Houston Here I Come!!!

[sneedb82]

Howdy fellow Texans.

Some of you do know, and some don't know, I'm originally from Lubbock. To make a long story short, I applied for a job in Houston, we (both myself and the company I applied to) dropped the ball, and instead of me taking the job with them in Houston, I took a job in Snyder. The jobs both are accounting related (as I have a Masters of Accounting), however, now the firm in Houston wants me to join them. We have agreed to look at starting in January 2010. As a result, I'm kinda getting a head start on looking for someplace to live there in Houston.

If you guys from Houston could help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. The list of items on my list starting out are as follows:

1) Office is in North Houston (Off of IH45 and Sam Houston Expwy). Looking for a place (rent or buy) in that area. Rent will be anywhere between 800-1200 month). Purchase, I'm not sure of yet because we hadn't been able to purchase a home yet due to credit issues.... and we're not like most who in the past few years sought a hand out from the Big 4 financial companies to get a home we couldn't afford). A place to rent of course would need to be pet friendly, so housing rather than apartment would be quite beneficial. Realtors or Home owners looking to sell/lease to sell would be awesome.

2) Shooting ranges in the area of the office. I am a CHL, obviously, and would like to continue towards IDPA events if possible (had to give that up when I left Lubbock).

3) Working towards getting back into TXSG, however, after I left Lubbock, none of the NCO/CO will return my emails about the app process that I submitted to them. Will probably re-enlist/commission into the TXSG in Houston (I believe that is 8th Regiment). This is not a priority, of course; moving is.

4) What kind of utilities do you guys pay in Houston (specifically if you live in North Houston); Electric, Gas (if any), Water, Sewer, Trash, etc.?

I'm looking for a good firm foundation to start from, as I live in Snyder/Colorado City at the moment, and my resources are limited to what I can do at work (firewalls, walls with ears, etc.). Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm finally excited about getting to where I've always said I'd wanted to be before I'm 30 -- Away from Lubbock, and starting a new career. Thanks in advance for your help Gents/Ladies.

--Brandon

[amber]

Congratulations on finding a new job in this economy and good luck with the move. Shiloh range is out that way. Stay away from apartments in the "gunspoint" area unless things changed.

[CainA]

Get on MLS and although you're looking way in advance it might give you some idea of what's out there as far as real estate is concerned:

http://www.har.com/cs_body2.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I work near where your office is and thankfully not any farther south, 'cuz the traffic can get bad. Pull up a map of the Houston Metro area and here's what I would plug in as far as living area criteria. North of FM1960(preferably North of 2920 Spring Cypress), East of Hwy 249, West of Hwy 59. There is "The Woodlands" that can be pricey(which meets the criteria mentioned).

ranges:
There is a Carters Country that's not too far from FM 1960/45 and there's Shiloh as mentioned before off of FM 1960 and Champions Dr. area.

Hope some of that helps.

-Cain

[sneedb82]

Congratulations on finding a new job in this economy and good luck with the move. Shiloh range is out that way. Stay away from apartments in the "gunspoint" area unless things changed.

Thank you. As an accountant, especially in the industry other than oil/gas, there is opportunities, but not good paying ones. The Oil/Gas Drilling company I work for has many projects that need to get done during this down turn, so it's imperative that we get them done, because when oil goes back up this summer, we'll be super busy. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm looking forward to the move in January 2010

[frazzled]

Be aware Gunspoint used to be called Gunspoint for a reason. It may have improved since then. As noted closer to 1960 (same may call it HWY 6 -same road) may be better.

Rent should not be bad.

There is a range on 290 as well.

(edited for spelling like a monkey)

[CainA]

Be aware Gunspoint used to be called Gunspoint for a region. It may have improved since then.

Nope, hasn't changed even though a big management company came in a bought a bunch of the apt. complexes and prettied them up; it's the same old place.

There is a range on 290 as well.

