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Galveston will get hit with hurricanes coming up from the Gulf of Mexico,not a good place to live but to visit,
I live in Richmond 1093 and 1464,1093 leads into Westheimer Rd and you can find everything there,restaurants,supermarkets,theatres,wmt,tgt,hd ,lowe etc.
houses are cheaper,around 200k-300k ,property tax ?lower than HOuston,DOWNTOWN Richmond is different,it is a small town,where I am at is really an extension of Houston.
Sugarland ,it is called sugarland because it floods and the land is used to grow sugarcanes,they need a lot of water.
Lots of nice houses there,
If you can come up with a few hundred thousand more,look into River Oaks,HOuston
That's just plain wrong. It's called Sugar Land because Imperial Sugar, owned by the Kempner family from Galveston, built a large sugar refinery and a raw sugar mill there and built a company owned town around the plant, and called it Sugar Land. Notice the official spelling is two capitalized words. Very little, if any, sugar cane was grown there.
That's just plain wrong. It's called Sugar Land because Imperial Sugar, owned by the Kempner family from Galveston, built a large sugar refinery and a raw sugar mill there and built a company owned town around the plant, and called it Sugar Land. Notice the official spelling is two capitalized words. Very little, if any, sugar cane was grown there.
Interestingly enough, the actual sugar cane was grown, among other areas, out toward Fulshear near present day Foster High School. The Foster family plantation, and later Foster Farms (still in operation today growing cotton) produced sugar cane that was shipped on a private rail line to Sugar Land for refining by Imperial Sugar.
The volume of local sugar production was so great that in the 1920s, Imperial Sugar Company built a railroad between Foster community and mills in Sugar Land. In 1928, Sugar Land Industries bought acreage in this area and named it Foster Farms.Foster Community, Texas, Fort Bend County
Interestingly enough, the actual sugar cane was grown, among other areas, out toward Fulshear near present day Foster High School. The Foster family plantation, and later Foster Farms (still in operation today growing cotton) produced sugar cane that was shipped on a private rail line to Sugar Land for refining by Imperial Sugar.
The volume of local sugar production was so great that in the 1920s, Imperial Sugar Company built a railroad between Foster community and mills in Sugar Land. In 1928, Sugar Land Industries bought acreage in this area and named it Foster Farms.Foster Community, Texas, Fort Bend County
It's my understanding they tore down the prison and built a strip mall Smoothie King or something on its old convict graveyard, but back when it was legal for the state to lease convicts to the cane fields, Sugar Land was as much a byword for prison in Texas as Huntsville is now.
I really love palm trees, and I enjoy the tropical vibe. My dream is to live on one of those waterfront subdivisions with all the huge palm trees, with the little docks in the backyard. I’ve seen pictures of them in Lake Conroe, The Woodlands, Katy, Sugarland, and League City. The water, and the palm trees are my dream.
I’d be interested in the area that has a lot of palms, and has a real upscale vibe. Maintained streets, and updated shops. I don’t like old, and run down. That’s why Galveston Beach isn’t my #1 pick already; it just looks kinda old and touristy.
I’d also prefer to live somewhere more suburban, that isn’t too crowded. I prefer to be a little bit more on the rural side, rather than closer to the big city. I also prefer some space in between my neighbor and I, but I know homes are much closer together in Houston; so I might just have to deal with that.
Thoughts?
Below is a USDA hardiness zone map for the Eastern Texas region, based on 30 year climatology from 1976-2005. First things first, you can clearly see that the entirety of Greater Houston is rated no lower than USDA zone 9a - the exceptions are the far northern and western limits of the metro area. Therefore, no matter where you end up settling, you'll have decent opportunities in terms of waterfront views, as well as palm selection and the resulting cultivation and presence.
