Suggestions for job searching and neighborhoods (Houston, Sugar Land: real estate, apartments, waterpark)
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My husband is considering transferring to Houston for his job (he could go about anywhere, but Houston's made it to the top of the contendor list ) from the Seattle area.
My problem is *my* job - mainly, I don't have a clue where to start looking. I currently work for an insurance brokerage firm/agency and would like to continue with this. Does anyone know who the major brokerage firms are in the Houston area that I should check out? It would help if you could tell me where they are in relation to the good houses
Also, from reading through a few past threads, there seems to be some contention about at what price point one can find a good neighborhood with a quality school district. Up here, a 1144 sq ft 3 br house 40 miles from Seattle is about $240k. We need more space, but cannot afford to upgrade to a bigger house where we currently live... From online searches, there seem to be a TON of cute, well-maintained homes in the $130-$150k range in Houston that are nearly twice as big as our current home. That seems appealing, as we could probably afford for me to be a SAHM when we have our next baby. Can we honestly get a good neighborhood and schools for that price? If not, what should we expect to pay for a 1700+ sq ft 3-4 br house? Any specific developments or suburbs?
From doing online research about the Houston schools, some things I think will be important to us are low free-lunch rate, substantial percentage of caucasion population (I've seen some with as low as 3%), high graduation rate and good test scores. I hope that doesn't come across as elitist - we just want as much status quo as possible for our 3rd grader.
I should add that my current commute is 1-2 hours each way, and I absolutely would not consider another long commute
Sorry this is so long! Any help you could provide is appreciated.
Stay away from anything in HISD, Spring ISD, Alief ISD or Aldine ISD.
Look at properties in Klein ISD, Conroe ISD, Katy ISD, Tomball ISD, Cy-Fair ISD and Ft. Bend ISD.
Check out homes in The Woodlands, Cypress, Spring, Klein, Champions, Tomball, Cy-Fair, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Friendswood, Kingwood.
The highest percentage of caucasians (and schools with the least number on ESL and Free Lunch programs) are in the North to West quadrant.
Check out homes in the following high school zones: Kingwood, The Woodlands, College Park, Klein, Klein Oak, Klein Collins, Cy-Creek, Cy-Fair, Cy-Woods, Tomball, Katy Taylor, Katy, Seven Lakes, Cinco Ranch, Memorial, Stratford, Clear Lake, Clear Creek.
www.HAR.com is the de-facto best site in Greater Houston to search for MLS listings.
Last edited by Mr. Football; 01-04-2007 at 03:58 PM..
Stay away from anything in HISD, Spring ISD, Alief ISD or Aldine ISD.
Careful, careful, careful - there are good parts of Houston ISD, but one must have a lot of money to buy in the areas. They may be over your initial budget.
The best areas to buy in Houston ISD are Bellaire HS and Lamar HS, which are plurality White and middle class high schools. Try to be zoned to Pershing MS/Pin Oak MS or Lanier MS (both are also plurality White and middle class).
There are several good elementary schools in HISD, but it gets tougher for middle and high schools.
Also HISD has magnet programs, which allow parents to cherry-pick desired schools.
The parts of Spring Branch ISD zoned to Stratford HS and Memorial HS are good, but expensive too.
Honestly, though, I'd choose your residence AFTER you get your job.
Once you get your job, choose a school district...
* If you work in Downtown: Houston ISD/Spring Branch ISD (if possible) - or whatever suburban district is closest
* Texas Medical Center: Houston ISD/Spring Branch ISD/Pearland ISD/Alvin ISD
* Westchase/Energy Corridor: Western Houston ISD/Spring Branch ISD/Katy ISD
* Clear Lake: Clear Creek ISD
* Greenspoint: Klein ISD/Tomball ISD/Conroe ISD
* The Woodlands: Conroe ISD/Tomball ISD
* Northwest Harris County: Klein ISD/Tomball ISD/Conroe ISD
Obviously, you can live in other areas, but expect longer commutes.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
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insurance brokerage firm/agency
These are in all areas of the city. I'd suggest looking in whatever area of town your husband's job will be, seeing if there is something around that area. That way you'll have similar commutes and can choose your home based on that. Aim to live in a desirable area while still having a reasonable commute.
There are several areas for homes that would meet your requirements. There are many master-planned communities, meaning they have homes, shopping, parks etc all in one area. Examples are The Woodlands, Cinco Ranch in Katy, First Colony and Sienna Plantation in Fort Bend. These are all suburbs outside of Houston. In Houston are other options, but things may not look like what you're used too... no zoning and some areas look like kind of a mess. You just have to look around for what looks good to you.
It's a big city with lots and lots of areas for nice homes and neighborhoods. HAR.com is a great site for looking. I'd say find out more about the job situation first, then start looking at homes. Good luck!
Careful, careful, careful - there are good parts of Houston ISD....The best areas to buy in Houston ISD are Bellaire HS and Lamar HS, which are plurality White and middle class high schools. Try to be zoned to Pershing MS/Pin Oak MS or Lanier MS (both are also plurality White and middle class).
There are several good elementary schools in HISD, but it gets tougher for middle and high schools.
Also HISD has magnet programs, which allow parents to cherry-pick desired schools. .
Mr. Football had it right..avoid Houston Independent School District at all costs. It would be unethical for anyone to recommend HISD for your 3rd grader when there are viable alternatives.
