Beaumont / Orange area - HELP please! (Houston, Austin: homes, theatres, school districts)

[gopherit]

Originally Posted by southeasttexas

Working in Orange, I would look real hard at Bridge City....

We liked some of the houses around that area - they had some nice subdivisions with reasonably sized plots (you don't have to worry that your conversations could be heard 3 doors down cuz your houses are so close together!) BUT - I am frankly a bit leary of 2 things: proximity to water (i.e. storm surge, that whole south of I-10 issue), and being that much closer to Port Arthur. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but from some of the things I've read recently, the industries of Port Arthur have polluted the winds around there, so to speak. Granted, what's 10 miles here or there really going to get you, from an air quality perspective, and for my line of work, I probably come in contact with more nasties in one day than I would ever inhale outside in a year, but for the sake of my kids, I'd just as soon insulate them wherever/whenever possible, and if 10 or 20 miles makes a diff, I'm sure going to give it deep thought.

If either of these two aspects are fact or fallacy, please let me know. You know how it is when you are digging up info on a new place - you get the good, teh bad, and the ugly all at once, and it's hard to figure it all out!

If we elect to put our kids in the private schools, we will likely have to settle in Beaumont. Any recommendations for housing there? Are we safest over on the west side of Beau? Any neighborhoods or good builders anyone can recommend - I'd surely appreciate it.

You guys have been awesome help, by the way - all info greatly appreciated! I was raised in a small town in S.C. and I have to say, this part of Texas really reminds me of "home".....

[southeasttexas]

Industry today is exceedingly clean, compared to just 20-25 years ago, even the EPA has pronounced SETX in compliance, so, every way I look at it, you really can't go wrong airwise in SETX.

Storm surge is a valid point, but two things to consider: even inland properties can flood, especially if you are near a bayou or river. Also, after a 40 year period with no direct hurricain hits, SETX has had two in the last three years. IMO, if a property did not flood during Rita, its very likely safe from surge flooding, I would have no concerns. (I have lived south of I-10 my entire 44 years, and never flooded even once. My inlaws live north of 10, and had 2' of water in their home for 4 days during a heavy rain event in 94'...)

If you choose Beaumont, definitely go to the "west end". Just be prepared for high prices, though, relative to the rest of the area.

[gopherit]

Originally Posted by southeasttexas

Industry today is exceedingly clean, compared to just 20-25 years ago, even the EPA has pronounced SETX in compliance, so, every way I look at it, you really can't go wrong airwise in SETX.

Thanks - that's good to hear. I really shouldn't point fingers anyway, since we currently live in an area that has been investigated NUMEROUS times for cancer levels due to waste/emissions/water quality. I'm a logical person and not a knee-jerk reactionary - but as a scientist I also know that often it's what we don't know that hurts us. What the EPA deems "ok" today, we find out tomorrow was a big no-no. So where there's output of any sort (air, water, etc.) I tend to favor the side of caution. I chose a career that puts me in contact with the "uglies" everyday, but my kids should get to make that choice later for themsleves!

Originally Posted by southeasttexas

Storm surge is a valid point, but two things to consider: even inland properties can flood, especially if you are near a bayou or river. Also, after a 40 year period with no direct hurricain hits, SETX has had two in the last three years. IMO, if a property did not flood during Rita, its very likely safe from surge flooding, I would have no concerns. (I have lived south of I-10 my entire 44 years, and never flooded even once. My inlaws live north of 10, and had 2' of water in their home for 4 days during a heavy rain event in 94'...)

If you choose Beaumont, definitely go to the "west end". Just be prepared for high prices, though, relative to the rest of the area.

Boy, don't we know that. Our area had a "100-yr flood" about 5 yrs ago. We had a house on a hill that flooded like nobody's business because of springs that overflowed. Folks with sump pumps were totally flooded because the power was out - couldn't use the pumps, no back up generators. Meanwhile, our house (on flat land, with a creek in the back) had water rushing all around it like an island in a river - but nary a drop inside our basement. Good house. Wish we could lift it up and take it with us!!

We heard "West is Best" about Beaumont before. And yes, it did seem a bit pricier on the west side. To some degree, you pay for teh "convenience" of having so much around you (it would be nice to have shopping, etc nearby, though we're hardly in a metropolis where we live now.) In terms of price per sq foot of house, however, it's about the same between Beau and Little Cypress and Orangefield developments - it's just appears that the plots they put them on are way smaller, and the taxes are way higher. The only reason I think we would live in Beau vs. getting closer to our workplace would be if we (a) need to put our eldest son in Kelly when he hits HS age in another year and (b) soccer. Soccer in the "outlying areas" seemed weak; Beau seemed to be pretty good, though.

[southeasttexas]

As coincidence would have it, my daughter is a goalkeeper, and our little rural U12 team from Hamshire - Fannett -Winnie won the entire Beaumont region last year, (against much larger teams) and made it to the Brenham tourney, I was so proud of those girls.

In any case, good luck wherever you end up, and welcome to the area.

[texdav]

I would note that with Rita the area got the eastertn side of the storm and storm surge only effected the immediate coast.If it had gotten the in flow side of the storm it would have beeen much worse.Lok at a hurricane tracking chart for the possiblities.Humberto really moved thru quickly with little rain even and the winds were minimal.