Now, with more detail from the map below, you can see that a ranking of the three mentioned counties in terms of your preferences will be Galveston, Fort Bend, then Montgomery Counties in that precise order. I'll also give some overview regarding the others, just to provide more info. With Harris County, for instance, that's a very large territory that includes many suburbs outside of Houston proper, stretching from stretching from the shoreline of Galveston Bay, and then far inland to the northwest, so things vary depending on where you are (outside the heavy UHI of Central Houston, of course). Chambers County probably ties with Galveston County, but there isn't much happening in that area development wise. Brazoria I'd place between Fort Bend and Galveston, while Liberty is behind Fort Bend, but ahead of Montgomery. Austin and Waller counties are even worse than Montgomery counties, they aren't worth mentioning.
As numerous posters have mentioned before, Galveston county is, by far, the best of the three areas mentioned when it comes to the palm and waterfront combination. Due to the moderating effects of the bay and Gulf, it experiences the mildest winter minima in the metro area, along with other coastal areas of surrounding counties (and also tied with the UHI of central Houston). Looking at the map, it has a clear sizable area of zone 9b territory compared to other counties - and when you factor in the recent warming winter trends that have been observed since the 2000s, a lot of these places have been exhibiting even USDA zone 10a-10b qualities. This allows the greatest diversity of presence in terms of palms and other subtropical and tropical cultivations, including many tenders that would not survive winters further inland in the metro area. Furthermore, the proximity of the bay and Gulf allows more extensive natural water bodies compared to areas farther inland, so that includes the type of scenery that you seek - whether its League City as others mentioned, and also Clear Lake, Nassau Bay, Seabrook, Dickinson, etc.
Fort Bend county is second place. It's farther inland from the bay and Gulf, but the southerly location in the context of Greater Houston allows it to also retain quite a bit of mildness regarding winter minima. The area has historically been more of zone 9a, but it's starting to show stronger 9b trends with regards to milder winters. These southerly inland locations like Sugar Land, and also Sienna Plantation, Pearland, Alvin, etc have seen an increase in palms and subtropical and tropical plantings in conjunction with these climate trends. These increases have been seen mostly in yards, not as superfluous across the public as in the milder areas of Greater Houston, but still present nonetheless. Additionally, there's decent presence of extensive waterways like the Brazos River, Clear Creek, etc so many subdivisions in the area have ample water sources to recreate the type of shoreline living that you like - many are seen near Sugar Land off and around the HWY 90 and 69 are.
Montgomery county is in last place. It's a northerly, inland county within the Houston metro, therefore, it will experience the lowest winter minima in the region by far. However, as I mentioned earlier, much of the territory still is within USDA zone 9a, save for far northern fringes - and that winter mildness is becoming more solid in terms of milder winter trends. Therefore, there's still a relatively decent selection of palms and subtropical/tropical plants to be cultivated, just not to the extent you see farther south and coastward. You do have sizable reservoirs in these areas near The Woodlands, Conroe, Humble, etc like Lake Conroe and Lake Houston that provide good frontage as well as sources as well. Katy is a relatively northern area as well compared to the likes of Sugar Land, Pearland, etc but it is still a solid USDA zone 9a.
So, overall, you can't go wrong with any of these areas with regards to the environment that you seek. But at this time, Galveston County and other coastal areas will be the best options by far.
It's my understanding they tore down the prison and built a strip mall Smoothie King or something on its old convict graveyard, but back when it was legal for the state to lease convicts to the cane fields, Sugar Land was as much a byword for prison in Texas as Huntsville is now.
Wasn't the movie "The Sugarland Express", which as I understand it, was Steven Spielberg's theatrical directorial debut in 1974, based on Sugar Land's prison infamy and a real life event that took place in the late 60s?
Just a few YouTube videos below. I think they give a good, general feel of what you can expect within the Galveston Bay area of Greater Houston. The first is a general drive around the Nasa Rd in the Clear Lake region, while the second is an aerial of the Nassau Bay location.
