hollyh Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 My dh and I are wanting to research moving to a more affordable area. We are currently in Southern Calif. We are trying to look into Texas, but are having a hard time finding info on the teacher salaries for different areas (as I read it varies greatly). I can find averages, but I want to know what specifically will transfer (credits, years of service, degree of education, etc.). I think we would be looking at the Dallas/FW area, or Houston. Any ideas on how to research this? Also, any thoughts on moving there… We are wanting to be able to afford living on one income and I'm sure it is probably just as difficult there. I don't even know where to start in looking at a true comparable of prices, cost of living, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 You can go to the TEA (Texas Education Agency) for info on getting Texas certification. You really have to go to each individual district's web site to get info on salary and how much experience they will give you credit for from out of state. I can't think of anyone I knew that had a family on a one teacher salary. Most are two salaries or one person who works a second job. The only thing that might work in your favor is if you are selling a home in CA and will have a good bit of cash to put down on a house in Texas. I knew a teacher that sold her condo in Ca and was able to pay cash for a nice house in Katy (outside of Houston) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 You would need to look up individual districts webpages. Look for Human Resources on the page. For example, in San Antonio, there are a bunch of districts. One district is Northside ISD. Here is a link to their pay schedule http://nisd.net/hr/compensation A teacher with a Bachelor's degree and 10 years experience make $50,290 a year. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Just remember that a higher salary in a higher COL area means a higher pension in the long run, which is worth consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 In terms of home ownership it is one of the mosy "reasonable" of the metro areas. Homeschooling is easy and there are many support and enriching options. If tibia important to you. Wide variety of Christian churches are available and culturally supported. If a more inclusive minded community is wanted, that can be forged with work. Most teachers I know (Katy ISD, "west Houston") start in the 40's. Gas is cheaper and food average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 We moved from Maryland to Texas. The biggest shock to us was the property tax in our area. The traffic in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex is really bad and road construction will not be completed for a few years yet. They decided to rip up and re-do all at once instead of projects here and there. What a mess. The areas outside of Fort Worth have homes with an acre or so, some are as low as $170's. Look at a map with county to help you know where to look for real estate (online just type in texas county map). Each little "town" has its own ISD, (independent school district) and that is how you could find out more information about each area's schools. Why would you choose DFW area? It gets hotter there than anywhere except Yuma sometimes! 110 day after day in the summer, I like being outside in the summer not stuck inside from May to September. And it doesn't really cool down at night. And winter is fickle. 20s tonight, it was in the 60s today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarynB Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Texas does not have a state income tax. The flip side is that property taxes can be high if your house is very large or new. Of course, if you rent a home, its a win-win -- no state income tax and no property taxes on a home.However, the overall cost of housing per square foot will likely still be significantly less than what you're used to in Southern CA.I'm biased, but I'd look at the Hill Country/San Antonio area before DFW or Houston. The weather is better there and so is traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyh Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 We are only starting to look at Dallas/Houston b/c we actually know people who live there and have family that will be moving there… We are also used to being in a major city, so I'm afraid if we moved to the "sticks" we would be in for too much of a culture shock! If it becomes a serious option, then we will need to travel there and see for ourselves what we think… I am open to looking at other areas. We don't even know where to start. Texas is a huge state - but we just hear nothing but positive from people who live there or who have moved there. It's very difficult to research an area that we know very little about. Any suggestions for surrounding suburbs would be good as well? I don't like the thought of such extreme heat in the summers - are there areas that are not as bad? I'm used to 100ish during the summer here, but I don't like it. The thoughts about pension are valuable, thank you. The concept of buying a house that is less than $200K baffles me. Honestly, under $300K is flat out amazing in my book! LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckles Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I worked for an ISD in a small town. If I remember correctly, I made 38,000 and my husband made 42000. It depends on your years of experience. We bought our 3/2 on 1/2 acre for 87,000. I'll sell it today for 82,000. Actually, I wish I could move back home, but my dh's work is here in Los Angeles. I'm excited for you, but it is different than S. CA. The TASA TX website is a good place to start. The career search site is a pretty good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I second San Antonio (or even Austin) over Dallas or Houston,and I have friends and family in all four. San Antonio has less heat than Dallas and fewer really bad storms and less humidity than Houston. My mother taught there and enjoyed it. Housing costs are way, way cheaper than in most places in CA compared to all four major cities in Texas, but housing used to be cheaper in SA than Dallas. Not sure about now. I have a cousin who lives in CA. She bought a house in SA to be closer to family and even though it was twice the square footage of her house in CA, it was less than half the price. Do you homeschool? There are many active homeschooling groups in all four cities but I know that the Woodlands area of Houston has an especially active homeschooling group and there are several in San Antonio that are pretty large. All four have traffic issues, but Houston and Dallas are especially bad. Is there any way you could go take a tour of Texas cities? Each one has its own personality and it may be hard to determine if you would be truly happy living in any of these cities without driving around and getting to see them. By the way, Austin has a really, really active music scene, lots of nice parks, tons of interesting restaurants, etc., but isn't as big and spread out and cumbersome as the three larger cities. I don't think their homeschooling groups are as large or well organized, but they do have very active homeschooling groups and lots of cultural activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I don't like the thought of such extreme heat in the summers - are there areas that are not as bad? I'm used to 100ish during the summer here, but I don't like it. The thoughts about pension are valuable, thank you. . 