BillyG

I only ask about retail because I would like to see pedestrian traffic, and a decent lively area. I used to live in Toronto, and downtown Toronto was bustling at all hours everyday just thanks to the sheer amount of businesses open and catering to the public. I would rather not be somewhere that 4PM on Saturday is a dead zone.

Just bumping this in hope of more feedback. I have been searching for my first home, and while I work in the Energy Corridor, it would be nice to live inside the loop while I have my youth and before I have a family. Today I found a couple listings for foreclosures at the Live Oak Lofts, and was pretty much shocked at how inexpensive they were. So my questions are: What about this area of Downtown? I've never spent a ton of time in Downtown Houston, just not a lot there that interested me outside a Rockets game. Is this area looking good for the foreseeable future? What developments area open/opened in the area? The big knock on Downtown Houston has typically always been that outside of the bars on Main there is very few restaurants, and minimal retail. I'm guessing I'll still be going to Midtown/Heights area for shopping? Any idea what the $300/month building fee covers? I've seen some fees over $900/month, and that covered electricity, trash, water, and basic cable. $900/month I feel is ridiculous (basically doubling the mortgage), but if the $300 covers those same items I think it's a steal. Is there an official website for these Lofts? I spent some time on Google and found nothing. Any other comments definitely welcomed. Thanks in advance.

I would definitely look closer into town. Grew up in the area you'll be in, and was thrilled to finally move away. Short term leases are going to run you a bit, but you might be able to find a place in one of the homes turned into apartment units in Upper Kirby/Montrose area. Not dealing with a corporate entity like most apartment complexes around town, and can probably get a 4 month agreement. Most apartments want at least 6 months, and then charge you inflated rent for not signing a year. Just don't look at anywhere around Federal and I-10. Where in Canada are you coming from? If you're from Toronto, imagine Finch getting hit by a bomb and you have Federal road.

I would just say good luck. A lot of people I know in the industry began looking for new work as their projects dried up, only to find that companies were hiring at much lower wages, or not hiring at all. I think over the next year the industry is going to suffer, but hopefully in 18 months we'll see banks lending money again so companies can begin new projects. All my company will likely see for the next 2-3 years will be updating/repairing old stations, and no brand new projects. I suspect it will be the same all over. A friend at Mustang told me prior to the holidays that even they had lost a big project and were looking at some significant layoffs. As far as the effect on the industry with Obama in office, I really don't see one. The big (huge) boys will get taxed a bit more maybe, but that's it. The world still needs oil/natural gas, and even with the transfer to renewable energy oil won't be going anywhere anytime soon. I'm more worried about the state of the industry 15-20 years from now when I'm working hard to retire early.

I don't have the address, but sounds like the same house. There were zero pix of the 2nd story, which did worry me, but the first floor looked really appealing to me. And yeah, the spiral stair case? I thought the same thing, "How do I get anything up there?" Well, glad to hear your opinion. Worries me that it's been up for sale that long as well. Guess that makes my decision for me.

I found a home recently online that I am really in love with, at least on first appearance. It's a beautiful house from the 30's that looks to be in very good condition, and has a ton of personality. One of the major things for me in buying my first home is it not be a typical cookie cutter track house, which this one is not. But my question is, what about the area it is in? I am not really familiar with the area, which is Beggs St. north of downtown. Google Maps link - http://maps.google.com/maps?q=beggs+road+h...=1&ct=title One of the selling points is a block from Moody Park, but I have no idea if that's a good or bad thing. I plan on going to check out the area this weekend, but before I do, I'd like some more opinions. Like I said, this will be my first home, and I'll end up raising a family there, so I have to figure I'll have at least one kid running around, so I have to take that into account. So, I appreciate any opinions offered!

