Moving to Houston area. So confused!! (The Woodlands, Conroe: hotel, houses, neighborhood) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Izzy20 · 01-29-2011, 02:23 PM

I have posted a few times regarding our relocation, and the more I learn the more questions I have. We have narrowed it down to Kingwood or Spring, leaning towards Kingwood. What is The Woodlands? Is it part of Spring? An extension of Spring? Is it its own town? How are the schools in The Woodlands? Is Kingwood still a better option? I've looked at all the school websites, as far as high schools go but its just not the same as getting the "local" opinion. Someone please help!

lhafer · 01-29-2011, 02:46 PM

All depends on where you are going to working.

The Woodlands is it's own "town" that has been annexed by Houston. It's north of Spring. The Woodlands is very nice, and a great place to raise a family.

That said, if you are working south (i.e. downtown, or anywhere other than north of the beltway), then I would suggest Kingwood, strictly for commute times. Kingwood is an awesome place to raise a family. It has trees just like The Woodlands. They both have the feel of a small town within a big city.

Izzy20 · 01-29-2011, 02:58 PM

My husband is actually already there living out of a hotel. Kids and I are in SC and will be joining him after the school year ends. He works by the airport. I want to say its Greens Rd.? This coming year I will have 3 kids and 3 different schools. Elementary, middle and highschool. I want to choose a high school and start my search around it. School websites all say their schools are wonderful. Trying to decide among Kingwood, Kingwood Park, Oak Ridge HS, College Pk. There are a few others but I can't keep them straight; I've seen so many.

chris_ut · 01-29-2011, 03:08 PM

The Woodlands is north of Spring. What you need to realize is that these places are not officially incorporated cities just general areas. Everything north of Houston, west of the San Jacinto river and east of Champions is referred to as Spring. The north part of Spring was turned into a master planned community called The Woodlands. Kingwood is also not a city but a master planned community that is mostly in Houston city limits and partly in Porter. Porter is not a town but what you refer to the unincorporated area north of Houston but east of the San Jac River and west of Lake Houston. I recommend Kingwood over Spring. TW is an option but it depends on where you are driving for work as it can add 15 to 30 minutes to a commute versus Spring or KW depending on where you are going.

Woodlands was not annexed by Houston, lhafer is thinking of Kingwood. Kingwood Park is a nice smaller school if you like that vibe and Kingwood High is larger with all that entails.

carryyourbooks · 01-29-2011, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhafer

All depends on where you are going to working.

The Woodlands is it's own "town" that has been annexed by Houston. It's north of Spring. The Woodlands is very nice, and a great place to raise a family.

That said, if you are working south (i.e. downtown, or anywhere other than north of the beltway), then I would suggest Kingwood, strictly for commute times. Kingwood is an awesome place to raise a family. It has trees just like The Woodlands. They both have the feel of a small town within a big city.

i am a service electician, therefore i drive to addresses throughout the houston metro area. every time i go to "the woodlands", it comes up with a spring address. look at their zip codes. they have the same zip code as spring. all addrsses in houston are "770--". if your zip code is 77001, for example, you are in houston. if the woodlands were a part of houston, the zip code would be 770--.

as far as the question asked by the OP, kingwood is MUCH better place to live than the woodlands. for starters, the traffic on i-45 sucks almost 16 hours a day during the week. the traffic on us 59 is much better imo.

you have to remember that we don't all look at the same factors when consdering where to live. each of us have different priorties. yours may be much different from mine.

Lost_In_Translation · 01-29-2011, 05:23 PM

OK, I'm pretty sure that when Houston tried to Annex The Woodlands, Montgomery County (which the Woodlands is mostly in) said "Heck no!" and that the Woodlands is not in any way part of Houston.

Spring/Klein is the unincorporated part of North Houston between the Hardy and 249 and 1960 and 2920 (the northwest portion becomes Tomball at some point though) Rayford/Sawdust although I think still part of Harris county has never been referred to as "Spring/Klein" from what I understand.

Kingwood (AKA "The occupied territories of Kingwood") is part of Houston proper and subject to the city of Houston utilities, police and fire, etc.

I believe that covers it.

I have no suggestions one where to live as they all have their pros and cons and seem equally decent to raise a family in.

Izzy20 · 01-29-2011, 05:27 PM

Thanks for the info guys. As far as my priorities, my main priority is schools. I want to make sure that my kids go to a good school with good academic, sports and arts programs. High school, middle, and elementary; I'm going to have 1 kid in each level. When we lived in Chicago my husband drove for over an hour to work each way. He doesn't want to drive more than 20-30 minutes. I'd love to hear from any teachers or anyone who has experience with the school systems that can give me some comparisons.

cheryjohns · 01-29-2011, 06:42 PM

Both would work. They have good schools and are nice areas. Kingwood might be 10 minutes closer, if he works where I think he does. I would suggest looking at houses in your price range in both. When you see the house and the neighborhood, you will know. Confusion will then be gone!

testmo · 01-29-2011, 08:01 PM

as a kingwood hs graduate who was in sports and had friends in the woodlands - both of the school systems are exactly the same with exactly the same types of students. i dont think you will find many differences. there are some parts of spring (i dont know if that includes the woodlands) that are zoned to Spring HS which is not the best

comparing the woodlands to kingwood is like comparing an apple to an apple imo. it comes down to what houses you like and where it is and your commute time

citizen_jane · 01-29-2011, 08:58 PM

Quote:

there are some parts of spring (i dont know if that includes the woodlands) that are zoned to Spring HS which is not the best

The Woodlands is in Conroe ISD (well most of it) which is not part of Spring ISD. Spring HS and Westfield HS are in Spring ISD. College Park HS, Oak Ridge HS and The Woodlands HS are all in Conroe ISD. The newest section of The Woodlands, Creekside, is zoned to Tomball HS in Tomball ISD.

The high schools in The Woodlands consistently get high ratings from Texas Education Agency. What you need to know is that these schools are very very large and very competitive. My kids attend Tomball HS but have friends at all 3 Conroe ISD high schools.

But to answer your question about The Woodlands, it's a large master planned community north of Spring, east of Tomball, south of Conroe. I would not recommend Spring ISD. I don't have any experience with Kingwood. Do not confuse the Spring ISD part of Spring with the Klein ISD part of Spring. Klein ISD is also a good district if you avoid Klein Forest HS.