Sienna Plantation/questions about problems with the area?

[herfyjo]

Originally Posted by BoydS

Until the next hurricane. Good luck on getting out of the neighborhood as all roads lead to hwy 6.

We stayed in Sienna through both Hurricanes Rita and Ike. Outbound traffic was bad on Hwy 6 but they usually give you several days notice for hurricanes. And 6 was nothing like 59, 45, etc. If we had wanted to leave, we would have been able to with decent planning. What I did hate was the lack of electricity for a week after Ike! I'm pretty attached to my A/C!

[360mamma]

I have lived in river oaks area for years and now thinking of moving to sienna. Let me just say hurricanes effect everyone regardless of where you are located. We were out of electricity for almost 3 weeks and my parents in sienna had there's back on in a matter of days. The traffic just as bad trying to get out even though lots of ways to get out, the density and pure population meant we couldn't get a block without it taking 20 minutes! The schools as well are difficult but I will say that when it comes to public schools, SIenna and Scanlan are rated VERY high in Texas. Yes, thats for PUBLIC school but I grew up in this public school system as did my husband and most of our friends. All of us still graduated with great rankings, yes even next to "private" schools and we all still went to good colleges and accepted to IVY league as well. Just saying. Everyone's ideas are different and depend on where you come from and what your experience is. I do wonder why Schiff is ranked so poorly and does anyone know if they transfer kids in from other neighborhoods? WE are debating whether to buy a new home in Anderson Springs by the new resort pool or buy into Steep Bank West. We have three young kids and want to be close to other young kids the same age. Does anyone know more about these two areas? The Verado at Anderson is where we are looking to build....

[Liljo22]

Originally Posted by 360mamma

I have lived in river oaks area for years and now thinking of moving to sienna. Let me just say hurricanes effect everyone regardless of where you are located. We were out of electricity for almost 3 weeks and my parents in sienna had there's back on in a matter of days. The traffic just as bad trying to get out even though lots of ways to get out, the density and pure population meant we couldn't get a block without it taking 20 minutes! The schools as well are difficult but I will say that when it comes to public schools, SIenna and Scanlan are rated VERY high in Texas. Yes, thats for PUBLIC school but I grew up in this public school system as did my husband and most of our friends. All of us still graduated with great rankings, yes even next to "private" schools and we all still went to good colleges and accepted to IVY league as well. Just saying. Everyone's ideas are different and depend on where you come from and what your experience is. I do wonder why Schiff is ranked so poorly and does anyone know if they transfer kids in from other neighborhoods? WE are debating whether to buy a new home in Anderson Springs by the new resort pool or buy into Steep Bank West. We have three young kids and want to be close to other young kids the same age. Does anyone know more about these two areas? The Verado at Anderson is where we are looking to build....

In before 350days comes and bashes Texas public schools and Sienna.

As for Schiff, they do bus kids in from other areas as there are not enough students in the Anderson Springs area to fill it. The other problem is that they are still unorganized due to how young the school is. If I was choosing between the two areas, I would go with Steep Bank West. And you can't go wrong with Sienna if you have young children. There is just so much to do in the community for families with young children.

[Dionne7]

Originally Posted by 360mamma

I have lived in river oaks area for years and now thinking of moving to sienna. Let me just say hurricanes effect everyone regardless of where you are located. We were out of electricity for almost 3 weeks and my parents in sienna had there's back on in a matter of days. The traffic just as bad trying to get out even though lots of ways to get out, the density and pure population meant we couldn't get a block without it taking 20 minutes! The schools as well are difficult but I will say that when it comes to public schools, SIenna and Scanlan are rated VERY high in Texas. Yes, thats for PUBLIC school but I grew up in this public school system as did my husband and most of our friends. All of us still graduated with great rankings, yes even next to "private" schools and we all still went to good colleges and accepted to IVY league as well. Just saying. Everyone's ideas are different and depend on where you come from and what your experience is. I do wonder why Schiff is ranked so poorly and does anyone know if they transfer kids in from other neighborhoods? WE are debating whether to buy a new home in Anderson Springs by the new resort pool or buy into Steep Bank West. We have three young kids and want to be close to other young kids the same age. Does anyone know more about these two areas? The Verado at Anderson is where we are looking to build....

