Where should I live Houston? (Sugar Land, The Woodlands: real estate, crime, good schools)

[Mr. medicine]

I will be moving to Houston and I could use some advice on the different areas. I have some offers from various parts of the Houston area and trying to figure out what would be the best fit. Looks like Sugar Land and The Woodlands are good places to live based on initial research. What other areas should I look at? We are early 30's.

Really trying to get a feel for the types of people, culture, stereotypes, crime for the different areas of Houston? Like does one area have more pretentious people or friendly people? Are there things to do besides just eat out?

[chris_ut]

Sugarland and The Woodlands are both far out suburbs so if you move to one you would probably rarely spend any time in Houston. Are you looking for the suburban lifestyle? What kind of budget do you have?

[Beto]

What price point are you looking at? Also are you looking at new or resale?
Katy and Cypress are other areas to consider.

[jerbear30]

Sugar Land is a lot closer than the Woodlands. I would agree that the Woodlands are far enough out that you wouldn't necessarily come into the city too much, but Sugar Land is pretty close in for a suburb.

[Texas Ag 93]

I would echo what previous posters have said. In order to make good recommendations, we would need to know:

What's your budget?
Are schools important now or in the near future?
What activities do you enjoy?
Do you want suburban or urban (with or without walkability)?

[dejamiller]

How did you come up with two surburbs that are on the opposite ends of Houston??? You don't work?

[fnh]

The difference in distance from Sugar Land-Houston versus The Woodlands-Houston is practically negligible, and The Woodlands is so much nicer in my opinion. But both are as suburban as can be, neither places for early-30s couples without children. Pick whichever aesthetic appeals to you most.

[Mr. medicine]

When I say Houston I mean the general area, not Houston proper. I have a few job offers to work at some of the hospitals in the area and trying to learn more about the areas for the stereotypes that live in the parts of the city. I would live in the general area where I work. We should be able to afford anywhere.

I can find answers to Real estate and school questions online. I am just trying to get a sense of the type of people/culture of the different areas. It seems Sugar Land and The Woodlands would be nice places to live and raise a sanity based on some articles I have read. The Woodlands is obviously a higher income area, but is it welcoming and does it have friendly people or is it a lot of pretentious people? Is there plenty to do in one area or do you have to travel to another area?

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by Mr. medicine

When I say Houston I mean the general area, not Houston proper. I have a few job offers to work at some of the hospitals in the area and trying to learn more about the areas for the stereotypes that live in the parts of the city. I would live in the general area where I work. We should be able to afford anywhere.

With regards to the bolded, make sure that you feel confident you will be able to have adequate patient volume, support and payor mix for a successful practice. It's not unusual for the large systems (Methodist, Memorial Hermann) to have these satellite hospitals in suburbs and some specialists or sub specialists suffer because their contract requires what they find to be an unattainable RVU or collection amount. Make sure the noncompete clause is reasonable in its geographic limitation, or if you might have to move again. I get the idea of living near where you work, particularly if you will have to take call, but being in a more centralized location is not a bad idea either if you end up having to practice at another hospital or clinic within your system.

For places to live, I agree that The Woodlands and Sugar Land are probably the best suburban areas in Houston. They also both have strong retail areas in the form of Town Centers that serve as anchors. I would give the nod to The Woodlands as to how the shopping and dining district has been integrated into the area with walkability etc. Katy and Cypress, as previously mentioned, are good considerations as well. Friendswood, Pearland and the Clear Lake area are all suburban locations with good schools and have had a lot of growth.

For urban areas, I would recommend The Heights, Montrose, West U/Museum District or Bellaire. I think other popular areas like Midtown, Rice Military, Washington Corridor might skew a little young for you, but it all depends on what you enjoy doing. Schools will all need research, and often an Elementary will be good and the Middle and/or HS it feeds into not so good. Such is city living.

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93

For urban areas, I would recommend The Heights, Montrose, West U/Museum District or Bellaire.

Ditto