Best neighborhoods in Houston (The Woodlands, League City: to rent, low crime, how much)

[Ray72]

Thinking of moving to Houston from St. Louis, MO. Looking for good school district and a safe neighborhood. My children are in elementary school. I'm also willing to consider private or catholic schools. I would like for the neighborhood to be diverse. Need some suggestions.

[texas7]

Good luck Ray - asking that question is like a popularity contest - everyone roots for their own part of town and kind of diss the rest for this or that. Basically Houston is huge - so you might want to consider asking what neighborhoods are safe and diverse nearest your place of employment. We have good neighborhoods on all sides of town. Stay out of Southwest Houston. Depending on your price range - inner loop Memorial, Rice Village, West University are all great AND pricey. The West side has Katy (Cinco Ranch), The North side has Kingwood and The Woodlands, people still rave about Sugarland on the far Southwest although it is my least favorite, South side has Pearland, Friendswood, Clear Lake, League City. Every one of these are considered safe and very good schools.

[bch7]

I worked in Houston for 3 months this past winter before we decided that Houston was not for our family (from rural Western NY) and what I found was that within the beltway, most affluent people send their kids to private schools. Early career professionals (ie. non-trust fund babies) live out and deal with the long, white knuckle commute. I was looking the Woodlands, Spring, and Magnolia, and the 1960/249 area. Not sure where you are moving from but do your homework ahead of time and if you can't imagine yourself living in NYC, LA, or Chicago then reconsider! Best of luck!

[ayannaaaliyah]

I think that you would like Houston coming from the Mid-West. I've been here for 2 years now, although not from the Mid-West, I spent all of my childhood summers there with my grandparents and still go back every year, as that is where the majority of my family resides (5 generations).

Nevertheless, Houston is a great place to raise a family and homes are more affordable here than in any other part of the country. I can't tell you what neighborhoods are best within the City however there are many surrounding suburbs which have great school districts (if you want public) and there are also great private schools also.

Contrary to what the previous poster said, I reside outside of the city limits, in Katy, however my daughter attends a private school in Houston, and I'm not a "trust fund baby". Fortunately my child attends a private school that doesn't consist of a high ratio of trust fund children either. Fortunately I don't commute into Houston for my job either.

It would be better to give the board a bit more information (i.e. what area of town you'll be working or what type of work you're looking for; what is important in terms of a home; are you planning to rent or buy; age ranges of your children, how much you're willing to spend; how long you're willing to commute, etc.) and then people can give you suggestions and point you in the right direction.

[BearBranch]

Kingwood is a short half an hour (non-white knuckle) to downtown. Excellent schools. I moved here from SF Bay area and love it,

[carolineb]

I agree with Texas7 that this question doesn't have any one answer - the best place for one family may not be the best for another - especially because Houston metro is so spread out. Are you interested in urban living or do you want to live away from the city?

We rented in Houston (Montrose) for a year and now live in Katy/Cinco Ranch and have one pre-k child. I chose Katy because of the strong school district and Cinco Ranch because of the ammenities (nice, quiet neighborhoods, affordable housing, pools/parks/ playgrounds/hike & bike trails) and convenience to shopping, hospital, library, movies, restaurants).

If you're interested in private schools, check out houstonprivateschools.org and the private school fair that is going to be held Sunday, September 23, 2007 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. I went last year and you can pick up a lot of info about schools and talk to the reps. The web site also lists when the open houses/tours will be.

[mschneller]

I live in Westheimer Lakes North in south Katy, and love it, I have been here for a year, and it is a diverse community. Of course I just hyping my own neighborhood, but my family have really liked it here. It is in the Katy ISD school system, and they just built a brand new elementary school that the kids goto. KISD is one of the tops in the state.

[DJboutit]

South West side Willow Meadows Willow Bend Meyerland Maplewood all nice areas just outside the loop close to just about everything decent priced house low crime.

[A.L.I. Designs, Inc.]

West University Place is the most family friendly neighbor (city) in Houston. They have excellent schools and is centrally located.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by A.L.I. Designs, Inc.

West University Place is the most family friendly neighbor (city) in Houston. They have excellent schools and is centrally located.

True. And like Bellaire, it's also one of the most expensive places to live around here.