moving near Beaumont (Port Arthur, Orange, Lumberton: real estate, zoned, work)

[bmcallister7]

A HUGE thing to note about Lumberton is the traffic. I'm not sure how it is where you're from but no other place around here has daily traffic as bad as Lumberton. It's absolutely awful around afternoon and morning work traffic on Hwy 69 near Lumberton Intermediate & High School & Wal-Mart. Lumberton is growing so fastly there's not enough room for everyone. Silsbee isn't anywhere I would want to live; I wouldn't go as far to call it trashy, but you do the math. Kountze is my hometown and I love it there, but not much suburbia located there. Good luck with the move. Academics aren't too hot in Kountze, but the basketball is!

[lesliegrace]

This article from The Orange Leader might interest parents with small kids who are considering relocating to the Golden Triangle area:
http://www.orangeleader.com/local/lo...101095603.html . It might make them choose to relocate in either the Little Cypress-Mauriceville or West Orange-Cove School Districts!

[emailvasally]

Bobtex, thanks! sorry I didnt reply sooner. I have been busy trying to sell the house and helping a good friend with her last days.

Anyway DH has been there several times on business. He said Lumberton is 20-30 min from the Port. He will also be there (permanetly) in a few weeks. My worry is he is cheap! LOL I am afraid he will push for the nicest house in a not so great area. He says the west end of Beaumont has good schools and lower crime rate but even if that is true. I'm worried about it moving to that area. I'm glad you seem so into Lumberton. the little info I can pull off the internet is pushing me in that direction. I am hoping to take a long weekend and visit at the begining of june. any specific areas I should stay away from with flooding and stuff?

thanks so much for everyones help. I have never really "moved" before so I now have to figure out all of the school and dr. stuff.

sally

[emailvasally]

Originally Posted by bmcallister7

A HUGE thing to note about Lumberton is the traffic. I'm not sure how it is where you're from but no other place around here has daily traffic as bad as Lumberton. It's absolutely awful around afternoon and morning work traffic on Hwy 69 near Lumberton Intermediate & High School & Wal-Mart. Lumberton is growing so fastly there's not enough room for everyone. Silsbee isn't anywhere I would want to live; I wouldn't go as far to call it trashy, but you do the math. Kountze is my hometown and I love it there, but not much suburbia located there. Good luck with the move. Academics aren't too hot in Kountze, but the basketball is!

I will have to have DH check out the traffic. we have a ton of traffic out here and that is one of the things I want to get away from. Oh! speaking of Basket ball. I have seen lots of things to do with sports but nothing with soccer. Is soccer not big out there? Thanks for the info on Silsbee. that was one of the many places DH has been looking into. I hate that he will be out there and I wont.

sally

[new2lumberton]

My family moved from Seattle to Lumberton last summer. My DH works in Port Arthur and we would not want to live there. Hurricanes, crime, polution, and bad schools. I love going into Beaumont to shop and eat. I have to say that I find Beaumont charming and I have lived in many nice areas around the country. After living in big cities like Houston and Seattle, it is nice to be in an area with a little over 100,000 people. The big cities can be daunting with the traffic and fast pace. Lumberton is only 7 miles away from Beaumont. My DH has about a 30 to 45 minute commute to work. Yes, there is traffic, but if you have lived in the chaos of a big city, its not that bad. Lumberton is growing and will grow alot more in the future. It is trying to develop past its rural past. It will take time, money, and good leadership to keep up with the growth. I can only advise about the middle school. It is a good school district. The middle school has some good teachers and activities for the kids. I have not heard anything much about soccer, but sports is big in this area. There are very nice homes being built in this area and you can get a very nice 4 bedroom house for $200,000 or more. I find that the real estate is a bargain in this area and home prices are slowly creeping upward. Good luck with your move and with your transition to a new environment. Just remember to keep a positive attitude and focus on what is good and not just the negatives. With children who have lived in bigger cities, it can take some time to adjust. From my sons experiance, its hard being the new kid. But, I can see him growing into a great young man here. Also, be prepared for the heat, might want to have a swimming pool to cool off in.

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by emailvasally

Bobtex, thanks! sorry I didnt reply sooner. I have been busy trying to sell the house and helping a good friend with her last days.

