moving to houston from Minnesota (League City, Friendswood: to rent, HOA, daycare)

[BrotherBear8]

Check out Bay Oaks/Bay Forest in the Clear Lake area.

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by nkhan

..

Do you think clearlake would be a good choice for living ?we both are professionals...i mean an engineer and a doc ..job is in clearlake and we want to live in a nice neighbourhood and at the same time not too far from work also.

You will have a LOT of choices of desirable neighborhoods in Clear Lake. Check League City, too. The development in League City is newer, but they have a lot of traffic. As said above, Bay Oaks in Clear Lake is probably what you would be looking at. Everything is close by in Clear Lake.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by nkhan

Hi all
We will be moving from minneapolis to houston soon...a big move..we are planning to live in pearland area..i want to know are there any magnet schools in either pearland or clearlake and how are the school districts??
how can we compare the living standards of both cities??
too many questionssss

We live in Pearland and the schools are not bad, but not as good as some. There is some variability in spite of the district control. My granddaughter goes to Massey Ranch Elementary and it is an IB candidate school. We have been very pleased with what she is doing. She has been there since K and is now in 3rd grade.

There is going to be a *gifted* magnet, but I am not sure when that is happening and my granddaughter while she is bright does not make the GT cut really.

Clearlake has a good reputation. So does Friendswood. Individual schools though will differ.

What age are your children? That will impact what you do. Where will you be working? That will impact your commute time and where you want to live.

I love our Pearland neighborhood for the friendly people and the large number of kids here. In many ways, moving here was like stepping back into the 1950s - lots of stay at home moms and lots of interaction in our neighborhood at least.

Housing costs are going to be lower than Minnesota in general and you will not have the heating costs, but you will have high electric bills due to the number of days you need a/c.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by nkhan

..

Do you think clearlake would be a good choice for living ?we both are professionals...i mean an engineer and a doc ..job is in clearlake and we want to live in a nice neighbourhood and at the same time not too far from work also.

I don't know about League City's demographic, but Pearland has a large percentage of professionals who work at the Med Center and some who work at NASA. My son is a Chemical Engineer and commutes to Pasadena from Pearland. I have friends in Friendswood who are also professionals and I would assume that Clearlake has plenty of engineers and professionals due to its proximity to NASA.

[AjaxMalone]

Originally Posted by nkhan

..

Do you think clearlake would be a good choice for living ?we both are professionals...i mean an engineer and a doc ..job is in clearlake and we want to live in a nice neighbourhood and at the same time not too far from work also.

Clear Lake is white collar to the bone. My neighbors are either Astronauts, doctors in specialized fields, contractors with NASA, or engineers. You probably won't find a better place for professionals on the south side of Houston.

[MNCold]

I just moved to Clear Lake about a month ago from Minnesota. I live in Clear lake, my job is near by JSC. Unless you have the need to frequent downtown, living near by your job is definitely better. The traffic is not very bad but it is definitely slow b/c there are so many cars on the street. Coming from MN, I definitely miss the laid back, quiet atmostphere and the fresh air there. I live <3 miles from work. Clear Lake, Friendswood or League city and many smaller area (Nassau Bay, Taylor Village) are good places to raise a family for young kids. Friendswood is a bit more small town feel than Clear Lake and League city. The demographic in Friendswood is also more similar to MN (a.k.a less diverse). It makes me less home sick when thinking about MN b/c you can find homes with bigger lot here. Typical lot here ~8000 sqt which is small compare to MN standard (about ~1/4 arce).
Clear Lake city are older so the houses are older but there are many well kept and nice homes here.
League city seems to have more young family and therefore more youth related activities.
Pearland is little farther away. If you work in Clear Lake, then either Clear Lake, Friendswood or League city would be better choices than Pearland in my opinion. I have of co-worker who live in Pearland and commute to Clear Lake b/c her husband works downtown. The commute is 30-45 mins door to door depending on the day.

FYI. Clear Lake area really compasses 9 small cities within it (Friendswood, Clear Lake City, League City, Nassau Bay, El Lago, etc...). When people referring to Clear Lake, I always have to ask 'Is it the big Clear Lake area (ie. 9 cities) or the Clear Lake, which is the area around JSC. Very confusing, I should say. Check out this website for more info. www.clearlakearea.com

There are two schools districts, Clear Creek ISD and Friendswood ISD. Both are good but Friendswood received a bit higher mark reputation/image. Clear Creek ISD is larger and served many community (Clear Lake, League City, Nassau, etc... and parts of Friendswood). Friendswood ISD serves only parts of Friendswood. Either of these ISD should be fine for your children. People are serious about school here and there are many stay at homes moms.

Good luck with your decisions. Whether the move is right for you will depend on your situation. I moved here b/c of the warm weather and I definitely get that. I do, miss many things in Minnesota like fresh air, less traffic, better libary, etc...We were at the 'Holiday at the park' event in League City last weekend and I reminded myself that's the reason I moved to TX. You won't ever have a Christmas party on the street in MN b/c it's so cold.

