Cost of Living in Houston

I was born in Virginia Beach, and over the course of my 44 years of life I have also lived and worked in Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Philadelphia, Denver, and abroad in Amsterdam, Tokyo, and London.

Houston has been my only bad experience so far. The heat was unbearable, the crime was the worst, the traffic was the worst, and it was the least beautiful and least aesthetically appealing city of them all. Although I never experienced that much racism (I am White), I frequently overheard other White people in Houston saying very racist things in their conversations.

As some others have mentioned, Houston is not really that cheap. Although prices in Houston are slightly lower than most other American cities, wages are also lower and many people have trouble making ends meet because of it. I remember seeing a lot of poverty in Houston and it is probably why the city has so many homeless people walking around and gangs causing trouble.

The 3 years I lived in Houston were unpleasant and I do not want to relive that experience again. Stay away from Houston.

Aside from Houston, I have lived in Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and Austin. All of those cities are far better than Houston in every way. Houston has horrible public transportation, the worst traffic with many irate drivers and common road rage shootings, and heavy crime. At least in Chicago you can just avoid the southside and be safe, nowhere is safe in Houston unless you live in a rich gated neighborhood with private security. The 4 years I lived in Houston were the worst in my life.

Yeah, it's hot and floods sometimes, but you can't beat Houston's diversity and opportunity. No city comes close. For large cities, Houston typically has lower crime rates. Also these racist claims seem to be coming from people who have never been to Houston.

H O U S T O N = L O V E

Also, I will never see this site again. Toodles.

I see multiple people here comment about how white people are racist. True, the whites in Houston/Texas are racist as hell, but they also harbor hatred against whites from California, New York, Illinois, Boston, or hell, Virginia. They're all xenophobic zombies that hate "Yankees." Just want to speak it out.

Also, how come nobody here is speaking about the pervasive obesity problem? I swear most of the locals here are morbidly obese from all the Whataburger, Jack in the Box, and Taco Cabana they've been eating. Problem is almost as bad as San Antonio, another cesspool that Texans love to call a tourist destination to paradise.

Living here in Houston made me realize that white Americans are the most evil people in the world. All of them always talk down on blacks, Mexicans, Chinese, Indians, and Middle Easterners, especially behind closed doors. They always have angry rants against foreigners. Always. No respect for anyone but themselves.

Worse of all, these people have guns, so they have no problem killing anyone they don’t like. Motorists even open fire on the road also.

America, especially Houston, hates outsiders. And they love to bomb other countries and launch strikes against them. But that’s expected for a country that once prided itself in slavery and killing native people. Never let a dirty fat white American here deny the pervasive antagonism against people of colour.

I have to agree with the previous posters that said that white people here are very racist. Because it's true! It's also a mecca for alt-right Trump supporters from other states.

I've lived in Houston since 2002 and have been coming to Houston before that, since the 70's. Some of the comments in this thread are really interesting and opinionated. If someone is looking for a place to live, I'm not sure that you will beat Houston for its cost of living, ethnic diversity, nice city life and friendly people. I run a web development company here and we get a lot of foreign visitors from Europe (also stay in Zurich half the time), and they all say that they can't believe how nice of a city Houston is. It's very modern, fairly large, at about 6.5 million for the metro population.

I do think that there are some racial sentiments that run deep in the families of the south. My family is from Louisiana and I hear my father going on racial tirades. I also don't think that the majority of these 'racial' people would ever say anything derogatory to someone of a different ethnic background. I'm from a 'racial' family and I've dated black and hispanic women, and have had friends and roommates of different ethnicities. In other words, whites aren't attacking blacks in angst out here. If someone black, white or hispanic is causing issues, then yes, you might see someone try to put that person in his place. If you're that kind of person, please don't move to Houston. We don't need you here. But if you respect humanity, you're going to get respect. That goes for anywhere you live.