Bellaire and Lamar are the best high schools HISD has to offer (w/the exception of Carnegie) but they just don't come close to the high schools in Fort Bend County ISD(south near Sugarland), Katy ISD(west of Houston) or the fabulous Cy-Fair ISD(north of Houston). And the SW side of Houston, where Bellaire's located, is becoming more and more dangerous. Lamar HS is not what it used to be and even the parents living in the tony neighborhood of River Oaks, where that school is, opt for private.
Getting into Rogers MS or Lanier MS is nearly impossible--kids have to have a 95+ percentile (G/T) and both schools have a cluster of "neighborhood kids" attending.
Good elementary schools are few and fair between. Schools labeled magnet do not ensure quality at all. Look at the greatschools site and check out demographics and scores. Many parents opt for private schools when they live inside the city proper and are zoned for HISD. Be careful. It's better to commute into downtown that be zoned in HISD.
Okay, HISD is out of the question for them because they do not have enough money to buy into the Lamar and Bellaire zones.
Lamar's and Bellaire's best programs rival the suburban districts... but, again, Applebutter doesn't have enough money to buy into the zones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by english_teacher
Mr. Football had it right..avoid Houston Independent School District at all costs. It would be unethical for anyone to recommend HISD for your 3rd grader when there are viable alternatives.
Bellaire and Lamar are the best high schools HISD has to offer (w/the exception of Carnegie) but they just don't come close to the high schools in Fort Bend County ISD(south near Sugarland), Katy ISD(west of Houston) or the fabulous Cy-Fair ISD(north of Houston). And the SW side of Houston, where Bellaire's located, is becoming more and more dangerous. Lamar HS is not what it used to be and even the parents living in the tony neighborhood of River Oaks, where that school is, opt for private.
Getting into Rogers MS or Lanier MS is nearly impossible--kids have to have a 95+ percentile (G/T) and both schools have a cluster of "neighborhood kids" attending.
Good elementary schools are few and fair between. Schools labeled magnet do not ensure quality at all. Look at the greatschools site and check out demographics and scores. Many parents opt for private schools when they live inside the city proper and are zoned for HISD. Be careful. It's better to commute into downtown that be zoned in HISD.
1. Applebutter doesn't have enough money to buy into the zones for Lamar HS and Bellaire HS.
2. Lamar's and Bellaire's best programs easily rival the suburban programs. But, Applebutter doesn't have enough money to buy in the areas zoned to the schools, so... that's a moot point.
" It would be unethical for anyone to recommend HISD for your 3rd grader when there are viable alternatives. "
Incorrect... IF you get into the right school. West University ES, etc. are good IF the parent works in Downtown or areas close by.
If you do not get into the right school, THEN it's true.
I showed Applebutter the profiles for West U and River Oaks elementaries, Lanier, Pershing, and Pin Oak Middle Schools, and Lamar and Bellaire high schools. All are considered to be good, BUT, again, they are out of Applebutter's budget.
"And the SW side of Houston, where Bellaire's located, is becoming more and more dangerous. Lamar HS is not what it used to be and even the parents living in the tony neighborhood of River Oaks, where that school is, opt for private."
Okay, I looked at the attendance zone for Bellaire - The "dangerous" areas of "SW Houston" are more or less zoned to Westbury, Lee, and Sharpstown.
The city of Bellaire, Meyerland, Flack Estates, and parts of the Braeswood area are zoned to Bellaire High School.
The ghetto apartments tend to be zoned to Westbury, Lee, and Sharpstown.
I still know several River Oaks families who send their kids to Lamar. Not everyone, obviously, but several do.
"
Getting into Rogers MS or Lanier MS is nearly impossible--kids have to have a 95+ percentile (G/T) and both schools have a cluster of "neighborhood kids" attending.
"
True for Rogers MS, but for Lanier some people are zoned there.
Rogers does not have an attendance zone.
"
Many parents opt for private schools when they live inside the city proper and are zoned for HISD. "
Okay, "the city proper" is misleading, because there are many areas inside the city limits of Houston that are NOT in HISD, and there are areas in HISD that are NOT in Houston.
It's true that many send their kids to private school, but, many middle/upper class families send their kids to public school too.
The thing is, though, is that HISD has certain schools that are "good" - Others are virtually shunned by middle and upper class parents. Everything that I found at 150K for HISD is either zoned to Westbury or another crappy school. So, AppleButter is looking for the suburban schools
We are from San Diego and moved here two years ago. We are in our mid 30’s with two kids that are 5 & 7, so our criteria is probably similar to yours. I do not have to commute to work, so that was a factor I did not consider. Overall, it was a great decision and my wife no longer has to work. I joke that she gets to live the resort lifestyle.
Things I learned:
1. Texas has there own set of retarded mortgage laws, so use a broker or lender with an office in Texas.
2. A lot of home construction is done on the honor system with the builders doing self-inspection, so be sure to have an independent inspector take a really good look at the home (new or resale) before you buy it.
3. Your cost of living will go down so much, that when you see your bank balance you will stress out wondering what bills were not paid.
4. Texas does not have income tax, but property taxes are higher, and property tax varies by neighborhood.
5. Newer homes (<5 years) are MUCH more energy efficient, which will save you a TON of money on utilities.
6. Houston does not have zoning laws = big problem.
7. Flood plain = higher insurance premiums.
8. Houston is a buyers market, so negotiate 15-20% off or walk.
Oh BTW we bought in Cinco Ranch. We have about 25 kids on our street that are about the same age as ours. In the summertime they all go to the waterpark or beach club together just about everyday.
Good luck
Last edited by Yac; 09-12-2018 at 07:10 AM..
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) from the Seattle area.
Avoid HISD for your 3rd grader
