Post #188,888
1/3/05 5:11:37 PM
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Who here is in Texas?
I'm retireing from the Air Force soon, and for a number of reasons am considering moving to somewhere around Houston (maybe Pasadena).
1. DON'T LIKE COLD, and am tired of North Dakota especially!
2. Am a scuba diver who was spoiled in Guam, so need conditions as close as I can get to those within the Cont. US
3. Reasonable housing costs
4. Need nearby large city (Grand Forks doesn't make muster)
5. Heat is not a problem
I have gathered that Lincoln is in Houston, and was wondering who else might be. I would be appreciative of any guidance I could get about housing and jobs in the area. I'd be moving there around July-August.
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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Post #188,892
1/3/05 5:38:34 PM
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Near Dallas, TX
Know that Houston is humid, lot's of industrial stuff as you go towards Beaumont.
And consider Houston part of a foreign state - so I actually know very little about the area. :-)
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Post #188,894
1/3/05 6:19:44 PM
1/3/05 7:11:08 PM
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Texas since 82
Houston area since 87.
I wouldn't recommend Pasadena, that part of the metro area is where the petrochemical plants and refineries are concentrated.
1) fits that bill. We had a freak snow storm for Christmas. I think last time I saw snow here was 6-7 years ago. I have the AC running this week.
2) no knowledge about scuba or Guam, but suspect you'll want easy access to Galveston. Check into Pearland, Friendswood and areas on I 45 south of beltway 8.
3) Houses in my neighborhood go for [link|http://www.pioneerhomes.com/commselect.aspx?psCode=H53|$110-220]. I live 20 miles south of downtown, easy access to downtown, medical center, Galleria(uptown). Houston's [link|http://webadv.chron.com/ads/ads_a/adsite/comparisons.html|cost-of-living index is 10% below the nationwide average, ... housing costs 21% below the average.]
4) The city proper is the 4th largest city in the states, largest in Texas. We're [link|http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa122099c.htm|10th] when concidering the "metro" area, right behind Dallas/Forth Worth.
5) Humidity is the problem, not the heat. July-August is probably the worst time of year to move here :-)
Darrell Spice, Jr. [link|http://www.spiceware.org/cgi-bin/spa.pl?album=./Artistic%20Overpass|Artistic Overpass]\n[link|http://www.spiceware.org/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
Edited by SpiceWare
Jan. 3, 2005, 07:11:08 PM EST
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Post #188,958
1/4/05 7:44:18 AM
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Re: Texas since 82
I can deal with the humidity too. Rainy season in Guam meant temps around 90F and rain at some time just about every day.
That's good to know about Pasadena, what other area would you recommend with lower crime, and reasonably priced houses (note: I'm single, and only need a 2-3 br house)
As for the diving, the Gulf is probably my best bet. probably won't see the 200' vis and bathwater warm water of Guam anywhere in the states, but the Gulf should be closest.
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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Post #189,001
1/4/05 2:25:01 PM
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part of 2
Check into Pearland, Friendswood and areas on I 45 south of beltway 8. I live on the southwest edge of Pearland in Fresno. Darrell Spice, Jr. [link|http://www.spiceware.org/cgi-bin/spa.pl?album=./Artistic%20Overpass|Artistic Overpass]\n[link|http://www.spiceware.org/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
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Post #190,542
1/17/05 11:39:32 PM
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Wait! Since When?
Since when is Dallas/Ft. Worth bigger than metro Houston?
Houston has always been the state's biggest city. At least in the 20th century.
Glen
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Post #190,580
1/18/05 12:09:49 PM
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Don't know
I found that out when I was getting into HDTV in the late 90s. The top 10 metro areas were required to be on the air first and that included Dallas/Fort-Worth(number 10), but not Houston(number 11). As of 2000, Houston's #10 while Dallas moved up to number 9. [link|http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa010102a.htm|Largest Metrpolitan Areas] Rank\tMetropolitan Area Name\t States\t2000 Pop.\n 9\tDallas-Fort Worth\t Texas\t5,221,801\n10\tHouston-Galveston-Brazoria Texas\t4,669,571 Darrell Spice, Jr. [link|http://spiceware.org/gallery/ArtisticOverpass|Artistic Overpass]\n[link|http://www.spiceware.org/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
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Post #189,048
1/4/05 7:14:04 PM
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Dude...
...Perfectly understand the ND thingy...having been "assigned" to Grand Fucksorks myself for a winter (after having been "assigned" to Yuma, AZ for the preceding summer...I know just exactly how a Sara Lee pie feels...).
Still...Tejas?!?
OK, so the scuba diving is probably a bit better'n my recommendation, which is one state west. Still, except for that, NM beats TX hands down. Besides, there's always Elephant Butte....
jb4
shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #189,086
1/5/05 9:00:17 AM
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Was assigned in NM for 5 years
No thanks. Yeah I know not everyplace in NM is as isolated as Cannon AFB/Clovis, but I'd be way too far from good diving locations there, and no, lake diving just doesn't make the grade.
