From San Jose CA to the Woodlands... (Houston, Conroe: renting, how much)

[Sheedbg]

I know, another one of “ those threads”...😉

Short story, lived in Houston for ten years after school, loved it. But was an “inner looper”...

Took a job in tech with the sole purposes of adventure and trying to “get ahead” making CA money for a while, mission somewhat accomllished

Now, wife and two very young daughters in tow, are moving back with a job in the Woodlands. While I have been to the Pavillion/mall many times, I haven’t exactly looked for family friendly neighbor hoods near to the area. I still have quite a few friends in Houston, but they are all mostly still inner loopers with jobs downtown, counting on private schools as there kids get older. A few have moved to Cypress which seems younger and up and coming, but just too far from TW for me to consider.

Silly question maybe but are there any “younger” neighborhoods (meaning younger families) or is TW just all old money? What about surrounding areas ? I can definetly handle a 30 min commute so open to a bit of a reverse commute.

My priorities are 1) good schools 2) some sort of family friendly socialabld neighborhood...our years of NorCal/tech life really emphasize how much more important that is than most other things.

Thanks !

[Sheedbg]

Sorry for the typos, my internet had a bit of a freak out

[houstonview]

Glad you enjoyed your time in San Jose, we’re here from Houston also, doing 3 years then headed back to Texas. NorCal has sooooooo much to do and the work experience has been great, but With a family Texas will still be home.

Good look on your search, I don’t know too much about the woodlands area

[vwgto]

Creekside is the newest area, thus more young families; though plenty of kids throughout The Woodlands. Conroe ISD has the better schools as of today. There is so much being built around the edges of TW, you would certainly need a good agent to navigate your options.

[Texascrude]

What’s your budget and where are you working?

[PinkLadyK]

The Woodlands is not "old money" and is definitely family-oriented. Don't plan on getting downtown in 30 minutes though.

[SugLandDAd]

You bring up a really good point about "young family" neighborhoods.....I have noticed over the years that new neighborhoods tend to be fairly homogeneous, because people buy there for fairly similar reasons....and the cohort of their similarly aged kids makes its way through elementary, middle and then High Schools more or less together.

When the kids go off to college, the neighborhood becomes less homogeneous as some parents sell and move on, and are again replaced with younger families, now looking at the older, perhaps lesser priced homes. There is a transition period, where neighborhoods are mixed and then the cycle tends to repeat, but never quite as clearly divided as it was before

There are neighborhoods all over the area that have a distinct "age" to them.

I guess the best way to deal with this would be take a look at the distribution of elementary school classes in the school that feeds from your neighborhood, growing neighborhoods tend to have portable classrooms set up to handle an initial surge, that they expect to reduce as the neighborhood ages, so no real need to build brick and mortar classrooms .....our local elementary school has 8 Kindergarten classes this year, meaning a large cohort of kids that age. I expect over the years those portable classrooms to slowly be removed.

Welcome back to Houston, good luck!

[Sheedbg]

No my job would be in TW proper (I’m not commuting into DT) so I want to stay near the area, preferably slightly south side for a weekend trip into the city.

Budget is flexible - but generally 600-700k is a good value point for me.

Soooo much to do in the Bay Area, I understand why young people without kids wouldn’t want to ever move, even if it means a life of $3-4K monthly renting. South Bay in particular is a bit underrated.

[Texas Minded]

Originally Posted by PinkLadyK

The Woodlands is not "old money" and is definitely family-oriented. Don't plan on getting downtown in 30 minutes though.

More like an hour and a half between 7am and 9am. ugh

Thanks goodness I only need to make that commute twice a month. The rest of the time I work out of my office in The Woodlands.

[dcmatt]

My kid goes to Ann Sullivan in Riverstone but man it feels like Mumbai in there. I would love some better diversity. 80% of one kind is way too much. Even my kid feels a bit off according to what he is saying. O well, 2 more years.

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

I guess the best way to deal with this would be take a look at the distribution of elementary school classes in the school that feeds from your neighborhood, growing neighborhoods tend to have portable classrooms set up to handle an initial surge, that they expect to reduce as the neighborhood ages, so no real need to build brick and mortar classrooms .....our local elementary school has 8 Kindergarten classes this year, meaning a large cohort of kids that age. I expect over the years those portable classrooms to slowly be removed.

Welcome back to Houston, good luck!