Houston's not as cheap as it used to be. Right now if you want to get parts made it's totally doable. But two years ago when oil was at $100/bbl? I couldn't

Houston's not as cheap as it used to be. Right now if you want to get parts made it's totally doable. But two years ago when oil was at $100/bbl? I couldn't get anyone to return a call, ever! The company I worked for had to start its own machine shop to get anything done. Housing was cheap in '09 but the average apartment rent was $1700 in November '15. That's over a year since the oil price crashed. If oil prices continue to stay low for another year or two Houston might get more affordable as people leave looking for work elsewhere. But that's a big "if" and it's barely started.