Spring Texas | Pros and Cons | Pros and Cons of Living in Texas
Spring Texas | Pros and Cons | Pros and Cons of Living in Texas
What is the first thing you do when deciding to relocate to another city, state, or country? What factors do you consider before moving? You find out more about them! Right? You research about the neighborhood, you check their crime rate, you find out which school districts are the best, you look for places with the most employment opportunity, you analyze their cost of living and you ask around how it is to actually live in that place.
To answer your questions about moving to Texas, particularly in the greater Houston area, I created a video series tackling the pros and cons of living in the cities which I specialize in as a realtor.
If you have plans of buying a home, complete my online homebuyers’ questionnaire. If you are a home seller, complete my online home seller’s questionnaire. I have a no-pressure approach. Think of me as your consultant. Make sure to watch until the end of the video to take advantage of my moving checklist. It’s all yours for free.
Now, let’s talk about our topic: the pros and cons of living in Spring, Texas. Let me start with the cons. The heat. I came from a tropical country, yet I will never get used to the blistering hot temperature during the summer season in Spring. The temperature can go as high as 94 degrees Fahrenheit on some days. Couple that with humidity and you end up with a sticky summer. So, ditch those bulky winter clothes and stock up on more comfortable clothing items such as shorts, trousers, shirts, tank tops and some nice flowing dresses. Don’t worry about winter, it’s not that freezing compared to the Midwest and Northeastern part of the country. You’ll be fine with a light jacket or a windbreaker. And don’t forget the umbrella! We have crazy unpredictable weather down here, it can be sweltering hot right now and raining cats and dogs later.
Second CON, because of the tropical climate, the bodies of water and the wooded areas surrounding Spring, we are home to several bugs and mosquitoes. There are about a hundred or so native species of insects that are native to the United States and 1/3 of these are in Texas. I am not trying to scare you, but when we say everything is big in Texas, we mean everything! Including bugs and mosquitoes. Most of them are harmless, but it is best to always bring an insect repellent with you. You can also hire a pest control expert to exterminate those bugs and mosquitoes from your home.
Third CON, allergies. Spring is still pretty much a forested area with lots of green fields and trees. And this active ecosystem has plenty of pollen that could trigger allergies. So if you have a severe case of pollen allergy, I am sorry, but Spring Texas is not for you.
Fourth, traffic. With a lot of road construction going and the growing number of residents in the area, traffic is something that you will have to live by especially if you frequent I45 to reach downtown Houston or The Woodlands area. It’s good to have GPS on your car with live traffic updates. I would also suggest checking the Houston Transtar Traffic website from time to time before you move here to give you an early insight into how heavy traffic can be in certain areas at certain hours of the day. It’s also highly advisable to familiarize yourself with frontage roads and inner streets to avoid the busy highways.
Fifth, our property taxes are higher compared to the national average. Most often, this is broken down into 3 components: the county tax, school district tax and the municipal utility district tax or MUD. Harris county just unanimously cut their property tax rate by 2% last week, so expect a tax rate of 56 cents on each $100 of taxable value while Montgomery county just raised their property tax last August by $0.4590 per $100 valuation. Homes in Spring could either be zoned to Spring ISD, Klein ISD or Conroe ISD. The tax rates are $1.3843, $1.36 and $1.2125 respectively. All rates are per $100 of assessed value. MUD may range from $0.00 to $1.40 per every $100 of assessed value dependent on the location.
Now, I know you are wondering why our property taxes are huge compared to the whole of the United States. If you have watched my Where is Spring video last week, you will already have an idea. But if you have not, you may click right here (point up) or you can continue watching this video for I will spill the beans. Ready? We are one of the seven states that have no income tax. Great huh? Wait until you hear more.
Apart from having no income tax, we are a deregulated energy state. Meaning, we do not rely on a single power provider. We have the power to choose which energy supplier can give the best value for our money. The deregulated environment promotes healthy competition among power providers resulting in lower electricity rates.
We also have one of the lowest housing costs in the nation. To illustrate, let us look at Zillow’s home value index. Zillow.com states that the typical home value of homes in the United States is $259,906. In Spring, Texas that value can buy you a beautiful 1k-3k square foot, 3-4 bedroom single-family home in a nice neighborhood. Now, check what type of home that value can give you in the city you are in right now and compare.
Fourth, Spring’s proximity to everything. Working at the downtown area, the Energy Corridor or the ExxonMobil Campus is just a few miles away. San Antonio, Dallas and Austin is just around a 3-hour drive if you need a change of scenery for a long weekend. You wanna go on a cruise? Galveston is just more than an hour’s drive. From there, you can choose from Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Lines for a 4-13 day cruise to the Bahamas, Mexico, the Grand Cayman and Jamaica.
And last but not the least, the people of Spring are nice and friendly. If you are new to the neighborhood, expect to be greeted by warm and cordial smiles. Don’t be awkward. Just smile back and who knows? You might get invited to a few beers and a barbecue.
There are still a lot of cons and pros in living in Spring, we can talk about it all day. The few things I mentioned here are just the major ones that I think newcomers should know right off the bat. You’re sure to discover more as you spend more days, months and years in Spring.
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**Jennifer Yoingco is a full time licensed Texas REALTOR (#648293) with Texas Home Group. She has been helping first time home buyers, experienced buyers and sellers search homes for sale, houses for sale in the greater Houston area (serving Houston, Tomball, Spring, The Woodlands, Cypress, Conroe, Magnolia, Sugarland, Richmond, and the surrounding cities). She negotiates to the clients’ advantage by using cutting edge digital marketing technology. She is teamed with marketing professionals who can showcase the home to the best advantage. Contact her for any real estate needs. Email: [email protected] (832)286-8636**
Resources:
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/san-antonio/news/2018/06/23/top-5-creepiest-bugs-in-texas
Montgomery County Moves Forward with Property Tax Increase Below the Voter-Approval Rate
https://www.springisd.org/Page/960#:~:text=For%202020%2D21%20the%20Board,per%20%24100%20of%20assessed%20value.
Klein ISD Board of Trustees Adopts Lowest Tax Rate in 10 Years
https://www.conroeisd.net/conroe-isd-trustees-adopt-20-21-tax-rate/#:~:text=The%20Conroe%20ISD%20Board%20of,2019%20tax%20rate%20of%20%241.28.
https://paylesspower.com/blog/deregulated-energy-states/
