Considering Relocating to the Houston Area?

Houston, Texas is the 4th largest city in the nation with a population of 4.3 million and is ranked 2nd in the U.S. for Fortune 500 company headquarters. Houston is proud to be a multicultural and multilingual city, with over 90 foreign languages spoken by its residents.  Another major draw to the city is the weather, with 66°F as the average winter temperature and 91°F as the average summer temperature.  This world-class city offers excellent housing choices in every price range, in both urban neighborhoods and outlying communities.

Relocating to Houston could be the best move you’ve ever made.  Moving to a new city is exciting, but nerve-racking at the same time. Houston’s plentiful neighborhoods, superior medical care and quality educational opportunities make adjusting to new surroundings painless.

As real estate moguls developed Space City, the number of appealing neighborhoods became expansive. Houston’s broad selection of builders makes for a competitive market, with some of the country’s largest builders based here. Houston boasts one of the most diverse populations among major U.S. cities.

Master-Planned Communities

Anyone shopping for a home in or around Houston will often hear the phrase “master-planned community.” Developers launched this concept in the late 1960s and it has been extremely successful. Homes in these communities have strict regulations and deed restrictions.  They feature amenities such as plentiful trees and greenbelts, community centers, educational facilities and recreation areas such as pools, ballparks and golf courses. These communities are found in the areas surrounding Houston and include Conroe, Copperfield, Fort Bend County, Friendswood, Jersey Village, Katy, Kingwood, League City, Pearland and The Woodlands among others. Master-planned communities offer a mix of lush scenery and modern conveniences, with locations near wooded acreage and bodies of water enhanced by abundant schools, shopping centers and restaurants.

Wooded Neighborhoods

Houston is an astonishingly green city. As Houston’s population and physical size grew, the city itself took in regions that were established as rural areas and suburbs. The result is a vast city of business districts mingled with friendly neighborhoods.  The City of Houston includes incorporated communities such as West University Place, named because of its proximity to Rice University.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence in residential development inside Loop 610, the freeway that encircles central Houston. Other close-in areas include Meyerland, Houston Heights, South Main, MacGregor- Riverside,Third Ward, Acres Homes, Denver Harbor and Idylwood.These areas feature many historical homes and old-fashioned neighborhoods brimming with character.

No description of Houston’s neighborhoods would be complete without mentioning River Oaks.This upscale area is home to big names, big oaks and big homes. New construction is less available, but the high quality of existing homes makes renovation worthwhile.

Urban Living

The Downtown Houston area offers a vibrant neighborhood for city dwellers. In addition to being the city’s central business district, downtown is home to the exciting performances in the Theater District, Major League Baseball at Minute Maid Park and both NBA and WNBA, plus professional hockey and major concerts at the Toyota Center. Downtown restaurants abound, many with award-winning cuisine. The social scene boasts everything from sports bars and beer emporiums to chic dance clubs and music venues.

Downtown Houston and nearby Midtown offer a multitude of residential options. New high-rise apartment buildings offer amenities such as a loft floor and intown convenience. Similarly, many historical buildings have been converted into lofts with plenty of history and character, along with modern conveniences.

Just south of Downtown Houston, Midtown is an up and coming neighborhood. Numerous mid-rise (two to threestory) apartment developments as well as high-rise lofts provide convenient and stylish living options. Some lofts feature restaurants and retail shops on the ground floor with apartments above.Also in this area, townhomes offer a more private residential option, similar to stand-alone, single-family homes.

The METRORail light rail service provides transportation throughout both Downtown and Midtown.The rail line’s service spans from the University of Houston-Downtown, on the northern border of downtown, all the way to Reliant Park, home of Reliant Stadium and the Houston Texans.The rail line includes stops in the Museum District, Texas Medical Center and Rice University.

Schools and Higher Education

The quality of educational programs plays a major role in your relocation decision. Houston I.S.D. is the largest independent school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the nation. However, Houston I.S.D. is just one of the 31 independent school districts in Harris County and its surrounding areas. Many of these school districts have received awards of excellence from the State of Texas. Approximately 400 private and parochial schools also serve the area.

To carry Houston’s youth into the professional world, the area has 25 institutions of higher learning. Junior colleges, universities, law schools, medical schools and a wealth of professional and technical training schools provide endless educational opportunities for adults.

 Access To Houston

  • Two major airports: Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport
  • George Bush Intercontinental Airport ranked No. 1 in the country for on-time arrivals and on-time departures by the United States Department of Transportation (2004)
  • Houston Airport System (HAS) is the fourth largest multi-airport system in the U.S., the seventh largest international gateway in the country
  • 44 million passengers traveled through the airports in 2004
  • 6.4 million international passengers annually
  • HAS serves a total of 181 cities worldwide
  • Bush Intercontinental ranks third among U.S. airports for nonstop destinations
  • METRORail, a 7.5-mile rail line connects downtown to the Museum District, Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park
  • METRO operates more than 1,400 accessible buses

Convention Facilities

  • George R. Brown Convention Center: 1.8 million square feet
  • Reliant Center: 1.4 million square feet

Population

  • 2 million residents in Houston, 4.7 million in the Greater Houston area
  • County seat of Harris County, the nation’s third largest county with more than 3.4 million citizens

Sports

  • MLB: 2005 National League Champion Houston Astros
  • NBA: two-time World Champion Houston Rockets
  • WNBA: four-time World Champion Houston Comets
  • NFL: Houston Texans, the newest expansion team in the NFL
  • AHL: Calder Cup Champion Houston Aeros

