Moving from the UK

[muddy mudguard]

My wife (a Texan with family in Houston area) and myself (a Brit) are moving to Houston after having lived in the UK for the last 3yrs together.

We have a 15month old baby boy (currently) and anticipate us moving in June 2009.

Currently I have no job arranged although will certainly try to arrange one before we come (I work in IT Sales for a Software Company) previously worked for BMC (5yrs+) here in the UK.

I'm trying to figure out where to live. My wife is keen on Sugarland but I would also like to explore other suburbs so that we have a 'choice'.

Any suggestions you could give would be appreciated.

[editor]

Welcome to Houston.

Your question is a common one on this forum, so expect lots of answers. But it'll be a little while because of the hurricane. 75% of the city is still without power and we haven't heard from many of the forum regulars yet.

Keep checking back and I'm sure your question will be answered. But it'll help the HAIFers to know some things:

• What is your price range
  
• Does your wife have a job waiting for her, and if she does, what part of the city is it in and how long of a commute can she stand?
  
• What things are most important to you in a neighborhood? Location? Schools? Crime? Shopping? Friendliness?
  
• Are you looking only for a single-family home, or would you consider a townhouse, apartment, or condo?
  
• Is new construction important to you?
  
• Does your wife want to be near her family? If so, in what area are they located?
  

The more detailed you can be, the better answers you will get. But again, you'll need to be a little patient while Houston puts itself back together.

[KristinDaugherty]

BMC's Houston office is around the corner from my place - it's on Beltway 8, south of I-10.

The Westchase area, which surrounds it, is decidedly spotty. Some really nice areas, some not so much.

If you might answer Editor's questions, I might be able to help you with super-local advice.

[muddy mudguard]

Thanks v much for your response - see my answers to your questions below.

I'm looking forward to becoming an honorary Texan!

Welcome to Houston.

Your question is a common one on this forum, so expect lots of answers. But it'll be a little while because of the hurricane. 75% of the city is still without power and we haven't heard from many of the forum regulars yet.

Keep checking back and I'm sure your question will be answered. But it'll help the HAIFers to know some things:

• What is your price range - looking at renting initially - as I'll probably need to establish my credit history. OR if anyone can offer assistance on mortgages for 'foreignors' then I'll glady listen! As far as rentals goes - somewhere in the region of $1200/m.
  
• Does your wife have a job waiting for her, and if she does, what part of the city is it in and how long of a commute can she stand? Currently my wife is a housewife looking after our little boy. There are currently no plans for her to return to work.
  
• What things are most important to you in a neighborhood? Location? Schools? Crime? Shopping? Friendliness? Probably the obvious things really - I'd prefer a more rural location but with good access to hopefully the west side of the city - Westheimer way. Schools aren't of great importance initially as our little chap is only 15months. No crime would be nice - but I'm also a realist so as little as possible will suffice, as for shopping - a grocery store would be good to be close by - having been to Houston a few times myself though - I saw one on virtually every street corner so I'm pretty sure that's not going to be a problem. Friendliness - well I thought you Texans were the friendliest bunch on the planet!?!
  
• Are you looking only for a single-family home, or would you consider a townhouse, apartment, or condo? We'll consider everything.
  
• Is new construction important to you? Not especially.
  
• Does your wife want to be near her family? If so, in what area are they located? They're all over the place - sister off Westheimer, another sister at Beltway8 and 45S (SW Houston), brother in North Eldridge. Typically they're all on the West side of town and that's where we'd like to be.
  

The more detailed you can be, the better answers you will get. But again, you'll need to be a little patient while Houston puts itself back together.

[KristinDaugherty]

Muddy, it sounds like Westchase might actually be a good starting point for you.

If you're looking at a map of Houston, Westchase is essentially the square formed by Beltway 8 on the east, Westpark on the south, Highway 6 on the west, and Interstate 10 / Katy Freeway on the north.

You also might want to check the Katy area, outside Houston on the west side ... it's a tad bit further out than Westchase (our best friends live there, and it takes about 20 minutes to get from our place to theirs). Most of Katy is very nice, and the south end (say, Westheimer at Grand Parkway) is still being built up.

[muddy mudguard]

Muddy, it sounds like Westchase might actually be a good starting point for you.

If you're looking at a map of Houston, Westchase is essentially the square formed by Beltway 8 on the east, Westpark on the south, Highway 6 on the west, and Interstate 10 / Katy Freeway on the north.

