Houston vs Chicago Dilemma

So

Chicago vs Houston

I want to move to Houston.

Lower cost of living, translates to more money in my pockets. I want to buy a home by 2015, and in Houston housing is almost 50-60% less. I wouldn't live in the city of Houston, but a suburb like Woodlands or Sugarland, so that would make the violence and crime factor even more of a gap.

However my family and friends live here. (This is practically meaningless to me)

I want to ultimately start my own business by the time i'm 36. I have a few goals that require the years between now and then, so that's why i am not looking to do it now, I take my plan one step at a time.l

Bottom line, Everything I read says Houston is a great move for 30 year old couples with children. That's what my family (new family) is. However, I'd have to move, which cost $$$$, and obviously I have to weigh the risk, spend all the paltry savings to get down there, or stay up here, and continue to have to deal with cut throat reality of a city that is infamous for low balling, no commitment, corruption, bad weather, yada yada yada...

I mean I literally have no one to weigh this with.. I've been doing research since July, but they Old Lady, is pretty much "whatever you want I want..." she has no opinion about anything, so that doesn't help. She is so traditional that again when it comes to big decisions I have to make them on my own because her family never allowed her to grow up, so she is use to following the lead of someone else.

So I don't know, Its hard for me to be definitive about moving across country, to a place with no gig, no apartment, limited funds, with my wife and 1 month...But my lease is up next month, they are selling our condo. My contract ends at the end of this month, but they want to extend me, but I am making much less than I should be....Its a lot of stuff to process on top of studying 75% of my time out side of work ... i mean I think now more then anything i just need advice other than "STAY so we can toss the baby up and down and pinch his cheeks because that's all we care about!"

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MSP-IT

What would be best for you and your family in the long run? What is going to provide you and your wife with the best atmosphere in which to raise your child? Are you happy in Chicaco? Do you really want to give up the name Chitownjedi?

In all seriousness, it seems as though, from what you described, that Houston offers better opportunity. Personally, I hope to move to the Austin, Seattle or L.A. area within the next 3-4 years; which is mostly based on my childish whims of dreaming to work for Valve or Blizzard.

I would say go for it. It looks like now is the perfect opportunity for the move.

stlsmoore

I would say that Houston traffic and sprawl sucks but you're in Chicago and I know it's a whole other level there. They're both also really flat areas but I guess that doesn't really matter. The business environment is great in any of the metro's in Texas from what I hear, but Chicago is pretty good to. The main difference I think will be weather and cost of living, way cheaper in Texas and their winters are usually 40 degrees warmer or so lol.

Chitownjedi

Thanks for the responses..

I absolutely know its the best fit and opportunity, but I don't know, its kind of like being on the side of a road, and seeing something across the street that you've been always trying to get to, but fearing that even though there appears to be nothing coming for miles in either direction, as soon as you put one foot on that road, a thousand cars will come rushing pass at a million miles an hour like in some cartoon.

I guess its just nerves... I've read good things about Texas all year from Austin to DFW, to Houston, and San Antonio. And hell if I can pay for my son's education with money I save just living down here and everything else being cheaper, that's a gigantic relief.

Oh yeah Stismoore, traffic here sucks big time, I travelled 80 miles round trip out to naperville everday in 2011 from west loop downtown (where I stay) and I mean spending 3 hours in the car a day.. for over a year..Anyone who does that is a monster... because those are days you never get back. And I did that for 17.00 :-/ sheesh...what we do for the $$$

dmoore44

I used to live in DFW, and would someday like to move back to Texas (San Antonio this time around). Currently, I live in the DC area, and I can say that the cost of living is definitely much more bearable in Texas. Also, not having to worry about traffic, snow, crime, and a lot of other things is awesome. Personally, I would say go for it! There are a bunch of IT jobs in Texas, so if you can line one up - it's worth taking the chance!

msteinhilber

I'd jump all over that opportunity but I'm a bit bias because I really despise Chicago for a number of reasons and it's only getting worse and worse.

Chitownjedi

msteinhilber wrote: »

I'd jump all over that opportunity but I'm a bit bias because I really despise Chicago for a number of reasons and it's only getting worse and worse.

I agree 1000%

@dmoore44 The taxes here and just cost on everything is so high, I friend of mind that lives in SC has the same sqft and rooms as I do, but pays 600.00 less than i do, but he has a yard and extra parking spot! lol.. Give me that!...

the_Grinch

Girl I work with is moving to Houston in a few weeks for a job. Her rent is more pricey then here, but she got a ton more space. She's paying $50 a month for TV (with Showtime and HBO) and 10meg internet. The company she works for is paying for the move and is super cool. They buy lunch for you everyday, free soda/coffee/etc, and a cookie cart with milk. That being said, see if you can go month to month and find a gig down there. That way they'll pay for the move and you won't just go down with no job.

