Moving To The Houston Area
 

WELL IT WOULD HELP IF KNEW HOW TO SPELL THE NAME OF THE AREA WE ARE MOVING TO!!!!!

Well, it looks like my wife and I are moving to the Houston, TX area in about four weeks.

• What is the boating like?
• How is The Gulf for a 26' single?
• I have heard that Lake Conroe is a popular lake, but I also heard it has some rough water. Is it equal the rough water at The Lake of the Ozarks?
• If we decided to sell our 26' for something more appropriate for the area, is there a market for 26' single engine boats?
• What are the fees to register boats in TX?
• Is there a personal property tax on boats in TX?
• We also use indoor storage currently and this will also be a requirement, are the facilities that offer indoor boat storage in the area?

Thank you for the help and hopefully we'll get to meet some of you in the very near future.

Hit me up when you get here, [email protected], 281-910-2776. I can certainly hook you up in the powerboating community down here. A 26' what? What area are you moving to? Boating goes year round down here.

If ya don't mind the salt water, the coast is the place. You can stay in Clear Lake but on calm days, head out into Galveston Bay. Great area down there. I'm up north on Lake Conroe. Yes, it can get sloppy on busy weekends as most of the lake is bulkheaded. We've been in a 3 year drought and haven't been full pool in that time. Still boatable as its getting close to 4 ft low. Conroe is not a deep lake like LOTO. Boat registration runs for 2 years and just redid mine which was for $112.00 for my 302. No personel property tax on the boat. I keep mine in a closed storage as you have them here and also in the Clear Lake area.

1st welcome to Houston.

I have to ask where in the area are you going to work and then where do you plan on living? Houston is HUGE!!!

Once you know that, then get a hold of Mr.Somethin' Sexy... He will not lead you in the wrong direction.

Somethin' Sexy, thank you for your contact information and we will certainly take you up on that. Boating year round is a big plus for us and we are looking forward to it!

Thanks Johnaut46 for the welcome.

Our boat is a 2011 Baja by Fountain 26OL with an e-box and 2" shorty along with a couple other extras. Hoping to get a few more things done over the winter if all works out.

This is my wife's job we are moving for and her office is going to be located off I-45 just south of the city around the exit 43 area. We HAVE NO IDEA where we are going to live once the dust settles. Right now we are just trying to wrap our heads around the fact the that in 5 weeks we are going to be there. The one thing we are going to have is a little better quality of life than we currently have. The home we bought in the St. Louis area was only 20 minutes away from my wife's job, three companies later she's 45miles away each way and it has gotten old for both of us. Currently we have to drive 30 minutes no matter where we need to go and that is getting old, so we are looking forward to fresh change and some palm trees.

What areas are nice and what areas do we need to avoid?
We are also thinking about building if that is a reasonable endeavor.

We are still learning about everything and it seems to be the right thing for us now. If it is alright I will keep everyone posted as we learn what is going on and I would be grateful for any additional insight.

Be prepared to drive. The area your wife is going to work in isn't a area you want to live. No where really close either. You have pearland to the south would be the closest if you want suburbs. Inner city I don't know much about except the uptown/heights area is nice but $$$, or you have to live north, east, or west of the city. Pearland/Friendswood will put you close to clear lake and work but still a fight with traffic. If you don't like 30 minute drives well... Be prepared like someone else said Houston is a big city. Clear lake gives you access to Sanjac river as well as the ability to run down to Galveston. Lots of different places to go. You can run a little or run a lot. Firehill can give you all the info on Conroe. Best suggestion is get down here and drive around. And Howdy!! :coolcowboy:

All good info...

Welcome to Texas aka God's Country :)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, this is all very helpful information.

Very humid !!! Welcome to Texas, you will love it here !!

Thanks Rwbrew3, we have some crazy humidity in the STL area but we are being told there is nothing like Houston Heat.

Moving South I see, you'll love the winter warm weather, good luck with the move.

I'm in the Dallas area but have a hunting lease just outside of Houston.... Beautiful country ! Best of luck on your move !

I would look in the Clear Lake area first since work is going to be on the south side of Houston. Although I live an hour north of Houston, our trips down to Clear Lake are on the agenda as much as we can get away. And we usually get a hotel room so we can enjoy the whole weekend. I haven't taken my boat down there yet, but have been out with others. Lots to do down there. Here's just one site for a little info: Clear Lake Area

Thank you, we are looking forward to the change.

