Best Family Suburb near Port Arthur?

[tstone]

Desirable neighborhoods in the Houston area will be 85ish miles (minimum) from Port Arthur. Deer Park & La Porte which are still sorta refinery towns. I don't know much about Mont Belvieu other than it's still fairly isolated & apart from the Houston metro. It's more like an exurb of Baytown.

I live in Clear Lake, just inside Houston's SE city limits and it's 90 miles each way. I'm running 1:15 in the morning and 1:20 in the evening commute times, setting the cruise at 80-85 as much of the way as I can. These days it's going to take closer to 1.5 hrs to get home due to new I-10 construction around the San Jacinto river that just popped up Monday. Add that to the Trinity River area construction. I'm only doing this drive because I'm young (30), the money talked, I've been desensitized by Houston traffic all my life, and the assignment is only about 2 years. And to be honest, I'd rather not live in the Golden Triangle.

And when it rains it pours in Port Arthur. This is essentially a Louisiana wetland (with mosquitos twice as large as the ones found in Houston).

[princessemichigan]

Forgot to ask if any of the cities you all recommend have Refineries or any other Chemical plants in them? I don't want to live in an area that has a lot of pollution or near a plant.

I am leaning more toward Mont Belvieu since the school ratings are higher. We've never lived in a town as small as MB thou. Does anyone know if there are any rental homes in Mont Belvieu? I only see homes for sale, I really like the ones for sale, but I don't want to purchase a home since I already have 2 home mortgages, plus my assignment is only 4 yrs but could change sooner. So purchasing a home is a definate NO.

Thanks!

[tstone]

All of SE Texas does not have the best quality air in general, mainly in the summers. Some claim Port Arthur is polluted like crazy, and others say it isn't. I will say some refineries get fined regularly by the state (TCEQ), and it constantly smells like a refinery (sulfur/rotten eggs) in Port Arthur. As does my car. Even into Nederland and Groves the stink drifts sometimes. On the Houston side, Pasadena, Deer Park, Baytown and Mont Belvieu also smell like that sometimes. It's the smell of money.

[jvc3]

Originally Posted by southeasttexas

Well, the Ice Rink is out, unless you drive to Houston. Many good places to live around PA, though. Nederland, Lumberton, Port Neches, Groves, Bridge City, Hamshire-Fannett, are all good. There are others, too. Other than the Ice Rink, these all pretty much fit.

Hi, i read your info on port arthur and i was hoping u can help me too. I need to move close to port arthur because of my husbands job, construction. He works around those cities, orange, bridge, etc. Im having trouble figuring out which schools are good. which neighborhoods are nice. we are looking to buy a home, so its a big decision. I dont want to be stuck in a bad neighborhood or bad school for my 3 kids 5-8. could u or any one help me out. thank u

[southeasttexas]

Originally Posted by southeasttexas

I am unfamilar with greatschools, but I went there since you mentioned it. Nederland had 7-8-9's, Lumberton had 6-7-9's, PN-G had 7-8-9's, BC 9-7-9's, H-F 7-8-9's. I don't know what criteria they use to make these rankings, but I would suggest they all have really good reputations in the area....... Bridge City is 9-7-9, and just 10 minuits from PA. Hope this helps, write back if I can provide more info.

Hello, JVC3, I would look back at this post. These schools are rated on a 1-10 scale, and I would readily send my kids to any of them. It would come down to what type of community you want to live in; rural or upscale? city or unincorporated, large or smaller, etc. PN-G or Nederland might be a great choice if you are working in or around Port Arthur. Hope this helps, write back if I can provide more info.

[JJBC]

I want to move to Bridge City, but I am afraid of the humidity and mosquitoes. Does anyone have info regarding these issues? Please help! J.J.

[texdav]

How rain effect the area has alot to do with if they have good drainage and pumpes. Same with storm surge from hurricanes. Most of port neches ;groves ;nederalnd and port arthur were protected by their hurricne levies in Ike. Bridge city;fannet and outlying areas were flooded bad with most homes flooded out. Some areas are being bought out.Even parts of orange were flooded. Rural areas can be easily flooded by heavy rains if there are not pumps to include many north of beaumont. If living rural be sure to check the flooding history and elevation level.Port arthur itself actually has very good pmoping system and it rarely has any flooding except in very low areas;once the pumps come on it quickly disappears.

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by JJBC

I want to move to Bridge City, but I am afraid of the humidity and mosquitoes. Does anyone have info regarding these issues? Please help! J.J.

Mosquitoes are bad! Humidity ... are you serious? This is tropical oceanside living ... prepare to be hot, and sweaty wet in summer unless inside!

While you can be afraid of humidity and mosquitoes you should be afraid of hurricane storm surge (see: Hurricane Ike).