broke Pilot]

I live up in Conroe right near the lake. Conroe right now is about as far north as you can go before It becomes a huge pain to get places in Houston. I work in Sugarland which is southwest Houston. Takes me an hour at 0300, but it has taken me 3+ hours to get home at 5pm.
The Houston area is a great place, there's no shortage of things to do. Traffic sucks, but not as bad as the metromess (DFW). I grew up down here for the most part. Trinity river was home base all through high school and college. It's great out there, always glass smooth. But it gets pretty bad after storms. Lake Conroe is fun for the social scene at the island and party cove, but it's hard to do much surfing/boarding out there. It's either wind rough or boat rough, or both! If you can go out during the week it's not bad. Last season it was so smooth on some days we were surfing in the big lake, just going for miles.

As far as housing, it's way cheap down here, property taxes aren't bad in some spots. Here in Conroe we average 2%. I'm in the process of buying my first house right now, close on the 27th, never thought I'd be able to afford what we're getting. Schools... They're definitely sub par, even the charter/private schools aren't the best. We have some kickass colleges down here though!

If you can live with crazy weather every now and then it's not bad. Just always humid, skeeters are bad. This year so far has been nothing but rain and wind.

Texas is a great place, I would never live anywhere else willingly at this point. My job has taken me everywhere, and I love it here. Only other place I'd go back to is Vegas. Dry, hot desert.
If anyone was seriously considering it, north of Houston right now is the place to be. The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe. Taxes are lower and it's the growing market now. Still a heck of a lot less crowded than Houston.

[csm]

In-n-Out burger. that's what makes DFW better! And Doomswell!

I believe Doomswell is in Houston? I could be wrong.

I can't comment much on DFW but I've lived in Houston all of my life, except for college. In addition to what some others have said, if you're a fan of the arts (I'm not but my wife is big time), Houston is a great place to live. Downtown has great theaters, musicals, museums, ballet, live music, etc...

Definitely wish there was more fresh water around, but depending on where in Houston you live you're only 45 minutes from salt water. And you're only 3 hours or so from some pretty nice beaches in the Port Aransas area.

[smokeysevin]

I believe Doomswell is in Houston? I could be wrong.

I can't comment much on DFW but I've lived in Houston all of my life, except for college. In addition to what some others have said, if you're a fan of the arts (I'm not but my wife is big time), Houston is a great place to live. Downtown has great theaters, musicals, museums, ballet, live music, etc...

Definitely wish there was more fresh water around, but depending on where in Houston you live you're only 45 minutes from salt water. And you're only 3 hours or so from some pretty nice beaches in the Port Aransas area.

I think he is down in Hitchcock or Dickenson south of Houston.

As far as Houston goes though,

I live in town in the Montrose area, my dad has a place on Taylor Lake in Seabrook south of the city though.

In short, its all salt water on the south side unless you go to the San Jacinto River or Lake Houston. The Seabrook area can be nice but the water gets rough sort of like Lake Conroe because the entire area is ringed with bulkheads. I like to ride on Clear Creek but that area can get crowded and is fairly narrow, the water is brackish and ranges from full salt if its a drought to 90% fresh if its been like this year.

The biggest issue I see in Houston and the water that occupies the region is just a lack of caution or awareness on the water from other boaters, skiers, jetskis, and pretty much everyone else. That being said, I am not sure if that is a regional thing or if its just normal.

Houston has fantastic food from everywhere in the world, is generally pretty friendly, and like others mentioned, is fairly inexpensive.

The traffic, roads, road construction, and drivers are a special kind of bad though.

Sean

[trayson]

I believe Doomswell is in Houston? I could be wrong.



Oh, I guess you're right. but over closer to Galveston. My family has always lived in the Woodlands/Springs area. I'm thinking that I haven't been back to Houston since I got my board from them.

[rdlangston13]

In-n-Out burger. that's what makes DFW better! And Doomswell!

Doomswell is based in Houston.

[trayson]

Doomswell is based in Houston.

Yeah, I corrected myself. Look at the post directly above yours.

[rdlangston13]

Yeah, I corrected myself. Look at the post directly above yours.

yeah i wrote that while still reading the first page.

North side is definitely where I would like to be if we had no kids. I am not saying the North side has bad schools but they don't have the Katy Tigers and Nolan has an opportunity to be a part of something great when he gets into high school so I don't see us moving for 18 years or so. Katy is a great area but the downfall is distance to fresh water. Hell even the salt stuff is about 45 minutes to the San Bernard River. Water in all bodies around Houston is 0 visibility like Trayson mentioned but Canyon Lake and Lake Travis have some pretty clear water and they are only about 2-3 hours drive so its not bad if you want to go somewhere new for the weekend.

As far as Dallas vs Houston Mr Norwood, I am Dallas boy, I am just displaced currently. Dallas is better than Houston for the following reason.
NHL Hockey Team
Sprint Cup Track
Multiple large bodies of fresh water and no matter where you live in Dallas you are no more than 20 min away from one of them if there is no traffic.
The Dallas freakin Cowboys
Six Flags over Texas
Hurricane Harbor
The tallest mix master in the world (high five)

On the fire ants, once you learn what to look for you typically won't have any problems with them, it's been years since I have been attacked by fireants. Just dont go standing on their home, pour gasoline on it and burn em.
Mosquitos are horrible but we have Taquitos from whataburger that are amazing at 0230 in the morning after you leave the club.
High school football is legit down here. If your pro or college team is sucking just go cheer for the Katy Tigers lol.

