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We were looking to relocate and buy a home within 45 minutes of Baytown. We do not want to go towards Friendswood/Webster/Pearland area, we want to stay East. Preferably somewhere in Chambers County. We were thinking Winnie or Anahuac area, possibly Mont Belvieu. For our home, we wanted to not be in a neighborhood and get max 5 acres, but wouldn't even mind as little as 1/2 acre.
How are the school districts?
Property taxes?
Are the hurricanes/natural disasters bad in this area? I've been told this area gets hit really hard and floods terribly.
Are there any other areas we should consider, within our range of Baytown?
Any other information would be awesome! Thank you.
hi and welcome! I live in Mont Belvieu and just moved here last June. I have 4 kids in Barbers Hill.
Schools: depending what side of town you live on depends on what branch of the school your child will go to. There has been an explosion of growth in the area so they had to split the schools North and South with some new buildings to keep from over crowding. I live on the North side and would never consider the South but that's just my preference because of MUD and major traffic issues. There is some small subdivisions that have acres on the south side and ones ready to build. There is even a subdivision that has personal runways for your plane if you are so lucky to have one!
Barbers Hill is very competitive and strive to be the best. It is very strict school as far as discipline and dress code, it might as well be private but I like it. We moved from a terrible school district and it is very refreshing to see school pride and wanting the kids in town to reach their full potential. It is a very heavily private funded school from the oil and gas companies and it shows. I'm really impressed all the stuff the kids get to do and places they go.
Property taxes: we live in a subdivision 3k sq foot home and it's around 5k. You can file for homestead and knock off $700. The value of homes are going up so every year the taxes will creep up but you can at least try to fight them, some of my neighbors have won but others have not since their homes are still being built at almost 100K than what they paid 2 years ago.
Flooding: this exact area on the north side has not flooded I am told but the southside does especially if you live in the subdivision plantation. Anahuac was completely underwater the last hurricane. They are having issues with getting clean water for the town, its very close to the water, and the schools are really not good at all. As for Winnie all I know is the flea market is there once a month. I see that acreage is pretty cheap but the schools are very underfunded.
As for Baytown I feel it's on the cusp of being great if the police would crack down on the crime more. There is beautiful homes and new schools popping up but the crime is pretty bad. It can go either way I feel if they don't get a hold on it soon. I truly love where I live, I grew up in CT/MA and lived in Illinois for 10 years and Barbers Hill really just blows every public school I've ever seen away. It is a very small town feel but if you want to get in on it while things are still moderately affordable, the time is now. There is a huge subdivision going up next to the high school that is in the 250K and up range. All the homes pretty much look the same but that's how it is everywhere it seems around here. Now it is a very churchy type of town but some people like that but it's easier to meet people by getting involved in your children's activities. A new library is also being built real soon. It's real nice being in an area that is improving since we lived in a town before that was devastated by the real estate crash and overtaken with drug use.
Sorry this is so long, when I was looking to move here there was really no real information and everyone described it as redneckville. I was dead set on moving to Eagle Springs in Atascosita until I real the HOA and the taxes and I would never consider it now. Everyone I have met for the most part are very friendly and have just moved here too. I live next to people from Alaska, Arkansas, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, California, and all over Texas. My children go to school with kids from the UK, France, and Russia. So mostly everyone is "new."
The big boss at work is from Baytown. He says no way he would go back.
I have family in Mont Belvieu. One of my old co-workers left suburban life for Mont Belvieu. They love it. It seems wonderful to me. Only problem is they have about a 30 minute drive to get to a grocery store or even a CVS. They go to Baytown for all of that. That's not a bad trade off for great schools and quiet, peaceful neighborhoods. Baytown has some nice neighborhoods, but I've gotten lost there several times and ended up in places I really did not want to be.
I would look at Crosby and Huffman, out that way. If you are willing to look all the way out in Winnie, then Huffman wouldn't be too bad of a drive for you.
hi and welcome! I live in Mont Belvieu and just moved here last June. I have 4 kids in Barbers Hill.
Schools: depending what side of town you live on depends on what branch of the school your child will go to. There has been an explosion of growth in the area so they had to split the schools North and South with some new buildings to keep from over crowding. I live on the North side and would never consider the South but that's just my preference because of MUD and major traffic issues. There is some small subdivisions that have acres on the south side and ones ready to build. There is even a subdivision that has personal runways for your plane if you are so lucky to have one!
Barbers Hill is very competitive and strive to be the best. It is very strict school as far as discipline and dress code, it might as well be private but I like it. We moved from a terrible school district and it is very refreshing to see school pride and wanting the kids in town to reach their full potential. It is a very heavily private funded school from the oil and gas companies and it shows. I'm really impressed all the stuff the kids get to do and places they go.
Property taxes: we live in a subdivision 3k sq foot home and it's around 5k. You can file for homestead and knock off $700. The value of homes are going up so every year the taxes will creep up but you can at least try to fight them, some of my neighbors have won but others have not since their homes are still being built at almost 100K than what they paid 2 years ago.