Thanks for the link, we are liking the idea of living near the water. It is at the very least a two hour drive for us to get to the lakes we enjoy. The muddy Mississippi is about :45 to the ramp but we don't like boating on the river. It will be a welcome change to be minutes rather than hours, since a normal day of boating entails 4-5 hours driving.

TW,

Anywhere you live here it is going to be a 30min drive. Just get used to it. LOL

I grew up on the Westside of town when our Duck lease was at Hwy6 and I-10. Katy was a Rail Road town and the FFA was still cool to be in. LOL That was only 30yrs ago.

If your wife is going to be woking off Tellepsen, Clear Lake Area is your best bet if you like to be close to the H20. I am looking at moving down there myself.

I see that driving is not your forte': Me and the Ex had a place in The Woodlands North of Town. It was a great house but I was 20 mins on The Woodlands Parkway just to get to 45, I was close to 25 min to 249 and Tomball to take south to the Beltway. The drive just killed me as my office was in the Galleria area... I put min of 80 miles a day on my car. As I said Houston is Huge... We are the 2nd largest city area wise in the USA.

Saying such, as Firehill said Clear Lake and Kemha is great and on the water. Pearland is booming.

I'll drop you a PM and and my contract info.

John

I am in the clear lake area as well if you have any more questions or need any help feel free to drop me a message.

Travis

I have also just recently moved to the Houston area from STL. I had a Formula 310BR on Lake of the Ozarks and just had it moved to Clear Lake. Yesterday was the first ride out in the saltwater. It was a great experience as i ran out to the shipping channel and down to Galveston. The boating is a little different here as i am used to bar hopping and dropping anchor and swimming off the back. I am also looking for any tips and some locals for some pointers such as restaurants on the water and where to anchor. Thanks for any help possible.

The Woodlands commute sounds like what my wife has right now and it wearing on her. I personally don't have a problem with driving and I actually enjoy it, but when it takes time away from us being home then it gets old fast if you know what I mean. My work schedule is all over the place so I will be coming and going at different times. Currently the area we live has been stagnant, no good restaurants, no good gyms, no good super markets and not even a Walgreens or CVS. We are hoping to find a community that has conveniences.

Travis, thank you for the offer and I will take you up on that. It'll be a week or two before I can probably reach out.


Thank you everyone for all the wonderful information and offerings of help! It looks like we are making the right decision!

If you don't already have one I would get a chart plotter. As far as places to go if you want to stay in clear lake Nassau bay is the swimming hole, it is past south shore and the Hilton going up towards clear creek and take the channel to the right. Make sure you stay in the channel markers once you pass the Hilton it is shallow outside of it. Places to eat on the lake would be outriggers, kemah channel, SAMs boat is decent next to endeavor marina, boondoggles has great pizza and sandwiches, off the channel going to Taylor lake. Night life would be cabo and turtle club.

On the bay you can hang out at redfish island I'm sure you passed it when you were heading to Galveston. To eat there is bubbas shrimp palace, pretty good all you can eat shrimp, it is right across from redfish in baycliff has a pink roof. If you keep going past bubbas there is top water, really good food, just have to watch out for Todd's dump, there is white poles all over it.

Galveston you can hit the intercostal and head east to stingerees off crystal beach, great BBQ crab and gumbo, you can hit Galveston ship channel and go to fisherman's wharf which has a couple of restaurants right there or you can walk to the strand and bar hop. If you head west on the intercostal you can hit the sandbar at offats, nice sand bottom knee to waist deep water, a little tricky to get in and out of. There is also Floyd's restaurant at harbor walk.

There is also the San jac river and I wouldn't go up there without following someone who knows where they are going. I forgot kemah boardwalk does fireworks every friday night in june/july and moody gardens off offats does them fri/sat and has a band on sat you can listen to from the boat. Im sure others will chime in on what i left out. Also watch out for crab traps and if you see any white poles it would be a good idea to stay away from them!!

If you haven't already you can look on har.com and kind of get idea of housing cost. Select clear lake area or Galveston county.

