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You're wrong. I 've never said anything NEGATIVE about Sugarland, except it has no trees in the new areas and the drive sucks. Am I wrong on these points? Should I HIDE that from people when they ask about the area or where to live when working in X,Y or Z? However, my point in this post is about the silliness of a second POLO field not only in Houston, but in this "development"--- ALIANA. It had nothing to do with SUGARLAND itself.
I've even recommended Sugarland over all burbs for those working in the Galleria area. If your going to work there, I've never not suggested living there. I believe in living as close to work as your finances allow. As to education, there's just as good if not better close in. You don't have white flight in order to get a good Texas TAKS education. Why wouldn't I inform a newcomer of this? Tranferring is scary, and people are more than willing to buy into the idea that a city is a cess pool of poor education and gangs. So flee to the outer limits and spend 2 hours a day in your car.
And yes, it's an exurb, a nice one, but an exurb IMHO.Hell,it's not even Houston. And traffic to all of the MPCs suck. People not from Houston don't grasp that concept because of the lack of knowledge of how sprawling the Metro is. Why fail to inform a newcomer that if they live out there, they better be prepared to drive? Why wouldn't you tell someone from out of town, by the way there's a prison there, take that into consideration? "But that's ok, it's all pretty and hidden by trees.You won't even know it's there until the horn goes off. Just don't pick up any hitch hikers." I'm not a real estate agent, so why would I sugar coat it to make a profit?
Also you refer to Sugarland and Katy as "west-side" suburbs. West side of what? They aren't in Houston. A suburb is little residental part of the city, not the whole of something. ie. Bellaire,Clear Lake,West U, The Villages are to Houston as Cinco Ranch is the Katy and First Colony is to Sugarland.Thus the reason I use exurb when describing these areas. If you are offended by the term and the correct definition that describes your area, that's a personal thing.
EXURB DEFINTITION: [SIZE=5]ex⋅urb[/SIZE] Pronunciation [ek-serb, eg-zerb] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun a small, usually prosperous, community situated beyond the suburbs of a city.
And yes I have lived in a exurb (for a short time thank god), and within the Beltway and just on the Beltway.Not to mention I now spend my weekends in one of the most RURAL areas left in Texas. I'm not talking from lack of experience.
Thank You
We're all in the Houston metropolitan area. So east/west/north/south would probably have some relevance to Sugar Land and Katy relative to Houston.
As for the polo thing, again, I don't think it's the people living in Aliana that would be playing. There may be exceptions. It's more of having the people that do play polo coming over to play on the fields.
I suppose the question might be if it adds any value to Aliana. I believe for a certain demographic it would. People that can afford the million dollar homes around the fields would probably appreciate having polo fields next to their houses. Maybe it's more for marketing but I think it may add a touch of prestige to the neighborhood. Most people may not care for it but hey, it looks good. For those that enjoy polo (not me), I don't think they'd find the polo fields silly at all.
And sure prisons are a concern but there are tons of neighborhoods out there that are close to the prisons. Doesn't seem to have affected them much. I've lived in Sugar Land for about 8 years and don't ever remember there being a problem with the prisons and have heard rumors they will be trying to shut them down.
If you work inside Houston, the commute can be a little long. I've estimated (uneducated guess) it to be around an extra 15 minutes on average compared to other places in Sugar Land. However, they are renovating 1464 (goes through Aliana) to make it a smoother shot to the Westpark Tollway and are soon to complete West Airport (goes through Aliana) to go all the way to 99. Boss Gaston/Old Richmond is a fairly straight shot with only one stop sign to Highway 6.
There are some trade-offs where ever you plan to live. With Aliana it might be you don't like the idea of having a prison near you or the long commute. But you'll get alot more for your money and potentially a very nice community. Things are looking better in Aliana every day. It still may be a little early to tell but based on the past performance of the developer and the way things are progressing, there's a very good chance Aliana will develop as planned. Polo fields or no polo fields.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EasilyAmused
Why wouldn't you tell someone from out of town, by the way there's a prison there, take that into consideration? "But that's ok, it's all pretty and hidden by trees.You won't even know it's there until the horn goes off. Just don't pick up any hitch hikers." I'm not a real estate agent, so why would I sugar coat it to make a profit?
That's fine, I'm talking about statements like below...
Quote:
Originally Posted by EasilyAmused
It constantly amazes me, with all the exburbian choices, that educated, upper middle class people would buy next to a prison facility of any kind.
... Which I thought was kind of rude.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EasilyAmused
Also you refer to Sugarland and Katy as "west-side" suburbs. West side of what? They aren't in Houston. A suburb is little residental part of the city, not the whole of something. ie. Bellaire,Clear Lake,West U,
The west side of the Houston metro is what I meant.
Oh, and Clear Lake is approx 20 miles from downtown Houston... just like Sugar Land. If Sugar Land is an exurb, then Clear Lake must be too; I did grad school there so know it well. Aliana would be about 25 miles from downtown via the Westpark. We're not talking about Sealy or something.
Anyway, the whole thing isn't that big a deal... just some of my observations.
good post guys and i heard that the rec center is going to be functional in october or november.
