Thornwood in 77079? Nottingham Elem. & Spring Forest middle? (Houston, San Antonio: house, neighborhoods)

[anabel]

Hi, I have lived in 77024 for the last 7 years. We moved here for the schools and have rented what basically amounts to a tear down in a 1.5 million and up neighborhood. We love our neighborhood, neighbors, area and of course the schools (Bunker Hill Elem and Memorial Middle). Now, the time has come for us to buy. We can't afford anything in 024 that can comfortably accomodate our family of 6. We are looking in 079. Found a house we LOVE in Thornwood but it is zoned to Nottingham Elem and Spring Forest Middle. I know Stratford, the HS is excellent. I realize that pretty much any other school will be step down from BHE and MMS, but are these good schools? Also, anyone have any insight into Thornwood? I would so appreciate advice/opinions on the schools and neighborhood. Thanks!
Anabel

[AK123]

Thornwood seemed like a great buy and we were pretty serious about looking there. We have a family of 5 and the main problem we were running into was finding a home with 3 full baths. Not easy. Aside from that, it looked great.

BTW, if I could live anywhere in Houston and money wasn't an option, Bunker Hill would be way up there for me.

[Mom2Feebs]

I think you'll love it. You are right in that they are not going to be as "perfect" as BH or MM but they're downright good schools. Thornwood is divided--so be sure you're in the section zoned to SBISD.

[beegirls]

We just moved to Thornwood and really love it. We had reservations about Nottingham Elementary, because we were moving our daughter from an exemplary school in San Antonio. We are, so far, very happy there, and have run into several other families who moved to the neighborhood just so that they could go to the school. Our daughter seems to be thriving there.

The school is very close to capacity after several years of declining enrollment, yet the office staff is very nice and seems to know everyone. Every time I go into the office, they know exactly who my child is and always greet me cheerfully.

It's an exciting time to be moving into Thornwood... the neighborhood is finally "turning over." The original homeowners are starting to move out, and young families are replacing them. There's an active moms group in the neighborhood.

If we could have afforded to live on the 024 side, we of course would have done it. But we are thrilled with Thornwood and are very glad we chose to move here.

[beegirls]

Oh - and one more thing... The middle school has a new principal who is rumored to be cleaning things up quite a bit. There is also a rumor that a zoning change is planned which should help relieve the situation at Spring Forest. Being new to the area, I have no idea of the validity of information, but those that passed it along to me seemed to believe it to be true!

[anabel]

Thanks so much for the responses, ladies. All good food for thought as we make a decision.

[Premont]

Thornwood is nice. You're right by the Hershey Trail where it has the sun dial. I think I read someone on here say once that the elementary schools are nicer the further east, but that's probably splitting hairs. Spring Branch south of 10 is all pretty top notch.

[meletonmc]

I have been looking online at Thornwood, Nottingham Forest, and Wilchester, and honestly I often prefer some of the homes in Thornwood. They have large front yards and nice curb appeal. I do wonder why they are so much less than Nottingham Forest however. Is there anything that makes these homes less desirable? If not, I hope to be a resident soon too! So far, I like what I am hearing!

[anabel]

Hi Meletonmc, possibly Thornwood is no longer considered Memorial proper? Also, the cemetery is located right next to Thornwood. I think this is actually a plus, though. I, too am curious as to the difference in price. Hope someone with some insight can shed some light.

[beegirls]

The only negative thing I've heard mentioned is that Thornwood used to have a reputation for being a "drive through" neighborhood. Apparently, there used to be a lot of cars cutting through from Dairy Ashford to Memorial, but I heard that the Constable patrols the area pretty regularly now. I can't say I've noticed a lot of traffic. The neighborhood is quiet, and the only real traffic we've noticed is the Tully Stadium traffic on weekends out on Dairy Ashford.

It is clear that the area has not appreciated like the neighborhoods across Memorial. I'm not sure if we'll catch up or not. We had all the same worries, but we are so happy that we decided to buy here! I also prefer the look of the neighborhood over Westchester and Nottingham Forest because of the size of the lots. The cemetary next door makes a nice neighbor - it's a good buffer between Eldridge and the neighborhood, and there are no tall buildings in our backyard. I made sure to stay in the Spring Branch ISD section, and we just went for it.

The only downside I've noticed is the bus ride home from Nottingham to our neighborhood - My daughter was just about the last one dropped off, so she wouldn't get home until about an hour after school got out. I imagine the kids on the South side of Memorial would get home quicker, because the bus riders don't need to go all the way up to Berryknoll. I just pick her up from school now.

I would consider our neighborhood to be part of West Memorial... We get all the "Memorial area" newspaper inserts and publications, etc.

We also have our first teardown here... Maybe that's a sign of progress!

And regarding schools - I believe that "on paper" Nottingham is preferable to Meadow Wood or Thornwood Elementary. I never even considered the neighborhoods that were zoned to those schools, even though they are both East of Thornwood.