Don't get your hopes up about Galveston at least about the water and beaches. Although at the top of the Gulf of Mexico, it is the at the bottom of Mississippi delta aka muddy waters. It doesn't help that it is the main highway for the Houston Ship Channel, where all the cargo, cruise and shrimp boats go through, kicking up the mud and muck and oil and grime.
Galveston Island itself is great to visit but not to live. Property is significantly lower than L.A. but a nice house still gets you in a neighborhood surrounded by old run down houses. A lot of city folks have homes in the suburbs and build a beach house on the island, which they rent out which not in use. But the eating is EXCELLENT, the entertainment is non-stop (very family friendly but expensive) and the beaches are clean enough after you can get past the brown sand and the brown water and the brown seaweed.
Depending on your type of business I would do a lot of research as to where to set up shop. Houston has all the kinds of neighborhoods as all other cities - downtown isn't residential so its almost a ghost town at night, except for events going on at the convention centers, hotels and sports venues. There are a lot of urban areas, some new some old, that have small but cute, trendy, expensive and cool (The Heights, Mid-town) housing. There are a lot of wealthy "Southern Living" type of suburbs - Katy, Richmond, Sugarland, The Woodlands, Kingwood with 4000+ sq ft brand new homes for $250-450K but very very far away if you want to commute downtown. As you move closer to downtown on the map from any of these areas you'll find more moderate older neighborhoods with excellent school districts and extremely affordable housing. The areas directly surrounding downtown and spots here and there coming out of the city are the poorest and more crime ridden neighborhoods. You probably wouldn't want to buy a house along any of the highways.
If your business has anything to do with the oil and gas industry, this is the town to do it in. With ExxonMobile moving its headquarters here, north of Houston will be the energy corridor of the city. Property value is on the rise and houses are selling 1 week-1 month on the market. Real estate agents are having a field day and EM hasn't even moved in yet!
As for traffic, sorry but traffic in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, New Jersey or New York is so much worse compared to the traffic in Houston. Houston is so easy to get around once you get the hang of it. If you get stuck in traffic you always have 3 or 4 other options to get to where you are going. We have the best toll road system and are building another one circling the city. We have the best DOT - they give road construction closures at least a month ahead of time and always provide alternate routes managed and maintained not only by DOT but by local police and highway rangers.
You will love Houston if you are looking for a family friendly place to live with good eating. Sporting events, tons and tons of festivals, lots of museums and museum events, plenty of churches, concerts, shows, theaters and too many good places to eat - domestic and international. half the city are transplants but the locals are as friendly as you will let them be (us natives always say you can always tell a true Houstonian by the way they can look a stranger in the eye and greet them with a smile and a handshake). And, we are the air conditioning capital of the world. Its colder here in the summer than it is in Alaska at the dead of winter with all our air conditioners running!
