Is Houston a good place to Live? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

HS · 11th January 2004, 20:27

Hi All

Thinking about re-locating my young family from the UK to Houston, Texas.

Can someone tell me if this is a good move or not?

Whats the bennefits and lows of Houston?

Does anyone have any indication of which area would be a good place to raise a young family?

Many thanks in advance

HS..

paulh · 13th January 2004, 00:48

well this isnt really going to encourage you, but on another board i moderate there is a member there from houston. according to him it is one of the worst cities in the USA, up there with the bad areas in L.A and N.Y. the kid is called SLP Addict and the board is www.tripleplate.com if you want to talk more with him over PM or something.

Gop-Dogg · 13th January 2004, 08:47

Well, I live in downtown Houston and I can tell you that it is nothing like the worst parts on NY (I should know since I grew up in the not so good part of Brooklyn). The guy mentioned in the above post probably lives in Sharpstown or in north-east Houston (read ghetto).

Currently it is pretty busted up due to the monumental construction in preparation for the Superbowl and the Baseball All-Star game, but things are looking up. The downtown area has made a remarkable turn-about in the past 6 - 10 years.

If you have a family, I'd recommend living in the suburbs (Bellair, Pearland, Sugarland, Kingwood or The Woodlands) depending on where you'll work. Property is fairly cheap out there. It gets more expensive as you move closer to downtown. Property tax is high

, but there is no state income tax

. One thing to remember is that Houston is VERY spread out and traffic is pretty rough in the morning and evening rush hours. Also, Houston is almost oppressively hot in the summer. I'm talking 100 deg. F and 150% humidity. Many parts of Houston are below sea level, so it stays extremely humid for ~9 months out of the year. The upside is that the daytime temp hovers in the mid 60's (deg. F) or higher in the dead of winter (like right now).

E-mail or PM me if you want to know more.

Synergy · 13th January 2004, 17:48

Taking into account that you are coming from the UK...

Cost of living is much cheaper in comparison to what you pay.

There is no state income tax here.

Sales tax (your VAT) is 8.25%, so much much lower than what you pay.

It's not constantly cloudy and foggy here in Texas.

If you live in one of the suburbs as Gop-Dogg suggested, you'll find that the neighborhoods are very nice and property is MUCH cheaper that in UK.

Ok... well, here are some of the drawbacks.

It's HOT here. We have 2 seasons. From about November til February, we have warm to hot, and from March until late October, we have Very hot to HOT AS HELL...

Everything here in Texas is very spread out. It will take you 45 mins driving in light traffic to get from one side of town to the other going on the freeway. In rush hour, there are miles and miles of giant concrete parking lots... And the public transportation system is nowhere near as slick as it is in London.

But all in all, I suppose it's an alright place to live... could do much worse.

vraa · 19th January 2004, 21:16

If you have younger children like my age (I'm 15, 16 in a few days) come out to Houston and live in Sugarland. Sugarland is south west Houston and it's one of the best places to live. Everything is so close!

Omar · 30th January 2004, 05:57

Synergy, you live in CS?? I go to A&M currently.....didn't know anyone up here owned an m5

that's good to hear!

Synergy · 30th January 2004, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omar

Synergy, you live in CS?? I go to A&M currently.....didn't know anyone up here owned an m5

that's good to hear!

Yes, I do... She'll be running around town here shortly (today hopefully... fingers crossed at the moment). Maybe you'll see me around. I believe, and I could be wrong, that there is another M5 here in town, and another one that comes in and out of town occasionally.

Gustav · 30th January 2004, 19:01

In Sweden we have a VAT of 25%.

Income tax between 31% and 60%.

30% of stock gains.

1,5% "rich fee" if you owne over 1 500 000 SEK ( $180 k) which you have to pay annually. Your net value include your house, so if would inherit a big house you would never be able to stay there if you dont cover the 1,5%yearly fee.

Also people in Stockholm pay a "Robin Hood fee" for supporting the north of Sweden...

Why am I living here?

50% (left wing governemnt)keeps the other 50% hostage