There is tremendous job opportunity out here, with an economy as diverse as the city's people. So if an industry is in the tanks, there are plenty of others to weather the storm. I've lived in San Diego, Beaumont/Port Arthur (Texas), Austin and I currently stay in Zurich, Switzerland half the time. I spend a lot of time in cities all over the world and I can tell you that Houston has the best food out of every city I've ever been in. There are so many restaurants here, and they are ran by people that are directly from the country of the food's origin in most cases. The restaurants will not survive if they aren't excellent at what they do, because there are simply too many to choose from, which also keeps prices low.

Flooding is a bit of an issue here, so if you're buying a home, check the geographical maps for elevation. We are 18' above see level, and our house was $138k when we bought it. It's now about $190k, but that's still a great price. If you have kids, and you live in the suburbs of Houston, you may not find a more economical and friendly place to live in the US. Your children will have plenty of good friends and you'll make them too. Houston isn't San Diego. It's not pretty like that. But we don't have a state tax, huge costs of living and up tight people. Houston is fairly mellow because the cost of living is low, so people don't really have to get too stressed. The highways can get pretty congested, but try living in Austin if you want to experience terrible traffic.

you guys do realize you can change the station on your radio. If all you're listening to is country music, uhhhh that's kinda your fault...

Also want to mention that same-sex sexual activity only was decriminalized in 2003, but through the Supreme Court, and Texas residents voted 75% in favor of Proposition 2, which banned BOTH same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions. Harris County voted 72.5% in favor of the amendment, and Houston 10 years later voted, by a landslide, against protections for LGBT people.

Churches here really are powerful in politics, as many people adhere to the teachings of greedy pastors like Joel Osteen and Ed Young. Also shock jock personalities like Michael Berry and Walton & Johnson are admired among the populace, perhaps because many residents share the same racist, neo-Confederate views as they do. Yes, racism can be found everywhere, but most people here seem to be fine with it. People here like Melissa and Michael McClure only prove my point, and they sure as hell aren't the only ones. And did I mention that the powers of Texas continue to keep non-whites from voting? That voter ID law is ONLY the tip of the iceberg.

Sure, there are ethnic enclaves, but many whites are not very tolerant or welcoming towards minorities. I mean, look at places filled with "good people" like Spring, Conroe, League City, Friendswood, Tomball, Deer Park, and Magnolia. Speak out against racial injustice (especially police brutality) in these places and be prepared for a beating. Too many pro-Confederate weirdos and pot-bellied rednecks in these places. It's already embarrassing for the USA, let alone a MAJOR metropolitan area in the USA. You'd think this crap would happen mainly in rural Mississippi or even rural Pennsylvania.

Right-wing social views aside, the people here are very oblivious to global warming. Subdivisions being built in flood-prone areas due to the no zoning laws. As if the rail/bus situation isn't bad enough, many residents drive in giant SUVs and big trucks, and boy, do they drive like maniacs; that situation is worse when angry white males can shoot at your car if you happen to piss them off. Anything generally promoting environmental friendliness is laughed at by the locals, and they admire Big Oil like West Virginians admire coal.

I've lived in Denver, London, Cardiff, Oslo, Dallas, Houston, Sugar Land, Austin, and Orlando and not only have I found Houston to be the most inexpensive place to live, but also a very friendly place. The heat can be overwhelming, but there's nothing you can do about the weather so I guess it doesn't matter. Jobs are available and usually pay well, the entertainment is good (although the music scene is lackluster), you're only an hour away from the beach, the people are very diverse (I've read that Houston is the most ethnically diverse city in the world) and friendly, and the food is great. The food is probably the best part.

The worst part is definitely the drivers on the highway. 59, 45, I-10, 290, and 99 are probably the worst highways to drive on in the city. Driving is bad wherever you go but it seems to be particularly bad here.

It's a safe place. Other than a few rough spots (Telephone Road, parts of East Downtown near Navigation, certain areas of Baytown, and Sharpstown), there's not much that goes on. Obviously there's crime. Crime exists everywhere. However, compared to equivalent major cities Houston is extremely safe. Even the bad parts: Telephone Road, Third Ward, and Sharpstown (where I used to live) aren't really that bad unless you're acting like a fucking idiot. Just behave yourself and you'll be alright.

