snickers

I was in the tech field up here in Chicago and I got my jobs thru computerjobs.com two of them in fact....I left a nice stable tech support job to work for a start up in the late 90s....which was fun but short lived (8 months) - but I did hook up with that job thru that website. And then when I had to look for another...I also found it on computerjobs.com

is that first pic one of Galveston?

Thanks! we appreciate it!!

"While housing might be less expensive in Texas, incomes are lower" (from the posted article) Really???? incomes are lower? We have been doing internet searches on jobs in houston for months now and they seem to be comparable to Chicago - at least in the tech sector. Now, we are comparing to Houston... this article was averaging Texas as a whole I guess. Yes? No? Thanks for the article post!! I think what I got from all that is that we should move quicker!! Or maybe I am just thinking that because it already feels like fall here!!!

Thanks for the link - how is your friend adjusting to all the "warmth" down there? We planned on living outside of the city...normally city schools aren't that great...or at least in chicago they aren't. My husband is a network consultant so we are guessing he will be working out of the city itself. I was in the tech field...right now my title is "mommy" so when i go back to work being close to the city might be a good idea. Although....being on the beach sure sounds good to me right now!!!

awesome info everyone! thanks!!

won't the sprawl eventually get so far out that it will not have the income base from those who work in Houston to support it - making the 'near burbs' more attractive and drive the price up? That is what seems to be happening around here ( chicago)....but chicago has the lake on one side so that limits the directions people can go to build. I have friends building a house 70 miles out of the city and still commuting to the city (i do not envy them!)...because they can not get anything for under 180 closer than that that is in a decent school district!! We bought our house 4 years ago...for 175k...we are 30 miles west of chicago..it is a 3bd raised ranch with 1/3 acre of land (A LOT around here!)...nothing too special...and it was just appraised at 280k because everyone is trying ot get back into the closer burbs!! probably right about buying in the city though....that will always appreciate if a good neighborhood. thanks ;-)

You guys have been great in providing info and opinions for us so I thought I would throw this out there too and see if anyone has any good recommendations. My husband is a Senior Systems Analyst and has been doing this for a consulting firm for just under 10 years. Right now he is researching consulting firms in Houston to apply to and we know that personal view and recommendations are worth a whole lot more than facts and figures gathered from the internet! Does anyone have any opinions on firms in Houston? Any with good reputations come to mind? Which ones do the companies you work for use? Thanks for any info!!!

Thanks for all the info!! ;-)

I need to be sure to check out a concert there before we move!

The metra rail yard has always been below street level so I guess I don't consider MP being elevated anymore than I considered Grant Park elevated - it is all at street level. And I will give you the 'gentle slope' aspect I guess...hehe...I grew up in central PA so anything more than a gentle slope requires a 4x4 to get up...everything looks pretty flat in this part of the country. How is the sound system there? Concert-wise...was it as good as they were saying it would be???

can someone give me a link to school district rankings for houston and the surrounding areas (I am even looking as far as Galveston)...I am so blown away by the low cost of housing that I don't know how to judge it. Here around Chicago - if you are in a good school district...a normal person can not touch a house in the area!! thanks for the input!!!

you know...they did make some sidewalks that are above street level going thru it....so i guess there are higher vantage points than the street. you know...i do have to say that they planted a TON of flowers and plants to spruce up the place around MP -

Those two wall fountains face each other and the faces on them change and they make different expressions and at one point, they make an "o" with their lips and water spits out like it is coming out of their mouth! very very disturbing......

Hi! Thanks for the link - I loved the intro on the site...listed every reason people up here tell us not to move down there!

someone post the details of the report for us "non locals" - thanks!!!

I live in chicago (burbs) - there is no incline down in Grant Park where they built this....there are some bridges that 'incline over the streets' so you can see it better but i don't suggest standing on them in traffic - unless you have had a bad day and decide that you want your last visual memory to be of a big silver kidney bean..... as for the "bean"....the developers say iti s to reflect the clouds and want it referred to as such....but we do indeed call it "the bean" - but since we only have sun about 10 days a year....it will keep busy reflecting clouds!!! I have not been to a concert there yet to see if the sound quality is really worth the wierd looking concert area....I will let you know when I have first hand knowledge of that! Overall - my personal opinion is that the entire project was not worth the money...taxes went up because of it...it sorta looks cool but mostly does not fit in (in my 'technical' opinion - LOL). Maybe it will just take some getting used to...I don't know And I have to tell you...the faces on those fountains spitting water is just disturbing in my book!!!

Thanks for the info! From the research I am doing it seems like all around Houston is a good investment at the moment. (yes?) Salaries are comparable to Chicago but housing is half what it is here! Am I getting the right feel of the area?? I know the population is growing but is the area attracting new big business to support the population growth? And thanks for the debate going on about what Galveston has....I am saving all the links and taking note of the pros and cons!! I appreciate it!! So far this forum is awesome!!!

Hey - as someone who is relocating to the area - thanks for the links!!!

define 'massive commute'....we live in a burb of chicago - so we are sorta used to long commutes - not too sure how that compares to down there though. any other burbs of houston that i should be looking at or that you recommend? middle class...decent schools....low crime rate...appreciating values.... everyone that i tell that i am moving to galveston says "what about the hurricanes" - now keep in mind that here in the midwest...you can be outside and literally watch a storm and funnel cloud develop!! i tell them that at least you get a warning about the hurricanes!!!

My family is planning a move to the Houston area - and I am thinking of buying a home in Galveston. I have read/inferred from different articles I have read on the internet that housing values will triple on the island in the next ten years. What are your opinions on this? Any opinions on buying in Galveston at all are appreciated! BTW - I have been 'lurking' on this forum for a while - glad to see it is back up and thanks for all the wonderful info I have gathered here!!!