[nkhan]

Originally Posted by MNCold

I just moved to Clear Lake about a month ago from Minnesota. I live in Clear lake, my job is near by JSC. Unless you have the need to frequent downtown, living near by your job is definitely better. The traffic is not very bad but it is definitely slow b/c there are so many cars on the street. Coming from MN, I definitely miss the laid back, quiet atmostphere and the fresh air there. I live <3 miles from work. Clear Lake, Friendswood or League city and many smaller area (Nassau Bay, Taylor Village) are good places to raise a family for young kids. Friendswood is a bit more small town feel than Clear Lake and League city. The demographic in Friendswood is also more similar to MN (a.k.a less diverse). It makes me less home sick when thinking about MN b/c you can find homes with bigger lot here. Typical lot here ~8000 sqt which is small compare to MN standard (about ~1/4 arce).
Clear Lake city are older so the houses are older but there are many well kept and nice homes here.
League city seems to have more young family and therefore more youth related activities.
Pearland is little farther away. If you work in Clear Lake, then either Clear Lake, Friendswood or League city would be better choices than Pearland in my opinion. I have of co-worker who live in Pearland and commute to Clear Lake b/c her husband works downtown. The commute is 30-45 mins door to door depending on the day.

FYI. Clear Lake area really compasses 9 small cities within it (Friendswood, Clear Lake City, League City, Nassau Bay, El Lago, etc...). When people referring to Clear Lake, I always have to ask 'Is it the big Clear Lake area (ie. 9 cities) or the Clear Lake, which is the area around JSC. Very confusing, I should say. Check out this website for more info. www.clearlakearea.com

There are two schools districts, Clear Creek ISD and Friendswood ISD. Both are good but Friendswood received a bit higher mark reputation/image. Clear Creek ISD is larger and served many community (Clear Lake, League City, Nassau, etc... and parts of Friendswood). Friendswood ISD serves only parts of Friendswood. Either of these ISD should be fine for your children. People are serious about school here and there are many stay at homes moms.

Good luck with your decisions. Whether the move is right for you will depend on your situation. I moved here b/c of the warm weather and I definitely get that. I do, miss many things in Minnesota like fresh air, less traffic, better libary, etc...We were at the 'Holiday at the park' event in League City last weekend and I reminded myself that's the reason I moved to TX. You won't ever have a Christmas party on the street in MN b/c it's so cold.

Thankyou so much for your reply and taking time out for that..
job is in clearlake city itself..and we dont know which area schools are good..my kids are ages 4 and a half anf 3 yrs old...our move is only job based..here in M we generally have no problem..but obviously the pay scale is bigger in houston so we have to move ..
we are also very much serious about kids schooling and thats why we are very much stressed out over that..i myself is a doc but is staying home for kids till they get to kindergarten ..we want a nice , educated and friendly neighbourhood to raise our kids ..
once again thanx

[nkhan]

Originally Posted by AjaxMalone

Clear Lake is white collar to the bone. My neighbors are either Astronauts, doctors in specialized fields, contractors with NASA, or engineers. You probably won't find a better place for professionals on the south side of Houston.

NOW thats a sign of releif knowing about area..as our main concerned is nice educated neighbourhoods and good schools..

Thanx for the reply

[nkhan]

Originally Posted by nana053

I don't know about League City's demographic, but Pearland has a large percentage of professionals who work at the Med Center and some who work at NASA. My son is a Chemical Engineer and commutes to Pasadena from Pearland. I have friends in Friendswood who are also professionals and I would assume that Clearlake has plenty of engineers and professionals due to its proximity to NASA.

Yes this is what i think that due to proximity with NASA the enighbourhoods must be nice and educated..

Thanx

[nkhan]

Originally Posted by nana053

We live in Pearland and the schools are not bad, but not as good as some. There is some variability in spite of the district control. My granddaughter goes to Massey Ranch Elementary and it is an IB candidate school. We have been very pleased with what she is doing. She has been there since K and is now in 3rd grade.

There is going to be a *gifted* magnet, but I am not sure when that is happening and my granddaughter while she is bright does not make the GT cut really.

Clearlake has a good reputation. So does Friendswood. Individual schools though will differ.

What age are your children? That will impact what you do. Where will you be working? That will impact your commute time and where you want to live.

I love our Pearland neighborhood for the friendly people and the large number of kids here. In many ways, moving here was like stepping back into the 1950s - lots of stay at home moms and lots of interaction in our neighborhood at least.

Housing costs are going to be lower than Minnesota in general and you will not have the heating costs, but you will have high electric bills due to the number of days you need a/c.

My kids ages are 4 and a half and 3 yrs old..(bit young bit we are very much concern about their schooling and the right choice for their future..job is in clearlake city..very close to space center..i myself is a doc but i will stay home till i send my youngest to kindergarten..i hope you can understand my conern
Thanx