Moving to Houston

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Permalink Reply by Esther Ling on June 27, 2011 at 6:06pm

Hello!

I moved to Houston two months ago, and the one experience I clearly remember - going through U.S. Immigration was a pain. Then again, I'm not a citizen of Canada so maybe that's why it was a little more painful. Anyhow, make sure you have all your documentation, and be prepared to answer ANY kind of question even though your visa has already been approved.

 

I live in the midtown area, and I like it so far. It is pretty safe and there's lots to do. Easy access to shopping and food. But I guess depending on your preference for commute to work and schools, there are lots of other nice areas too inside the 610 loop. Just avoid Greenspoint, and in general, the NE area. Good luck with your move!

 

Cheers

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Permalink Reply by Erin Dozal on June 28, 2011 at 2:42pm

I don't have a lot of advice to give, but I hope this helps a little.

 

When I moved to the US 5 years ago I sold my car before I came down because I didn't want to pay the import tax and fill out all the paperwork for it.  It was getting old anyway, and cars are SOOO much cheaper down here that for me it was easier to buy a new one.  So I'm not sure how the paperwork works for importing cars, but I do know you have to do something. 

 

I didn't have any problems going through US customs, and I used a moving company to ship my belongings from Canada to the US and I did not have a problem with that either.  As far as I can remember I did not have to do anything with customs for bringing my furniture into the US...I think the moving company took care of that.

 

One thing you will need (and maybe your company is taking care of this) but you will need a Social Security Number before you can actually start working in the US. 

 

As far as where to live in Houston, that really depends on how much time you want to spend commuting, and how much you're willing to pay for housing (which is actually very cheap in Houston). I'd talk to people at your company and find out where they live and how long it takes them to drive to work and what the schools are like where they live. 

 

Good luck with the move!

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Permalink Reply by Jie Wang on June 29, 2011 at 10:08pm

Hi I just moved to Houston a year ago, so i clearly remember my moving experience. In terms of best high public and best private school, i heard best highs - Clements, Cinco Ranch and Memorial high, there might be others too. Best private is St John, but you have to apply one year earlier. you can send me an email so i can tell you more...........

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Permalink Reply by Radu Popoviciu on July 1, 2011 at 10:36am

I moved here 3 years ago but it’s all fresh in my mind.

I brought a car with me. The moving company handled it (it was loaded in the moving truck). When I got it they didn’t get the customs papers cleared, so they had to do it here. It went pretty smooth. Though I had to pay off the loan on it and get a letter saying there was no lien on it. I did not have to pay any import tax on the car or any other stuff.

Erin mentioned about Social Security Number – you can start working and then you can apply for it.

As it was mentioned here, the area you want to live depends on your work location but also on the schools. Sometimes the schools in an area closer to your work might not be very good.

I don’t know if you want to buy or rent, but either way the relocation company should assign a realtor to work with. If you decide to buy then the relocation company should recommend you a few mortgage companies to work with for loan pre-approval.

I wanted to mention on the credit cards: you can definitely use your existing credit cards but eventually you want to get the “local” one(s). I heard that if you have American Express in Canada you just tell them that you move and they will transfer it. This seems to be the easiest way, but you need to do some research on this issue.

Look at your passport expiry date. If it’s due to expire it’s probably better to renew it before you move.

I hope this helps.
There is lots of info on this forum and I’m sure some other people will give good advice. If you have more specific questions just ask.

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Dan P on July 13, 2011 at 11:51am

Just moved (still getting settled). A couple of things I would note:

 

If you have no SSN or it's a new SSN with less than 2 years credit, know that you'll have zero credit. That means you're likely to be asked for deposits on everything from utility hookups, to cell phone plans, to cable, etc. So plan to drop some extra dough getting that all sorted. If you can bank with someone in Canada that has US retail banking (BMO only perhaps, as RBC is selling their US retail arm) this might help you get a US Visa card that is not pre-paid and possibly a higher limit and access to a line of credit and other credit. Let it be known that every financial instituion I talked to in Houston was unwilling to extend any credit with no SSN history and they would not check Canadian credit through Equifax.

 

If you're bringing your car, no problem - except the tax you'll have to pay. I sold mine in Canada thinking I could get financing from a dealer here - not so easy. I had a "no" from almost every dealership (without even checking) except for 1 dealership said "maybe". I ended up buying a VW though as Volkswagen offers "Foreign Professional" financing for foreigners with no credit, provided you meet certain criteria (outlined on their website). I did just find another company called lionleasing.com but I' never spoke to them as I had finally bought from VW.

 

Car insurance - if you insure with someone who is active on both sides of the border, they can get your driving history here. If not, get a 5-year abstract before you leave Canada.

 

You can't get a drivers license here until you've registered a vehicle. You can't register a vehicle until you have insurance, you can't get insurance til you own a vehicle, can't own til you get a loan, can't get a loan til you have a SSN...and if you don't get your license within 90 days of arriving, you have to re-take your test.

 

My main suggestion is to show up with lots of patience and expect everything to be somewhat harder than it would seem it has to be and life will be good :)

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Permalink Reply by Charlette on October 2, 2011 at 4:47pm

You're going to love it here...basically one season....HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT.

 

If you have immigration problems call up border and ask for the director, Katie Parks (in houston) phone number. Get a meeting she will expedite the process FAST.

 

Credit is easy to get in america. I applied to Walmart, Target, Dell, Capital and Orchard. Instant approval huge lines. Did not pay off every month had 720+ score in like 14 months. Super easy!

 

As far as where to live...alot of professionals live in The Woodlands and commute. May or may notbe something you're interested with the way people drive and how congested it gets in the mornings and evenings.

 

Be sure to contact me when you encounter cockroaches and ants. :)

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Permalink Reply by Cathy Morris on January 12, 2012 at 6:32pm

Did you mean to say you did not pay off your credit card each month or did you pay off your credit card each month to get the 720+ score?

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Permalink Reply by David Steadman on November 26, 2011 at 9:36pm

Sorry for the late reply. I really ought to surf this site a little more.  I can definitely help you out and point you in the right Direction depending what your needs are. I moved here 15 years ago from Toronto. I work for CORT. We specialize in relocations. My email address is david.steadman@cort.com  Please feel free to contact me directly.

 

Cheers

Dave Steadman

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Permalink Reply by Cathy Morris on January 12, 2012 at 6:29pm

I lived in Calgary for 14 years, I'm originally from Lafayette, LA.  I've been living in Houston for 3 months now and I really love it.  Beware, bringing your cars down here is a hassell.  I'm trying to sell my SUV back in Canada because it doesn't meet the US standards so that means I can't get it registered in Texas.  I'm not moving back to Canada.

My daughter lives in Katy which is a hot spot.  Great schools there and make sure when you're looking at homes that you pay attention to the property taxes.  They are a lot more expensive then in Calgary but the homes are way less.  I live in the new area of Rosenberg which is about 10 minutes away from Sugar Land.  Great area but I can't really tell you much about the schools here, except that my realtor said they were great.  My kids are adults now.

Hope this information helps.

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