Meyerland Residents (Houston, Bellaire, West: real estate, crime, big house)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We finally made it to Houston! Boy, it is hot here! Anyway, we have been trying to decide where to live. This place is massive and there are so many options for places to live. I believe we have it narrowed down to Meyerland and Kingwood. I'm pushing for Meyerland, my husband and kids are pushing for Kingwood (they want a big house). If you live in Meyerland, the part that feeds into Lovett, Johnston and Bellaire, would you mind sending me a direct message? I have some questions about the schools, area, community feeling, public pools, parks, etc.
Welcome Kris, and welcome back to this forum! I remember you from a couple of months ago, and was wondering where you were.
I used to live near Meyerland, and I liked that area. But a lot may have changed since the early 1990s. It's an older neighborhood (probably developed in the '50-'60s), but not as old as places inside the loop. It has more character than neighborhoods started in the last couple of decades, which often seem bland. I do remember the Braes Bayou sometimes overflowing and getting into the community. It's so dry now though that it's hard to even imagine that.
I don't know much about Kingwood, but I notice that people seem to treat it as though it's the best thing since sliced bread. Not sure that's a good quality, but I'm sure others will chime in, and maybe correct me. Just remember that a big house doesn't necessarily equal more enjoyment. For one thing, you'll continuously pay more for property taxes, heating/cooling due to the size, more time needed to clean, etc. Perhaps that money and time could instead go towards getting away from the city for fun and relief, which I'm sure you'll want after you've been here awhile. On the bright side, the weather will improve around November.
Kingwood in not the best thing since sliced bread but since I spend more time at my house than any other location having a nice house is a big plus. Kris did you guys get a chance to drive out to Kingwood yet. Now is a good time since it is pretty cool this weekend.
i live in the meyerland area (but in Westbury). Meyerland is a great neighborhood. It's a nicer alternative to Bellaire (character of homes, large plots, big trees, community feel) with the same schools. It is close enough to the city that you get the awesome restaurants, night life, museums and a city feel. There are big houses there 3,000 st ft plus but come at a much higher price tag than in KW. virtually any house in Meyerland will be more pricey than the average KW home. meyerland, while a cool closed off neighborhood in itself, has a wildly greater feel of being in the city than KW does. KW is virtually cut off from everything around it
Kingwood has really nice subdivisions. I grew up there. As I was a kid living in KW I know more about the kids/teens amenities compared to my knowledge of Meyerland. they have swim leagues in the summer for each subdivision, youth sports, the y (Meyerland has at least the last 2). KW definitely has the vibe of "hey, parents live here." it's a great place to raise kids, not necessarily have teenagers. it was pretty boring living there when as a teenager you want to go to the city and do stuff. fortunately i was able to do that with my parents knowledge or not. i still did sports and my sister was part of the band etc but just the kind of kids we were we wanted to get out more. my circle of friends and i would often leave and complain about KW. but thats what teens do
i dont understand wanting to have a big house simply to have a big house unless you are a family of 4 that was sharing a 2000 sq ft place before. maybe for the novelty aspect of it or to show off a little. everyone in KW has a big house and many will have much larger. so that aspect wears off real quick. big houses are definitely more to heat and cool. plus more to fix up to be energy efficient. more to paint, more to hardiplank etc. my mom was an older mom but i can still hear her cursing at us for making her walk up and down the stairs to pick up things. i could have done without that. if i miraculously had children and wanted to give up myself for them i'd move to KW in a heart beat.
Bellaire HS i keep hearing people, and people on here, say its the best public HS in Houston. Kingwood was a good school. what do I know other than I graduated from there and easily got into colleges. I didn't but I knew many people who went Ivy League straight from graduating. I am sure there is some type of ranking system. You shouldnt worry about your kid not being accepted somewhere or getting beat up in a KW school or in Meyerland
i like more of what being in the city has to offer. id want that for my kids as well but that varies from parent to parent. meyerland and KW are so completely different, think about what you and your husband want (dont buy a house for the kids), and it should be an easy choice. id think (without being in real estate whatsoever) that houses will always sell well in meyerland over kingwood for the simple reason of proximity to the city and short commute. not that KW home values are plummeting or anything.
Thanks Sunderpig! I totally agree about house size! The house we just left was older, full of character and only 1400 sq ft with just 1 bathroom. We are a family of 5, kids ages 9th grade, 7th grade and 3rd grade and we did fine with the space. I loved my house, it was cozy and seemed to fit us just right. It's my husband and boys who are so excited about the huge houses there in Houston. In addition, homes are much, much less expensive in Kingwood, which my husband likes.
The heat doesn't really bother me too much, just noticed how hot it really can get.
I live in Willow Meadows just on the other side of 610 from Meyerland I love the area it is so close to everything really quite not a whole lot of crime plan to never leave this area
Chris_UT, we did make it out to Kingwood, and it really is a VERY beautiful area! The trees are amazing and it has a very "upscale" vibe to it.
Testmo, did I read your post right that if you had kids, you would move to KW in a heartbeat? If that's true, why? Is it because of the schools? The KW schools look awesome and many of my husband's co-workers live in KW for the schools. The only co-workers who live in Meyerland are without kids. But, I did some research and Lovett, Johnston and Bellaire look like great schools also.
if i had kids and was willing to sacrifice what i want (city amenities) KW would definitely be high on my list. schools in KW aren't any better than in Meyerland. if i wanted more of a sheltered suburb - KW is where i'd go. i understand a lot of parents look for that for their kids.
i was super competitive in sports and i know there are lots of leagues in KW. im sure there are in other suburbs but i had a real good sport experience there. this was a number of years ago but we were national winners in track and cross country. we routinely won state. it made me feel great being a part of that. if your kids are soccer, track, swimming, basketball or lacrosse players theyd do well. when i went to HS it was pretty competitive. ive heard bellaire is even worse. but i do well under those circumstances. at the same time the schools are big enough to have cliches for just about any kid. i never witnessed any severe bullying but ive heard the times are changing and kids are getting meaner!
it takes more than 30 minutes to drive to the city. quite often it takes me 20 to simply leave the back of KW when visiting my parents. if you live in the front the drive out will be much much much faster
also what is with the traffic lights in KW? that one in the front is always a blinking red. ive noticed traffic in KW is way different than it was when i was a kid. so many cars. it can be bad in rush hour but the woodlands that i have experienced is the same. for that 610 in rush hour to meyerland/bellaire is bad as well
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Boy, it is hot here! Anyway, we have been trying to decide where to live. This place is massive and there are so many options for places to live. I believe we have it narrowed down to Meyerland and Kingwood. I'm pushing for Meyerland, my husband and kids are pushing for Kingwood (they want a big house
). If you live in Meyerland, the part that feeds into Lovett, Johnston and Bellaire, would you mind sending me a direct message? I have some questions about the schools, area, community feeling, public pools, parks, etc. 