Hotel Rooms

  • 63,342 hotel rooms in the Greater Houston area
  • 4,550 in downtown Houston
  • 6,517 in Uptown/Galleria area
  • 9,430 in Greenspoint area
  • 2,990 in Reliant Park/Medical Center area

Multicultural Houston

  • 90 languages spoken throughout the area
  • Diverse population - 37.4 percent Hispanic, 49.3 percent Caucasian, 29.3 percent African-American and 5.3 percent Asian
  • 83 consulates - the third largest consular corps in the nation

Theater District

  • One of only five cities in the U.S. with resident companies in the four disciplines of the performing arts: Alley Theatre, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera
  • With more than 10,000 theater seats, second only to New York (Broadway), Houstonians enjoy a wide variety of entertainment.
  • 17-block district in downtown Houston

Museum District

  • Home to 15 institutions, including The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the sixth largest museum in the country, and Houston Museum of Natural Science

Theme Parks

  • Space Center Houston is the Official Visitors Center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center
  • Others include SplashTown water park, Moody Gardens on Galveston Island, Kemah Boardwalk and Downtown Aquarium

Outdoors

  • More than 165 public and private golf courses
  • Located 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico
  • Located 30 minutes from Clear Lake, a 2,000-acre destination for boating enthusiasts
  • Third-largest pleasure boat basin in the U.S.

Business in Houston

  • U.S. energy headquarters, known as the Energy Capital of the World, Houston is the leading center for virtually every segment of the oil and gas industry, with over 5,000 energy-related firms doing business in the region. 

 

  • The Port of Houston, a $15-billion petrochemical complex, ranks number one in the nation in foreign tonnage and second in total tonnage.

 

  • Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world. Texas Medical Center (TMC) has grown to become one of the world's finest medical centers of patient care, research and education.  The Texas Medical Center was formed and exists today exclusively for benevolent, charitable, and educational purposes to form the foundation and continuing support for a "City of Medicine." Since its inception in 1948, the Texas Medical Center has sought to attract non-profit, academically-oriented institutions dedicated to medical care, health care, education, and research. Its land, consisting of 100 permanent buildings located on nearly 800 acres and 20 miles of public or private streets, is provided to the member institutions for nominal fees, that must be dedicated to this purpose.

    The Texas Medical Center started with a dream to create a medical center, where people from all walks of life could have access to the best health care anywhere - whether they were rich, poor, famous, alone, young, or old.

    In the more than 50 years since that dream originated, it has been realized many times over. Throughout the years (see detailed chronology), the Texas Medical Center has undergone massive development with the addition of many major hospitals and medical research centers. The Medical Center's momentous growth has paralleled Houston's. Today, the Texas Medical Center is growing daily with acquisition of land and new buildings. Many important Houston names such as Anderson, Hermann, Cullen, Jesse Jones, Ben Taub, Hobby, Jaworski, Scurlock, and Weingarten have been integrally associated with the Texas Medical Center. In a few short decades it has grown into one of the world's finest medical complexes. The fusion of three different worlds - those of the businessperson, the healer, and the scientist - has produced one of the most remarkable achievements in medical history.The Texas Medical Center today has 42 member institutions that each exists to serve all of mankind. On any given day, one can find people from every social circumstance and many of the world's nations seeking treatment at the center's renowned institutions.

Many of the member institutions are working to make the Texas Medical Center quality of care convenient to even more people by putting clinics, offices, and other facilities in neighborhoods throughout Houston and the surrounding communities, and even in other parts of Texas and the world.

In the Texas Medical Center, there is something to meet everybody's needs. The county's two trauma facilities are located in the center, as are institutions specializing in every imaginable aspect of health care, including care for children, cancer patients, heart care, organ transplantation, terminal illness, mental health, and wellness and prevention.  It is where one of the first, and still the largest, air emergency service was created; a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed; and more heart surgeries are performed than anywhere else in the world.

All 42 of the Texas Medical Center's member institutionsare not-for-profit, and are dedicated to the highest standards of patient and preventive care, research, education, and local, national, and international community well-being.

Educational institutions such as Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Houston System, Rice University, Texas A&M University System, Texas Woman's University, Prairie View A&M University, Texas Southern University, Houston Community College System and Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, part of the Houston Independent School District; these institutions include 13 renowned hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health and pharmacy; educate over 22,000 students in virtually all health-related careers.

Texas Medical Center frequently coordinates center-wide efforts with METRO(Houston's public transportation), the City of Houston, Harris County, and as needed, state and federal governments. The corporation works with the Flood Control District and the Subsidence District, both County entities, to provide emergency services, especially during times of hurricanes and flooding.

When viewed as a single entity, the Texas Medical Center institutions are the largest employer in Houston with over 65,300 employees (4,000 + Physicians, 11,000 + Registered Nurses and 15,000 LVNs,clinical caregivers, technicians and support staff) and more than 12,000 volunteers serving over 5.2 million patients in 2004 including 10,456 international patients.


Visit the official site for the city of Houston http://www.cityofhouston.gov/. The site features connections to local government information, facts and history, important community information. For information on nightlife, arts, and entertainment in the Houston area visit http://houston.citysearch.com/.

The Houston Chronicle Online (http://www.chron.com/) features metro and state information, travel and entertainment information, news, classifieds, weather and community news. And http://www.houston-guide.com/, hosted by the Greater Houston Convention and Business Bureau features travel information, real estate links, hotels, arts and entertainment, and local attractions.