Yep..290 between Barker Cypress and Skinner---Hot Wells is the name of the range.

-Cain

[sneedb82]

So far, you three have provided wonderful information. I'm trying to get a budget together, to even see if this is a feasible option (although the job is nice, making sure I'm in my budget before I move will help things a little better).

Can you let me know what you pay for in terms of Electricity, Water, Sewer, Trash, Natural Gas. If any of those you pay in the area aforementioned (Cypress/Spring, Tombell, etc.) I would greatly appreciate knowing what typically you pay for those services. Those are the hardest things to estimate or guess at when you're not from that area.

Oddly enough, I said I'd never move to Houston... and now, it looks like I'm eating my words. Oh well. Where the Lord leads, we must follow. Now just gotta keep going to get through the rest of this year (although it's already April... December will be here before I know it). Thanks so much for your help so far... looking forward to more information as the time progresses.

--Brandon

[CainA]

I live in a ~1500 sq. ft. one story house built in 1981 or '82, so keep in mind that energy efficiency back then wasn't of most importance, although I have since added more insulation to the attic, no other energy efficiency items have been addressed. Single paned windows are still in the house, double pane is code now I believe. 12-13 SEER A/C unit. I have an electric clothes dryer, but gas water heater and furnace.

Summer
Electrical: $160-$190
Gas: $35
Water/Sewer (which includes garbage pickup): $42

Winter
Electrical: $85-$125
Gas: $50-$75
Water/Sewer (which includes garbage pickup): $42 (same as above)

Tomball/Spring/Humble/The Woodlands aren't bad commutes to the Greenspoint area(I-45/Beltway 8) of course depending on time of day; the earlier the better.

-Cain

[sneedb82]

I live in a ~1500 sq. ft. one story house built in 1981 or '82, so keep in mind that energy efficiency back then wasn't of most importance, although I have since added more insulation to the attic, no other energy efficiency items have been addressed. Single paned windows are still in the house, double pane is code now I believe. 12-13 SEER A/C unit. I have an electric clothes dryer, but gas water heater and furnace.

Summer
Electrical: $160-$190
Gas: $35
Water/Sewer (which includes garbage pickup): $42

Winter
Electrical: $85-$125
Gas: $50-$75
Water/Sewer (which includes garbage pickup): $42 (same as above)

Tomball/Spring/Humble/The Woodlands aren't bad commutes to the Greenspoint area(I-45/Beltway 8) of course depending on time of day; the earlier the better.

-Cain

Cain, thanks for your input. I currently drive 35-45 minutes from where I live to go to work (however, we're talking a 40 mile commute also). Being from Lubbock, we had issues with Desert like climate, where it's 100 degrees all day long (even after dark) sometimes during the summer (Late July to October sometimes).... and so our Electricity (which was a part of the sewer/trash/water) would encroach to 300$ easily, and a 1600-1700 sq ft home. Knowing an estimate or particulars in the vicinity will help out tremendously. We've already found that housing where you've mentioned is significantly lower than I expected, so thanks again. We'll keep an eye on it though, for obvious reasons.

Brandon

[frazzled]

Tomball/Spring areas are beautiful. When you go there your eyes almost hurt with how green some of the area is. Tomball is known for its large pine trees (like really large). That whole region gets a good bit of rain, but is relatively far from the coast. This is a BIG deal when hurricanes come around.

249 takes you to 45 and near the beltway I believe.

[sneedb82]

*BUMP*

Added prayer request as the CPA firm has decided that they need me sooner than they originally thought...

Asking for prayer for wisdom, courage, as well as understanding from the guidance of the Holy Spirit in this situation. Your prayers are greatly appreciated... as well as your kind thoughts and words encouraging me in the area that we should move if God allows us to move.

Brandon

[jbirds1210]

I wish you well in your move. The Thunder Range in Conroe has a great IDPA group....it would be well worth your drive when you get settled. You will learn a great deal from them.

http://www.tts-idpa.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Jason