There are a lot of Houston Texas people on here who have not come to the jam yet. What's up with that??

[Woody929]

Man, now I want a Taquito. Whataburger all the way!

[aggietb]

Just thought I'd give San Antonio a shout out on the TX thread! lol but I do love it here. I boat at canyon which is about 40 minutes from my house. There's also lake medina pretty close by as well. and then the highland lakes are within 2 hours. I'm heading up to lake Buchanan next month any of you guys ever been on that lake? I've never been but I'm pretty pumped for the trip it looks like a nice lake!

[rdlangston13]

Just thought I'd give San Antonio a shout out on the TX thread! lol but I do love it here. I boat at canyon which is about 40 minutes from my house. There's also lake medina pretty close by as well. and then the highland lakes are within 2 hours. I'm heading up to lake Buchanan next month any of you guys ever been on that lake? I've never been but I'm pretty pumped for the trip it looks like a nice lake!

You need to head to the Trinity River July 22-24 for the Texas Moomba/Supra Jam. That's where it's at.

[deerfield]

Great information! I may start looking at the job markets in Houston, DFW, San Antonio, and Austin. (Although Austin may be too liberal for me. Read about the City Council's recent action which essentially makes it impossible for Uber and Lift to operate in Austin and keeps the traditional cab companies operating a monopoly.) Texas is a pretty cool state. Again, thanks for the posts! Much appreciated!!

[Woody929]

I know of a strong regional bank with a presence in all of those markets :-)

[viking]

Heard an interesting tidbit about Houston today and wondering if it's true?
A guy that lived there years ago said that there are no zoning laws? Said folks end up building nice homes only to find a few years later a huge ballpark or commercial complex being put up next door?

[deerfield]

Maybe this? "How No Zoning Laws Works For Houston" From May 13 online issue of The Federalist.

http://thefederalist.com/2016/05/13/how-no-zoning-laws-works-for-houston/

[rdlangston13]

Another big problem with Austin is the cost of living. Austin is very expensive due to a mass migration there by Californians. They sell their 1,000,000 3 bed room houses there and buy in Austin and think 300,000 for 2k sqft is a good deal and its really inflated the price in that area. My mom lives in pflugerville which is just North of Austin and a lot of people in their neighborhood have seen their homes go up in value so fast that they can no longer afford the property tax. It's a big problem in that area. People living in a house their whole life now having to sell and move because they taxes are bankrupting them.

[KG's Supra24]

Guess that's one way to look at making money

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[zabooda]

Another big problem with Austin is the cost of living. Austin is very expensive due to a mass migration there by Californians. They sell their 1,000,000 3 bed room houses there and buy in Austin and think 300,000 for 2k sqft is a good deal and its really inflated the price in that area. My mom lives in pflugerville which is just North of Austin and a lot of people in their neighborhood have seen their homes go up in value so fast that they can no longer afford the property tax. It's a big problem in that area. People living in a house their whole life now having to sell and move because they taxes are bankrupting them.


Big problem everywhere too. I held back from saying it so not to offend Californians on this site but they leave that state big in cash and short in brains. The other problem is they bring the California lifestyle with them and their liberal views. I like Texas a lot and I hate to see it ruined like they did in northern Idaho where the locals are now their servants. The housing bust is the best way to keep them from migrating.

[rdlangston13]

Big problem everywhere too. I held back from saying it so not to offend Californians on this site but they leave that state big in cash and short in brains. The other problem is they bring the California lifestyle with them and their liberal views. I like Texas a lot and I hate to see it ruined like they did in northern Idaho where the locals are now their servants. The housing bust is the best way to keep them from migrating.

This x100! And they don't understand what it was that ruined California so they just keep on keeping on ruining everywhere else they go. Like in invasive species lol.

As far as Uber and Lyft go, I guess Austin would rather have the revenue from drunk driving tickets than give people an affordable option to get home after partying all day/night. SMH

Disclaimer: We know not ALL Californians are bad.

[KG's Supra24]

As far as Uber and Lyft go, I guess Austin would rather have the revenue from drunk driving tickets than give people an affordable option to get home after partying all day/night. SMH


To play devil's advocate, as I'm sure the goal isn't to increase drunk driving .... is it not fair that they have to follow the same regulations as taxi drivers?

I think as their popularity grows, the regulations will be modified but it's going to be something they have to contend with.

[Fastest1]

Heard an interesting tidbit about Houston today and wondering if it's true?
A guy that lived there years ago said that there are no zoning laws? Said folks end up building nice homes only to find a few years later a huge ballpark or commercial complex being put up next door?

This is true. The only major city in the US without them. I have been here 54 years. Houston has always been growing. Property goes for market value, so if a stadium/building/shopping center is built. You are rewarded handsomely.

Btw, I dont like zoning, HOA's or any other technique to dictate what I can do with my land. Whatever the excuse.

[rca]

Sorry I missed this thread, I've been traveling. Houston is great. I'm a native Houstonian, grew up in SW Houston and then lived for almost 20 years in Sugar Land a little further out on the SW side. We used to boat in the San Bernard river because we could be there in 45 minutes and rarely saw another boat. We recently moved North of San Antonio and love it. We are now 15 minutes from Canyon Lake and are out there usually twice a week.

We looked in the Austin area but it is just too congested and expensive (and liberal). Now I feel like I've got the best of both worlds because I can be in Austin in under an hour, in San Antonio in 25 minutes, on the lake in 15 minutes and I've got a couple of acres with a hill country view.

Great state, great people and cost of living is awesome.