Some posters have mentioned sugar cane growth in the Sugar Land area. And yes, there indeed was a good amount of commercial sugar cane cultivation within the region. The growing zone was concentrated mostly around the Brazos River Valley in Fort Bend and Brazoria, which had the benefit of rich soils from the river alluvium, as well as relatively mild winter minima from the southerly latitudes. But, as one poster mentioned, the source of labor was tied to the convict availability from local prison system, so the industry declined once that source became inaccessible. To this day, you still find numerous historic plantations across Fort Bend and Brazoria counties, such as Foster, as well as Oakland. https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/1584/Sugar-Cane-Thrives https://texasbeyondhistory.net/jackson/sugar.html
Sugar Land, and other southerly inland areas of Houston have trended stronger within the USDA zone 9b hardiness zone in recent years, sometimes even flirting with zone 10a. In accordance to that, I've definitely seen an increase in subtropical and tropical plantings through recent years - more palms like sabals, washingtonia, syagrus, dates, as well as other flora like oleanders, citrus, loquats, even papayas and mangoes at times. Some of this is starting to extend more to the public, like these CIDPs nearby the old factory:
Below is a map of how hardiness zones might look over the coming decades. Winters continue warming up, and the entire southern half of Houston starts getting into the solid zone 10 territory. The first signs start with increasingly mild winter minima, as the cold fronts decrease in intensity. Then, as Hadley Cell expansion and subtropical drying grow stronger, the daytime highs rapidly start the heat up - might even be seeing borderline tropical climates (on average) in the Houston area during the coming decades.
Galveston will get hit with hurricanes coming up from the Gulf of Mexico,not a good place to live but to visit,
I live in Richmond 1093 and 1464,1093 leads into Westheimer Rd and you can find everything there,restaurants,supermarkets,theatres,wmt,tgt,hd ,lowe etc.
houses are cheaper,around 200k-300k ,property tax ?lower than HOuston,DOWNTOWN Richmond is different,it is a small town,where I am at is really an extension of Houston. Sugarland ,it is called sugarland because it floods and the land is used to grow sugarcanes,they need a lot of water.
Lots of nice houses there,
If you can come up with a few hundred thousand more,look into River Oaks,HOuston
The underlined is false - as if Sugar Land floods worse than anywhere else.
All of Houston metro floods if it rains hard enough. It takes time for the rainwater to process its way downwards since we are flat and slightly above sea level.
There is waterfront housing in Sugar Land with manmade lakes, or if you find a place on Oyster Creek.
Politically it's split about 50-50. It is very diverse with many nationalities.
If being around the water is important, do Galveston county.
Just my $0.02.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mojo101
so does Sugarland flood?it did during Hurricane Harvey,but now few places were spared,
Riverstone flooded with home damages - which is a relatively new subdivision south near Missouri City. I am north of Hwy 90. The streets flooded and we were stuck at home for three days, and then it went down with no damages. The Brazos River got to record levels, but I can't recall it doing a bunch of damage.
If being around the water is important, do Galveston county.
To the OP: Keep in mind that most Houstonians avoid living near the coast because of the intense winds and storm surge of hurricanes. Thus the rationale of the highly populated Westside of Houston.
Coastal Houston may be beautiful when the weather is good, but be prepared to pay higher insurance premiums and catastrophic damage to your dwelling and contents as you get closer to the Gulf of Mexico or Galveston Bay.
That looks amazing! Cypress is in Harris County, correct?
Our budget is roughly 400-500k; Depending on taxes. On realtor, I use the little tool to calculate payments and I would prefer to be under 2000$ a month with 200k down. Most of the time, that works out to be about 450k with taxes.
Is that $450 before your $200K down? I hope so because now way $450k will be less than $2000 per month with taxes. Expect around 3% for taxes. You better add in insurance too. You will be in a hurricane area so expect upwards of $4000 per year for that. Probably more the closer you are to the water down here in Galveston County. Geico quoted me $9,000/yr for a $300k home in Clear Lake that's nowhere near water.
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