Best Family Suburb near Port Arthur? (Houston, Beaumont: renting, home, safe area)

[princessemichigan]

I will be relocating to TX for a job in Port Arthur for a 4 year assignment. I have heard that Port Arthur is not an ideal place to live. I have 5 children, all attending school, and finding an A+ school district and a safe area is my #1 concern. I cannot afford private schooling since I have so many kids, lol, the district they attend now is A1 and I'm looking for the same in TX. My DH is a SAHD for now. I am planning on Renting a home for up to $1800. I would like an area that has nice parks, churches, family orienated, and recreational things for the kids like a nice Dance Studio, Karate, Ice Rink, Music school, clubs, etc. Honestly, I am so picky that I would commute a long distance if I have to. Please tell me about some cities I should start to investigate.


Thanks in Advance!

[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.

[princessemichigan]

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.

Thanks! Just checked the school ratings and out of all these cities, only a couple schools scored 9 out of 10 on greatschools. I can't send 1 child to a 9 school, and the other to a 3 rated school. Do all the schools in TX break the grades up like 1-2 in one school 3-4 in another and so on? Here in Michigan its K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Ideally, I would love to find a school district where all my children are in 10 rated schools, will accept 9 ratings too. Will I be able to find this around Port Arthur?

[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. I didn't see a 3 rated school. In general, TX schools are K-4 are Elementary, 5-6 Intermeadite, 7-8 Junior High, and 9-12 HS.
If you really want to drive, Barbers Hill in Mont Belvieu is rated 8-9-10, excellent school about 70 miles from PA. Personally, as good as BH is, I would just go with one of the local schools listed above, instead of making that long drive. Bridge City is 9-7-9, and just 10 minuits from PA. Hope this helps, write back if I can provide more info.

[princessemichigan]

OH, I also forgot to include great Shopping and Dining near by. I perfer to grocery shop at higher quality markets that have a large selection of organic foods.


southeasttexas- Thanks for your help regarding schools. I drive 70 miles to work now, I would like to cut my drive time, but also willing to drive for an excellent school district. The district we live in now has a majority of 10 rated schools, but our popluation is around 70,000, so we have a lot more schools here than the cities near Port Arthur. I will check the schools again.

[southeasttexas]

Best shopping will be in "west end" of Beaumont, on Dowlen Rd. Dining? This area is one of the best in the nation! The Cajun & seafood restraunts are among the best anywhere. Don't let the possible rustic appearance of the buildings mislead you, our restraunts in this corner of Texas are great! Welcome to the area.

[BobTex]

I wouldn't rate anything as "great" shopping ... just the standard package stores with an OK mall in Beaumont. I agree with SETx on her info. Also there is some good food but just not enough unique venues.(we have a lot of the standard chains).

My recommendation would be try to situate myself west of Beaumont in Hampshire/Fannet areas. Always live at least 25 feet above sea level (many don't). Being west of Beaumont then you're an hour from Houston and any venue you could ask for in dining and shopping. Then you can fill in the gaps nearby (10 minutes) in Beaumont when a longer drive isn't in the works. BTW Winnie isn't a bad choice as Southeast has opened my eyes to its elevation. I haven't looked at the schools though.

[southeasttexas]

Elevation wise, Winnie is among the best places in SETX to be. It higher than almost everything in Jefferson county to the East. For years, the school district has been great, but in the last 5-10, immigrants have invaded, and the District struggles with non-English speaking students, and, no surprise, declining Taks scores due to this influx. I sympathise with the schools (my kids go there), but I can't highly recommend them given the current situation.

[princessemichigan]

Do any of these areas you guys suggested have problems with flooding? I also heard PA area gets more rain, is this true? I would like to stay as close inland as possible. Also, are there any cities closer to Houston you can recommend? I'm trying to gather my list and look up maps before my trip down to check things out. I tried to get an assignment in Houston but that didn't work out. I really had my heart set on Katy, Sugar Land, or the Woodlands. So I'm back to the drawing board.

[southeasttexas]

Given everything you said, one clear choice emerges: Barbers Hill schools, Mont Belvieu. Quite possibly the best school in the entire region. Just outside of Baytown, on I-10 between PA and Houston. 30 minuits to Houston, 60-70 minuits to PA. Very high elevation (It's called "the hill").

PA gets torrential rains, 60-70 inches per year. 3-5 inches in a day is not rare.