I consider traveling one of the perks of the job. Some people hate traveling, and refuse to do so, and tend to bring it up quite often. I find it kind of stupid to work in oil/gas and refuse to take an expense paid trip to Dubai. Sign me up! But some people do. I've traveled to both coasts, Calgary, and Edmonton in my career so far. Ajob I recently interviewed for told me that travel overseas is a definite possibility, and needless to say the chance to go to Japan, or Korea, or Iceland on the companies dime is pretty damn sweet. So yeah, travel. It's a great thing. A lot of people will tie a day or two of vacation, and stay over in say, Italy, and have some nice trips of their own.

As far as company reputations go I can only speak first hand for a small number. Technip - 50/50 chance of really enjoying it. Lot of communication issues with their teams in my experience. People do seem to be knowledgable. Mustang - Have quite a few friends/family members at Mustang and for the most part they seem to really like it. Mustang used to have a reputation for hiring huge numbers, and firing at an even faster rate. I don't think that's the market right now, as I said companies want to hold onto their good people. Total - Unless someone can come and speak up for Total, I say run like hell. I've been working with them for 2 years, and it is absolutely the most disfunctional organization I have ever come across. Fluor - I have worked a handful of Fluor projects, and have always been a great company. Keep in mind there are always the oil/gas agencies that will hire you direct, and contract you out. You can make a bit more than as a direct hire like this sometimes, as they will contract you out for 2.5-3 times your salary.

This thread was the one that made me a constant lurker at HAIF, so I'm really interested to get some closer. I've been out to Patterson many times (haunted bridge, tapping on the car, cemetery, all that) and I really am interested in the former Addicks town. I think it's kind of incredible that the town of Addicks is still used to describe the area when there is literally zero proof of its existence left. I too have searched online for information about it, and found next to nothing except it was abandoned to make room for the flooding. One thing I always found interesting as well is near Eldridge, almost right to it, is a side road to the left side when facing Eldridge on Patterson that goes nowhere. It's just a short piece of road right into the woods. Probably "old Eldridge" or something like that, but so odd that that track of road is still sitting there.

The only restaraunts I would like to see added to Katy area would be some "local" chains. Some of the places inside the loop that would probably kick off closer to the West side. Barnaby's, Chuy's, etc. Or mom and pop places like Rocco's on Fry. There's tons of people close to my age (mid 20-early 30s) out on the West side because of the Energy Corridor that would support these places. Plus, it's depressing having to fight a date to go inside the loop for a good dinner at an interesting spot because they want to go to Chili's for some bland burger.

My experience (just shy of 10 years in oil/gas/pipeline) is send it through a known friend/associate any chance you have. Lots of reasons for this. First, Houston oil and gas is a good ole boy industry, and knowing someone helps a ton. You'll always come across the same people, even when they move from company to company. Second, most companies have pretty nice recruiting bonuses, and you can split that with your friend. My small/medium engineering company currently offers $2500 for non-engineering recruits and $5000 for engineers. I am sure that larger companies offer more. I saw earlier comments about hourly rates and such for contract workers. Contract workers make up a fairly big chunk of the workforce. There are also companies that you may work for direct that you get your insurance/401K etc through that will contract you out to their clients as needed. Nice compromise there. As far as hourly rates, different for each company. Smaller companies have lower hourly rates obviously. I'll use myself as an example. I currently work in procurement/inspection services. I was recently asked to come interview with a dedicated inspection firm that is familiar with my work. They did not blink to offer me 30-35% more starting salary, with an additional 10% bump in 6 months if the clients liked my work. If I was to go purely contract I could easily ask for 40-50% more per hour, but there is the lack of 401K, insurance etc that needs to be considered. I am sure as a geologist with experience you could go to a mid/major and make somewhere in the ballpark of $90K without putting up a fight, granted that you have a bachelor's, which I'm sure you do. And if you tell them up front that you're interested in staying with a company and taking advantage of their scholarship/education programs it can boost their offer. Companies are desparate to keep their people these days, and someone telling them out front they are not interested in jumping around can go a long ways.