100 in Southern California is quite different from 100 in Houston. Houston has humidity. Unless you have lived in humidity you really don't know difficult it can be to be outdoors. Ditto: Give serious consideration to pension plans. It might seem like a long way off, but it's not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I exchange emails with someone who is a Middle School teacher, in a Public School, in California. As I recall, he wrote to me that Texas is the only (?) state where his California license is not reciprocal. I suggest that you investigate about what you would need to do, to get a license to teach in Texas, before you spend much time on the idea of moving to Texas, which is a wonderful idea. The COL in Texas is FAR lower than what it is in California. I'm a Native Californian, but I spent most of my adult life in Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilma Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 As far as culture shock, Austin might be gentler for y'all than any of the other major metro areas. Though I suppose if you happen not to enjoy the culture in Cali, DFW or Houston might be a good fit. Another plug for ATX is that it's centrally located - it's just a quick trip to San Antonio, 3-ish to Houston and 4 or so to DFW. So it your peeps are spread out in TX, Austin would be a good hub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleJumper1 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 100 in Southern California is quite different from 100 in Houston. Houston has humidity. Unless you have lived in humidity you really don't know difficult it can be to be outdoors. This is so very true! I grew up in Southern CA and thought nothing of high 90s into 100s temps because it is dry heat. I now live in a high temp/high humidity state and I have a really tough time with the summer months. As a side note - dh is from TX and we love to visit - beautiful state :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 As far as culture shock, Austin might be gentler for y'all than any of the other major metro areas. Though I suppose if you happen not to enjoy the culture in Cali, DFW or Houston might be a good fit. Another plug for ATX is that it's centrally located - it's just a quick trip to San Antonio, 3-ish to Houston and 4 or so to DFW. So it your peeps are spread out in TX, Austin would be a good hub. When we moved from WA, we chose Austin as where to move to. Not because of the culture shock issues (Conservative politicians in WA is very like liberal in Texas, in many ways) But because of weather. It doesn't get as humid here as Houston (where I grew up) or as cold and icy as Dallas/FT Worth. While having a larger job market than College Station (where I graduated from HS and learned to drive) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I like living in Texas, and I think you'll find the housing costs to be more affordable. Although we do have crazy high housing and windstorm insurance. Just as a ballpark, if you pay $120,000 for a house, expect to have a monthly payment of $1200. That would include mortgage plus the other carp. If your house is $90,000, expect to pay $900 a month. Etc. I also feel that I should mention that most teachers I know in Texas hate teaching here. They want out and advise others against getting into the profession. I have several relatives that teach in Texas. Plus I ran into my old high school journalism teacher and she told me to do anything but teach. I'm not sure what all the reasons are precisely, but you would be wise to explore. Private schools seem to be more pleasant to teach at, but I don't think the pay compares. (Oh, and teaching salaries seem to stay in the 40s for public school teachers.) That said, it is not too terribly hard being a stay-at-home mom here, if you budget and such. Especially if you have a ton of money to put down on a house. But you definitely will have to work at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Another area I would suggest looking into is East Texas. We LOVE it here. If you like big cities it may not be the best but I think it is a nice compromise. Right where I live, I live on 24 acres on a private road but still have neighbors. I am about 6 miles away from a smallish town (6,000), 12 miles from a medium town (12,000), 18 miles from a largish town (75,000) and 24 miles from Tyler (99,000). After that, I am about an hour and 15 from Shreveport, LA, two hours from Dallas, and four hours from Houston. For me, this is a dream! I am not in a big city but I am close enough to most things I need and two hours away from practically anything I could want. Plus, the area here is so beautiful!! Lots of hills, streams, rivers, lakes and trees! East texas is also known as the piney woods. As I drive toward Dallas, I can notice the amount of trees dropping off like crazy the closer I get. The weather here is also decent for Texas. The summers are hot, but not humid very often and the winters are mild. The gulf air just reaches us and keeps a lot of the storms that hit Dallas away from us. For instance, Dallas has been shut down twice this year due to weather, neither of those storms affected us. Just rain even though we are on the same level as Dallas. One of the only draw backs to this area is many of the schools are terrible, but as a homeschooler, that is not a major concern for me. I just thought I would shout out my love for East Texas! It's is worth a look or a road trip at least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I like living in Texas, and I think you'll find the housing costs to be more affordable. Although we do have crazy high housing and windstorm insurance. Just as a ballpark, if you pay $120,000 for a house, expect to have a monthly payment of $1200. That would include mortgage plus the other carp. If your house is $90,000, expect to pay $900 a month. Etc. I also feel that I should mention that most teachers I know in Texas hate teaching here. They want out and advise others against getting into the profession. I have several relatives that teach in Texas. Plus I ran into my old high school journalism teacher and she told me to do anything but teach. I'm not sure what all the reasons are precisely, but you would be wise to explore. Private