Small Town Feel w/ in 45 miles of Texas Children's Hospital (Houston: middle-class, insurance)

[marchesefam]

Hi all!

Hoping you can help... We currently live in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area and we are looking to relocate.

A little about us:
We are in our early 30's, the parents of a special needs (heart defect) daughter who is adopted. We are looking for the idyllic "quaint" area. I grew up outside of San Francisco but went to high school in Sheboygan, WI and my husband grew up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We like the smaller communities and we're looking for a small town feel with some amenities. I'd like a community where one can get involved, one with good schools, a middle-class cost of living, and very safe. My daughter will require numerous heart surgeries over the course of her life, so we're looking at the top 25 pediatric cardiology facilities and searching a 45 mile radius around the area.

In Arizona, kids can't do sports in the summer because of the heat. No kids play outside, and after 5 years in my current home, I still don't know most of my neighbors. I'd like a town where kids play outside, the neighbors know one another, the town goes to the high school football games.

My husband is a claims adjuster for a large insurance company and works from home, so we're very flexible. I am a stay-at-home mother, so being able to do things with my child is important.

I enjoy a milder climate, but I'm flexible.

I appreciate your help!

[DrLizardo]

I've got a few ideas, but a question first. It's a Texas thing to measure driving distance in time rather than miles - it's mostly because it's a big state and mileage doesn't mean as much as how long it takes you to get to where you're going. And in the Houston area, not all areas and freeways are equal in accessibility and ease of travel. I could point you to some areas within 45 miles that would be an okay drive and then there are others where you would just about rather slit your wrists before making that trip ever again.

So the question is, what kind of drive are you looking to put up with in terms of time and relative hassle of making the trip?

BTW, TCH is a fantastic facility with great staff. My youngest son had surgery there this past summer and its was a very good experience.

[recuerdeme]

Montgomery/Magnolia, but it's more like 1.5 hour
Porter?

[Houston321]

Fulshear

[XodoX]

Originally Posted by marchesefam

Hi all!

Hoping you can help... We currently live in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area and we are looking to relocate.

A little about us:
We are in our early 30's, the parents of a special needs (heart defect) daughter who is adopted. We are looking for the idyllic "quaint" area. I grew up outside of San Francisco but went to high school in Sheboygan, WI and my husband grew up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We like the smaller communities and we're looking for a small town feel with some amenities. I'd like a community where one can get involved, one with good schools, a middle-class cost of living, and very safe. My daughter will require numerous heart surgeries over the course of her life, so we're looking at the top 25 pediatric cardiology facilities and searching a 45 mile radius around the area.

In Arizona, kids can't do sports in the summer because of the heat. No kids play outside, and after 5 years in my current home, I still don't know most of my neighbors. I'd like a town where kids play outside, the neighbors know one another, the town goes to the high school football games.

My husband is a claims adjuster for a large insurance company and works from home, so we're very flexible. I am a stay-at-home mother, so being able to do things with my child is important.

I enjoy a milder climate, but I'm flexible.

I appreciate your help!

Well, I don't know if you can have that here in Houston

Rosenberg comes to my mind! I think Rosenberg got what you're looking for.

[westres1]

Friendswood...they still only have one HS and everyone goes to the games. Small town founded by Quakers. Less than 30 miles from Med Center

[vicket]

If you are looking for high school sports and family activity participation, almost any Houston suburb will work. Houston is big on families.
We are in Cypress (about 45 minute drive from TCH) and love it. People are very friendly and there are lots of community events to get involved in. You might want to look into a master planned community to give you a more "neighborhood" feel.
Two things that aren't going to happen:
If you are looking for kids playing outside in the summer- Good luck. (Unless they are in the pool.)
If you are looking for "quaint"- go North. We moved from Ohio and I am always amazed that there are no "little downtowns" in Houston's communities. I am used to seeing a little Town Hall, shopping district, church and police station in the center of a community of about 10,000 (or less) people.
Here there is just miles of sprawl and all the houses are behind fences.
You get used to it...and we still wouldn't go back...but I wouldn't call it quaint.

