Friendswood or the Woodlands? (Houston, Galveston: power lines, crime rates, big house)

[mamallama1]

I know many people are sick of comparing suburbs, but I have been reading this board for a long time, along with doing my own research, and I still want more input.

We moved to the Houston area about 7 yrs ago and have lived in the Spring/Klein area the entire time. I like it okay....but it doesn't feel like the place I want to raise my kids through high school. They are now 7 and 4 so we still have a long road.

I have researched to death just about every area that interests me. I currently have it down to the Woodlands and Friendswood. I go to the Woodlands all the time because it is so close. We use many of their amenities, such as the dog parks, kids parks, and sometimes the pools. I love the look of the place too.....love the trees and bike pathways. My concern is raising my kids there.....I have this vision of children stressed to the max to perform, be perfect, be beautiful, be rich, etc. I conjure up images of my kids being stressed, anorexic, alcoholic, etc. because of the insense social pressure. I have read reviews of the schools and some of the elementary schools mention that the kids have to be very quiet and still, even in the lunchroom. It's not like that in Klein ISD and frankly, it sounds awful. Does anyone have any direct knowledge of what it's really like for an average kid to grow up in the Woodlands? Btw, we are not rich but we make slightly above the median income for the area. I just don't like to spend it trying to keep up with the jones'.

As for Friendswood, I keep seeing people on this board talk about it being like a small town. In what ways is it like a small town? I have not been down there yet because it is a very long drive but one day we'll go down there and explore. I like the idea of the small schools and being near the beach, but all the houses in our price range ($300-400) are so huge.....I don't want a 4500 sq ft house! Also, just looking in the background of the pics on har.com...all I see are power lines and other rooftops. Is Friendswood "pretty"?

Sorry for the long post...any input would be valuable.

[DanielWayne]

We live right next to Friendswood and actually considered living in Friendswood. Yes Friendswood has several neighborhoods with really big houses. At least they look really big to me I think there is even a neighborhood with an airplane runway. However, it just looks more like a small town with the typical main street and some nice, small parks. It has fewer big box stores, but you can find Home Depot and Chillis right down the road in Pearland or Houston. Lots of trees. Less sprawl. There are fewer amenities in Friendswood than the Woodlands, and for the most part Friendswood is going to be slower paced without all those sleek glass towers you see in the Woodlands. Friendswood is actually boring - you probably need to drive a few miles if you want to be entertained (however they do have lots of community events). BUT that also translates to much lower crime rates, and really, good schools. Very nice town to live in.

[HoustonRonnie]

Friendswood.

[dejamiller]

The Woodlands

[Sunderpig]

The Woodlands is a lot fancier and classier, much more wooded, and is far enough away from Houston to give easier access to Central, North, and East Texas, without having to go through too much "more" city to get there.

Friendswood is more plain and bland, and a bit quieter, but maybe that's okay for you. It's an older town (100 years plus - compared to the newer Woodlands), with obviously much slower growth. It's closer to coastal Texas (including Galveston and Surfside), but that may not be important if you're not interested in going south.

Even though I live close to Friendswood, I'd vote for The Woodlands.

[mynico]

I actually live in the Spring area and I love this area! Especially the Klein schools which are highly acclaimed. My daughter is in the Honors program at Klein High and she is very happy at this school. The teachers are really motivated and enthusiastic to teach the children and sincerely care of everyone of their students. Some of the teachers are also my friends, so I know first hand. However if you are considering The Woodlands area, this is a great area with many communities in your price range. Yes, it is more aesthetically pleasing because of the 'green' way the communities & businesses are built. The school district is Conroe ISD which is taxed lower than Klein.

[HoustonRonnie]

Friendswood.

[dejamiller]

The Woodlands

[BenzLawyer89]

We've been in The Woodlands for 12 years and can say, with certainty, that our kids enjoyed all levels of their schooling in CISD, from K through to TWHS. The kind of social pressures they and their friends discuss don't sound much different from the issues we saw while we were in school: my siblings and I grew up in Spring and were in KISD.

As for the area, we've visited Friendswood - there are NOT a lot of trees! Someone here said that there were a lot of trees; if you're used to the "forest" of The Woodlands, you'll feel the Friendswood area is lacking in this dept.

And just because your budget is 300k-400k doesn't mean you have to spend it all (if you choose Friendswood.) Being able to get everything you want in a house and bank the rest of the budget for a rainy day is a nice problem to have.

Bottom line: we love The Woodlands and have agreed we will never live anywhere else.

Best of luck with your decision!

[texas7]

Friendswood