The public school system is about as bad as the rest of the country. Nothing new there.

There are a wealth of professional sports teams.

Obviously, there are a few bad apples in the bunch. Such is the nature of human beings. No place will be perfect. No place will have people who aren't abhorrent and have terrible ideals. These people exist everywhere. However, the vast majority of people in Houston are fine, normal people. 80% of people you meet here will be fine, normal people who will never bother you. 10% of people you meet here will be wonderful, friendly kind people. 10% will be terrible. It happens everywhere. Just need to move on and deal with the things you can control.

It was a mistake to move to Houston. We were lured by a great job offer, but we didn't know that we traded it in for a pathetic quality of life.

Frequent floods, stifling humidity and heat, dearth of natural beauty, traffic becoming less predictable, high crime, angry racist Bible-thumping locals, ignorance of anything outside a 2-hour radius of Houston. Frankly, I am just sick of it.

#Andrew is a fucking Moron, soy boy, basement Dwelling, mentally sick individual who hasn't had a woman, since a woman had him. Move to Venezuela, Frace,Germany, hell even Sweden and get a true taste of open boarders, gang rapes, the killing of gays and soy boys like yourself

I've lived in Houston all my life, not in the City limits but the county. Crimereports.com will show you the amount of crime in Houston. The inner city is like any other inner city. There are gangs in certain areas like south Houston but they don't run the city. You just don't go to certain parts of the city at night alone.
The cost of a home is not $200-300k unless you live in a gated community and a suburb. Shop around and there are still houses going from $150 in nice places. The ones that weren't flooded are increasing though but that is likely temporary.
The worst part of Houston is the traffic because people from other states are moving here and don't know how to drive. The second worst is the HEAT. There truly is no white Christmases in Houston.
The best schools are Katy ISD and Tomball ISD and Conroe ISD to the north of Harris County.
There are teaching jobs that start at $45k-$50k depending on the school district but that counteracts with ridiculous cost of health insurance. Police start at about $50k. We have a state of the art medical center south of downtown and hospitals that are moving out into the suburbs that offer lots of jobs too.
We are not a biking or walking friendly city, except downtown because Houston is about 80 miles across so everyone needs a car. Public transit is scary and doesn't really work for suburbians unless you are going from your suburb to downtown. Streets are for cars, parks are for walkers and bikers. There are lots of free parks but free means overcrowded.
Inside Houston is liberal, sad to say but most of the suburbs are God fearing hard working families. The saying God & country, that's us.
Entertainment is all over the place. So many concert venues from symphony to Broadway to yes, country music night clubs. We have a museum district near the Houston Zoo near the medical center. Most of the formal concert halls are downtown but all types of night clubs are in the city in the suburbs. There are restaurants galore for every type of cuisine you can imagine: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Middle Eastern, Greek, vegan, soul food and of course we love our steaks and seafood/crawfish. Prices range based on what you get and where. A family of 5 can eat for about $70. Steaks & seafood are more expensive, about $20 a plate.
We are in the Bible belt so most schools teach abstinence and we don't do the men in women's restrooms/showers things. There are a lot of sex offenders here but no worse than any other city. The further out you live the better it is but more costly. We live to the north of Houston in Montgomery County and there is significantly less crime. We bought a 1995 home last year for $180k,3 bedroom we turned into 5, 2300 sq. feet in well rated Conroe ISD. We are 4 miles from the Woodlands Mall, medical centers, Cynthia Wood Pavilion (outdoor concert venue), and tons of places to eat & play.
If I gave Houston, the city, a grade it would be about a 60.
But the suburbs of Houston and surrounding counties, I would rate a 90.

The people in Houston are very nice. Unfortunately Houston is a huge ghetto with a couple of great neighborhoods in between. Mexican gangs have moved in to the area and have already murdered some high school boys and girls who, due to the Narcos culture, think gangs are cool. Human trafficking is rampant here, Sex for sale everywhere, in every neighborhood- how many cheap hotels and massage parlors does a city need? And everyone looks the other way.

