[Metal_Majesty]

Hi everyone,

I’m a public accountant from central Illinois. I recently got a possible job opportunity in Houston, TX and am flying down in a week and a half to meet with the employer. I have been to a lot of states but Texas is not one of them. Is there anyone from Texas that can give me advice or opinions? The job is also for a public accounting firm and although the pay isn’t out of this world the benefits are very good. Also… anyone want to buy a house in central Illinois and I hear there might be a job opening at a local firm nearby…

[earlt]

@Metal_Majesty, there are several different areas around Humble you can look at. What suits you best will probably be a mix of commute and being comfortable with where you live, if that makes sense. I personally disliked living in the Humble/Kingwood area during my time on that side of town, but there are a lot of people over there. FWIW, I don't think traffic is as bad on the northeast side as some other parts of town, but it can still be a bear — especially around rush hour.

Houston is definitely growing and one of the best cities in the US as far as job opportunities and cost of living go. The city is a beast when you look at it, and it does not have zoning restrictions (I think this was mentioned already). Texas is a very conservative state, but Houston is (generally speaking) much more liberal. Also, just a thought — if I were going to work out of Humble again, I might look around the east part of Beltway and some of the newer subdivisions/etc. being built. However, I have no knowledge of what school district(s) all of that housing falls under on that side of town.

[Tootsie]

First of all, congrats on getting the interview. I hope you do well.

I was born and raised in suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. I went to college in College Station (about an hour from Houston). I visited Houston a few times – good shopping and restaurants. I lived in Atlanta for a while and now I live in Boston. I will not move back to Texas because of the weather, bugs, non-existent public transportation, and my allergies. Now, the weather in Boston is crazy in the winter months, but I prefer the cold over the heat. I remember Texas being very hot in the summer and part of fall and when I mean hot, I'm talking in the 90s and 100s (mostly 100s in summer months). You couldn't even go outside unless you were jumping in a pool or something. Everyone drives because well, you have to drive to get somewhere as Texas is big and everything is spread out. I haven't owned a car in 2.5 years and am loving it (I take the subway). The bugs, oh man the bugs. They are HUGE! And where there is humidity and warmth, there will be lots of bugs. Texas does not have state income tax and things are less expensive than other states, such as MA. The Tex Mex is delicious. Texans LOVE to eat, at least my family does. You will see fast food, restaurants, and gas stations on every street corner, it's insane. When I go back home to visit every couple of years, the population is bigger and they are always building shops, restaurants, etc. You really have to live there a while to experience everything and see if you like it or not. Also, I lived in the northeast part, which is drier than the southeast part (Houston).

Good luck on your interview!

FAR - 76
AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
BEC - 76
REG - 77

never, never, never give up

[san4596]

Humble is a nice area, but I do not know about the school district rating. Rush hour can be horrible going down the main hwy through Humble, but you can get around it using the back roads.

Houston was one of the hard hit areas from the housing bubble that popped when the economy went south. Still, they did not get hit as hard as other areas across the country. The reason why there are still many foreclosures in and around Houston is due to construction. Housing construction exceeded demand for a couple years, and caused many construction company's to go belly up between 2008-2011.

Regarding hurricanes, I have lived in the Gulf Coast region for 33 years, and have only seen damage from them in 3 random years. It's like saying you don't want to live close to Jersey Shore due to Hurricane Sandy, which was like a 100 year storm in the making. The possibility of being hit by a hurricane is slim to none.

CPA EXAM: DONE!!!!
Ethics Course: Passed
Application Mailed: 3/16/15
Professional Conduct Exam: 97
Certification Date: 4/2/15!!!

[Anonymous]

1. Yes. Houston is hot. It's on the Gulf coast. That is a fact of life. Montana is cold, also a fact of life.

2. Yes. Houston, and the Gulf Coast in general, has bugs. Huge bugs that will carry off small children if they are not properly restrained. I have an aunt that has lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for over 50 years and she tells me that there isn't a single mosquito in the state of Alaska. They are all happily married with huge families.

