Commute from Cypress to Westchase? (Houston, Baytown: for sale, foreclosures, how much)

[jingram]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum, my family will be relocating to Houston from Alberta in a few months. I have received so much good info from everyone by reading the posts. So after much research I think the best area for us would be Cypress, but I've never actually been to Houston. So I am wondering what the commute is really like to Westchase from Cypress, Google earth can only tell you so much. Also what kind of ammenities does Cypress have to offer, shopping, kids activities, etc? There are some fantastic older homes for sale in our price range (under 200K) is there any reason why these wouldn't be a good choice? Thanks in advance to everyone for their help!

[EasilyAmused]

Depends how back up the toll booths get. Even the EZ tag lanes crawl on some days.

[Mr. Football]

Cypress is a great choice and a relatively easy commute to Westchase. Without traffic it takes me 20 minutes to get from Longwood to the BMC Campus. With traffic it takes about 30-45 minutes in the morning rush hour (taking 290 to the Beltway) and 40 to 50 minutes in the afternoon rush hour (taking the Beltway to 249).

The schools are great, Cy-Fair is the largest Recognized school district in the State of Texas. My particular neighborhood (Longwood) is zoned to the following schools: Hamilton Elementary (Exemplary), Hamilton Middle (Exemplary) and Cy-Fair HS (Recognized). Sports Illustrated recently rated Cy-Fair HS one of the Top 5 High School Athletic programs in America. Lots to do for families, pretty trees and green spaces.

Check out Longwood, Lakewood Glen, Lakewood Oaks, Coles Crossing, Northlake Forest, Stillwater Village, Park at Arbordale, Rock Creek, Stable Gate, Reserve at Cypress Creek, Quail Forest, Lakewood Forest, Tuscany, Hunter's Valley and the dozens of other nice neighborhoods in this area (77429, 77433, 77070, 77377)


Longwood


Longwood


Longwood Golf Course




Streets in Longwood


Longwood Fall Festival



Check out my Cypress photos for more info.

[wescovy]

Jingram,

I lived in Cypress for 5+ years and worked in Westchase for two of those years. I lived near Cypress Falls High School and commuted to an office near the Marriot Westchase. I really like the Cypress area, as you can see it is really pretty. My commute was about 30+ minutes in the morning and about 40 minutes in the afternoon.

My only problem with the commute is that it can explode in the mornings to an hour plus without warning. I chose to live in Katy for a change of pace but the home values in NW Harris are more reasonable and the trees more mature. If you are most concerned with commute and schools I would also consider Cinco Ranch (Katy ISD) and Sienna and New Territory (Fort Bend ISD). Hope that helps.

[Premont]

Ask yourself if you can afford the gas and the monthly toll fees. If not, then look into west Houston.

[crbcrbrgv]

Westchase has some outstanding neighborhoods. The only issue is you would have to consider either private or charter school as Alief schools are atrocious (trust me, I used to teach for one) and the HISD schools in the area are only marginally better. KIPP Academy (charter) is not too far away, nor are some great private high schools such as Strake Jesuit.

[ZeroTX]

I am a Texas native. I've lived in Houston for 12 years, and I worked in Cypress-Fairbanks for 6 of those years. I've also lived in the Braeswood/Meyerland area, Clear Lake, Greenspoint and 7.5 years in Spring. I have seen construction projects and vast changes in traffic quantities and patterns in those 12 years. I personally would NOT recommend knowingly buying into the "Cypress, TX" area and trying to work in Westchase. The commute will be painful and the tolls will eat you alive. It could be worse, but I will tell you that Hwy 290 is the absolute WORST freeway in Houston. The lanes are narrow and it is by far the slowest freeway to drive every day, hands-down.

That being said, the Cypress-Fairbanks SCHOOL district is huge. It's the 3rd largest school district in Texas (period), the largest "Recognized" school district in Texas, and its borders go WAY down on the west side and INTERSECT with Katy ISD. In fact, there are Cy-Fair schools with a "Katy, TX" address. I highly recommend checking out some of those areas that will get you closer to Westchase without taking tolls. Beware of areas with lots of brand-new houses, but with heavy foreclosures and mostly cracker-jack cheaply-built houses. They are soon to become a blight on the city (10 years or less), but they are the primary source of the district's 5,000-7,000 student per year growth.

I also currently work for HISD and I won't disparage the schools, because I think most of them are good. I will say that HISD has a more difficult set of kids to work with. For instance, my school has an estimated 40% or more population of "undocumented" students. That means they and their parents are here illegally and don't speak English at home. You can work 2x as hard as a suburbanite Katy teacher and get a weaker result... that's just a fact. It doesn't mean the schools or teachers are poor, it just means the kids are harder to teach the very stringent curriculum!

Good luck and WELCOME TO TEXAS! PM me if you want the inside line on any school. I know how to interpret the TEA reports

-ZeroTX

[jingram]

Thanks everyone for your input. However I am more confused than ever. How much are the tolls? How many would you have to pay everyday? Which highways are not tolled? What are charter schools? Quite frankly I'm terrified of sending my kids to a big school. Are the elementary schools smaller? What would you all recommend as being the best area to live, with the best commute to Westchase and the best schools? Keeping in mind our budget is under 200K, however we do want a 4/2 or 5/3 with a pool. I've somewhat ruled out Katy(Cinco Ranch) and Sugarland(New Territory) as being too pricey for us. Thanks!!