schools seem to be more pleasant to teach at, but I don't think the pay compares. (Oh, and teaching salaries seem to stay in the 40s for public school teachers.) That said, it is not too terribly hard being a stay-at-home mom here, if you budget and such. Especially if you have a ton of money to put down on a house. But you definitely will have to work at it. With regards to housing insurance, if you are along the coast, like the Rio Grande Valley area, Houston, South Padre Island, etc. then you have to pay hefty insurance premiums and some insurance companies won't even insure you. Away from the coast it IS a lot better, but I don't know what the current insurance premium situation is in So Cal for comparison. Also, I think that really depends on the area and the teacher as to whether teachers hate teaching or not in the State of Texas. Some of my family and friends are in great schools and really enjoy their jobs. They love the city they are located in and while no job is perfect, they are doing well and content. I have a lot of relatives that teach. There DOES seem to be a general trend in many different areas in the United States where people in general (at least friends and family that I know) are not happy choosing the teaching profession. What seems to be happening in a lot of different states is that teachers in general (at least ones I know personally) are unhappy with all the teaching to standardized testing that is happening, straight-jacketing by administration instead of encouraging creativity in their teaching techniques, and the increasing lack of respect for teachers by parents and students...but those complaints do not seem to be an exclusively Texas thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Please also remember to compare benefits. I found that going from CA to NC in terms of salary, when all benefits were considered, was less than 50%. I would make less than half in NC than in CA. I honestly many, many days, wish I had stayed in CA for my benefits package. I actually didn't want to leave CA but DH did. I don't know how teachers in NC can support a family. I really don't. As a 2nd job, it is doable. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I like living in Texas, and I think you'll find the housing costs to be more affordable. Although we do have crazy high housing and windstorm insurance. Just as a ballpark, if you pay $120,000 for a house, expect to have a monthly payment of $1200. That would include mortgage plus the other carp. If your house is $90,000, expect to pay $900 a month. Etc. You mean a mortgage for $120,000 would equate a pymt of $1200, and not the actual purchase price, right? Someone putting 30k down and another putting 15k down on the same house will have different payments.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 You mean a mortgage for $120,000 would equate a pymt of $1200, and not the actual purchase price, right? Someone putting 30k down and another putting 15k down on the same house will have different payments.............. I suppose I mean that the LOAN amount of $120K would equal a monthly payment of approximately $1200 per month, and that $1200 would include insurance and such. It's just a ballpark, but has been fairly accurate for us. I only mention it because I have friends in another state where they would not at all have such a large monthly payment for that loan amount and in fact own houses that cost twice that much. So I take it to be unusual, which is why I mentioned it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 It is possible to live in texas on one teacher`s income. Dh and i have done it for 24 years with 7 children. Base salary in Texas starts around $40,000 but since my dh is a coach and has been in for 24 years, he makes quite a bit more. Teaching anywhere is not that good anymore. I dont think that is just in Texas. The retirement plan is very good, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 It is possible to live in texas on one teacher`s income. Dh and i have done it for 24 years with 7 children. Base salary in Texas starts around $40,000 but since my dh is a coach and has been in for 24 years, he makes quite a bit more. Teaching anywhere is not that good anymore. I dont think that is just in Texas. The retirement plan is very good, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 It is possible to live in texas on one teacher`s income. Dh and i have done it for 24 years with 7 children. Base salary in Texas starts around $40,000 but since my dh is a coach and has been in for 24 years, he makes quite a bit more. Teaching anywhere is not that good anymore. I dont think that is just in Texas. The retirement plan is very good, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I have friends living in a $300,000 home in San Antonio. The home is huge and has a guest cottage and a swimming pool. Their mortgage payment, including everything, is a little bit over $1300 and is a 15 year note, not a 30. However, they put down a significant down payment (over half) because they were able to sell their home on the East Coast and take most of the money to use as down payment on their home in S.A. They don't have to pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) because they put down over 20% and they don't have as high an insurance premium because they don't live on the coast. They also got a great interest rate and paid down points to make it even better. There are so many variables involved with a mortgage that it is exceedingly difficult to compare housing prices without more specifics. That being said. insuring a house in some areas of Texas can be high compared to other areas of the country, so I can see what perkybunch is trying to get at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Sorry for the triplicate. Guess i shouldnt post from my kindle fire :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I would avoid Houston like the plague. Dallas is nice, but I like Austin much better. The temperature and weather extremes aren't as bad in Austin as they are in Dallas. The traffic in Houston and in Dallas is far worse than in Austin. Dallas tends to get one ice storm each year when the whole city comes to a halt. This usually lasts 1-3 days. I am working on getting my alternative teaching certificate and should be in a classroom in the fall. Starting teacher salaries here tend to be about $40k. I have no idea what will transfer. You should be able to teach for one year in Texas on a provisional license and will just have to pass the TeXes exam before the provisional expires to get your actual license. I know somebody who moved here from Washington and is doing exactly this right now. He is the teacher of record in his classroom and just has to pass his certification exams before his provisional expires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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