3. Yes. Houston has been hit by hurricane's. See #1 for explanation. But you cannot spend your life running from Mother Nature. She will find you. Would anyone turn down a job in California because there might be an earthquake? Or turn down a job in Kansas because of there might be a tornado? Probably not because you cannot escape the weather. At least with Hurricane's, NOAA does a fairly good job of letting us know when and where they are going to hit. If it's coming your way, you evacuate. Simple. Earthquakes and tornado's cannot be predicted with the degree of accuracy that NOAA has given us with hurricanes.

4. Yes. Houston/Texas has politics. They are also a fact of life but are not relevant to this discussion in my opinion. **Ragin' Cajun stretches**

5. Yes. Houston has some Katrina evacuee's. A lot of those people were evacuated for a second time three weeks after Katrina when Hurricane Rita hit. And for the record, Rita was a much more powerful storm, people just tend to forget about her because she didn't hit New Orleans. God knows she rocked my world! Just about every state either has now or did have Katrina evacuee's. We are working on New Orleans as fast as we can, so those people can come home. I fail to see the relevance of this fact.

6. Only in Houston can you get passed by a cop on the interstate when you are exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour. The traffic isn't that bad. You just have to learn how to go with the flow and merge. 😉

7. Houston has more things to do in a square mile than most states have in total. This is my top 10 list:

Galveston Island

Moody Gardens

Kemah Boardwalk

outlet shopping galore

professional basketball

professional baseball

professional football

museums

Houston has some of the best restaurants in the freaking world, not to mention any and every kind of food known to man. Steak, BBQ, seafood, Tex-Mex, Asian… and the list goes on and on and on. And you are only about an hour and a half away from some AWESOME Cajun food!

FREAKING NASA!! They have a Saturn V Rocket and Historic mission control!! ‘Nuf said!

Good Luck on your interview!

[san4596]

Kricket – Thank you for being the only person outside of Texas and the media for saying that Rita was worse than Katrina! I <3 U for that and many other reasons. The damage in my area was terrible, and we did not have power for a whole month. Crystal beach was wiped out, and no media coverage what so ever. I also think it is funny how Bridge City, TX was basically wiped clean from a Hurricane a few years ago and there was no national coverage of how bad the damage was.

I don't know if you realize this yet, but Houston also has a brand new professional soccor team with stadium!

CPA EXAM: DONE!!!!
Ethics Course: Passed
Application Mailed: 3/16/15
Professional Conduct Exam: 97
Certification Date: 4/2/15!!!

[Tootsie]

” Huge bugs that will carry off small children if they are not properly restrained” – LMAO!!!!

FAR - 76
AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
BEC - 76
REG - 77

never, never, never give up

[UHC2005]

Louisiana bugs > Texas bugs

Using Ninja MCQ, NINJA Notes, Audio, Flashcards and BLITZ, and 2014 Wiley Text

FAR - (61,63)
AUD - (68)

Keep Calm and RTMFQ

Accountant, what is best in life? To crush your MCQs, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their SIMS!

[Tootsie]

Yeah, when I lived in Georgia, I saw some scarier bugs (huge hairy centipedes and freekin spider crickets!) but I think Texas wins in diversity of bugs lol. I can see Louisiana having big bugs too.

FAR - 76
AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
BEC - 76
REG - 77

never, never, never give up

[Anonymous]

@Tootsie – Big bugs come to the LA swamps to evolve and get bigger. Living in that environment, it's get big or get ate! LOL

@San – Rita was a very strong Cat 1, potentially weak Cat 2, over my house and that very rarely ever happens. I'm far enough inland that they are typically a TD when they get to me. But Rita pounded everything up the Sabine Pass from Houston to Lake Charles and almost to Shreveport. She was a much stronger storm than Katrina!!!

[Metal_Majesty]

Just wanted to tell everyone thank you for their comments. I got the job and now I am in the process of getting ready for the move… while studying. Darn exams!

[Anonymous]

Metal_Majesty – that is great congrats.

Pretty soon you will figure out what areas you will like to live in and so I would recommend the first year try to rent before buying a place.

I live in Houston TX for 2 yrs. I didn't like it. Sorry Houston Folks. It wasn't a place for me, as I can't deal with heat/humidity and this is where my health just plummeted. So when we moved out to CA I really was grateful and over all I feel so much better but I have a long road to get to where I feel 100% again. Sure everything is expensive here but the lifestyle I am getting here is what I wanted/needed.

So all I will say is Houston TX is not for everyone.

[Author]

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