Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Houston
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-20-2016, 10:29 PM
 
26 posts, read 27,735 times
Reputation: 19

Advertisements

Hi Houstonian, me and my wife are from China. I had my master degree in U.S. and now works in Houston. With years of savings for downpayment, we figured it's good time now to buy our first home. I have been surfing HAR.com everyday and visited open houses on weekends. I am still confused about where to live. Here are some fact.

My office is at Beltway 8 at Westheimer, my wife is going to school in UH for the next two years. We don't have kids now, plan to have kids in about three years. Night life is not our things. We like outdoors. I make around $65k annually. Budget for house is $250k.

My first confusion is whether we need to consider the school district. Some say schools help hold the home value, especially high school. But i think when our kids go to high school, it will be in 15 years, we probably move to new home. Then do we need to consider good elementary or middle school? However, we think good schools are good indicators of good community. Is that right?

We have visited open houses in Cinco Ranch, Sugar Land, and Pecan Grove. We both like Cinco Ranch a lot, but good homes there is kind of pricy. The neighborhood is very peaceful with a lot amenities. Only downside is too far away from UH. Sugar Land is nice too, also far away from UH.

We also want to explore Pearland. I heard schools there are good too, but I did not see many on HAR.com. Can somebody point out which exact school or area should I search? I also heard about flood issue, is it really serious?

We are new to this country, but really love Houston, Texas in general. We don't have family to turn to and ask advice. For some reason, I think the forum can give the honest insight. Thus, Any ideas from you guys are welcome.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-20-2016, 11:37 PM
 
19,573 posts, read 8,449,285 times
Reputation: 10096
Look over by Bellaire and Beltway 8, which is South of Westheimer about two or three miles. That is where Houston's Chinatown is located.

Also, Pearland is too far away from your office.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 05:58 AM
 
2,756 posts, read 3,776,677 times
Reputation: 4433
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartacus713 View Post
Look over by Bellaire and Beltway 8, which is South of Westheimer about two or three miles. That is where Houston's Chinatown is located.

Also, Pearland is too far away from your office.
I would recommend looking at Robindell. You can find it on HAR.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 08:29 AM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,428 posts, read 2,472,529 times
Reputation: 1784
Well, Oak Forest and Meyerland might be a choice. I think it is possible to find there something in 180-200K range.
Stafford and Missouri City also could work.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,428 posts, read 2,472,529 times
Reputation: 1784
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartacus713 View Post
Look over by Bellaire and Beltway 8, which is South of Westheimer about two or three miles. That is where Houston's Chinatown is located.
I am pretty sure he knows about Chinatown

But people normally consider Chinatown only as a business/rental area. Too dangerous to live there permanently (kind of high crime area).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 08:32 AM
 
2,756 posts, read 3,776,677 times
Reputation: 4433
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghost Town View Post
Well, Oak Forest and Meyerland might be a choice. I think it is possible to find there something in 180-200K range.
Stafford and Missouri City also could work.
Lowest price home in Oak Forest is $335k. Lowest price home in Meyerland is $345k. Stafford and Missouri City is a long commute to UH.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 08:35 AM
 
700 posts, read 1,224,416 times
Reputation: 462
Jersey Village would be a good location to UH and Beltway 8/Westheimer. You could easily find a house under $200k and live there for 4-5 years until you have more money to purchase your dream home in Sugarland/Katy/Pearland. Your wife should be done with school by then too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 08:42 AM
 
Location: Houston TX
2,428 posts, read 2,472,529 times
Reputation: 1784
Quote:
Originally Posted by txdemo View Post
Lowest price home in Oak Forest is $335k. Lowest price home in Meyerland is $345k. Stafford and Missouri City is a long commute to UH.
Oak Forest right now:

$167K: 5326 Viking Dr, Houston, TX 77092 - HAR.com
$200K: 4302 W 43rd St, Houston, TX 77092 - HAR.com
$145K: 5006 Mary Lou Dr, Houston, TX 77092 - HAR.com
$145: 4102 SHERWOOD LN 17, Houston, TX 77092 - HAR.com
$85K: 5218 Milwee St #37, Houston, TX 77092 - HAR.com
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 08:46 AM
 
2,047 posts, read 2,962,241 times
Reputation: 2373
For new Asian immigrants, there is no question the only destination is Sugar Land/Missouri City. All other posters doesn't really understand how hard it is for new immigrants without support. You will found it in SL from fellow new immigrants that live there.

It is the only place you will find Asian Supermarkets, restaurants, and other Asian related business. There are lots of new immigrants there also.

Commute is not that bad from SL to BW8 and Westheimer.

You can found an older house in SL or Missouri City.

Look in the following neighborhoods.

Highlands, Settlers Way, Colony Lakes, Lake Colony, and Lakefield. There might be couple more but those come to mind.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-21-2016, 09:42 AM
 
2,756 posts, read 3,776,677 times
Reputation: 4433
I guess these are in Oak Forest. I was thinking east of TC Jester as the dividing line. It definitely gets rougher west of the bayou.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Houston

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top