Fort Worth to Houston

[VicMan]

El Rey Taqueria (http://www.elreytaqueria.com/) is a great place to have lunch! I stopped by there when I went to a class at UHD.

Its Downtown address is 233 Main, Houston, TX

As for private schools, Houston has a lot of options for private school. Are you interested in a religious private school? Are you interested in a secular private school?

[bretley42]

Well,

I'm awaiting an offer.

My wife drove down with me, which was pretty cool.

We ate at the Hobbit Cafe (veggie friendly, and unique). This was what I was looking for too, a place that while doesn't exactly scream "this is Houston" is quite unique to Houston. An old establishment (although I believe has moved once or twice) as far from Chillis as one can possibly get.

It was a nice treat.

As far as private schools, we're not sure yet whether we'll be using a Christian private school or not. While we're both Christian, neither of is is heavily into religion .....(organized religion has hijacked human spirituality --Robyn Hitchcock). *and* that is several years down the road, so we've got few worries about that.

We had a nice day (other than the 4 hour interview process that JPMC uses.. ouch), and if an offer comes, we'd be ready to go.

-b

[The Great Hizzy!]

Glad the interview experience went well for you. Hope things work out for you.

[houstonfella]

Speaking of Hobbit, one thing that always remains true: Houston - Expect the Unexpected!

[Trae]

Yep, hope you come down to Houston.

[bretley42]

OK,

This morning I faxed my offer latter back to JPMC.

I start in the 18th.

I looked (via realtor,com) and it looks like I may not be able to afford to live inside the loop (well, not afford it and the other stuff we like to do).

That said, I may be looking outside. So far things look promising. I'd probably be on the north side (family would be coming down, and knocking an hour off the drive helps).

Anyhing I should watch out for up there? Spring is where my manager lives. realtor.com makes it look *very* affordable, almost to the point I have some worries about what to expect up there (will check the HAIF forum on the norhtrn areas).

thoughts?

I'm prolly looking to keep a house under 200k.

you guys have been a big help, and good salespeople for your city. Now comes the fun part for me.

thanks guys,

-b

[Houston19514]

OK,

This morning I faxed my offer latter back to JPMC.

I start in the 18th.

I looked (via realtor,com) and it looks like I may not be able to afford to live inside the loop (well, not afford it and the other stuff we like to do).

That said, I may be looking outside. So far things look promising. I'd probably be on the north side (family would be coming down, and knocking an hour off the drive helps).

Anyhing I should watch out for up there? Spring is where my manager lives. realtor.com makes it look *very* affordable, almost to the point I have some worries about what to expect up there (will check the HAIF forum on the norhtrn areas).

thoughts?

I'm prolly looking to keep a house under 200k.

you guys have been a big help, and good salespeople for your city. Now comes the fun part for me.

thanks guys,

CONGRATULATIONS!

My one piece of advice is to ditch realtor.com and go to HAR.com (Houston Association of Realtors). Their site is much better.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Spring is like a lot of growing suburban enclaves: a lot of middle class family type homes in about 5 or 6 "styles" more or less. And, of course, in the Houston market, that translates to a lot of homes (size being 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2-car garage, etc) priced in the $130K - $175K range (obviously, there are pricier communities as well but you get my point). Traffic from Spring isn't quite as bad as traffic from Cypress, Katy or Fort Bend County but it's not a picnic either.

Infrastructure, like sidewalks, are wholly dependent on the subdivision, as Harris County doesn't build them in general, nor do they bother with streetlights on most roads. Parks aren't as plentiful as in the city(ies) for the same reason. Harris County does maintain a decent (not great) collection of libraries, however, relative to a lot of county administrations. But anyway, Spring is decent, not exciting, not noteworthy in terms of asthetics or culture, but in terms of a typical suburban community with reasonable housing stock, it's fine. You could do a lot worst in the area, for sure.

However, like with anything, shop around. The Spring area has roughly 45,000 - 50,000 people, and hundreds more moving in every week. New developments pop up and recently completed ones tend to compete for the new wave of potential buyers. Shop around. Not just for price but for comfort and so forth. My only specific advice concerning "location" is that I would stay more west of I-45. Seems to be a better and wider selection of homes/communities than east of I-45, although there are a couple of subdivisions that might meet your needs/standards east of I-45 and near the Hardy Toll Road.

