need help -- relocating (Houston, The Woodlands: real estate, houses, neighborhoods)

[andrea_cat]

Hi All! I'm new to this site but the posts I've read have been very informative. My husband was just offered a promotion in Houston through his company. Presently, we live on the southwest side of Denver. My husband is a Denver native, and I grew up and spent 24 years in Boston. Go Sox!
We are both excited about the opportunity -- life is a journey! But we are also overwhelmed when we check out real estate online. We need advice! Here's what we'd like to find (and maybe we're dreaming ): a single family home around $225K - $250K that has lots of amenities, and trees surrounding. Trees are something I've really missed living in Denver these past five years. We're in our early 30's and don't have any children, though we'd like to have one soon. That being said, we don't need one of these mini-mansions I see on the realtor sites -- 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms would suit us perfectly! Though we don't care for cookie-cutter suburban neighborhoods, we do, again, like trees and we love to garden. We'd like to be close to civilization and not live in a neighborhood where you could easily walk up to the door of another house because it's identical to your own house!
Being a Bostonian who went to grad school in the UK, one of the things I've really disliked about SW Denver is the lack of diversity. We would love to live in a diverse community. I am fond of old houses, but I'm not sure that many exist in Houston, as I've never been there. A friend tells me that we need to make certain that if we buy a house it's not located in a flood area, as Houston is prone to flooding. Also, we are very liberal people, and though we realize that Houston, overall, is a conservative town, we'd rather not live in a bible-thumping community.
My husband's company is located in North Houston, close to the airport. We don't need to live down the street from his work, but at the same time he'd prefer not to have a nightmare commute. We'd also like for the property to be a good investment that, if we are relocated again in three years, we can easily sell and perhaps make a little money. When you plug in $250K on HAR.com, you see gigantic brick mansions listed beside tiny 1 bathroom shacks -- what's up with that? Any advice on good neighborhoods we should look at will be most appreciated, as we are thoroughly confused and completely clueless about Houston. Thanks!

[Kandy]

Go to har.com and enter some of these MLS numbers:
5384154, 2465364, 234859
These are all about 15-16 miles from IAH. Big lots, nice newer homes. Lots of trees.

[baggiegenes]

I think you will be very happy with what you will be able to find. You will have plenty of opportunities for either new construction where you can pick the amenities, or existing construction in existing neighborhoods with lots of mature trees. Your price range is very reasonable for a good size but not huge 3 or 4 bedroom house.

I'd look in areas like spring, cypress, The Woodlands, and Kingwood. There is alot off of I-45 or US-59 just north of the airport. But I'd stay to the north. South of the airport (the north houston area between 610 and BW8) isn't the best area in general, though I'm sure there are a few nicer "islands".

Use HAR.com to find a prospective realtor, or even identify potential houses. That will really help you narrow down your search. With your budget you can prefer to be a little more selective, there will be plenty to choose from.

[Mr. Football]

What Baggiegenes said. You'll find plenty of nice options in those areas.

[jimboburnsy]

If you want trees and something a bit closer to town and work you may also want to include Willowbend, Willow Meadows, Meyerland, Westbury, Garden Oaks and Afton Oaks in your search (and there is one more "Oaks" around the NW corner of 610 that I can't quite remember). At any rate, you should be able to find well built older homes that will fall within your price range.

[Supermac34]

Champion Forest, Spring Creek Oaks/Forest, Memorial Northwest, Gleanloch, Windrose, etc.

[andrea_cat]

Thanks to all of you for your input.

After reading your posts as well as other posts on this website, it seems as though it might be a wiser investment to live closer to the city rather than out in the sprawling burbs like the Woodlands. Some of you have mentioned places like Garden Oaks, Willowbend, Westbrook, Idlewood, Lyndale Park, and they sound like good places to invest. But when I try to locate these on Har.com, I don't see them listed as options in the menu. Does anyone know a good real estate search engine where I might search for houses in these areas?

Another entirely unrelated question: is organic grocery shopping widely available in the Houston area? Living in Denver, we're kind of spoiled by having lots of Whole Foods, Sunflower Markets, Tony's meats, etc.

Thanks again for all your help!

[Jezer]

Re organic grocery shopping, though I left Houston a while ago, good luck.

Wholefoods was our place of choice but organic was not big anywhere.

[SkyeAnjel]

There is Whole foods in Houston and you can find specialty shops scattered. I get alot of organics at HEB grocery store.

[Jezer]

Good- seems like things have got better.