Flooding: this exact area on the north side has not flooded I am told but the southside does especially if you live in the subdivision plantation. Anahuac was completely underwater the last hurricane. They are having issues with getting clean water for the town, its very close to the water, and the schools are really not good at all. As for Winnie all I know is the flea market is there once a month. I see that acreage is pretty cheap but the schools are very underfunded.
As for Baytown I feel it's on the cusp of being great if the police would crack down on the crime more. There is beautiful homes and new schools popping up but the crime is pretty bad. It can go either way I feel if they don't get a hold on it soon. I truly love where I live, I grew up in CT/MA and lived in Illinois for 10 years and Barbers Hill really just blows every public school I've ever seen away. It is a very small town feel but if you want to get in on it while things are still moderately affordable, the time is now. There is a huge subdivision going up next to the high school that is in the 250K and up range. All the homes pretty much look the same but that's how it is everywhere it seems around here. Now it is a very churchy type of town but some people like that but it's easier to meet people by getting involved in your children's activities. A new library is also being built real soon. It's real nice being in an area that is improving since we lived in a town before that was devastated by the real estate crash and overtaken with drug use.
Sorry this is so long, when I was looking to move here there was really no real information and everyone described it as redneckville. I was dead set on moving to Eagle Springs in Atascosita until I real the HOA and the taxes and I would never consider it now. Everyone I have met for the most part are very friendly and have just moved here too. I live next to people from Alaska, Arkansas, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, California, and all over Texas. My children go to school with kids from the UK, France, and Russia. So mostly everyone is "new."
Hi GardenQueen,
Appreciate this detailed info. I too have been interested in homes in the Barbers Hill school district. Can you expand on the "flooding" and "hurricane" part of your response? I would be interested in knowing which parts are considered safe from flooding and hurricane perspective.
Thank you for any pointers.
DrD
Since I'm so new to the area I can't say for sure but what people have told me the Plantation subdivision floods real bad during hurricanes, I hear they are required to have flood insurance depending who finances the loan. We are required to have a wind storm policy, my husband says all homes in Chambers County require it. Homes nearest to Trinity Bay were completely knocked down with hurricane Ike but homes nearer to 565 were not affected. That subdivision goes way back though.
There are few things that I could not stand when I first moved here, lack of sidewalks, lack of trees, no cross walks, no real neighborhoods just subdivisions. The city is working on all of these things everyday adding more throughout town. As for neighborhoods it seems that is a thing of the past. It is not lush and pretty yet like Kingwood but they are trying planting more trees every fall. I hate the huge drainage ditches in neighborhoods but it's a necessary ugly for now. I live on a corner lot so I have one drainage ditch and there was one time with torrential down pours almost made it level to the road and that was scary. The town has scooped out all the dirt and grass a month ago to make them deeper because home owners keep adding sod to the ditches...ugh that's another story.
In our inspection papers from the VA stated our plane has not flooded in 110 years, I live right across the street from the schools. My neighbor was born and raised here and so was her mother and grandmother and it has never flooded. I would live in Plantation just not closest to the Bay. You can literally see Trinity Bay from 3180 at certain spots, that is scary, 500K plus homes are going up right there.
We had Brighton Homes build our home, coming from a 175 year old home that nearly bankrupted us, its like a mansion in Beverly Hills to us. I could nit pick it to death as my neighbors do but the home we purchased would easily be 600k plus near Chicago and it was right around 200k here. Brighton homes are stone, brick, and cement siding for wind storms. We've had a few issues with one outlet not working and needing to be replaced but overall we love our home. The only thing I can't stand on our home is the carpet, it is very cheap, and I wish we just would have upgraded it but we plan to replace it in 2-3 years anyways. We have tremendous wear and tear with 6 people, 3 cats, and 2 dogs so it shows faster than most smaller families. Our home also came with plywood and clips for our windows for hurricanes, we also got a discount for having cement siding for our home owners insurance.
I know the homes in Wilburn Ranch near the school are selling very quickly. I hope some of this helps. I couldn't be more happier and impressed with the schools, the teachers are in constant contact with parents through email, and are encouraged to call and meet the teachers any time they want.
There is a small town grocery store, 2 dollar stores, a pharmacy, subway, sonic, pizza place, small bakery, liquor stores, salons in town right on 3180, down on 146 is restaurants and farther down in Baytown is Walgreens. Right that the 146 exit they are building a shopping plaza with a walmart, movie theater, petsmart, palais royal, and other stores. This area is no Kingwood or Katy but I like the small town feel. Anytime you drive around on the weekends or at night you we see neighbors outside talking and kids playing. I drove around Eagle Springs in Atascosita recently on a Saturday night at 6 and zero people were out, zero. For the small things that irk me and could be viewed as rednecky about this area, there is 10 things to make up for it. My kids transitioned wonderfully and got all straight A's, I was very nervous coming from another state how this would go for them. My 7th grader says it's a lot less cliquey than his school in Illinois. Some people are a little stand offish but I figure that's because they are new to the area and are cautious. People are mostly very friendly and chatty around here and social. It's very refreshing coming from where we were.
