The Impossible Dream.....good schools and a short(ish) commute (Houston: renting, townhomes)

[houston-nomad]

FTWRunner I gather from your name you run-- that's another reason you might like the Meyerland/Maplewood South/Westbury neighborhood (77096). Easy access to Braes Bayou path, goes for miles and miles. Great for running and biking.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by donblackie

Meyerland/west bury is not a 15 minute commute into downtown door to door.

If you are very close to the Loop its close. Obviously, it gets longer as you get closer to Hillcroft. Morning is easier than afternoon.

[Houmove]

You might be able to find an older town house zoned to Poe elementary in Montrose but that would involve luck. There also might be a few zoned to Roberts, again a question of luck, searching and perhaps some compromises on size and condition.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by bu2

If you are very close to the Loop its close. Obviously, it gets longer as you get closer to Hillcroft. Morning is easier than afternoon.

More like 25 minutes. Hard to do much better than that to get most places from most places in Houston. Though when I lived in midtown I got to my downtown job in 6 minutes. That was pretty sweet.

[FTWRunner]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, that's exactly what I was looking for.


We do have a great setup and it will be hard to leave, but we are also oil and gas professionals and I have been offered an fantastic opportunity at my company's headquarters that will give me at lot more job security as the oil prices play out. The O&G companies are falling like leaves out here and while my company is very well positioned they could at some point decide they don't need a FTW office anymore.


I understand that a 15 commute is almost impossible and I'm not expecting that, but I would like to avoid setting on a freeway as much as possible. Plus I feel that if we are too far out we will never use the things Houston has to offer like the zoo, museums etc.


Ideally I would like to rent as I'm afraid the fallout from the oil price drop hasn't completely played out and I would hate to buy a house that then drops in value. What are people thought's on the elementary schools around the Heights Area? Also I noticed that lots of homes were flooded out recently, how big is that a concern in these areas?


And yes I run and the family bikes so having a trail near by would be fantastic.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by FTWRunner

Thanks for all of the suggestions, that's exactly what I was looking for.


We do have a great setup and it will be hard to leave, but we are also oil and gas professionals and I have been offered an fantastic opportunity at my company's headquarters that will give me at lot more job security as the oil prices play out. The O&G companies are falling like leaves out here and while my company is very well positioned they could at some point decide they don't need a FTW office anymore.


I understand that a 15 commute is almost impossible and I'm not expecting that, but I would like to avoid setting on a freeway as much as possible. Plus I feel that if we are too far out we will never use the things Houston has to offer like the zoo, museums etc.


Ideally I would like to rent as I'm afraid the fallout from the oil price drop hasn't completely played out and I would hate to buy a house that then drops in value. What are people thought's on the elementary schools around the Heights Area? Also I noticed that lots of homes were flooded out recently, how big is that a concern in these areas?


And yes I run and the family bikes so having a trail near by would be fantastic.

There are townhomes scattered all over that may be available to rent. There are some in West U along Bissonett and Holcombe. Some near Stella Link and 610 (Red Elementary?) and smaller pockets in various places.

[Houston parent]

The public schools in the Heights area are generally quite bad.


You might consider Kingwood as a compromise. The commute would probably be 30-40 minutes door to door, but you'd have good schools, trees, bike trails etc.

[travelguy_73]

Harvard and Travis Elem in the Heights, Oak Forest, Garden Oaks are all highly regarded, but I don't think the rest are very good. Meyerland area schools are also top notch, as are those in the western part of Memorial. Schools like West U, Poe, Roberts (TH and Roberts Elem) are excellent as well. HAR.com will tell you what schools are zoned where, and HISD has a campus map page where you can choose the school and see a PDF of its zone. Very helpful if you are trying to get into a specific school.

[Houmove]

Travis and Harvard elementary in the heights are considered very good. Middle school will be more problematic.

[HTownNearNative]

From what I've read on this forum, just because you move into a neighborhood zoned to Good School from Houston ISD, it does not mean your child will automatically be able to go to school there (full schools, early enrollment a must). So beware of HISD games you have to play...

How about a townhome zoned to Spring Branch ISD. For the better schools, it would need to be located east of Eldridge, north of Buffalo Bayou and south of I-10. One person already suggested checking out Georgetown (1960's or 70's maybe apartment style with carports) which would be in SPISD. Not sure what Ethan's Glen townhomes run for these days but it is a much nicer complex.

A home in Meyerland would be ideal because you will need space for your pets and the Braeswood trail is perfect for runners. Just make sure to budget for flood insurance and check if the home flooded. A good many homes there are for sale because the owners (who got flooded out last Memorial Day) can't afford to rebuild to meet new insurance specifications.