How long will Texas keep booming?

lendaddy · 03-02-2008, 02:13 PM

You guys out there, I hear things are good....really good. Being in the hell hole that is Michigan I can't help but dream of a better life elsewhere to start over with my young family but I don't want to chase a moment in time either. I know oil is doing well, but what else and for how long?

stomachmonkey · 03-02-2008, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lendaddy

You guys out there, I hear things are good....really good. Being in the hell hole that is Michigan I can't help but dream of a better life elsewhere to start over with my young family but I don't want to chase a moment in time either. I know oil is doing well, but what else and for how long?

Don't know the answer but life out here is pretty darn good.

lendaddy · 03-02-2008, 02:34 PM

Is the entire state over run with illegals or is that a border/big city thing?

Joeaksa · 03-02-2008, 02:51 PM

You do not see Texas advertising all over the country for businesses to move to Texas, things are going well over there.

I see at least 2-3 adverts every week from the state of Michigan, trying to get more companies to relocate there. They forget to mention taxes and the idiot legislature in these adverts...

island911 · 03-02-2008, 02:53 PM

Texas would be great for you. I've been very temped to move to TX. It has a lot going for it. Mostly the culture of community (raising children with values ect) and respect for peoples privacy. (compared to other states) The illegals for the most part are family oriented too. . .tho there is a divide there. Texans build, and build big. They don't seem to have much tolerance for scammers and such.

Hugh R · 03-02-2008, 02:53 PM

Yeah, Michigan advertises a lot in Cali.

lendaddy · 03-02-2008, 02:54 PM

Yea, it's a great business environment here alright

I've been scanning the Texas Craigslists but the place is so big! What are the more desirable areas?

Hugh R · 03-02-2008, 02:55 PM

Go to Houston if you really, really like humidity. It has two seasons, summer and February.

the · 03-02-2008, 03:00 PM

How about Austin? You alway hear a lot of good things about it - the Universities, the "Tech Corridor" with lots of businesses, etc. It seems to alway be growing, but in a stable way.

lendaddy · 03-02-2008, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Go to Houston if you really, really like humidity. It has two seasons, summer and February.

Good point, maybe I should ask what if any parts of Texas have comfortable weather?

lendaddy · 03-02-2008, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the

How about Austin? You alway hear a lot of good things about it - the Universities, the "Tech Corridor" with lots of businesses, etc. It seems to alway be growing, but in a stable way.

Isn't Austin the crazy Berkelyesque part of Texas?

I should also weigh the businesses there against my resume. I have a ton of experience but no degree...I think that rules out most tech jobs

Joeaksa · 03-02-2008, 03:14 PM

Lendaddy,

Another thing to look at is when Katrina hit New Orleans. A few weeks later a hurricane hit Houston. Big difference in how it was handled and not a big deal in Tejax, while Louisiana is still moaning about it.

The hill country, San Antonio and Austin areas are very nice. Corpus is as well but Houston and DFW are the biggies. I have lived in Dallas area (Grapevine, Flower Mound and Carrollton) and frankly would not live there again. Ft. Worth are is much more down to earth and not so high falluting as some parts of the Dallas area.

blk911 · 03-02-2008, 03:22 PM

Texas should continue to do fairly well unless the US economy goes completely in the ditch, read major recession, even then, we would experience some trickle down effect.

Austin is adding jobs at the highest percentage rate of just about any place in the country. Median home price is about $215M. Biggest problem reported by employers is lack of talented people who want to work, in other words, we are at full employment. Weather not bad, can get pretty hot, but rarely ever snows. Beautiful country, some nice twisty roads to enjoy!

Come on down!

island911 · 03-02-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blk911

T...
Austin ... Median home price is about $215M. ...

ya mean $215K ?

the · 03-02-2008, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by island911

ya mean $215K ?

Yeah, it's Austin, not SJC, CA!

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

Ok, as a Texas resident for the last 16 years:

1). Yes, Texas is a great place to live. Ssshhh, don't tell anyone! Let them keep thinking we all wear cowboy hats, drive trucks, chew snuff and rope cattle.

2). Home prices are very reasonable, depending on where you prefer to live. Highest home prices are probably in Austin or Houston, followed by the suburbs of Dallas. Even there, the home prices are nothing compared to the east or west coasts.

3). I have lived in College Station, Lubbock, Houston, San Antonio and now Dallas/Fort Worth. I have to say I like D/FW the best, Houston the worst. San Antonio is very nice, I like to say it's the nicest city in Mexico, if you know what I mean. Lubbock is a great town, but I wasn't crazy about the weather in west Texas. Very windy and lots of dust.

4). As far as Dallas vs Fort Worth, I too like the Fort Worth side better. Dallas is very trendy and tends to be more fake. I currently live in Keller which is smack dab in the middle of the two.

5). Yes Austin is very liberal and very crazy. The traffic there sucks as well. Much worse than even Houston. The problem is that the infrastructure did not grow fast enough to meet the population growth. Now I-35 is a parking lot pretty much 24/7.

Personally if I were you, I would look into D/FW or San Antonio. Not sure what your area of expertise is, that might dictate location as well.

In short, come on down, the water's fine!!

lendaddy · 03-02-2008, 04:15 PM

Thanks Rick, very good information.

My "expertise" is in manufacturing. I've got 15-20 years experience in all aspects from the floor to running the business end, but as I said I have no degree. I really don't know how marketable I would be given my that. I would interview well and I know that can make up for a lot. If I go this route I would just fly out several times for interviews and go from there. Texas may not want me

5axis · 03-02-2008, 04:34 PM

Several former co-workers headed down to the gulf area for oil support work when the tooling biz tanked a few years ago. It seems to be one of a few places left that values our metalworking skills and will pay a decent $

74-911 · 03-02-2008, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5axis

Several former co-workers headed down to the gulf area for oil support work when the tooling biz tanked a few years ago. It seems to be one of a few places left that values our metalworking skills and will pay a decent $

In the Corpus Christi area they build offshore rigs, service them, supply them etc etc. From everything I read certified welders and machinists are in big demand. Google "Thunderhorse" to get an idea.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

The manufacturing hub of Texas is Houston. Yep, it gets hot and humid here. But that is why we have A/C. We do have 4 seasons, but the "winter" means an occasional frost and some snow every 10 years.

Actually, Dallas is hotter than Houston, but drier. It rarely reaches 100 F. What you have is dewpoints in the mid 70s!

The Southeast side of Houston is where most of the oil companies have refineries. But you find machine shops and welding shops everywhere. The good and the bad of Houston is there is no zoning. If you can build stuff for the oil companies, then you will do very well here.

Houston usually has problems when the price of oil is low. It boomed in the 1970's and early 80's, but then oil fell to historic lows in the mid 80's. I am not expecting oil to go out of fashion anytime soon.

Houston housing prices are very affordable. I would talk to one of the residents before you decide on an area. You don't want a job in one part, and travel to another.