Anyway DH has been there several times on business. He said Lumberton is 20-30 min from the Port. He will also be there (permanetly) in a few weeks. My worry is he is cheap! LOL I am afraid he will push for the nicest house in a not so great area. He says the west end of Beaumont has good schools and lower crime rate but even if that is true. I'm worried about it moving to that area. I'm glad you seem so into Lumberton. the little info I can pull off the internet is pushing me in that direction. I am hoping to take a long weekend and visit at the begining of june. any specific areas I should stay away from with flooding and stuff?

thanks so much for everyones help. I have never really "moved" before so I now have to figure out all of the school and dr. stuff.

sally

DH is wrong about commute times ...... 15 minutes AT MOST from anywhere in Lumberton providing his commute is not between 0730 and 0830. Traffic gets a bit stop and go during this peak traffic time once you enter Beaumont city limits on US Hwy 69. Total distance to the port is less than 15 miles with all but the last 1/2 mile being interstate type highway.... so you do the math.

Also Lumberton traffic is aggravating but having driven Houston very much and also navigated nightmares in the northeast (Boston....yuk) the 5-10 minute commute thru Lumberton is not that bad at peak traffic times. I agree though that Lumberton has kinda outgrown its carrying capacity of roads though. A bypass is planned within the next 10 years so that should get rid of non-local traffic.

Soccer ........... There are high school soccer programs here and Lumberton is one of the better. Having said that you should know.....high school football is king in Texas ..... and is some folks god! (I've actuall been to a high school football game with 50,000 spectators). Baseball is also pretty big here. But soccer is on the rise!

I am pushing you toward Lumberton obviously but that is because I think you would be happier with the quality of the schools in Lumberton, which ultimately should be one of your biggest determining factors (it would be mine). I have put my 3 kids in private Episcopal school for that very reason ... even though it means sacrificing in other areas.

[nicoleba]

Original Post: The west end of beaumont doesnt look to bad. but I cant convince my husband of private school. Lumberton schools and crime seem good but I cant tell if there is anything nearby. I love country life but if I cant have it all (horses and chickens LOL) i'd rather live near things.

also we do a lot of "resort style" camping now. places we go have pools and lots of entertainment for the kids and weekend dances and stuff. does anyone know of good campgrounds around there like that? anything special around that area that I should plan to take the kids to? I'm not really into malls and stuff. more outdoor recreation and "family fun" type of stuff.
my husband keeps telling me that it is best if we move outside of beaumont but he doesnt think the kids and I will adjust easily. for whatever reason he is having a hard time articulating exactly why we wont.

thanks again
sally
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Sally,
Why not live between Houston & Beaumont, have the best of both worlds? I would suggest to you ANAHUAC, TX in Chambers County. It is off I-10, about 30 min to Beaumont and 40 min to Houston. You can have a ranch & live on the lake for a good price. Beaumont has hubby's job, festivals, grocery stores. Houston has even more than NYC in many ways, from fine dining to shopping, plus sports & concerts. Anahuac is a friendly place with serious police presence, birds/camping, boating, excellent schools, and basic needs (bank, post office, pharmacy) but you'll drive for most other things. The advantage is the safety & "resort style" life in exchange for the commute. Mary Dunn Realty has a good website with lots of photos of listings there. Good luck.
NIC

[emailvasally]

thanks so much everyone for your help. The kids and I are here in beaumont now. We decided on lumberton and found a house with the closing next month. It is not as bad as DH made it sound. I really like the community a lot and have talked to many people. I wish I would have thought about splitting the difference between beaumont and houston. that thought never crossed my mind. something to look for with camping and stuff though.

getting used to all of these ditches in the neighborhoods,trash everywhere and the dos and donts with slab houses seem to be the hardest thing to get used to. The people out here amaze me. everyone is so friendly! I dont think I will have as hard of a time adjusting as DH thinks I will.

[aggie2005]

Well, congratulations on the decision, emailvasally. If I were to move back to Southeast Texas I would move to Lumberton hands down. I have some relatives that have recently moved there and they absolutely love the quality of living, the people, and the convenience to Beaumont.

They moved into a subdivision called Boykin I believe. That was the popular subdivision at the time. I think there are a lot of newer subdivions there now.

I am looking forward to going and visiting my family soon and going canoeing down Village Creek at the state park in Lumberton.

[Dustin Elliott]

Beaumont is a great place to live. The crime is actually very low. You just have to know where to live. You want the West End. All the surrounding areas are very rural if you r looking for that. Also, the west-end elementry schools are great. The high schools not so much. So that depends on the age of your children. The surrounding areas, I would recommend would be Lumberton ot Nederland/Port Neches area. Good Luck