Since I'm so new to the area I can't say for sure but what people have told me the Plantation subdivision floods real bad during hurricanes, I hear they are required to have flood insurance depending who finances the loan. We are required to have a wind storm policy, my husband says all homes in Chambers County require it. Homes nearest to Trinity Bay were completely knocked down with hurricane Ike but homes nearer to 565 were not affected. That subdivision goes way back though.
There are few things that I could not stand when I first moved here, lack of sidewalks, lack of trees, no cross walks, no real neighborhoods just subdivisions. The city is working on all of these things everyday adding more throughout town. As for neighborhoods it seems that is a thing of the past. It is not lush and pretty yet like Kingwood but they are trying planting more trees every fall. I hate the huge drainage ditches in neighborhoods but it's a necessary ugly for now. I live on a corner lot so I have one drainage ditch and there was one time with torrential down pours almost made it level to the road and that was scary. The town has scooped out all the dirt and grass a month ago to make them deeper because home owners keep adding sod to the ditches...ugh that's another story.
In our inspection papers from the VA stated our plane has not flooded in 110 years, I live right across the street from the schools. My neighbor was born and raised here and so was her mother and grandmother and it has never flooded. I would live in Plantation just not closest to the Bay. You can literally see Trinity Bay from 3180 at certain spots, that is scary, 500K plus homes are going up right there.
We had Brighton Homes build our home, coming from a 175 year old home that nearly bankrupted us, its like a mansion in Beverly Hills to us. I could nit pick it to death as my neighbors do but the home we purchased would easily be 600k plus near Chicago and it was right around 200k here. Brighton homes are stone, brick, and cement siding for wind storms. We've had a few issues with one outlet not working and needing to be replaced but overall we love our home. The only thing I can't stand on our home is the carpet, it is very cheap, and I wish we just would have upgraded it but we plan to replace it in 2-3 years anyways. We have tremendous wear and tear with 6 people, 3 cats, and 2 dogs so it shows faster than most smaller families. Our home also came with plywood and clips for our windows for hurricanes, we also got a discount for having cement siding for our home owners insurance.
I know the homes in Wilburn Ranch near the school are selling very quickly. I hope some of this helps. I couldn't be more happier and impressed with the schools, the teachers are in constant contact with parents through email, and are encouraged to call and meet the teachers any time they want.
There is a small town grocery store, 2 dollar stores, a pharmacy, subway, sonic, pizza place, small bakery, liquor stores, salons in town right on 3180, down on 146 is restaurants and farther down in Baytown is Walgreens. Right that the 146 exit they are building a shopping plaza with a walmart, movie theater, petsmart, palais royal, and other stores. This area is no Kingwood or Katy but I like the small town feel. Anytime you drive around on the weekends or at night you we see neighbors outside talking and kids playing. I drove around Eagle Springs in Atascosita recently on a Saturday night at 6 and zero people were out, zero. For the small things that irk me and could be viewed as rednecky about this area, there is 10 things to make up for it. My kids transitioned wonderfully and got all straight A's, I was very nervous coming from another state how this would go for them. My 7th grader says it's a lot less cliquey than his school in Illinois. Some people are a little stand offish but I figure that's because they are new to the area and are cautious. People are mostly very friendly and chatty around here and social. It's very refreshing coming from where we were.
GardenQueen,
I most sincerely appreciate your long and detailed response. It is extremely informative! I am going to re-read your response and do some of my own research as well. I found out about the Barbers Hills ISD by accident, and was pleasantly surprised to see such awesome school ratings. My 2 big criteria were "excellent schools" and "waterfront" and so I was only looking at Montgomery ISD up north near Lake Conroe... I wasn't sure about Barbers Hills, but your response is very promising, and I will do some more research as well. Thanks again. I will probably reach out to you in the future if I have more questions!
DrD
Feel free! I just found out that another subdivision is going up connecting to the one I live in. It is right across from the school and will be behind the new building of a large church, Mercy Gate. It will be called Magnolia Estates. They are clearing the woods now and it will be pretty large done in phases.
Tonight was my daughters open house for kindergarten called "eagle launch" and it was impressive. I would say there is no more than 15 kids per class and they are in pods. I don't know much about the pods but my son was in 1st grade last year and he went to a different class for reading and they really stress the importance of reading readiness and do constant evaluations.
Feel free! I just found out that another subdivision is going up connecting to the one I live in. It is right across from the school and will be behind the new building of a large church, Mercy Gate. It will be called Magnolia Estates. They are clearing the woods now and it will be pretty large done in phases.
Tonight was my daughters open house for kindergarten called "eagle launch" and it was impressive. I would say there is no more than 15 kids per class and they are in pods. I don't know much about the pods but my son was in 1st grade last year and he went to a different class for reading and they really stress the importance of reading readiness and do constant evaluations.
Sounds very good! Thank you very much GardenQueen!
Very glad to hear about your experience with the schools.
DrD
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