College Station?? (Bryan, Allen, St. Jo: city hall, rentals, houses)

[CosmicMama]

My husband and I are thinking of relocating here, he is interested in TAMU's Ocean Engineering program. There are few of these around. We have two children and are looking for an older, historic type neighborhood that is in proximity to a good school district OR a scenic area a little outside of town where we might find a home with a little bit of land. Can anyone point us in a good direction? I would like to stay away from new development neighborhoods. Is this a good place for families? I read that College Station schools are pretty good?

[LWInk2]

There are two older neighborhoods, Oakwood and College Hills. Oakwood is directly south of the A&M campus off George Bush Drive between Timber and Dexter. There are some of the older and more stately homes here (Lee Street & Pershing St.) Another older neighborhood is College Hills. This is across from the campus on the East Gate side off Texas Avenue between Munson and Gilchrist. Both of these neighborhoods have some of the "campus houses". When A&M was built, housing for the faculty and staff was built on campus. Between the early 30s and up until 1963, all of these houses were moved off into neighborhoods. Some have been restored and are quite nice. Most are of the small bungalow style.

College Station schools are EXCELLENT! Check out our City website http://www.cstx.gov for information on the great Parks we have for families. Yes, it is a wonderful place to raise a family. When you come to town, stop by City Hall. We have lots of brochures and such. Better yet, send me a mailing address and I will send a packet of materials for you.

If you are interested in history, I recommend Project HOLD, an historic online library database Project HOLD Home) I manage this project for the City.

aboykin@cstx.gov

[aggie2005]

The schools in College Station are excellent. There are also great private schools in Bryan-College Station. At the schools there are a lot of college professor's kids who usually are very intelligent and help to lead to an intellectually stimulating environment.

As far as the historic areas, as was mentioned earlier, the South Gate area is charming with older homes that were built around when the university opened. That area is located off of George Bush Dr. directly across from A&M so it would certainly be convenient for your husband.

I hope the move goes well for you and best of luck on the home search. I think you and your family will be very happy in College Station.

[Aggie01]

Unfortunately if you want some of the better elementary schools, you would have to go to the newer developments and neighborhoods. While College Station and Bryan have a couple charming older home developments (although, even with those you have to be careful that you don't live next to student rental units), those areas are also zoned to house a variety of students---which greatly change the makeup of the student population.

My GF used to teach at College Hills and she can certainly tell you some stories that would make your skin crawl.

I would choose the South Gate area before living in EastGate. That area is saturated with student rentals, and the nice homes are few and far between, it seems.

Best of luck with your move!

[orbius]

The older neighborhoods are mostly in Bryan. Which is a few minutes North of the University. The neighborhoods are older, and there are even some historic houses. You should be able to find something in a decent neighborhood there.

[07Grad]

I think your choices might be hit or miss with this... The older neighborhoods usually aren't located in the most desirable school zone. Bryan has great elementary schools, but they're in the newer subdivisions and aren't near the historic. The same can be said for C.S.'s Southgate area, IMO. If private school is an option, then I would without a doubt recommend you live in the Eastside Historic District in Bryan, or in the area off Carter Creek Pkwy, and send your kids to St. Joseph's, St. Michael's, or Allen Academy, which are 3 of 5 private schools in Bryan.
I'm not too sure about C.S.'s Southside Historic District...I had a friend who lived there for a year, and as a student I used to study in Brison Park. I liked the area, and almost rented there twice, but was turned off by the raggedy housing (usually rented to students) next to some beautiful historic homes, and the post-football game/basketball game/end-of-class traffic. My friend was hit by a speeding car in that neighborhood after walking home from a football game in broad daylight, and they didn't stop. I know the neighborhood association tries to prevent their area from turning into this, but I don't think it's w/ much success.