Hopefully Moving in 6 months to Katy..advice needed (Cinco Ranch, Center: for sale, apartment complex)

[NYSNOWBUNNY007]

Hello,

the hubby and I are looking into moving to the katy area in 6 about months respectively from NY...We will be renting at first before we decide to purchase a home...We are both RN's and are targeting the hospitals in the katy area...one of us may work downtown houston...( I have 2 yrs in acute peds, 5 yrs LPN exp, the hubby will have 6 months rehab exp) ...We will def do our best to secure employment first..however we are not sure if we want to rent an apartment or a single family home...we are looking at a budget of 1500/mo for a three bedroom and we will go up to 1750/mo for the right place...I saw Camden Downs at Grand Harbor located near the katy mills mall area and I wanted to know if anyone is familiar with this area...I see that these units may be zoned to West Memorial Elementary...realizing the frequent re-zoning we hope to stay in the area where we can stay in the Old Katy HS area...currently my son is 9 ..he does exceptionally well in his classes now and we have seen through research that the katy school district and cypress is nice...any suggestions for rentals and this particular area I have targeted?...thank you all for your time...greatly appreciate it...

[cheryjohns]

You can rent a home with that budget - and will be locked into a year lease. An apartment would be a less attractive choice - HOWEVER, a 6 month lease would give you time to work out the ideal location to buy, after the dust has settled down.

Cypress is nice - and if both were working in the Cypress medical area - a good choice. Not a good choice if someone is working in the Medical Center in the Loop - Hwy 290 is the worst commute we have.

Katy might be a better location to start.

If going the apartment route, use an apartment locator. Free service and lots of them easily found on Google.

The apartments you mentioned is close to I-10, which will make for a better commute.

[NYSNOWBUNNY007]

Thank you...yes I have searched for apartments in that area...I try not to go with the reviews I see but do look for the "common" complaints among the reviewers...lol..I do plan to rent for at least a year or two depending on how things pan out...Im hoping to see if anyone who lives in any apartment complex or neighborhood nearby this area can shed some light on the area and schools...thank you for your response!

[cheryjohns]

The problem with apartment reviews is the ones that take time out to post may or may not have a legitimate complaint. Those that are happy rarely post.

[NYSNOWBUNNY007]

exactly...lol

[CoderGeek]

I did a move from up in Pennsylvania many years ago - I will say with moving such a long distance, having an apartment hunter was a life saver - they know the lay of the local land while I'm over a thousand miles away at the time.

Since you're looking in Katy - keep in mind that there's a lot of houses up for rent, some even in rent-to-own situations (not sure how legit those are, but it's an option I've seen). I (unfortunately) spent enough time in local hospitals to know nurses tend to work shifts of 6am - 8pm (or there-abouts, usually a 12 hour shift) so you should miss most of the morning traffic heading into and out of town as that tends to peak between 7am-9am inbound and 4:30pm-6:30pm outbound. Definitely get an EZ Tag if you're living in South Katy though (along FM 1093) as you'll definitely want to be using the Westpark Tollway for your commute.

Around the Katy Mills area there is a lot of development happening. I think a 6-12 month lease is prudent as that'll be a short enough time to still get in on this new development. Out here, you can have a house built and customized for less than you would buy an existing house for. Given so many developments in close proximity to Katy Mills (Firethorn and the newer parts of Cinco Ranch along with Cardiff Ranch and if you go further Cross Creek Ranch)... you will have your pickings for a house. There's also many apartment units going up in the area, especially around Cinco Ranch. I know there's an apartment complex up by Memorial Hermann Katy just off 99 - but I assume they're full of everyone that works at the hospital.

Katy ISD is an exceptionally good ISD. Lamar School District (south of FM 1093) is also good from what I hear. Just watch how far west you go as I know the border for Katy ISD runs right through Cross Creek Ranch (relatively close to FM 1463 which runs close to Katy Mills Mall).

[royafash]

I am moving there this month. I will let you know how it goes. I am from out of state as well

[royafash]

to camden grand harbor that is<br>

[davidrod8]

Grand Harbor was the only complex I found that would do a short term lease (less than 6 months) however their prices were insane. We looked at houses that had been on the market for sale for 1+ years and were able to rent a house for less while our new home was being built. I would definitively rent first so that you can have a better idea of where your job is going to be before buying anything... There are lots of hospitals in the area and many more planned... There's also a bus from the park n ride in Kingsland that takes you to the medical center, should you find a job there, that's another option...

[MariD3]

I moved to Katy last September. My youngest son attends West Memorial Elementary and my teens attend Katy High School, so you're definitely on point, as far as your target living area. I've been told that children in this area will not have to worry about being rezoned, seeing that the neighborhoods are older and pretty established.
They are currently building a brand new complex in this school zone, which will be complete around your time frame. It will be right behind Camden.

You can also look up Katymagazine.com there's a TON of current job listings in there, and the listings for nurses is extensive! =)
Our boys may be in the same class! My son is going to 4th grade! Good Luck!