You also might want to check the Katy area, outside Houston on the west side ... it's a tad bit further out than Westchase (our best friends live there, and it takes about 20 minutes to get from our place to theirs). Most of Katy is very nice, and the south end (say, Westheimer at Grand Parkway) is still being built up.

Thanks v much for your reply! Hope you weren't too badly hit by Ike!

[sheeats]

Muddy, welcome to HAIF! My husband is from England, too, and moved here six years ago. He started out in Clear Lake (and is very glad he's no longer there, due to the hurricane) and we now live on the west side. He loves it over here, and I expect you would, too.

Here's a website I would suggest familiarizing yourself with: www.har.com. You can search for homes and/or rentals throughout the Houston area and you can narrow it down by nearly any search feature you can think of. I would suggest that you look at "Residential Lease" first, since you'll be renting to start out. In the search page, put in "Georgetown" as the subdivision. There are several very nice townhomes for rent in this neighborhood and I think it would be right up your alley. Great neighborhood, very low crime, easy access to lots of shopping (you can walk to the shops from here, unlike most outer Loop neighborhoods), and it's right off Beltway 8 so you could get to BMC in about five minutes in the morning. It's a better area overall than Westchase.

Also, to briefly correct KristinKamas above, Westchase does not extend north to I-10. Its northern boundary is Briar Forest. Once you get above Briar Forest, you're in the Memorial area of town, which is much nicer than Westchase. It also doesn't extend to Highway 6, either. Its western boundary is Woodland Park. Westchase is great for business, not so great for living. The apartments and houses in that area are quite run down for the most part, although there are always exceptions to the rule.

Other places to rent in the area can be spotty, so check with us if you have any hesitations at all. We're friendly, happy to help and -- most importantly -- we're honest.

Good luck!

[Gary]

Muddy, welcome to HAIF! My husband is from England, too, and moved here six years ago. He started out in Clear Lake (and is very glad he's no longer there, due to the hurricane) and we now live on the west side. He loves it over here, and I expect you would, too.

Here's a website I would suggest familiarizing yourself with: www.har.com. You can search for homes and/or rentals throughout the Houston area and you can narrow it down by nearly any search feature you can think of. I would suggest that you look at "Residential Lease" first, since you'll be renting to start out. In the search page, put in "Georgetown" as the subdivision. There are several very nice townhomes for rent in this neighborhood and I think it would be right up your alley. Great neighborhood, very low crime, easy access to lots of shopping (you can walk to the shops from here, unlike most outer Loop neighborhoods), and it's right off Beltway 8 so you could get to BMC in about five minutes in the morning. It's a better area overall than Westchase.

Also, to briefly correct KristinKamas above, Westchase does not extend north to I-10. Its northern boundary is Briar Forest. Once you get above Briar Forest, you're in the Memorial area of town, which is much nicer than Westchase. It also doesn't extend to Highway 6, either. Its western boundary is Woodland Park. Westchase is great for business, not so great for living. The apartments and houses in that area are quite run down for the most part, although there are always exceptions to the rule.

Other places to rent in the area can be spotty, so check with us if you have any hesitations at all. We're friendly, happy to help and -- most importantly -- we're honest.

Good luck!

Agreed... My wife and I lived in Memorial Townhomes (Memorial and Beltway 8) and it was a great area for just about everything you could want. Our rent for a 3 bedroom townhome with 2 car garage was about $1200.00.

[KristinDaugherty]

Also, to briefly correct KristinKamas above, Westchase does not extend north to I-10. Its northern boundary is Briar Forest. Once you get above Briar Forest, you're in the Memorial area of town, which is much nicer than Westchase. It also doesn't extend to Highway 6, either. Its western boundary is Woodland Park. Westchase is great for business, not so great for living. The apartments and houses in that area are quite run down for the most part, although there are always exceptions to the rule.

We're north of Briar Forest, just off Kirkwood, and I would be far more comfortable classing 77077 as Westchase than as Memorial, given the tax base we have.

[sheeats]

We're north of Briar Forest, just off Kirkwood, and I would be far more comfortable classing 77077 as Westchase than as Memorial, given the tax base we have.

And that's okay. I'm just going off what the Westchase District's website defines as "Westchase."

[muddy mudguard]

Thanks to all who have replied. This information is really useful.

I think that when I met my wife she was living in an apartment complex just of Briar Forest. So that area definitely appeals. Plus it's pretty close to Sherlocks (where we first met) - me being the typical English Gent - swept her off her feet in a bar! LOL!

Looking forward to finding my feet over there and embracing Houston culture!