Anyway, congrats and good luck. Ask away, as people here will be more than willing to give you a good number of opinions/answers on just about anything.

[ProHouston]

CONGRATULATIONS!

My one piece of advice is to ditch realtor.com and go to HAR.com (Houston Association of Realtors). Their site is much better.

I second both points. Welcome to Houston. Subtract one from the DFW metro and add one to Houston!

[2112]

Congradulations!!

As far as being outside the loop, I think an important consideration is proximity to a Metro Park n Ride. That was an important factor when we moved recently (within Houston). It sure is nice knowing that if we ever had to make the daily commute to downtown or uptown, we only have a short 7 minute drive to the Park n Ride. Metro Commuter routes have HOV access and the trip si about 30 minutes....versus over an hour if I drove. Anyways, just something to consider.

[bretley42]

Thanks for the tip. I'll look at the metro info now.

-b

Congradulations!!

As far as being outside the loop, I think an important consideration is proximity to a Metro Park n Ride. That was an important factor when we moved recently (within Houston). It sure is nice knowing that if we ever had to make the daily commute to downtown or uptown, we only have a short 7 minute drive to the Park n Ride. Metro Commuter routes have HOV access and the trip si about 30 minutes....versus over an hour if I drove. Anyways, just something to consider.

[bretley42]

Quick follow-up for everyone.

I now have an apartment a couple blocks off Montrose * (a dump with a capitol DUMP). for the next 6 months.

While waiting for the landlord to show up (I was early), I was able to walk over to Montrose, have a cup of coffee, walk around and explore some.

Nice stuff.

I had already decided to have lunch at the Flying Saucer once I was done with everything.

I parked in one of the lots soon to be the Pavalions (if they ever break ground on that mess) and went in to do some business at the new job. As part of that, I walked down to another Chase building down on main and did the last of my business for the day in Houston.

On my way out of the building I was about to head back to the car and punch the Flying Saucer into my nav system, when I noticed that I'm standing right across the street from the place.

Nice to know it is downtown, my Wednsdays after work are set (and its about 3 miles to the apt).

Stop by one day and remind me that I'm not crazy for moving down there.

* I still have topay my mortgage in Fort Worth until we sell the house, so 450 sq ft is all I'm going to need. I won't be there for many weekends, as I'll be driving back to see my wife and kid each weekend until we've sold and bought a house. It is a dump, but the parkinglot has decent cars in it, and the area itself seems cute and fairly safe (we'll see).

-b

(getting closer)

[tcole]

Quick follow-up for everyone.

I now have an apartment a couple blocks off Montrose * (a dump with a capitol DUMP). for the next 6 months.

While waiting for the landlord to show up (I was early), I was able to walk over to Montrose, have a cup of coffee, walk around and explore some.

Nice stuff.

I had already decided to have lunch at the Flying Saucer once I was done with everything.

I parked in one of the lots soon to be the Pavalions (if they ever break ground on that mess) and went in to do some business at the new job. As part of that, I walked down to another Chase building down on main and did the last of my business for the day in Houston.

On my way out of the building I was about to head back to the car and punch the Flying Saucer into my nav system, when I noticed that I'm standing right across the street from the place.

Nice to know it is downtown, my Wednsdays after work are set (and its about 3 miles to the apt).

Stop by one day and remind me that I'm not crazy for moving down there.

* I still have topay my mortgage in Fort Worth until we sell the house, so 450 sq ft is all I'm going to need. I won't be there for many weekends, as I'll be driving back to see my wife and kid each weekend until we've sold and bought a house. It is a dump, but the parkinglot has decent cars in it, and the area itself seems cute and fairly safe (we'll see).

-b

(getting closer)

man; don't move to Houston and then just hang out at a satilite beer hall. Houston has soooo much more to offer. The Saucer is one thing in FW, but you really have to broaden your horizons down here. Take advantage of Houston's size and depth of offerings in relative comparison. Hanging at The Saucer is like moving to Rome and then eating at Pizza Hut.

