Possible move to Houston where to live? (Spring, Katy: relocation, real estate)

[roby1945]

Hi all. There is a pretty good chance we will be relocating to Houston early next year. I am not familiar with the area and would love some input. I have 3 children, ages 8,6,3, so good schools are a must. My husband would be working on Westlake Park Blvd in zip 77079. I have looked around a bit and see good things about Katy. Can anyone tell me anything about Katy, Memorial area (?), Jersey Village or any good areas around this zip code. I know a long commute for Hubby is out of the question. We need good schools and I was hoping to find an area that does not have an HOA. I currently have one and it is not so great. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks.

roby

[ayannaaaliyah]

You didn't specify your price range but here is something to get your started:

There's a subdivision in the Memorial neighborhood called Barkers Landing which will put your children in the Katy school district. They have a few homes ranging from about $250k-$500k. It's an older community, established and very nice.

Fleetwood Subdivision (Memorial community). Katy ISD same price range as Barkers Landing.

If you're looking for something newer then there is another community Lakes on Eldridge. They have homes ranging from $280k-$1million. This area would put you into the Cypress Fairbanks school district.

You can go to Houston Real Estate - Houston Homes, Houston Home Value and Houston Relocation and put in the above communities and see the homes that are currently on the market.

Either way, all of these neighborhoods are near the area where your Husband will be working, so he would not have to be concerned with a long commute.

Hope this helps and can get you started.

[Mr. Football]

I really like the West Memorial area (Wilchester, Yorkshire, Memorial Plaza, Nottingham Forest, etc). Older homes, but handsome wooded neighborhoods with pretty good schools.

Check out Cypress as well (Coles Crossing, Longwood, Rock Creek, Bridgeland, etc)

[Premont]

Houston's west side ends around Highway 6 so you're husband's job is at the western edge of the city. After that you have to go a little more west before you get to Katy. Westlake Park Blvd is close to a neighborhood named Fleetwood, which is nice. It's zoned into Katy district, but most of the others on west Memorial which were named by Mr. Football are probably in the Spring Branch district. Stratford High School is zoned to Spring Branch and it's a good school. Terry Hershey Trail is also close to your husband's work and that is something you will like if you live out there.

Katy is an option too. Your husband could take Westheimer to 6 and then 6 to Memorial to get to work. That wouldn't be a bad commute. You should find that you get a bit more bang for your buck house wise in Katy. Look into Cinco Ranch.

[houstonianatheart]

Originally Posted by roby1945

Hi all. There is a pretty good chance we will be relocating to Houston early next year. I am not familiar with the area and would love some input. I have 3 children, ages 8,6,3, so good schools are a must. My husband would be working on Westlake Park Blvd in zip 77079. I have looked around a bit and see good things about Katy. Can anyone tell me anything about Katy, Memorial area (?), Jersey Village or any good areas around this zip code. I know a long commute for Hubby is out of the question. We need good schools and I was hoping to find an area that does not have an HOA. I currently have one and it is not so great. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks.

roby

Houston is very large and spread out. Many commute miles each day for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending. However, much depends on your house purchasing power and what you wish to spend. There are homes is Memorial (which is not one specific area but anywhere along Memorial or Woodway Drives that can run 10+ miles in length. In Piney Point Village where Roger Clemens lives, for example, home can run into the 10+ million but in Houston proper, in the same general area, you can buy a very nice, older home for $500,000 to $1,000,000.

Have you thought about private schools. Strake Jesuit, Kinkaid, Awty, St. John's (in the River Oaks area, but far from where you live) are ideal, but can run upwards of $25,000 per child per year.

One thing can be generally true--the farther out you go from DT and Loop 610 the more you can buy.

One more point--living in the Woodlands which is North if IAH is very beautiful with homes ranging from $300K to several million and with the toll road to I-10 would only be a 40 minute commute, give or take.