Move to Galveston/Houston from San Diego

[DejaBlue]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

I'm not being snippy, just saying the op shouldn't be worried about stuff like that. And crunchy mamas does sound like a porn flick.

That's probably because you're a guy.

Crunchy mamas to me sounds late 1960s, barefoot, super granola, super hippie, daisy halos, tunics, peace signs mamas. Honest.

Originally Posted by jdias08

It's actually quite the opposite. Attachment Parenting ensures that the child have a strong attachment at birth and in the younger years so as they get older, they will be more independent and feel strong and secure in the world when they do go out on their own and won't rely on mommy and daddy when they become adults. It is quite demanding when they are younger (my daughter is 2.5) but there are many AP moms that work. We are a military family so we move quite a bit so my job is staying at home for now.

I did Wiki (it's nice to have a quick reference) and I saw this paragraph:

[These values are interpreted in a variety of ways. Many attachment parents also choose to live a natural family living (NFL) lifestyle, such as natural childbirth, home birth, stay-at-home parenting, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, babywearing, homeschooling, unschooling, the anti-circumcision movement, natural health, cooperative movements, naturism and support of organic and local foods.]

So my summary take was "whoa, super not letting go" and stay at home mom from 0-18 and usually after 18 years at home most rarely go back to work unless they REALLY have to ie, husband lost his job 08-11 and was overqualified, etc so mom had to go to work.

I've not know one child who benefits from co-sleeping. These rugrats are the most dependent and bratty ones and they eventually break out of it once elementary school starts but those 0-5 years are a biotch.

[worldlyman]

Originally Posted by MIBS98

Houston has most of the things you are asking for but they will be much more prevalent if you are actually in central Houston than if you are down south somewhere.

For example: organic foods - Whole Foods Market is from Texas (Austin) and stores are throughout the Houston area. From where I live, there are two within a short drive. HEB's Central Market is a great organic place as well. In addition to that, numerous smaller organic markets. Yoga - all over the place. Loads of parks within Houston. There is a farmers market near us in Rice University.

In terms of outdoorsy stuff, that really depends on your temperature tolerance. Late spring to early Autumn is very hot and humid. We do not let that stop us too much, though. We spend time in parks, at the zoo, making little regional road trips (plenty of places to go on that front.

In terms of conservatism, yes it is more conservative than southern California is likely to be but less conservative than the rest of Texas. The area went for Obama in the last election. They mayor of Houston is one of the first openly gay mayors of a major US city. So generally less conservative than you'd think. That said, step out to suburbs and I suspect the conservatism ratchets up a bit.

Problem is none of this really helps you as it would be a very long drive for your husband if you lived in or near Houston.

To be honest, San Diego and Orange County are in chunks more conservative than Houston...based on my experiences of living in and meandering around SoCal.

Houston is more open-minded and live and let live than many areas of SoCal. For example, they don't do police checkpoints here like the San Diego PD, National City PD, Escondido PD and such. Yeah, Houston PD will look at reg stickers...but that's nothing compared to the Soviet-style checkpoints of SoCal.

There's greater expression of multi-ethnic culture/character here in Houston than San Diego and other parts of SoCal. I was astonished how repressed Latino culture is in San Diego. No wonder there are no Salvadoran pupuserias in San Diego! They'd rather come to Houston or L.A.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by David Dollar

I don't know if I would call Houston a pretty conservative town. Texas yes, but I think we have some fairly open-minded free thinkers here.

This is a positive post.

The Houston that I know and grew up in is NOT a conservative town! That is one of my very favorite things about Houston!

I live in the seriously OVER REGULATED Bay Area and I know for sure Houston is much more liberal in most things. The only exception that I can think of is allowing people to easily get a Medical Marijuana License and walk into a pot dispensary to buy all the THC things you can imagine.

You can find very good organic food in Houston.

Good Luck with the move! It will for sure be like moving to a different country...but at least you speak the same language and Texans are super-duper genuinely friendly!

[kaymurr]

Originally Posted by jdias08

I'm concerned with this mostly because of the mom groups that I would like to be involved in and the schools I choose for my daughter. I practice Attachment Parenting with my daughter, which is more popular with the natural and "crunchy" mamas...I looked at meetup.com for groups or schools that share these interests and they were all located in the Northwest part of Houston - Cypress and Humble to be specific and the school I looked at was in Houston Heights and the other school was in the Woodlands.

My husband is military, not me. So yes, he is conservative - I'm liberal...However, I stay at home with my daughter while he is deployed so I'd like to surround myself and my daughter with like-minded moms and tots.

Then a lot of people will tell you that you have to live in the Heights, but I don't necessarily agree. We live in the 'burbs, I have to have a midwife and stuff but the good thing about Texas is "conservative" also means not telling people how to birth, parent, etc. Like homeschooling is a snap. We don't vax and getting an affadavit even for public school is no big. If you are talking about that waldorf school in the Woodlands, I have no personal knowledge of it, but I've read very polarized reviews. We live in Katy and there is a new birth center here and plenty of cloth-diapering mamas, and getting farm-fresh milk and so forth is easy. We are also getting our own Whole Foods next year.
Good luck!
P.S., You may be interested in a charter school here--Aristoi Classical. When I asked if they would give us a hard time over the affadavit they said about 25% of the students have them. There is a lot of crossover between homeschool/school there and it is small.

[MikeyAusmus]

Originally Posted by jdias08

Hi all,

We're a Coast Guard family of 3 moving to the Galveston/Houston area because my husband will be stationed in Galveston. We have a 2.5 year old daughter and a 10 year old dog. We'll be moving mid June of this year.

We currently live in southern California and am going to miss the lifestyle here. I'm worried about living in the Houston area because my interests include organic foods, farmers markets, yoga, and outdoorsy stuff, like hiking and camping and just being outside in general. I know Houston is a pretty conservative town and it is hot there. My husband is pretty conservative in his political views but enjoys the same interests I do.

So, trying to figure out where the best places to live that my husband wouldn't have to drive more than 45 minutes to work. I would like family friendly, of course, and close access to nearby organic markets and yoga studios if possible. And, a pretty area with parks would be nice. School districts don't matter as much because we'll most likely put my daughter in private school.
any suggestions??

Thank you so much for any info you can give me!!

First and foremost... Welcome to Houston!!!

You should try League City and Clear Lake. Both locations are nice and not far from Galveston which has the beach and fun family oriented places. Also, those locations aren't that far from Houston either. Both locations are very close to the Kemah Boardwalk which has an excellent atmosphere, tons of dining, entertainment and excellent bayside scenery.

Advanced warning: our weather isn't as fantastic as San Diego, but I don't think any city in the US has weather as fantastic as San Diego!

The people in Texas are amazing and I am sure you and your family will just love it here!!

[christyfromtexas]

You might consider Friendswood (good schools in FISD), we have only one vegan restaurant though. Lots of kids and stay at home moms. About 30 min to Galveston any time of day. Clear Lake, Seabrook, Kemah are nice too.