Michael2

Make no mistake, those places in Houston you mentioned earlier are expensive. I wouldn't risk moving out there unless you already have a job lined up. But you know what's best for your family. Just make sure you have a plan to fall back on if things don't go as intended.

lsud00d

Michael2 wrote: »

Make no mistake, those places in Houston you mentioned earlier are expensive. I wouldn't risk moving out there unless you already have a job lined up. But you know what's best for your family. Just make sure you have a plan to fall back on if things don't go as intended.

This is correct. The Woodlands in particular is one of the most expensive Houston suburbs, but it is very nice. It is still developing as they move outward from the center where obviously housing will be less but you will still pay a premium to live in the Woodlands.

cyberguypr

Follow your heart, life is short. Only thing I will tell you is to make sure you have a plan.

Chitownjedi

Yeah thanks for advice

Those places are expensive, I guess when i stated Sugarland/Woodlands those where I plan to settle once I get situated,(full-time employment over 60k sal) but for my initial landing Ill live wherever it's nice and affordable until i can get the type of job that can allow me to move into those areas... (I'd work help desk just to have income if I had too..bleh)

My wife will start working again around the summer and I've been hand feeding her A+Net+Security+ since she's switching careers from cosmetology to IT. I've been helping her prep and she's covered all the materials 2x now over the last 8 months, but I want her to go through each one one last time because its not about passing the test, I want her to be truly knowledgeable about all the entry level stuff, so when she finds her first help desk 1 role, she is well qualified.

I've been checking the apartment sites and I'm looking for a place below 1000.00 if we can find that we would save about 400.00 a month which helps a ton. I calculated that if it takes 2000.00 to move down there, just finding a cheaper place would pay for itself after 5 months, so that's an okay deal. On top of the cost of living, and almost $1.00 per gallon less gas.

Only problem here is if I want to stay in a safe area, Id have to pay similar to what I am now. And I'd rather pay a mortgage and accumulate some property then pay what i'm paying now. And if I want property might as well go to where its twice as much for half as much

SteveLord

Houston hands down.

Hypntick

Sounds like you're in a similar boat that I was about 6 months ago. My wife and I were living in Memphis, she's from the area and I am not. We recently moved to Charlotte a little over a month ago. It's really a no-brainer when you think about it, if your quality of life improves from the move, take the chance. I was barely making enough to have any savings, spent around $5500 in total costs to get from there to here. Was down to $200 in the bank at one point and will be low until the end of the month. But I ended up in a larger city, better job options, higher (58% increase) pay, less crime, and better housing options. Sure it's a risk, it's a giant pain to get moved across country, and it's expensive as heck, but it's worth every bit of it. Just do what you think is best.

dmoore44

chitownjedi - One more piece of advice... If you're even moderately serious about moving to Texas, be sure to choose the metro area that's going to align the best with your career goals (i.e. which industry you would like to work in most).

Houston is dominated by medical IT and an enormous corporate presence (lots of Fortune 500 companies)
San Antonio is dominated by military related IT (both gov and industry) - there's a healthy mix of health IT and cybersecurity
Austin has a large tech presence (Dell, MS, Apple, etc...), a few computer game companies, and state government related IT
DFW is dominated by corporate IT - there are a ton of Fortune 500 companies, tech companies, and a sizable base of defense contractors

ptilsen

Out of curiosity, why Houston, specifically? There are other metros that will be a similar change from Chicago for you. Call me biased (because I am), but the Minneapolis metro area is great. It compares favorably to Houston in crime statistics and unemployment rate and is about the same for salaries, cost of living (a bit higher on both, which means fairly balanced in terms of resulting discretionary income) (source: Wolfram Alpha). Weather is comparable to Chicago (a few degrees colder, less wind, more snow). The six-hour drive to see friends and family compared to 17 hours from Houston is also potentially an advantage.

Anyway, outside of plugging my own metro, I'm just curious what has led you to Houston, specifically, since there are lots of other metros favorable to Chicago. I have a friend who lived in Austin for a year or so before moving back here. He found the weather an improvement and he didn't hate it overall, but it was too much of a culture shock and he didn't like being away from family and friends.

Regardless, if you want to move and think you're ready to be away from friends and family, I say go for it. There are definitely some booming metros in terms of IT-related jobs, so you have lots of options. I'm sure you'll do great in Houston, or wherever you end up. That being said, my one piece of advice would be to try to find a job before moving. Toughing it out with a job in Chicago is probably better than toughing it out with no job anywhere else. If you play your cards right, you'll be able to relocate to gainful employment within a few months.