Drivers on the highway are out of control. Road rage and drivers shooting people -as they are driving- is not an unheard situation.

Poverty and all that comes with it -is about 70% of Houston. Before coming watch the local Houston news on your computer.

I used to love it until I came out of my bubble. Now it is disturbing.

I have had great experiences with Mexican people- legal-illegal- who cares. Most family oriented people want to work and provide a better life for their families. I can respect that in all people. It's the filth and illegal activity that gets to me.

So if you can find a bubble for your family- just stay inside - don't look out.

Whats the salary TAX structure there in Houston, Texas? I heard that the tax structure go upto 8 %. And will this include the Federal TAX or FICA ?

Houston is a great city. Job openings are everywhere you go. The only thing I hate about Houston is the traffic and 290. I feel like they have been working on 290 for 20 years. There are so many things you can do in Houston and there are a surplus of bars and nightclubs. Houston is also fairly inexpensive to live in. I would say it is best to be making a minimum of at least $25,000.00 year to live on your own and you can make much less if you have roommates. I am glad I moved here when I was 3. I wouldn't want to move anywhere else.

Hello Houstonians , i'm very impressived by your big & beautiful City ...I'm planing to join the US but i did not know which city i could settle in once i made research i found but Houston is the best for me that is why i have decided to know more and more about Houston that must become my new home place as i'm coming from Cameroon in Central Africa ...

Thank for all your efforts made to keep that city a very welcoming place for the world ...

Thanks

Elong

if you are someone of middle eastern descent or Indian descent, you don't want to move to Houston TX. a bunch of racist pricks down there. do your self a favor and don't move there. they will attack and find ways to find ways to murder you and scream self defense for it. its not worth it. bunch of George bush republican loving state. you are better off going to New York City, London of England, Paris France, Moscow Russia or even Dubai.

you are at a high risk of getting killed in Houston, don't put yourself and your family through that.

Hey guys, could someone please write an honest review, painting the perfect portrait of Houston with his/her words?? I am interested to move here. Is it like the 3rd world countries?! Is it really bad for a fun lifestyle??

probs with numbers here

1) Price/sq ft to "Buy Apartment Outside of Centre" is closer to cost for Townhouse or Cheap Condo, to buy Apartments or Plexes here is definitely under $60/sqft..not $120.
2) Rent 1 bedroom or 3 bedrooms outside of centre (Houston has multiple major CBDs) - the cost shown is more for luxury apartment/condo prices or inner loop prices. away from CBDs, you can rent nice 4 bedroom homes for cheaper than $1600 or get a decent 3bedroom apt for $800-$1300...you can get a 4 bedroom apt in Memorial or Midtown for less than $1500. the stated $1635.11 on here is a joke.
3) Tennis court rental $21/hr? city/county courts are free..max rate is $7 weekend reserved court for Tournaments and leagues. Woodlands resort is only $12/hr for outdoor courts. Most private community and hoa courts are free for residents to reserve. Where is this $21/hr avg?

some of the other categories are off, by not by as much.. there is some serious number flubbing there.

Hi,

I planned to further study at University Houston by end of this year for 1 year program. Can anybody recommend the cost of living will look like. As I need to bring my wife and 2 years old son.

Houstin is unbearably hot, humid, and bug ridden seven months out of the year. The traffic is horrendous, commutes take far too long and can't possibly be good for your physical or emotional health. Restaurants here are a good and plentiful, but you can't dine outside. Entertainment venues are limited to movies, malls, sporting events and an annual rodeo. It's just too hot for theme parks other than water parks, and other outdoor activities. There is little to no natural beauty, save Memorial Drive/Allen Parkway. Lack of zoning has created a hideous, endless sprawl of strip malls, topless clubs, signage, and urban decay. The suburbs are well manicured and far more organized, but far from the city with no decent transportation to the urban centers. Unlike burbs in other major metros, they too are diversified. Jobs and a low cost of living are why people are here and will continue to come

Avg. income is not $3100. Typical wage in Texas is $12/hr and many are paid just $7.25. How does $12/hr get to $3100/month net income??