jemmlove

Hello everyone,

Newbie here and an excited one if you couldn't already tell from my title

There is a few threads similar to this but they are several years old so I wanted a fresh input. To start I'll give you a bit of info.

My husband and I (both Scottish, been expats for 5 years, spent several years in Dubai and now residing in Qatar,) are relocating to Houston coming October! We are both 26 years old, very active with no children/pets. He shall be working full time in the Baytown area and I will be a 'housewife' to start with (I'm considering distance learning for a while.) We are considering living anywhere within a 30 minutes drive radius but preferably north/south west of Baytown.

I was just keen to get some personal tips/advice on ANYTHING. I have done a substantial amount of 'research' online regarding housing, transport, neighbourhoods, lifestyle, events, holidays, Texans mannerisms etc etc etc but first hand from you guys would be fabulous too.

Thank you all in advanced

Owen778

Welcome (back?) to BE!

I came into the thread hoping to offer some pointers, but Baytown is as far from downtown Houston as Cypress is, but in the opposite direction. The two are over 50 miles apart. Most of the regulars here from the area also live downtown or west of the city. For working out where to live, I recommend asking your husband's future colleagues where they recommend, and maybe also reading through the Houston forums at city-data.com

The Houston area gets very hot, usually 90 to 100F each day in July and August, though Baytown's proximity to the coast may make it a little better. If you want to be active, you'll find yourself using gyms or getting outside at dawn or after dusk (with bug spray!)

Texans are generally friendly people. Many are religious and socially conservative, though the large numbers of out-of-state incomers mean that isn't quite so true in the Houston area.

mikelincs

What visa will he be getting, the answer to that will make a lot of difference as to what you can do, whether you will be able to work or not etc.

jemmlove

Hey! Yes I have been a member for a while way back when we were initially looking to become expats!

City-data.com - thank you for the tip! I have managed to find some lovely little 'compounds' which is a whole other bunch of questions - that house apartments with amenities such as a pool etc, I was really just gathering a list of areas and I think our best bet is to wait until arrival and visit them ourselves! We've been looking at the likes of Pasadena and surrounding...

Oh really! it is currently 97F here in Doha at the moment and 6pm in the evening! So thankfully this won't be a shock to us but hey I was kinda hoping for a little relief!

Oh great, we are not religious ourselves and do not judge a person regardless so hopefully we will be fine!

jemmlove

We are on L1/L2 visa's, Mike! I will not be working initially, I think I will do some volunteering

ChocolateBabz

I live South of Houston in Pearland. My hubby works in Westchase which is on Beltway West but has engineers and project managers who live all over and commute. I am not too familiar with Baytown itself but the East Side of town is sadly not the prettiest or best for things to do. Knowing where some of his colleagues commute from Clear Lake might be a good choice which is South of you and I have a friend in League City, there's been quite a bit of new development there. Hubby has an engineering workshop in Deer Park and he can do Pearland to Deer Park in around 30 mins if he leaves early (usually 6am) so that should give you an idea of commute times. There's plenty to do in Houston and depending on how you like to spend your spare time you might find you want to go into Houston often so you don't want to be too far out as you will rack up the miles quickly. When looking at places to live ask if there have been any flooding issues, we have had a fair share of rain the last couple of years and flooding can be an issue. P.S. I'm Scottish too \o/

jemmlove

Hey,

Ah! I've been looking at Clear Lake as well as Deer Park, Pasadena, and surrounding areas, well I say looking, that is the only places I have seen for rent that we so far have liked for that commute time! Hubby currently driving 3 hours a day to his site here in Doha and he's desperate to cut that time down so we are sticking to the 30 minute radius.

I thought so about visiting Houston, to be honest though, we have been living bang smack in the city for 7 years now so quite looking forward to being a bit out and we will both have a car!

Ah thank you for the flood tip! I Would never have though Texas floods! But thats just my ignorance talking.

Good to see another fellow scot enjoying it !

scrubbedexpat097

I would take Clear Lake over Deer Park or Pasadena. Both Deer Park and Pasadena are over shadowed by chemical plants and bad smells ( Pasadena is known as Stinkadena by people that work there)

Clear Lake is an easy drive into Houston and also has plenty of places to eat, shop and of course the Lake!

Good luck in your new adventure and welcome to Texas

Bomjeito

You appear very happy to be coming over. A lovely lady (American) just moved in down the street from us having come from Doha via Anchorage. She misses Doha very much.


Anyhow, tons of Scots here in the Houston area. We are from Aberdeen. Now, Baytown isn't the loveliest of places however Clear Lake is. You'll find some nice accommodation that way.


Do not rely upon a map for distance to determine time in travel anywhere in Houston. Some days my husband drives 30 minutes to go 10 miles.


You may like that you are south of Houston; you can get to the Gulf Coast easier and find a more laid-back, less city life down there.


Try out City-Data.com for Houston and folks there will help you too, as many live in these areas there already.

Welcome!

jemmlove

Wow really, yeah? I like a lot of apartment complexes in Clear Lake so that is good to hear! We have seen loads more near the city centre but when we read up on traffic in Houston and with his project being based Baytown we decided against it!

Thank you

jemmlove

Really! I'm surprised to hear that as I really do detest Doha but each to their own eh! -

Yeah I've heard Baytown isn't the nicest so we wanted to avoid living there but also avoid long commutes for him - I'm glad to see a lot of good talk about Clear Lake and I LOVE that laid back life you are talking about having been in the city for quite some time we are looking forward to a more community, calmer vibe.

Thank you for the advice !

wheldo

i like Jemm shall be relocating to houston between now and Christmas! (Scottish too),
24 years of age and will be working on the east side of the city (richmond Ave).

What areas should i realistically look at living within a say 40 minute commute?
Websites do say a commute time but unsure how accurate these things are!

Owen778

Welcome to BE!

Are you sure about that, though? Richmond is basically west of the city. It runs from Main Street, just south of downtown, westward through the Galleria, Memorial City and Energy Corridor and stops at George Bush Park, between the Energy Corridor and Katy.

If you tell us roughly where on Richmond, and what sort of place you're looking for (city bars and restaurants vs. suburban family living) we can probably advise better.

wheldo

My apologies the west side of Houston! 10333 Richmond!
Me and my fiancé, no kids as yet but looking for family friendly areas as my fiancé will maybe try find work in daycare etc! Wouldn't mind an easy commute to the city but I understand thats a rare thing in Houston!
Looking for a house rather than apartment to rent

Owen778

That area I'd call Memorial City - just inside the Beltway and south of I-10.

There are quite a lot of OK houses close to there, though they are generally older, which for Houston means 1960s or so, though I forget exactly. Some of them have been updated inside recently. The location means they aren't that cheap, though, especially since it's just east of the Energy Corridor, which contains some of the big oil companies. Look at har.com for more information for housing.

Oh, and if your fiance (fiancee?) is coming, the two of you should get married before you get the visas. That said, you haven't said what visa you will be on. If it's an L1-A or L1-B, he (she?) will be able to work if an H1-B he (she?) will not.