[eja]

I lived in Beaumont for 57 years. I raised my two daughter there from 1971-1993. I taught in Lumberton for five years and Port Neches for 15 years. In the early 90's it really started going down. There was a huge mass of White flight into the little country towns. Vidor, Bridge City, Lumberton, Nederland and Port Neches are all white school districts. There is no ethnic balances to speak of anymore. Unless it was the last place that God had put for people to live I would not tell any of my friends or enemies to move there. It is the empitome of hickville. After Hurricane Kartrina Beamont was flooded with the New Orleans refugees and they never left. I would not even go and shop at the mall for gangs and the thugs who roamed there. Crime rate is high even in the what used to be "elite West End". The air stinks, the humidity is unbearable and the mosquitoes are as large as helicopters. If you have allergies plan on being sick at least six times a year with upper respiratory infections. The cancer rate is the highest in the nation there because of the refineries. Check the school districts to see what the ratios are in ethnic populations. If you are looking for backwards this is the place to move. If you are looking to stay home for fear of your safety at night this is your place to move. Entertainment is eating out and two movie theatres but you cannot go at night because of the folks who are frequenting there are so socially rude and dangerous that you decide it is easier to stay home and rent a movie. If you need an abundance of car lots, banks or churches this would be a great place for you to move. The hurricanes are what you see now that speaks for itself. My friends that are there now are looking to move as soon as they can. They have not recovered from Rita still after four years and now they are looking at Ike who destroyed the area. The only redeeming quality that I can give Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur is they have great seafood restaurants.Other than that we did a lot of vacations and then finally found jobs and relocated to Grapevine, Texas. We love it in North Texas and wouldn't go back to the Golden Triangle as they call it (why it is Golden I do not know now) for all the tea in China. That is my view after having lived there as a third generation family member. We left and have never looked back.

[centexguy]

Looks like eja has an axe to grind.

There was a huge mass of White flight into the little country towns. Vidor, Bridge City, Lumberton, Nederland and Port Neches are all white school districts. There is no ethnic balances to speak of anymore.

These school districts were always mostly white but now they are more diversified than before. The Beaumont and Port Arthur school districts used to have mostly white and mostly black schools up until the 1980s. For someone who live in the area for so long you seem ignorant of those facts.

After Hurricane Kartrina Beamont was flooded with the New Orleans refugees and they never left.

That's not true. When Hurricane Rita was heading towards the area most of the Katrina refugees left for Houston and other areas because of evacuations.

I would not even go and shop at the mall for gangs and the thugs who roamed there.

For someone complaining about lack of diversity, you don't seem to like minorities too much. You can deny it but that's exactly what you meant by "gangs and thugs". That's probably why you moved to Grapevine, it's so diversified it's 82% white and only about 2% black.

The cancer rate is the highest in the nation there because of the refineries.

That's completely false. There's no factual data anywhere to back that claim up. There have been studies that prove the opposite. Here's one here: An updated mortality study of workers at a petrole...[Am J Ind Med. 1998] - PubMed Result

They have not recovered from Rita still after four years and now they are looking at Ike who destroyed the area.

Ike did not destroy the area, it did devastate a few areas such as Bridge City and LaBelle.

I can understand no liking someplace, but why did you live there for 57 years if you hated it so bad?

[southeasttexas]

Great post, Centex. I agree completely with your assesment of the previous post.

[katydid88]

We moved here 1 1/2 years ago from WV. My husband came to work as an engineer in Orange. We chose West Beaumont and have never regretted it for a moment. That said, Beaumont is a pretty stinky place to live (literally). In some areas race is a problem, but we have been isolated from it in West Beaumont. It is peaceful and safe in our neighborhood and so far we've been happy enough (except for the climate) All the newer better shopping is only a couple miles up the road and better, downtown Houston is only about 1 hr 15 minutes away. I saw someone recommended Bridge City. We considered that, but thank goodness we didn't. The WHOLE town (minus ~14 homes) flooded during Ike! I would steer away from that mess. Definitely stay north of I-10 for flooding reasons, and even then, be careful where you buy. West Beaumont by far offers the safest environment and best public schools. There are still problems, especially in the middle and high school. The best in public are Marshall Middle and Westbrook High. Still I would strongly consider private. Kelly is good. For elementary you can't beat All Saints Episcopal or St Anne's.

My husband's commute from the west end of Beaumont (Dowlen Road area) to the plant in Orange takes him ~35 minutes, so it's not too bad. Lumberton has traffic problems and we decided it was just too far to commute. Overall, we aren't crazy about Beaumont. The climate and outdoor recreation opportunities are terrible, but we're doing OK here.

-Kathy

[southeasttexas]

Originally Posted by katydid88

. I saw someone recommended Bridge City. We considered that, but thank goodness we didn't.-Kathy

I said it, as a response to someone looking for "great schools". I would still recommend it for "great schools", for sure. Yes, BC, as a community near the coast certainly can flood. Do note, it has not been in my lifetime that BC has flooded, except for Ike...