Move to Houston - Questions About Cypress (Northlake: daycare, houses)

[Amy H]

My family is most likely moving to Houston within the next few months and we are considering Cypress as a possible location. My husband's work will be at I45 and the Beltway. I will be working part-time in downtown. I have three questions:

1) What would be the commute time to downtown if I leave the house around 9 am? (I will be dropping a child off at public school and it looks like elementary schools start at 8:50am?) Also, how long would it take me to get back to Cypress if I leave downtown a little before 3 pm?

2) How long will it take my husband to get to the Beltway and I45?

3) Can you recommend any neighborhoods? Our oldest child will start kindergarten in the fall, so excellant schools are important. We were looking in the Cy-Woods high school area and would like to have a newer home (around 10 years or less) between 250k and 300k.

Any Help Would Be Appreciated

[Mr. Football]

Lots of great choices in Cypress and the HP Corridor, which gives you good access to 249, which has less traffic that 290. His commute would be about 20-25 minutes. Yours at that time would be about 45 minutes. Check out:

Longwood, Lakewood Forest, Lakewood Oaks Estates, Lakewood Glen, Stable Gate, Rock Creek, Coles Crossing, Stillwater Village, Northlake Forest, Villaggio, Lakewood Grove, Tuscany, Lismore Lakes, Village Creek, Lakewood Crossing.

Here's my Cypress photo thread:

Flickr: Photos from longwood_cypress

[CCN16247]

Hello, Amy!

First off, welcome to Cypress! This town is family-friendly and there are many neighborhoods that are kid/teen-friendly.

I live at Coles Crossing in Cypress and can vouch for the many things our neighborhood can offer. We have a lot of ammenities that offers many activities for everyone in the family. You can visit our homeowners' website for additional info. http://www.colescrossinghoa.com/

Also, we have an exemplary elementary school INSIDE our neighborhood: Sampson Elementary. And a middle school, high school and pre-school and a daycare is literally about 5 minute-drive away.

answers to your questions:
1)If you use the bus to commute to downtown, it could be around 30 min fr Cypress. There's a Metro Park and Ride Station several blocks away from our neighborhood. It's a totally different story if you commute using the highways bec the traffic could be disastrous. A lot of people carpool so they can use the HOV going to/from downtown.
2) I used to work at Beltway & I-45 and it took me about 20-30 min between 8:45-9am and 6:30-7pm. Add 15-20 min more during rush hour.
3) There are many new neighborhoods in the Cypress area with houses in your budget. Like I mentioned, I really like our neighborhood - Coles Crossing - bec of the preserved trees (yes, ours is like living in a park with wooded walkways along streetways), a gym (yup!), 6 tennis courts, several pool areas, 2 fishing areas and several "key" stores (like Target, Pier 1, Bed,Bath&Beyond, Walmart, Randalls, HEB, Kroger, Lowes, Homed Depot, etc.) and several restaurants (Chillis, TGIF, Taco Bell, McD's, Luby's, Newk's, etc) near but not too near. It feels exclusive yet my neighbors are quite friendly and hospitable.

Sadly, we had to relocate soon and would be putting up our house in the market. We'll be selling ours in the lower end of your price range. It was bulit in Dec 2001, 2841 sq ft of living area on a 7,800 sq ft lot, 4BR/2 1/2Bth/2-car garage; residents are a couple only, no kids, no pets, no smokers. Let me know if you're interested and I'll refer you to my realtor. Anyway, best of luck and I hope you find what you're looking for =)

Carmela