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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Post #189,059
1/4/05 8:33:56 PM
1/4/05 8:40:50 PM
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Re: Who here is in Texas?
Am a scuba diver who was spoiled in Guam
If I was sticking around the area, I could sell you my gear cheap. Most is in great shape, in spite of being bought years ago from Ralph Erickson, PADI instructor #0001.
Reasonable housing costs
Be forewarned: Texas doesn't have a state income tax, so they get it out of you in property taxes. Tax rates of 3.5-4.0/$100 valuation are not uncommon. Also, almost anything built within the past 15 years will be in a community run by a HOA. That can add an easy $500 - $750 annually to your expenses. When my soon-to-be-ex-wife and I were looking at new homes in the south and west suburbs of Houston, we actually saw a development where the annual HOA dues were $1200. I've heard a rumor that a snooty, yuppie upper crust development within the city has a $2000 HOA annual fee. lincoln
"Windows XP has so many holes in its security that any reasonable user will conclude it was designed by the same German officer who created the prison compound in "Hogan's Heroes." - Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times
[link|mailto:bconnors@ev1.net|contact me]
Edited by lincoln
Jan. 4, 2005, 08:40:50 PM EST
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Post #189,088
1/5/05 9:33:33 AM
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Dive gear
I already have my own gear. It came in handy since I usually dove at least twice a week year 'round in Guam. Prices for gear there were low considering the volume of sales they made there, so I came out of there with a Chute II BCD, 2 sets of regs (one for my nitrox pony tank), a dive computer and all the extras. I was disappointed that they started the tech diving courses just as I was leaving the island. I would have liked to get the mixed air and decompression certs.
I have been looking initially at housing prices, and had noticed the property taxes, but since I haven't owned a house yet, I don't really know what's high. As for HOA, I'll keep that in mind. I don't really need a house in the snooty areas; and with no family, I don't really need an extravegant house or an especially new one, just one that's in good condition. With that in mind, I should be able to keep HOA fees low.
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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Post #189,060
1/4/05 8:39:31 PM
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If I HAD to move to texas I would look at Corpus Christi
but if it was scuba sctuff, the redneck riviera is where I would go.
regards,
daemon
that way too many Iraqis conceived of free society as little more than a mosh pit with grenades. ANDISHEH NOURAEE
clearwater highschool marching band [link|http://www.chstornadoband.org/|http://www.chstornadoband.org/]
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Post #189,089
1/5/05 9:35:39 AM
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Re: If I HAD to move to texas I would look at Corpus Christi
I looked into Corpus Christi, but the crime rates were high, and being too close to the gulf increases the risks of flood and hurricane damage
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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Post #189,109
1/5/05 11:46:41 AM
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disagree
My family moved to CC in 82(I was still in high school). While it's a nice place to visit, I wouldn't recommend living there.
A major reason not to is the jobs pay less than in Houston, yet the cost of living is about the same.
It's also lacking in things to do, possibly because San Antonio and Houston a close enough drive(2 and 3 hours). As an example, friends and I used to drive to Houston for the day to play Photon in the early 80s.
I think traffic is also worse in CC than in Houston. CC is basically a long and narrow town, with SPID being the main freeway thru it. Houston has a nice spoke and wheel layout(current 2 wheels, a 3rd is under development). Traffic levels on SPID are similiar to Houston, but people don't comprehend how to drive in high volume traffic - they think yield signs mean STOP THEN LOOK and don't conmprehend "zipper merging".
Darrell Spice, Jr. [link|http://www.spiceware.org/cgi-bin/spa.pl?album=./Artistic%20Overpass|Artistic Overpass]\n[link|http://www.spiceware.org/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
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Post #190,541
1/17/05 11:37:31 PM
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Me Too - Dallas/Ft. Worth
Actually, I live in Frisco TX, live on Sonoma Valley Lane (I like the irony of that).
I work in Carrollton, for a company HDQed in the "real" Frisco, San Francisco.
Sorry if I haven't been a poster lately, I just got off of a 12 hour migration of the next release of our system, which had to be completed in about 3 months (including Christmas and New Years).
We finished 2 weeks late. Now, we have to take care of 1 1/2 pages of followup issues, plan the next phase, and get some sleep.
It's been a helluva holiday for me. I worked the New Year Holiday (the 3rd) and today (MLK Jr. day).
We'll see if I get some time off for those (maybe this time next year).
Glen
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Post #190,544
1/17/05 11:43:32 PM
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San Antonio?
You're inland, but still about 4 hours from choice Diving.
Home prices are some of the cheapest in the state. But learn Spanish, because it's the language there.
Glen
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Post #190,606
1/18/05 3:17:23 PM
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Re: San Antonio?
didn't want to have to drive for 8 hrs (total) for a quick dive or 2. Although there would be an advantage to SA in that it would be close to an AFB with one of the top AF hospitals
~~~)-Steven----
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..."
General George S. Patton
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