houston "suburbs" (The Woodlands, Spring: theater, living, rating)

[chicagomama]

I don't know about all of the labels. But anyway, we live in Sugar Land and we like it. It's like Naperville only more diverse. I've lived in Naperville, Arlington Heights, Elmhurst, and Chicago proper. Good luck with your search.

[joesixpack123]

I don't get all these labels. I've lived in Spring my entire life and when describing it to outsiders I call it "a town about 30 minutes north of Houston". I've never called it a "suburb" or "exurb" of Houston. I've also never heard anyone associate Conroe with Houston other than the fact it's "close" to the city. We might as well start calling Huntsville, Hempstead, Magnolia, or Brenham as "exurbs".

To me, if you live inside 610 you live "IN" Houston. If you live outside 610 but inside the Beltway, you live "in" Houston. Outside of that, you live in Cypress, or Spring, or the Woodlands, or Humble, etc, not a "Houston suburb/exurb".

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by joesixpack123

I don't get all these labels. I've lived in Spring my entire life and when describing it to outsiders I call it "a town about 30 minutes north of Houston". I've never called it a "suburb" or "exurb" of Houston. I've also never heard anyone associate Conroe with Houston other than the fact it's "close" to the city. We might as well start calling Huntsville, Hempstead, Magnolia, or Brenham as "exurbs".

To me, if you live inside 610 you live "IN" Houston. If you live outside 610 but inside the Beltway, you live "in" Houston. Outside of that, you live in Cypress, or Spring, or the Woodlands, or Humble, etc, not a "Houston suburb/exurb".

I thought they were already suburbs and exurbs.

[vegankris]

I don't live in Houston yet, so I suppose I really have no business posting to this thread, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents to the discussion about what makes a suburb a suburb. The bad rep that suburbs tend to have (in my opinion from where I currently live) is that they are neighborhoods built so far out from anything (work, shopping, etc.) that you must be dependent on a car for all trips. From the research I have done into Houston, there are many suburbs that at least are trying to offer amenities in a "town center" sort of idea. Where people can walk or ride a bike to the store. In other words, making the "town" more human scale and more pedestrian friendly. Also, the park and ride option as a way to get to downtown Houston rather than the long highway drive is awesome and kind of reminds me of the street car neighborhoods of past where people could live outside the city and still use the street car to get to work in the city. At least it seems like in these Master Planned Communities, developers are trying to offer residents another option other than long, frequent car rides. Maybe I'm totally wrong, but at least from my research this is what it seems.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by joesixpack123

I don't get all these labels. I've lived in Spring my entire life and when describing it to outsiders I call it "a town about 30 minutes north of Houston". I've never called it a "suburb" or "exurb" of Houston. I've also never heard anyone associate Conroe with Houston other than the fact it's "close" to the city. We might as well start calling Huntsville, Hempstead, Magnolia, or Brenham as "exurbs".

To me, if you live inside 610 you live "IN" Houston. If you live outside 610 but inside the Beltway, you live "in" Houston. Outside of that, you live in Cypress, or Spring, or the Woodlands, or Humble, etc, not a "Houston suburb/exurb".

I get what you're saying. But under the current definitions nowadays, the cities of Humble, Spring, and The Woodlands are indeed suburbs of Houston. The part you typed in bold is interesting. But I also believe every big city has suburban areas inside of their city limits including NYC. They are just very dense. It makes your head spin.

[SouthernBoy205]

I've been seeing posts debating whether or not Conroe is a suburb of Houston. I thought it was.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by westhou

Another example

Houston (city), The Woodlands (suburb), Conroe (exurb)

Wouldn't call Conroe an exurb. I'd call Willis and New Waverly exurbs though. Conroe is suburb now, just a far away one.

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by Trae713

Wouldn't call Conroe an exurb. I'd call Willis and New Waverly exurbs though. Conroe is suburb now, just a far away one.

You are calling them exurbs because of their population??

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

You are calling them exurbs because of their population??

Location. They just aren't suburbs yet (Willis and New Waverly). Willis is starting to get a few new suburban developments, but a lot of that is spill over from Conroe growth. Now that I-45 is getting closer to completion, Conroe is pretty much just an extension of Houston now. All developed from North Conroe to Galveston.

[SouthernBoy205]

Even if they grew to 90,000, they would still be exurbs, according to you.