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Old 12-11-2010, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Orange County
77 posts, read 345,838 times
Reputation: 58

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I will be working around Fuqua St. and the 45 Fwy.

I have 2 kids, both girls; ages 6 and 4, so schools are important to us as is safety. We also like to spend time outdoors as a family; hiking, swimming, talking a walk in the park, etc. and would like some community rec. activities, but not miserably high HOAs like we have now. Also, we would like a town with some character.

We are prepared to spend around 300-450K on a house.

We're relocating from Orange County, California if that helps.
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Old 12-11-2010, 03:43 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,751,203 times
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I think that Friendswood or Pearland would give you the best commute. There should be lots of houses in your price range in either town. The schools are good in both towns though there is some variability, so research the particular elementary schools you would be zoned for when you look at houses. There are probably more HOAs in Pearland, but ours, for example has its own park and swimming pool (summer months only as it is outdoors and has no lifeguards for other months).

I would choose Friendswood for the library as the west side of Pearland only has a substation (we are working on getting a full service library over here, but it will be several years probably). The park districts in Pearland and Friendswood both have nice programs.

The city site is Welcome to the City of Friendswood, Texas (http://www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/COF/default.htm - broken link)
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Old 12-12-2010, 03:49 PM
 
Location: Orange County
77 posts, read 345,838 times
Reputation: 58
Thanks! The link was quite helpful too.
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Old 12-12-2010, 08:26 PM
 
Location: Houston
657 posts, read 2,534,293 times
Reputation: 240
I'd go with Friendswood or Clear Lake. Webster is down there as well.
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:51 AM
 
225 posts, read 594,831 times
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Good luck on your move. I live in Friendswood with 3 kids and we really like it. With your budget, I think you'll have no trouble finding something you like.
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Old 12-13-2010, 08:07 AM
 
49 posts, read 102,724 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phaedra_p View Post
Good luck on your move. I live in Friendswood with 3 kids and we really like it. With your budget, I think you'll have no trouble finding something you like.
Hey may i ask a question?we are also moving to houston from Mn and we were looking for houses into friendswood also just coz the school district is very good..i have 2 kids..ages 5 and 3...may i ask how is the community and the crime level over there??

Thanx
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Old 12-13-2010, 11:50 AM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,751,203 times
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My perception is that Friendswood is relatively safe.

Here's a website with crime stats by month for 2010

Monthly Report : City of Friendswood, Texas (http://www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/COF/news/crime/Default.htm - broken link)
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Old 12-13-2010, 11:56 AM
 
Location: League City
3,842 posts, read 8,215,351 times
Reputation: 5364
I can't find the page with the rankings, but if you go by simple crime statistics Friendswood probably has the lowest in the entire Houston area. The Friendswood police have a reputation for being strict on crime, which really isn't a bad thing. We are planning to move there or League City from Webster this summer
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Old 12-13-2010, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Houston area
1,408 posts, read 4,034,787 times
Reputation: 639
I would recommend Clear Lake, Friendswood, or even Kemah if you liked being near the water.

All of those suburbs are relatively safe and will have good schools. In your price range you will have lots of options so make sure you look at all of them.

Don't forget about our 3% property tax bill on homes.
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Old 01-19-2011, 03:08 AM
 
Location: Houston
2 posts, read 11,405 times
Reputation: 14
Hello JSies,

I moved to Pearland from Los Angeles (Palos Verdes) and it's very different over here. I would suggest Friendswood over Pearland and League City. That is where we are moving next. Pearland has more of a country feel to it and for the most part the side closer to the 288 has a bit more crime. League city is okay too, one area that is nice is close to South Shore Harbour. Another area to look into is Clear Lake. Friendswood tends to be a bit more on the conservative side, where Clear Lake seems to be a bit more on the liberal side, in my opinion. Clear Lake is a bit more lively than Friendswood and has more retail locations.

You can go to HAR.com and look at homes for sale, which is a great site. There are also other sites like FSBO or for sale by owner. You can also check out HCAD.org and you can type in an address and see who owns the property, in the event you may want to buy direct from the owner. HCAD is Harris County Appraisal District. Friendswood is mostly in Galveston County, but parts are in Harris County. I think GavelstonCAD.org is the appraisal district site for Galveston County, but you can google search it.

Also as another person mentioned be careful with the tax rates, they are migh higher, they vary from like 2% - 3.25%, which is much higher than CA. Also, your property value is adjusted every year, which is dumb, because you have to fight or hire a company to fight to reduce the assessed value on your home. You can check out the County Appraisal District sites and find out the tax rates for different homes. Also watch out for communities with MUD Taxes (Municipal Utility District) they tend to really increase your tax rate.

Good luck on the move, there are lots of people originally from California here in Houston.
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