[ZeroTX]

Well, nearly all public schools in the Houston area are large. Cypress-Fairbanks and Katy both only have high schools over 3,000 students. (generally hovering around the 3,000 mark). Frankly, I feel it's a superior way to do things when it's possible, because students have a vast array of class and elective choices. They have all of the advanced courses (AP), honors courses, and specialized electives that you could never, ever have in a small school. If your kids are into athletics or extracurriculars, then a big school is really awesome. More sports, more options, more things to enrich their educational experience. Please, don't be afraid of big schools. Just be picky in terms of the QUALITY. You can't really go wrong with MOST parts of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Katy ISD or Fort Bend ISD. I would avoid (at all costs) Alief ISD, Aldine ISD, and I would be super-picky about exactly which schools at Spring-Branch ISD and Houston ISD. Again, private-message/email me if you would like me to check out a particular school. You can generally use the school district's website to figure out the zoning maps. There ARE schools in Fort Bend that I would avoid like the plague... in particular Hightower High School. Not because of the staff or quality of teaching, but you don't want the cultural influences of those kind of kids on your kids.

Also, yes, some of the elementary schools are smaller, and some are bigger. It depends on when it was built. In the 2000's, all new elementary schools here are big, because it's just the most efficient way to build and operate a school. Additionally, houses are popping up so fast, that it's impossible to build the small neighborhood schools of the 60's, 70's and 80's anymore. It's just not fast enough to keep up. Additionally, the bigger schools are more efficient to operate (less overhead, administrative staff, shared specialist personnel, etc.), and often also offer more choices for kids.

Now, to help with some of your questions...
Toll Roads in Houston: 1) "Beltway 8" also known as "The Sam Houston Tollway" ... This is the "big loop" that wraps around the city.
2) Hardy Toll Road
3) Fort Bend Toll Road
4) West Park Tollway

Most are intuitive, but the vast majority of people just say "Beltway 8" to refer to the large loop, but the only reasonable way to utilize that road is to get onto the toll portion, which is $1.50 per section. Basically $1.50 between each major road (for instance, if you go from 290 to I-10 on Beltway 8, it's $1.50. You can save $.25 per toll by getting an EZ Tag, which makes your tolls $1.25 and you can just buzz through the booths without stopping. You'll need either 1 or 2 tolls from the Cypress area into Westchase, depending on how far out you find a house and exactly where you want to get off of the toll portion. As some have mentioned, traffic can at times be unpredictable. For 6 years I commuted 26 miles (one-way) from Spring to Cy-Fair, utilizing the Beltway (toll), and sometimes that drive was as short as 25 minutes, while others it was as long as 1.5 hours. With that kind of mileage between you, any delay adds substantial time. My next home will be single-digit mileage from my work, esp. w/ $3.60/gallon gas (well, it was $3.54 today).

The Houston freeway/highway/road system is actually quite amazing and impressive once you learn it. It's very easy, with freeways going in all directions and 3 loops of varying sizes. The freeway system in Houston is the 2nd largest in the U.S. after Los Angeles and better designed than L.A. by a long shot. "Freeways" (that is free flowing highways, without traffic lights and no tolls) include:

1) U.S. Interstate 10, "I-10" (the West portion is called "Katy Freeway" and the East portion is called "Baytown East Freeway")
2) U.S. Interstate 45, "I-45" (the North portion is fittingly "North Freeway" and the South portion is "Gulf Freeway" because it leads to Galveston/Gulf of Mexico)
3) Texas Hwy 290, "290" ("Northwest Freeway")
4) Texas Hwy 249, "249" ("Tomball Parkway")
5) Texas Hwy 288, "288" ("South Freeway" or "Nolan Ryan Expressway")
6) Texas Hwy 59, "59" (the North portion is "Eastex Freeway" because it goes into "East Texas" -- which is actuall Northeast Texas, but we won't go there... also the South portion is probably the most-traveled road in Houston and is called the "Southwest Freeway")
7) Interstate/Loop 610, "610" ("The Loop" "Loop 610" - this is the original loop and inside of the loop is basically considered inner-city or old Houston)
8) FM1960/Texas Hwy 6 -- this long 3/4 loop goes around the suburban portions of the city, but is RIDDLED with stoplights. I would never rely on FM1960 or Hwy 6 as a main way to get in our out of ANYWHERE. Keep that in mind when house shopping.

Are you only looking at new construction? You can easily find a 4/2 w/ a pool for under 200k in Sugar Land or Katy. Frankly, I despise new construction. It has no soul and no character and, worse, no trees. If I could pick anywhere in the Houston metro to live right now, I'd buy in an older, established neighborhood within the First Colony area of Sugar Land *or* any part of The Woodlands, TX (yes, that's the real name of the unincorporated city). Unfortunately, The Woodlands is a bit far for Westchase, but I'd give First Colony a strong look. You can get more for your money in Cypress, but the cheapest place in Houston to buy a nice home with good neighbors is Spring/Klein (neither of which is close to Westchase, I'm sorry to say).

Good luck,

Michael

[ZeroTX]

It just occurred to me that my info may have just made this harder. Hehe.

I don't know the names of subdivisions (because I find them rather inane), but if you are interested in great schools (Cypress-Fairbanks), more moderately priced homes for the money (cheaper than Cinco or Sugar Land), and near-ish to Westchase, then your original choice is close. Just be careful about using the term "Cypress" because "Cypress" really refers to an area in the Northwest part of the city, but EAST of 290. I recommend you stay WEST of 290, because there are a number of nicely flowing roads you can take that might allow you to avoid traveling on 290. There's a lot of newer construction in that area, along with builders still building.... if that's your cup of tea. That area of Cy-Fair is really pretty much all new construction. It was empty farmland 20 years ago. So, you can easily get your McMansion with a baby tree in the front yard under 200k I am giving you fair warning, air conditioning a 3000sq/ft house in the summer is gonna cost you $600 a month, and when it's 100 outside, you have no choice

But, that's what I'd recommend for ya. Cy-Fair area, WEST (or SOUTH depending on how you look at it) of 290.

-Michael