moi

So here goes:
I've lived in NJ from Hull, Yorkshire since I first came to the US 22 years ago. Never lived anywhere else, done quite a bit of travelling but always based here.
Husband drops the clanger that he may have a promotion, but it will mean moving to Houston.
All I know is HEAT, HEAT, more open to guns (which I hate), and it is a huge state and have to drive everywhere, but we do here anyways.

My main worries are schooling for my current 3rd grader - how are they compared to NJ. We are pretty happy with the one he is currently in and he is also in the Gifted/Talented program.
Also, how are the dentists? I know I will need dental / implant work in the future.
We also have our Townhouse paid off since last year and had no mortgage now (which is a great feeling), just the CAM fee and property taxes of $8K a year.
I also work 25 hours a week and make pretty good $ per hour, so I would have to give that up. We are in the midst of a NJ domestic adoption and have been waiting 2 years and they told us about 2 to 2 1/2 years (my husband could always go ahead I guess until the adoption goes through).
What do you all think?
Again my questions are:
Knowing the differences between Houston and NJ and if you think I will like it there for myself and my family, compared to here in NJ what I have always known and my American husband as always known.
Also schools and dentistry - big issues.
My husband's company would just be paying for the relocation fees and then the salary increase. We would not have to move until probably next Summer time. He works for an Oil company. His family are up in CT so we don't see much of them anyway, but I feel bad taking my son from his cousins as he currently is an only child. Also hate taking him from his friends at school - he loves them.
Also how would I get a bloody goldfish that has lasted with us for over 2 years now and 2 cats (one who throws up on car drives and is cranky as hell) to TX?
Any info would be appreciated.
Mucho gracias.

Yorkieabroad

Do you know where he will be located? If in oil, it could be energy corridor, Woodlands, Downtown, the refineries in the E/SE. Very different areas.

Housing - I don't know what house prices are like where you are, but I think for a major Metropolitan area, Houston housing is pretty affordable, so you may be able to stay mortgage free here - or even upgrade. That being said, the housing market here has not really suffered over recent years, and in some areas, has been storming ahead, albeit from a cheap base. Houston is huge, but if you want to give an idea of likely price range, we could tell you what you could get in various areas. Or take a look at HAR.com to get an idea - they also have an app that in many ways is better than the website.

Schools - vary from (apparently) pretty good, to abysmal, again, depending on area. Again, Houston is Huge, and large variations depending on area. I'm sure there are some websites out there that can compare different states schooling. I'd be interested to see myself, because we are apparently in a good school area, but some of the stuff I see makes me wonder sometimes....

Weather - summer is hot, no getting away from it. That's what A/c and pools are for. Must admit, I don't mind the heat, although I was somewhat acclimatized as moved here from 8 years in Singapore. It doesn't stop us doing much, and its really only hot for 3 months of the year. The rest of the year is pretty darn nice weather wise. Plus if you're working, you're pretty well isolated from the weather...unless you're in gardening, construction etc, or, what I think must be the most unpleasant of the lot - an A/C repairman!
The thing about the weather that is great here is that it is (generally) very predictable. If you plan a bbq and swim party, you can pretty much guarantee a few days out that it will happen.

Dentists - tons of them.

Kid - 3rd graders are adaptable - and the schools (at least in our district) shake up the classes from year to year anyway, so the kids become adept at making new friends.

Goldfish - if its already 2, and you're not moving till next year, it may be a self resolving problem...!

moi

Yorkieabroad - thank you very much for your descriptive response...very helpful It looks like it is Downtown area off Dallas Street. The actual office is at Louisiana Street.

https://maps.google.com/maps?safe=ac...ed=0CCwQ8gEwAA

Weeze

As a general rule, inside the inner loop (where downtown is) you are going to find worse schools than outside the loop. There are some exceptions to that rule, but not many. If you had to live downtown then the easy answer would be the school will be worse than the one your son currently goes to. If you are happy to have a commute to work, then you have a lot more options. Www.greatschools.org is a pretty good starting place.