[marchesefam]

Thank you to everyone for your responses! Drlizardo- Yes, you're right, miles can be deceptive. Right now I'm about 45 minutes from our Children's Hospital without traffic, and about 45min. to 1.5 hours with traffic. I like this distance all right, so I would say about 45 mins. would be the cut-off.

Quaint is nice, but I think Vicket nailed it on the head- I want a community feel. Right now, our city of Surprise, Arizona has like 10 different high schools, and there is no distinct city boundary. Surprise runs into El Mirage which runs into Glendale which runs into Phoenix. Make sense?

How god-awful humid is the area?

[Poltracker]

I am going to buck the trend a bit. I am considering that you have a child w/ a heart condition and living south of Houston would not be ideal because it could get very bad if you have to evacuate for a hurricane. If I were you, I would go north up Hwy 59. An area like New Caney might be good for you. Close enough to city ammenities in the Humble/Kingwood suburbs, and downtown a little further in but still a smallish town. Not a big and notable suburb like Katy or Sugarland or Friendswood which would match what you describe above. Additional advantages would be that it is in Montgomery County which has lower insurance (home and car) rates and is a bit lower on taxes.

[DrLizardo]

Originally Posted by marchesefam

How god-awful humid is the area?

There are days that you can swim in it. The good news is that most people figure out a way to get used to it, or at least live with it. And it doesn't get surface-of-the-sun hot like where you are, so our kids play summer sports, or spend half the summer in training/practice for fall sports.

Originally Posted by marchesefam

I like this distance all right, so I would say about 45 mins. would be the cut-off.

Well, that puts you well within 45 miles of TCH in most cases. And, it really limits true small towns. A lot of the small towns really close to Houston have been swallowed by growing neighbors, or have grown into small cities in their own right. Then you have areas that were ranch land twenty years ago and are now just conglomerations of new housing surrounded by the same national brand retail stuff you see all over the country.

Richmond/Rosenberg comes to mind. About 35 minutes from TCH w/out traffic and maybe 55 with traffic. There are old parts of these neighboring small towns and also some areas of recent growth. But the newer stuff is mainly away from the older areas. It's an old historic town, founded by some of Austin's original colonists, and has a lot of antique stores and that sort of quaintness. Richmond's population is about 12,000. Rosenberg is right next door, not as old, twice the population, and somewhat less quaint. Maybe even a little hodge-podge IMO. There are several good high schools out there and the football games are very well attended.

Friendswood was mentioned as well. 30 mins max w/o traffic and 45-50 with. Less than 30,000, lots of families, and the few people that I know who live there speak very highly of the sense of community. It was on Money Magazine's list of best places to live a couple of years ago. That area, like everyplace around Houston, is experiencing a lot of growth. A lot of small towns around there are really growing and starting to run into each other. There is a TCH branch with cardiac care in the fairly nearby area of Houston called Clear Lake. You're much closer to the Gulf, lower elevation, and hurricanes might force an evacuation. Not even close to fun, and with a child with a serious medical condition it might not be a good idea at all.

I live in Sugar Land, which is between the two areas but closer to Richmond/Rosenberg. It's about 100,000, but most of it is master planned communities and in most cases they did a good job of trying to develop a sense of small community feel. Lots of good schools with parental involvement, and if I'm late to the football game I can't find a parking place sometimes. It also has a TCH branch that includes a cardiac care unit.

There are other similar areas, like The Woodlands. New and growing but master planned and a lot of sense of community in areas. Probably 45-50 minutes or more w/o traffic, and at least an hour with traffic.

If you decide to move to Houston and go to TCH, I recommend Dr. Renee Friday. She saw my 16-year-old for a cardiac workup prior to his surgery and he fell in love with the woman, even gave her a hug after knowing her for 30 minutes. Really great lady, but I've found that pretty typical of everyone I dealt with there.

Good luck.