Greetings,
I started this blog to share updates with friends and family as my wife and I take the plunge and move to Houston. A week from now we are quitting our jobs and leaving Hawaii. We're bringing only a few bags of clothes and we plan to live with my brother in law until we can find work.
The decision to leave Hawaii wasn't easy. We tried to make a living here, but decided that the high cost of living wasn't worth it. Also, my wife and I are both in the tech field and we feel that the tech industry in Hawaii is rather limited.
Some of you might be thinking, "Why Houston?" I've never been to Houston and my only visit to Texas was when I transfered planes on my way to Florida. However, Houston is the only city that satisfied the four criteria we came up with when deciding on where to move. The four criteria are:
1) Affordable cost of living
Houston ranks fourth on forbes.com for most affordable city
2) Has tech jobs
Houston ranked third on ranking of most tech jobs created
3) Warm weather
We both like warm weather and don't have positive experiences in the cold. I went to college in Iowa and my wife lived in Philadelphia before moving to Hawaii. Houston is known for its humidity (although I've heard it can be unpleasant in the summer).
4) We have some connections there
Both of my wife's younger brothers live in Houston. The older of the two owns a large house and works as a developer in the oil and gas industry. The younger of the two is starting his freshman year at the University of Houston. Living with them for a while should make the transition easier for both me and my wife.
Although it fits our criteria, we aren't limiting our search for jobs to Houston. Austin and the Dallas/Ft. Worth area also have lots of tech jobs, warm weather and are much more affordable than Hawaii. They're also within a few hours driving distance of her family in Houston. If we were to get jobs in one of those cities, we'd be willing to rent a place there as well. I anticipate it will take us roughly 3-6 months to get a job, so the safest course of action is to stay with the family until we can afford to make it on our own.
