Katy is a community on the west side of Houston that features several wonderful qualities, but like any community, a few downsides as well. What are some of the reasons people either move out of or move to the Katy, Texas area today? Here’s the rundown of the primary pros and cons of living in this suburb of the city of Houston, Texas.
Pros
1. Great School Systems
Katy features some genuinely great educational opportunities for public school students. In fact, according to GreatSchools.org, a leading school-ranking organization online, every school in the public school system of Katy comes in with a final rank of 9 or ten out of ten possible points. These stellar rankings are the result of a well-organized and funded local school board and school system administration.
2. A Strong Local Economy
For anyone in search of a good local economy, Katy achieves this. As an outlying suburb of Houston, a large market is always nearby. With a vast range of local shops, vendors, and other businesses in and near town limits, commerce is never a difficulty here. The Katy Business Association is also a prominent local driver and support resource for Katy-area businesses and their owners.
3. Affordable, Nice Neighborhoods
Plentiful, high-quality neighborhoods are a sure marker of a great place to live, and Katy features this quality for sure. Aside from a wide range of beautiful homes for buyers to choose from, home values here are on the climb with the area offering a very “Buyer’s Market” kind of situation. According to current Zillow analytics, median home values here also represent the highly affordable end of such a beautiful area at about $279,245.
4. Luxurious Dining and Shopping Opportunities
The shopping opportunities in Katy are great with a wide variety of retail businesses, from small boutiques to large, chain stores and outlets. The dining experience in Katy is also rich with plenty of exceptional dining opportunities on down to cheap, but great eats found throughout Katy. Additionally, many of the shopping and dining opportunities in the city are situated together, so its convenient to run all your errands. You don’t even have to venture into Houston to find plenty of fun weekend activities.
5. A Great Geographic Location
Yet another considerable benefit to moving to and residing in Katy comes by way of the city’s unique geographic location. Katy rests on the western outskirts of Houston and not far from a great variety of water features such as the Brazos River, Galveston Bay, and many surrounding lakes. Along with the city’s location on the broader map of Texas, it assures residents of a warmer climate with plenty to do and see outdoors.
Cons
1. Surrounding Traffic Woes
While the traffic directly in Katy isn’t necessarily the worst, any automobile travel westward on is typically fraught with issues. It is because the entire greater Houston area is in the midst of a population and subsequent traffic boom right now. If bike and foot travel is your main forte, however, you may see no issues at all here.
2. Biting Insect Country
Katy rests right off the Galveston Bay and in a relatively warm part of the US. Because of this fact, this area records high numbers of insects. Unfortunately, many of these insects, according to the Texas A&M Field Guide to Common Texas Insects, enjoy biting humans. These include many all-time favorites such as mosquitoes, gnats, biting flies, fleas, ticks, chiggers, and others. During the warmer months you’ll want to be fully prepared with plenty of bug spray to ward off these irritating insects.
3. High Sales Taxes
As a municipality in the State of Texas, all commerce in Katy is beholden to all state tax regulations. On the one hand, having no state income tax may seem like a great boon. However, when faced with an 8.25% sales tax rate on virtually all purchases, this fact becomes substantially less enchanting. Additionally, Katy has a slightly higher cost of living than the rest of the Houston metro area.
4. Common Weather Issues
On the one hand, living in a mild to warm climate such as that of the Katy, Texas area can provide some genuine advantages. A mild winter with little snow or ice is undoubtedly one of these perks. On the other hand, when that warm weather region also entails regular hurricane encounters, lots of trying summer heatwaves, and loads of uncomfortable humidity, the trade-off doesn’t seem quite as wonderful.
5. Lack of Local Diversity
Finally, for those keen on the offerings of a diverse population, Katy may not be the place for you. On the bright side, the main city area of Houston is nearby, and diversity is not hard to find just outside of Katy. Within Katy, though, the population is very predominantly composed of Caucasian Americans with little, other racial makeup found in the local community.
Katy is a great place to consider moving to overall. Like any locality, however, there can be several disadvantages associated with living in Katy that can turn some away. But with the pros stated above, some may still choose this place as their home.