We, like many oil families, live in the burbs and Mr Weeze does his commute every day. Friends who move here from the East Coast say it's a totally different place. Much more republican.

Yorkieabroad

Are you going to be using public schools, or will he go to the British School (or other private)? If the former, then if I were you I'd be looking at living further out, and accept that commuting is the way to go. If the latter, then you have a lot more flexibility, I just wonder how many other kids you would come across if you lived so centrally. Most of the condos seem to be full of young professional couple/singles, older folk using it as a commuter pad, or retirees. I don't see many families right in the heart of downtown.

We live out in Katy, and my wife worked on Lousiana for a few years. She used to commute via Park and Ride, or later on, with a vanpool from work. It took a lot of the sting out of the traffic - still a hefty commute, but given the short working hours here (), in her industry, it wasn't too bad, and she was always home by 6.00 - earlier on the vanpool.

Lbjen

We moved here over the summer, the guns haven't really been an issue for us, it's more that the god squad are in your face at every turn, which of course may not be an issue for you.

Bink

As Yorkie mentioned, if you have a housing budget in mind we can point you in the right direction of what you can get, where.

To echo what Weeze and Yorkie said, most of us with families live out in the suburbs and commute in as the schools are good and the housing is affordable. There are a few good schools inside the loop but the house prices in the area reflect that.

What is it that you do for work at present? Would you definitely have to give it up? As far as O&G for your husband, Houston really is the place to be at the moment and I can only see salaries rising in the next 15 years.

Honestly, other than my (American) wife screaming at me that I'll get shot when I beep my horn I've not encountered guns either. I'm slightly concerned at my son's exposure to them at friends houses when he's older but I'll deal with that when he's old enough to understand.

Yorkieabroad

I haven't come across them from a problem point of view, either, in the 10+ years we've been here. I have been surprised by some of the people that have mentioned they have guns. And there have been some close-ish incidents, including a shooting in the subdivision when some gangbangers followed home a driver who had flashed his lights at them (sort of like honking a horn.....). But apart from that, nothing. My eldest goes to one house that we know has guns. We know the parents, we know how he keeps his stuff (finger print access safe, ammo seperate etc etc) and are confident that there will not be a problem there.

Also, one of the best things I did to soothe my gun nerves was to enroll my eldest in the Boy Scouts rifle and shot gun courses. Both run by highly experienced guys with military and/or NRA instructor qualifications. I've taken the course with them, and it is safety all the way, tools not toys etc etc. I am pretty confident that my sons know how to handle themselves around guns now, even though we don't have any at home, because at some point, they are going to encounter them.

Yorkieabroad

A well timed warning shot normally scares them off....

Bink

Yes, this is what I was planning to do and seemed to me the best approach to get him to respect them and know how to handle them properly.

moi

Trust me the God squad will be told where to go

Lbjen

Unless you're putting the kids in private school I wouldn't be so sure...

moi

He is currently going to public school and will be going to public school there too. We are not rich. This will be a promotion from Manager level (93K) to Director level - we are not sure yet but $$ will be approx. $115 mark, about 15% increase he is thinking, but not sure yet. I will be giving up my part time job too, which brings in about $30K. Our townhouse value is around $260K and property taxes are $8K and HOA of $275 per month. We were assessed with new deck payments of $18K but we paid those off, which is a good sellers advantage otherwise they would be stuck with them for another 9 year payment.
My husband currently commutes for 1 hour and I do 45 minutes but work around my son's school hours and have flexibility of doing less hours if I want.
We would like to be in the suburbs - not in the city.
What are the working hours there - my husband is usually in the office by 7:30 and leaves around 5pm, but I think his regular hours are 8:30 to 5pm.
Thanks!

moi

Lbjen what do you mean? Are they actually hanging around the public schools perimeters? You don't really get any religious pressure in NJ - I've often told people I'm not religious and they haven't battered an eyelid here.

Weeze

Mr Weeze leaves by 5.30am and gets into the office for around 6am. Rush hour starts earlier in Houston so he chooses to avoid it by being in work early. You will have a lot of choice where to live if you are willing to have an up to 60 min commute.