On that note, if you do look outside Houston, I would say look anywhere and everywhere you'd be willing to live. The relocation bit will be a hurdle, and expanding your search will only make it go faster.

chaser7783

I live 2 miles from the Woodlands and drive to uptown(Galleria area) Monday - Friday. The drive can be bad but I opt to take the tollroad home, less stress and cuts drive time down. The woodlands is a nice area and expensive. The area I live in is nice and not expensive for me. I pay right at 1k a month for a brand new house. Houston IT is growing and fast, lots of medical, gas&oil companies, and financial. I work for an IT security company and can't seem to hire enough people.

I will agree like most have said, make sure you land the job first and also see if they will pay for relocation(my company does)

If you have any question about the Woodlands and surrounding areas shoot me a message, if IT security is something that interest you I could also talk to you about some opportunites at my company(Alertlogic)

sratakhin

Use this site to compare different places:
Compare Cities

I used it a lot when deciding which city I wanted to move to in California.

MSP-IT

ptilsen wrote: »

Out of curiosity, why Houston, specifically? There are other metros that will be a similar change from Chicago for you. Call me biased (because I am), but the Minneapolis metro area is great. It compares favorably to Houston in crime statistics and unemployment rate and is about the same for salaries, cost of living (a bit higher on both, which means fairly balanced in terms of resulting discretionary income) (source: Wolfram Alpha). Weather is comparable to Chicago (a few degrees colder, less wind, more snow). The six-hour drive to see friends and family compared to 17 hours from Houston is also potentially an advantage.

Anyway, outside of plugging my own metro, I'm just curious what has led you to Houston, specifically, since there are lots of other metros favorable to Chicago. I have a friend who lived in Austin for a year or so before moving back here. He found the weather an improvement and he didn't hate it overall, but it was too much of a culture shock and he didn't like being away from family and friends.

Regardless, if you want to move and think you're ready to be away from friends and family, I say go for it. There are definitely some booming metros in terms of IT-related jobs, so you have lots of options. I'm sure you'll do great in Houston, or wherever you end up. That being said, my one piece of advice would be to try to find a job before moving. Toughing it out with a job in Chicago is probably better than toughing it out with no job anywhere else. If you play your cards right, you'll be able to relocate to gainful employment within a few months.

On that note, if you do look outside Houston, I would say look anywhere and everywhere you'd be willing to live. The relocation bit will be a hurdle, and expanding your search will only make it go faster.

It's too damn cold here. I just moved from Denver. Bad choice...

Chitownjedi

I worked for a company this summer that came to Chicago and rented floor space for 400+ Lawyers for a case involving a giant oil company with in unfortunate accident in the golf. They were researching if fighting the case would be worth the effort. They were based out of Houston, and sent up Project Managers and Team Managers that rotated every week. Being that I was the lone Administrator of this site, I had lots of talks with them (The person who setup their network left their switches in half-duplex and my CCIE Manager did not test my theory for 3 1-2 weeks so this provided me with lots of complaints/chat time) but I had lots of discussions with them and beyond the obvious downtown hangout's Chicago had.. they raved about their home town. Every time they came up they couldn't wait to get back home.

They would always say you should come down and visit... This lead to me doing research, I was looking to San Diego, Seattle, San Fran, South Carolina, and once I started researching Houston, information in its favor was flooding my filters. They were in lots of Forbes magazines as the place your pay check goes the furthest, and lots of other sites were touting them as a burgeoning Juggernaut especially with growing IT do to the energy, oil, medical center down there.

My first choice was actually Austin, but I thought that might have been more of a change than Houston. Since Houston is bigger, and has more jobs, I just thought that if I needed to catch on some where that would probably be my best bet. I am however open to other areas in Texas, but Houston has always been one of those cities that had my attention (Because I'm a big sports fan) so it kind of has been my mascot for this thing.

I've had my resume up down there for about a week and have received some nice calls and emails... so I don't think finding a job will take too long... finding the one I want and deserve might, but not something that can pay the bills. If that is the place I do make my transition I will have at least 4-5 months worth of rent available up front. So if I can't find a gig in that time, i have more problems then I think. (I do however keep that in mind.)

ptilsen

MSP-IT wrote: »

It's too damn cold here. I just moved from Denver. Bad choice...

Wimp.

jdancer

I use to live in central Texas but went to Houston occasionally for work and that meant driving. I'm sure the traffic situation hasn't changed since then but probably got worse. Also, can you tolerate the Gulf humidity? It's brutal in summer. Just a few suggestions:

1) Visit city-data.com for info on Houston
2) Make a visit
3) Have a job lined up in Houston

I can usually handle brutal heat but the humidity really puts it over the top.

Concerned Water

I've been thinking about moving to Houston lately as well. I was planning for Maryland but the cost of moving there is not in my budget. Houston does appear to have good job options and a better cost of living.