That's what I heard too. Hopefully, it'll be as nice as all their conceptual pictures. They've already got most of the framing up. I haven't seen them work on it in a few weeks though. Probably just waiting on the next phase.
Clear Lake is City of Houston. Call it what you want, but it is part of the city and does not fit in the definition of exurb. Sugarland does.
As to my comment and opinion of "smart" people spending 3/4 of a million to live next to a prision when they can buy anywhere in the city......well, my opinion stands on that one.
Last edited by EasilyAmused; 01-15-2009 at 08:25 AM..
We're all in the Houston metropolitan area. So east/west/north/south would probably have some relevance to Sugar Land and Katy relative to Houston.
As for the polo thing, again, I don't think it's the people living in Aliana that would be playing. There may be exceptions. It's more of having the people that do play polo coming over to play on the fields.
I suppose the question might be if it adds any value to Aliana. I believe for a certain demographic it would. People that can afford the million dollar homes around the fields would probably appreciate having polo fields next to their houses. Maybe it's more for marketing but I think it may add a touch of prestige to the neighborhood. Most people may not care for it but hey, it looks good. For those that enjoy polo (not me), I don't think they'd find the polo fields silly at all.
And sure prisons are a concern but there are tons of neighborhoods out there that are close to the prisons. Doesn't seem to have affected them much. I've lived in Sugar Land for about 8 years and don't ever remember there being a problem with the prisons and have heard rumors they will be trying to shut them down.
If you work inside Houston, the commute can be a little long. I've estimated (uneducated guess) it to be around an extra 15 minutes on average compared to other places in Sugar Land. However, they are renovating 1464 (goes through Aliana) to make it a smoother shot to the Westpark Tollway and are soon to complete West Airport (goes through Aliana) to go all the way to 99. Boss Gaston/Old Richmond is a fairly straight shot with only one stop sign to Highway 6.
There are some trade-offs where ever you plan to live. With Aliana it might be you don't like the idea of having a prison near you or the long commute. But you'll get alot more for your money and potentially a very nice community. Things are looking better in Aliana every day. It still may be a little early to tell but based on the past performance of the developer and the way things are progressing, there's a very good chance Aliana will develop as planned. Polo fields or no polo fields.
I like you post Toasty. There are so few people that one can afford polo and two of that group that want to play polo, that I just don't think any metro region can support two fields. Maybe I'm wrong, but the Houston fields will attract the major events.
On polo. It costs over 10k a month just to board and train a string of ponies. That doesn't include vetting,shoeing, eventing and transport. Nor the lodging,equipment and travel for the rider and their possee. Not to mention the starting cost of a good pony is often over 80k.
But that whole "a lot more for you money" is such a trap. It's just a house once you move in and the shiney wears off. There's a reason it's cheap. JMHO
I like you post Toasty. There are so few people that one can afford polo and two of that group that want to play polo, that I just don't think any metro region can support two fields. Maybe I'm wrong, but the Houston fields will attract the major events.
On polo. It costs over 10k a month just to board and train a string of ponies. That doesn't include vetting,shoeing, eventing and transport. Nor the lodging,equipment and travel for the rider and their possee. Not to mention the starting cost of a good pony is often over 80k.
But that whole "a lot more for you money" is such a trap. It's just a house once you move in and the shiney wears off. There's a reason it's cheap. JMHO
I don't know that it's a trap as it was never advertised to me that way. I just know with the amount of money I spent I would not have been able to get anywhere near the same sq/ft in someplace like Telfair. To me, that would be more for my money. The same might not hold true for people that buy later but being one of the first to move in, I can truly say I got alot more for my money. I have also had 3rd party inspectors complement me on the build of my house and have heard/read nothing but good things about my builder. Other than some slightly squeaky stairs, I'm loving my house. I'm pretty confident I got a very good deal. You may want to assume otherwise but that might be a bit irresponsible. oh, and i didn't say my house was cheap. I just said I got alot for my money.
As for polo... I don't understand why it's such a big deal to you. Does it really matter that much? i'm sure there are plenty of normal people that would like to play polo at the amateur/league level. regardless, these polo fields are just an amenity that some will appreciate and most won't even care about. it's sort of a theme for the community. Horses. There are plenty of horse lovers in houston. i think it's a good idea and would attract alot of potential home buyers in houston.
Last edited by toasty168; 01-15-2009 at 09:22 AM..
Cool..where did you hear that from? I saw the sign that says coming in 2009...but I know they won't be able to finish it for the summer time.
I heard it from the project manager and salesman in Aliana. They should be done with the exterior and interior shells farily quickly. They said it may take a while for the interior decorations and putting in the full kitchen and stuff like that which will take the longest.. according to the salesman that is
Well, alot of the landscaping on West Belfort has been completed. They also added a bunch of trees and what looks like the beginning of some seating areas along the "river walk". Unfortunately, street lights got pushed back a little as Center Point crews have been sent to Oklahoma to help with the ice storms.
The church on West Belfort and old 1464 is coming along nicely.
Roof tiles on the recreation/ameneties center have been put on.
And it looks like West Airport to 99 looks on course for mid-March.
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