ANYONE LIVE IN HOUSTON?

[Shari 6]

Keith got a call today for a job offer in Houston (oil company). We live in Birmingham, Alabama. The pay is excellent and the job is the closest to what he did back in the UK (mechanical engineering). We know he will never get money like that in B'ham, but I have 3 kids (2 girls live with me, ages 13 and 19, and my 13 year old son lives with his dad) and not sure how they would feel (oldest daughter in college here) and it would be hard to leave my son. Anyhow, in addition to trying to figure out everything, I needed to know if anyone had any opinions on Houston. If I didn't have my kids I would jump at it, but that is the big thing having us think. Anyhow, thanks for any replies!

[SOlcayto 0]

If you don't live in the really nice part of Houston, then forget it. It can get pretty dangerous in certain areas. I live in Austin and I really like certain parts of Houston but I don't make enough money to live in the safe areas. I hear they have a really good art program for jr. high and high school kids though at most of the public schools. The art district is the place to be. You can check it out on the web. I believe it's the south area you want to stay away from.

SOL

[Peggy 1]

How far of a move is it Shari from where you are now. Sounds like a great job for Keith. Best of luck what ever you decide.

[SOlcayto 0]

She lives in Birmingham, AL so it's pretty far. I used to live in Birmingham when I was a kid. I still have very fond memories of the beautiful landscape where we lived.

SOL

[Peter Miami 0]

Don't do it! Just kidding good luck.

[Shari 6]

Well, we won't know a lot of the details for a couple hours. Keith was fishing when they called him on his cell phone and said they would email him all the information. He has been sitting in front of the computer for three solid weeks 6-8 hours a day looking for a job and I told him that he deserved a fishing day (especially because it is in the 70s today) to clear his head & eyes. He won't be home until close to 5:00 and then we can read up on the job, etc. Thanks for everyone's responses.

[almaty 19]

harris county is one of the client companies...i can tell you all about crime or the human services there..

[Fandango 1,440]

That'll teach Daryl a lesson to run off for the week! (jk)

Best of luck with whatever you do Shari!

[Captain Ewok 1,900]

You can use the member search tool to find members from there. Here is a list of about 40 people .

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...sort_order=desc

[ChristinaM 0]

The time I spent in Houston was at the mall, but working out of Texas generally I found the people to be friendly.

Is there any way of looking at a smaller town nearby, if the suburbs of Houston itself are bad? I don't recall off the top of my head what else is round there.

[Velvettt 0]

Live in Houston? That job would have to come with a 6 figure salary for us to consider it. We live in San Antonio and my husband has family in Houston suburbs. Horrendous traffic jams, frequent flooding during bad storms, and a crime rate that makes my eyes bug out! Houston is a great place to live if you're rich. You might also want to google the new crime stats just issued for Houston: 70% increase in homicides and other violent crimes since last year... you know, pre-Katrina? I've never been to Alabama, so I have no idea what you'd be giving up. Think this one through very carefully.

[kc456 0]

I would weigh the salary against the cost of living carefully. Don't know how expensive it is, but if the area is expensive, you may find the pay not to match up! Where I live, salaries are high, but housing costs are astronomical. So be careful.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The Salary Calculator @ Homefair

Best Places - Compare cities (Cost of Living, Crime Rates, etc.)

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Cost of Living Calculator - inflationdata.com

Good Luck!

[*Robert* 2]

I have lived in Houston when I was younger, and my folks lived there for many years until my Mom passed away. I used to vist there all the time, and just NEVER felt comfortable there. I have lived in many parts of Texas, and though I hate to admit it... Houston is by far the worst. Velvettt pretty much painted the right picture. Between Alabama and Texas, your dollar should go much futher in Alabama, unless you were to go to a city OTHER than Houston. To get away from the crime and violence, you have to live in the northern suburbs, and it isn't cheap up there. The only real advantage would be that Texas doesn't have State Income Tax. Texas also has the best University in the world... Texas A&M University! (Sorry... couldn't resisit the plug!)

There are defintiely things to consider, but I know when I had my choice between Houston and Dallas, I chose Dallas in a hearbeat! (and not just because I wanted to be further away from my parents! )

Hope some of this helps.

Robert

P.S. My father was in the oil business too, and loved Houston... go figure! Needless to say, we don't get along!

Edited February 17, 2006 by roi_aggie

[Shari 6]

So over 24 hours after I posted we know nothing more. Yesterday the recruiter said he would send Keith some information via email. The only thing that came when he got home from fishing was an email asking him to re-send his resume (seems the guy got it off of a site where you copy and paste your resume in a little box and he wanted a nicer attachment). Anyhow, that was emailed back out to the guy yesterday around 4:00. He's heard nothing since. So if they were so "desperate" for him and needed an answer in 48 hours why haven't they contacted him? Oh well. I think at this point I would rather stay in Birmingham. My youngest daughter plays fast-pitch softball and the season is just starting up. She was asked by the high school coach also to fill in pitching on some of their games as they only have 2 pitchers, so that is a real honor as my daughter is only in 8th grade (but a great lefty pitcher ).

I'll let you know if we ever hear back from the recruiter. Thanks for ALL the replies. It was all so very informative!