[bretley42]

Don't worry. I'll find plenty of unique places to hang out. I'm just going to use the saucer to continue my glass collection. heh.

besides, its close to the office. heh.

-b

man; don't move to Houston and then just hang out at a satilite beer hall. Houston has soooo much more to offer. The Saucer is one thing in FW, but you really have to broaden your horizons down here. Take advantage of Houston's size and depth of offerings in relative comparison. Hanging at The Saucer is like moving to Rome and then eating at Pizza Hut.

[houstonfella]

When I moved to Houston, I had to take a few months and figure out exactly where I fit it. Fort Worth (bret) will do the same thing. Then Fort Worth will slowly become a Houstonian - something that lots of folks would like to call themselves. Take your time FW, and you will find your place in the nation's fourth largest city. It can be a cool place or a stressful one. Take your time (grasshopper). By the way, I don't think you will ever regret moving to our metropolitan area. It truly is fabulous.

[NDtexan]

Then Fort Worth will slowly become a Houstonian - something that lots of folks would like to call themselves.

Nope.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Nope that Bretley won't eventually become a Houstonian? Or nope that lots of folks would want to call themselves Houstonians?

[tcole]

Nope that Bretley won't eventually become a Houstonian? Or nope that lots of folks would want to call themselves Houstonians?

I was born in and went to college in Dallas. Grew up in Fort Worth. And now primarily reside in Houston, although I still spend a good chunk of time in Fort Worth and Dallas for business. I have a ranch West Texas. And my girlfriend is from San Antonio. I call myself a Texan.

[2112]

It's where your loyalties and "vibe" are. I live in Houston, so that qualifies me to say Houstonian, but just technically. But I knew I was going to live here as a teenager in South Texas, and I was going to do ANYTHING to get to Houston. So I was Houstonian by heart before I lived hear, and a Houstonian by right when I did.

Houston First.

[texastrill]

Quick follow-up for everyone.

I now have an apartment a couple blocks off Montrose * (a dump with a capitol DUMP). for the next 6 months.

While waiting for the landlord to show up (I was early), I was able to walk over to Montrose, have a cup of coffee, walk around and explore some.

Nice stuff.

I had already decided to have lunch at the Flying Saucer once I was done with everything.

I parked in one of the lots soon to be the Pavalions (if they ever break ground on that mess) and went in to do some business at the new job. As part of that, I walked down to another Chase building down on main and did the last of my business for the day in Houston.

On my way out of the building I was about to head back to the car and punch the Flying Saucer into my nav system, when I noticed that I'm standing right across the street from the place.

Nice to know it is downtown, my Wednsdays after work are set (and its about 3 miles to the apt).

Stop by one day and remind me that I'm not crazy for moving down there.

* I still have topay my mortgage in Fort Worth until we sell the house, so 450 sq ft is all I'm going to need. I won't be there for many weekends, as I'll be driving back to see my wife and kid each weekend until we've sold and bought a house. It is a dump, but the parkinglot has decent cars in it, and the area itself seems cute and fairly safe (we'll see).

-b

(getting closer)

So how's Houston been treating you?Like to hear some feedback on the transition from Cowtown to H-Town.

Here's some FW pics for ya..........

[2112]

Nope that Bretley won't eventually become a Houstonian? Or nope that lots of folks would want to call themselves Houstonians?

I think we all know which "nope" he was refering to. BTW, I just came back from typing some rather complimentary things over the DFW forum - I said some nice things, only to find that I was prempted by a standard Houston trash post!! Which reminded me once again why we sometimes loath Dallas! Oh well, you can lead a yak to water, but you cant make him, oh, enough with the farm animal references (I'm always going there)

[houstonfella]

I moved to Houston in 1972. I have never regretted that move. I lived in SF for a few months in 1980, but couldn't wait to get back to Houston. It's my town. It isn't for everyone, but definitely for houstonfella. Ummm... the last four weeks of spring (Feb/Mar 2007) have been heaven. Yeah, hell is not in the too distant future, but A/C and lots of it keeps H-town kool. Peace.