Is Spring "that" great of a place to live? (Pasadena: apartment complexes, low crime)

[slickcdb2000]

Well... I have looked at several neighborhoods in spring on the internet and they all seem to be about the same. But... is Spring that great of a place to spend the rest of your life? Is Klein school district as good as the sites on the net say they are? Houses are CHEAP there... that is what really got me interested. We are on a budget of 150K and that will get you a pretty good bit there. We only have 1 child so we really dont need a 4000 sq foot house yet.

Are the jobs that plentiful there? I work in refineries around the US but my wife will need a job there. Not to mention there are several refineries around the Pasadena area too. We have never lived in a big city before or lived in houses that close together either. So whats the big deal about spring? Would you live there again if you had a second chance?

[modster]

What is considered "Spring" varies depending upon who you talk to. Some parts are new, some parts are 40 years old. The general area referred to as Spring covers a wide swath of territory and a wide variety of housing stock and neighborhoods.

It is all subjective, but I would say the more desirable part would be northwest, around places like Memorial Northwest, Champion Forest, Gleannloch Farms, that area. Generally the more expensive subdivisions were built west of 45 and over east, primarily around Treaschwig (sp?) the subdivisions are starter tract homes. The areas closer to 1960 typically are older than points north, although there are exceptions to that rule.

The upsides include Klein schools, a lot of house for your money, the trees (the ones that weren't bulldozed), low crime, well maintained neighborhoods. The downsides include a brutal commute into town, lack of the master planned set up so there is an inordinate amount of signage clutter along the main roads & the ability for apartment complexes to sprout up anywhere and affect property values. Because of those factors some of the older areas out there are not aging particularly well. Not as well as they should given how attractive the subdivisions themselves still are.

You can get a big house cheap in a nice neighborhood with good schools and nice trees. If you have to work in town, or heaven forbid commute to Pasadena or points east, the commute would be a very ugly thing.

[slickcdb2000]

Well... that is good news, for the most part anyways. We are not necessarily sold on "spring". I have worked in the woodlands a while back and like the area. We want to raise our child up in a good area/neighborhood where there are plenty of things to do. When I was growing up all we had to do was get in trouble. I want him to have things to do to stay out of trouble. Anyways.... I just really like the spring area. Not necessarily the town of spring. Just want to be decently close to downtown but yet be on the outskirts too.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by slickcdb2000

Well... I have looked at several neighborhoods in spring on the internet and they all seem to be about the same. But... is Spring that great of a place to spend the rest of your life? Is Klein school district as good as the sites on the net say they are? Houses are CHEAP there... that is what really got me interested. We are on a budget of 150K and that will get you a pretty good bit there. We only have 1 child so we really dont need a 4000 sq foot house yet.

Are the jobs that plentiful there? I work in refineries around the US but my wife will need a job there. Not to mention there are several refineries around the Pasadena area too. We have never lived in a big city before or lived in houses that close together either. So whats the big deal about spring? Would you live there again if you had a second chance?

You need to check into Pearland

[slickcdb2000]

I'll look into pearland. I'm real fond of North houston though. Allthough pearland is a lot closer to the refineries down there.

[PennsylTexan]

The Cypress area is nice too.

Originally Posted by slickcdb2000

Well... that is good news, for the most part anyways. We are not necessarily sold on "spring". I have worked in the woodlands a while back and like the area. We want to raise our child up in a good area/neighborhood where there are plenty of things to do. When I was growing up all we had to do was get in trouble. I want him to have things to do to stay out of trouble. Anyways.... I just really like the spring area. Not necessarily the town of spring. Just want to be decently close to downtown but yet be on the outskirts too.

[texas7]

Yes if you are going to work in the refineries - you should consider the South side - Pearland, Friendswood, League City, Clear Lake, Deer Park (all have good schools) to have a nice area to live in and the bonus of a commute that isn't a nightmare. However, if you don't mind a bear of a commute - then of course any area is wide open to you. Kingwood wouldn't be a bad commute to the refineries - and it is on 59 North so you might check that out if you prefer the North side.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by texas7

Yes if you are going to work in the refineries - you should consider the South side - Pearland, Friendswood, League City, Clear Lake, Deer Park (all have good schools) to have a nice area to live in and the bonus of a commute that isn't a nightmare. However, if you don't mind a bear of a commute - then of course any area is wide open to you. Kingwood wouldn't be a bad commute to the refineries - and it is on 59 North so you might check that out if you prefer the North side.

That's a good point, the reason I mention Pearland is because of the 150k budget.

[slickcdb2000]

So far all the places look about the same. Cypress was really really cheap houses. I wouldn't be in the refineries all the time in houston. Just saying if I do happen to get a job there it wouldn't be bad. I've only had 1 refinery job in houston. Everywhere seems nice though. The only problem i'm facing now is where to park my travel trailer. Most of the neighborhoods want let me keep it in the driveway. I dont know about the back yard... if I even find a back yard big enough to keep it in. I'm assuming I would have to park it in some kinda storage place or something.

[modster]

I think the typical restriction on that reads something like "must not be visible from any street", or something like that. Most newer subdivisions would have that provision.