T-RAV, thank you for all the great information. You are exactly correct about the chart plotter. I am fortunate enough to have GPS on my boat and my first purchase was the updated card for the area.

I have to be a little careful about Taylor Lake as I am not sure I can clear the bridge with my arch on the boat as it is fixed and I can't remove it or fold it. Any idea on what that clearance is? I am guessing I need about 8-9 feet to feel comfortable trying it.

Those are great tips and I will have to keep exploring.

Thank you again for all of the information. Sounds like you would be a great tour guide!

I'm in the League City area. The Tellepsen area is not a place that I would like to live in. There's several nicer places south off of 45.

The bay is nice to run around in, like anywhere else, bad weather will make it snotty. The Taylor Lake bridge is low, but there's a good 8-10ft clearance on it.

I've been in the area for several years, it's a nice place for boating. Your 26ft will be just fine.

TooTall, thanks for the reply and we are considering living south down 45. There are still some variables to factor in but we are wanting to be as close to the water as possible.

Look at the Taylor Lake Village, Lago Vista, Seabrook areas. She can take Red Bluff to Beltway 8 to 225 to 610 to 45 to get to work. Puts you within five minutes, at most to the water, and the least amount of drive time to work. Who is she working for? I can help with dry or sling storage. Home prices here are not what you will expect, lots of house for the $.

Get on HAR.com

set a budget and go from there

I can't seem to find exit 45 off of I-45, but I think you are close to down town. If you want to live on the water, go to google maps and type "Rio Villa Drive Houston, TX". This is a small boating community East of Houston off of Wallisville Road. We have our own private boat launch. Most people have boats, golf carts or Side by Side ATV. This community is on the San Jacinto RIver, south of the lake. It is brackish water. I moved to this location in December and I love it. We have poker runs on ATVs, Fireworks on the 4th of July. Palm Trees, birds, wild pigs, pelicans, ducks, alligators, snakes and mosquitoes, etc. We have it all. You can build your own boat house. You can take your boat down the river and go anywhere. You can go to Clear Lake, Galveston, Gulf. You are not land locked. There is a down side to this area. All the houses are on a flood plane and all of them are beach houses. The bottom of my house is 20 feet in the air. When a hurricane comes, you have to leave. IT WILL FLOOD, but the water does not get into your house, just under it. I have not experienced it yet, but it will happen every 4-6 years. Another downside is that once you leave the community, you are in Mexico and the area areound Rio Villa is ugly. It is the old and industrial part of Houston. There are refinaries and sometimes you can smell them. The water in the San Jacinto RIver is safe enough to swim in, but you are not suppose to eat the fish. Toxins are in the water from a company 50 years ago. Regarless of the downside of things, once you get home on the river and feel the breeze, watch the fish jump, pelicans dive in the water, ducks flying, etc. You don't realize you are in Houston. I lived in Seabrook on Clear Lake, and if you can't deal with Rio Villa, Clear Lake is a better option. I personally like Rio Villa better. I always feel like I am at the beach when I get home. If you don't like salt water at all, Lake Sam Rayburn is the best lake in Texas, but it is 2.5 hours away. Sam Rayburn has sandy beaches, no bulkhead, mostly trees instead of houses, a party island and local boat racing on weekends. The water is a dark blue and you can see your feet when you are swimming. You will not be able to see your feet in clear lake or the river. The water is kind of nasty.

UrbanDisturbance, I figured Clear Lake was an oxymoron, kind of like Liberal, Hill City and Garden City, Kansas. ;)

Thanks for the additional information, we will also look into that area as well. Right now we are open to all suggestions.

And you are also dubbed a "river rat"!!! Haha!! Also property taxes and insurance will prob be significantly higher than in MO. Stay away from anywhere with a MUD tax. Even Friendswood and east Pearland your still only 20-25 min to the water so its not that bad. I am on the furthest west side of League City and can be at the ramp in less than 15 minutes. There are a lot of options in the area and your still reasonably close to the water.

[QUOTE=UrbanDisturbance;3997918]I can't seem to find exit 45 off of I-45, but I think you are close to down town.

Basically it is two exits past the University of Houston on I-45. Also check out the Medical Center and Rice University (west of 288) area for condos / houses, close to her work, but further away from the water.

What is a MUD Tax?

Just googled it and found the answer, thanks for the heads up!