I called and talked to the people there today. I was wondering what the cost of living is like in the Houston area. Like cost to rent a duplex with a two car garage and 2 bedrooms. Also monthly on electric,water,garbage,and gas. Im wondering if I can survive on a part time job while Im in school. I live in California and rent and utilities is not cheap. I guess thats about it unless anyone is in Telecommunications. I work for SBC right now. Any help is greatly appreciated
Thanks

 

I'm not sure about duplexes. They're not the most common thing around here.

I live not very far from SAM and UTI in a pretty decent suburb. You can rent a 3-bedroom, 2 full bath, 2-car garage house here for $850-900 in my neighborhood. Prices might be a little higher in other places. Apartments near SAM are cheap, but if you want a house, drive a little bit further and get a roommate -- it's a better idea. You can at least work on cars at home!!

Utilities -- my house electric runs $50 in the winter up to $175 in the summer, depending on what temp I run the thermostat. Gas bill from $15 in summer to $50 in winter (gas heat). Water bill, $15-25/month max.

So, with say, $900 rent for a house, a "high" average of $200 a month utils, you're looking at $1100 total cost (average) to rent/live in my neighborhood. There are actually several houses for $850/month though. You can fit between 2 to 4 cars in these driveways and all the houses have 2 car garages.

Here's a pic of my house/neighborhood in Spring, TX (a norther suburb of Houston):

http://www.networkit.org/grendal/liv...utifulday3.jpg
http://www.networkit.org/grendal/liv...ouse_small.jpg

FYI, Houston has one of the lowest costs of living of any major U.S. city... and we're the 4th largest. You can buy a pretty nice house for 100g's. For 120-150 you can get a really nice place. If you want to rent a very, very nice place, you can spend $1200-1600 in rent and get a fancy pad. But my neighborhood is just regular working-class slobs with 90k houses :P

-Michael

 

Oh yeah, we have SBC here. Can you transfer??

-Michael

 

my little brother is going to school there and he loves it, the cost of living isnt as high as it is in cali. if you work for sbc you should be able to put in a jvr for a com tech or repair cause when you call teh job line is says theyre hiring. or you could go sales agent and even if you do that part time you should still be able to afford rent and expenses. the complex where my brother lives they were offering a 1000 sq ft apt for about 490 which is a lot cheaper than having a 2 bed room in SA

jay

 

Thanks guys I appreciate the info .That is kind of a relief. I pay $750 amonth for a one bedroom 675 sq ft apartment right now. Utilities are around what I expected. I will transfer to sbc over there Ill be getting more info on that tuesday. I wonder if I will have to take a pay cut. Maybe not if I keep my residence in California.

 

I forgot to ask the most important question........What are your smog laws like?

Ron

 

Uhh... someone from Cali asking that? heh.

Well, not as bad as Cali. But we do have smog testing. A 1995 and older goes on the rollers and tested at the tail-pipe (minimal visual inspection). A 1996+ goes into the computer (no rollers), and if the OBD2 is clean, it passes.

25-years and older cars are EXEMPT.

-Michael

 

Or if your in other counties, no visual or tail sniffer.

 

Is there a county near houston......50- 60 miles with no visual or sniffer?

 

About 60-80 miles, depending on which direction you go. However, they may or may not inspect your car if you have a registration sticker from an "aircheck" county. The registration stickers are different, and a non-aircheck county isn't supposed to inspect an aircheck county car. They may give you a sticker, but when it comes time to register your car in Harris County (Houston) or any adjoining county, they will have it in the computer at the State if you did or didn't get a smog inspection. If no smog inspection, they won't register your car.

I had this happen to me: bought a '95 Z28 outside of the smog-check counties. Went in to transfer the title into my name... the lady tells me I must get the car smog inspected, because it's not in the computer. I say "well, the sticker isn't due yet"... she says "it doesn't matter, you have to have a smog check before you can register in this county" ... me "damn"... heh.

So, I had to smog check it, even though inspection wasn't yet due. It did pass, but not with flying colors. I guess pass is pass.

FYI, if you talk to the right people, just like in Cali, you can probably get inspected. Bring cash.

-Michael

 

Ok i get it. I just commute then.I commute now two to three times that distance so no big. I will move back to Cali when I finish school at that point it wont be a problem. Unless I like it there better than Cali. I know that it is more affordable to live out there than here. Average price on a house in Sacramento is almost $250,000. That is like a 3 bedroom 2 bath house that needs work and is right on top of the houses next to it. A new 4 bedroom 2 bath house goes for around $350,000 with a small lot.

 

http://www.houston-guide.com/

http://www.cityofhouston.gov/

these might help....

 

I've been going to SAM since February. A lot of the students live at Castlewood Apartments which is maybe 3 blocks away. My rent there for a single bedroom 700 sq ft apartment is $586/month and it includes water & basic cable. Electricity is usually around $50/month and I run my A/C ALL THE TIME! The downside is you aren't supposed to work on your car in the parking lot I get 2 parking passes for the covered parking and 2 or 3 bedroom places get more. There is a sorta security thing at the entrance. I noticed a few other apartments in the area have all utilities paid and stuff. If you do move into Castlewood, then I'd appreciate it if you used me as a reference

I'm going to recommend that you don't sign up to start in September. They have a full classroom of new students starting then. In this kind of school you want fewer students per teacher. We had 5 in Feb and it worked very well. They have classes starting in October and November also.

If you have any other questions let me know.

 

oh yeah, my car is registered in the county where my parents live a good 200 miles away, so smog isn't a big deal for me

 

Thanks for that advice. I was wondering about teacher student ratio. Are you building a motor for yourself?. I will use you for a reference If I decide to live in castlewood.