I don't know much about Sienna, but I have a friend, who purchased a home far back from where you want to move. She has a child at Schiff, and a friend, who has a daughter in Scanlan. We usually compare the curriculum due to all the controversy over Texas public school versus private. And this school district is better than that one. We came to the conclusion after all this nonsense that ALL public schools no matter what district you are in are doing the same thing. They are TAKS centered or Starr centered basically teaching from a curriculum to past the state test. There are some differences, but not a major one for example, in Pearland the marking period is every 6 weeks, there seems to be more homework, and more classwork, where as in the Sienna schools the marking period is every 9 weeks and less in classwork because the teachers only are required to meet the minimum amount of grades that are required by the Fort Bend ISD district. I don't think there is a set number in Pearland. I think if you are looking for something outside of a school going beyond the state test private is an option, but you have to be careful with this as well. Most teachers are not certified and this does not stop a school from charging $10,000 per semester. I guess folks can get away with that here. Private schools with certified teachers charge more like Kinkaid or The Presbyterian School. As far as top public schools in Texas, no one has defined what that means other than stating 80 or 90% of students for example, answered 100% of questions right on math or reading on the state test, which doesn't mean much when you are looking at how our students are doing on a national level. The SAT scores for high school students are very telling, so I don't get wrapped up into any kind of hype. You really need to do your own research and take what other people say as an opinion.

[mikeyyc]

We live in Steep Bank West, and I would wager you'll get a bigger bang for your buck over the new construction. It's a great community.

[Dionne7]

Originally Posted by mikeyyc

We live in Steep Bank West, and I would wager you'll get a bigger bang for your buck over the new construction. It's a great community.

Sometimes with older homes you do get a bigger lot. If you buy new construction you have to spend a fortune just to get a home on a bigger lot.

[360mamma]

We drove through Steep Bank West and REALLY like the feel of the neighborhood! Thanks for the feedback from everyone. This is really helpful! I think we have now made the decision to move to Sienna and now we just have to see if we can find a house for sale that we like in Steep Bank West or build new in Anderson Springs. We LOVE the sided homes in Steep Bank West but only saw one that was for sale and it was on the railroad tracks. I would imagine that gets very loud?

[350days]

Originally Posted by 360mamma

We drove through Steep Bank West and REALLY like the feel of the neighborhood! Thanks for the feedback from everyone. This is really helpful! I think we have now made the decision to move to Sienna and now we just have to see if we can find a house for sale that we like in Steep Bank West or build new in Anderson Springs. We LOVE the sided homes in Steep Bank West but only saw one that was for sale and it was on the railroad tracks. I would imagine that gets very loud?

How long to you plan to live in Sienna? You need to consider this. If you plan to only live there for five years I would reconsider. Homes are not selling that well right now. If you buy in Sugar Land you probably have a better chance. Missouri City is not that appealing as a whole when you look at the entire city in general. Sienna draws in a crowd because it is beautiful, but when you drive outside of all that there isn't much unless you go to Sugarland. The schools are all the same in Missouri City except that the poverty is lower than the rest of the city and there are less minorities attending the schools in Sienna compared to the rest of the city. This shows no evidence of a great school if every school trains their teachers to teach to the test. Something to think about.

[FloEdelman]

Originally Posted by 360mamma

We drove through Steep Bank West and REALLY like the feel of the neighborhood! Thanks for the feedback from everyone. This is really helpful! I think we have now made the decision to move to Sienna and now we just have to see if we can find a house for sale that we like in Steep Bank West or build new in Anderson Springs. We LOVE the sided homes in Steep Bank West but only saw one that was for sale and it was on the railroad tracks. I would imagine that gets very loud?

I helped a family lease a home in Sienna a few years ago. The home backed up to the train tracks and they were ok with that. This year, they finally bought in Sienna. They did tell me that living on the train tracks had gotten old and they could not talk on the phone when the train was coming through.

Trains are not supposed to blow their horns when going through Sienna but I'm sure the rumbling on the track is noticable, especially in the older homes that might not have double-paned windows.

[mikeyyc]

Backing onto the tracks would be loud. There's no horn, but just the rapid roll through would be aggravating over time. We live in Steep Bank West but on off North Fitzgerald, and only notice the odd train in passing.