Klein ISD vs Woodlands (Conroe) ISD (Houston, Dallas: for sale, new home, transferring to)

[JWall]

My husband's work will be relocating us from the Dallas Area to the Houston area. As a mom and a former teacher, I am looking for OUTSTANDING schools in the area. We are moving from Southlake (Carroll ISD) where all the schools in the district are exemplary rated, so I would really like to find a comparable area north of Houston. Any thoughts on Klein vs Woodlands as far as best schools? Resale value and safety of these areas? (We are looking in the 500K-600K range) Also, just the general feel of these two areas?

Thanks for any insights!

[OutOfState]

If you are leaving Southlake, the only thing that will feel comparable is The Woodlands. From the Town Center and Market Street, it's really the only true comparison. I think The Woodlands, despite its size - as big as Manhattan - will feel more enclosed and safer. It may be an illusion to some degree, but it's still better.

I think the biggest difference you will notice is in the community amenities. You can probably get more home for your money in the Klein area but, with all due respect to the Klein defenders to follow, there is no comparison. I'll give you some basic demographic comparisons between Southlake, the Klein area (77379 zip code) and The Woodlands (zip code 77382, where all the new construction is).

Median Family Income
136,023 Southlake
135,881 The Woodlands
91,642 Klein

Percentage of adults with bachelors' degrees or better
59.2 Southlake
53.2 The Woodlands
24.7 Klein

[OutOfState]

Sorry, forgot to add, areas with highly educated parents always have the best schools. I think Klein schools are very good, especially for Houston, but The Woodlands is just a cut above.

You should also know that for the past five years, every new school opened in The Woodlands has exceed the forecasted student demand. Expecting less elementary school aged children in some of the more expensive neighborhoods, the developers have been surprised to see people flock to these new homes bringing young children with them, regardless of price.

[SkyeAnjel]

Alright then...You need to visit and see how you feel as they are both excellent areas. The Woodlands is more prestigous and if this is important to you, you may prefer it but Klein area is not any less desirable. We have great homes, alot to do and we are far less congested and my children go to these schools and have done well.. As with most schools, it depends on your involvement with your children. I think as a school teacher, you would be happy with eith place. This is a difficult question because some people will prefer one over the other but both are excellent areas.
I personally find The Woodlands too "Jones" for me.This is a personal preference but there are people who love it there.
I would suggest to visit both and make your own decision. If you make the wrong decision for you, you will still be happy as they are not that far apart.,\
I prefer KLein myself but would have no problem relocating to The Woodlands if I had to.

[Mr. Football]

The Woodlands Median Income is not $130K.

It's around $100k.

OutofState chose the one zip code around the most affluent section of the Woodlands. Carlton Woods. Where homes, btw, sit on the market for months before they're sold.

Please realize this is not an apples to apples comparison as the population of 77382 is a relatively tiny zip code in The Woodlands and miniscule in comparison to 77379 which is one of the largest and most affluent in the Houston Metro area. If you chose the Champion Forest area of 77379 you'd get similar figures to the one provided above with five times the residential population.

I like The Woodlands. I like Klein. I like Cypress. If you liked Southlake, you may also want to check out Bridgeland in Cypress, very nice. Great schools:

My Cypress Picture thread:
Flickr: Photos from longwood_cypress

[OutOfState]

Originally Posted by Mr. Football

The Woodlands Median Income is not $130K.

It's around $100k.

OutofState chose the one zip code around the most affluent section of the Woodlands. Carlton Woods. Where homes, btw, sit on the market for months before they're sold.

Please realize this is not an apples to apples comparison as the population of 77382 is a relatively tiny zip code in The Woodlands and miniscule in comparison to 77379 which is one of the largest and most affluent in the Houston Metro area. If you chose the Champion Forest area of 77379 you'd get similar figures to the one provided above with five times the residential population.

I like The Woodlands. I like Klein. I like Cypress. If you liked Southlake, you may also want to check out Bridgeland in Cypress, very nice. Great schools:

My Cypress Picture thread:
Flickr: Photos from longwood_cypress

Mr Football, with all due respect, 77382 is where all the growth in the Woodlands is, where the new homes are, and where someone would be looking if they were moving from Southlake and were looking for a lateral move in lifestyle. 77382, is not a 'section'. It's over 5000 families and close to 20,000 who live in the three villages (Sterling Ridge, Alden Bridge and yes, Carlton Woods). Of the three, Carlton Woods is the smallest, by far, with less than 10% of that population number.

Klein ISD is enormous, in geography and population, at three and a half times the area and more than double the students. That makes for a very different experience when sending your kids to school.

As for education quality, while TAKS scores are part of the conversation, I go by Newsweek's best High Schools in America list for real numbers on school quality. The Woodlands HS ranks #698, putting it in the top 3% of all high schools in the nation. None of Klein's five high schools made the list.

And, Mr Football, before you go and dismiss the list as irrelevant, you should know that Carroll HS in Southlake was ranked #357.

Anyway, sorry for the contentiousness of my post. I know Southlake, Klein, and The Woodlands. If you put together 50 people in a room who knew all three communities, no one without an agenda would suggest that Southlake has more in common with Klein than The Woodlands.

[OutOfState]

Sorry, one last point - I am not a realtor. I have nothing to gain or lose by your choice of The Woodlands or Klein. I have no agenda.

However, I am guilty of having strong opinions.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[mom22bless]

You also forgot to mention that 90% of the elementary schools in The Woodlands passed TAKS with 99%-100%. Most of them are exemplary also. I have lived in the 77379 zip in Klein, the 77065 zip in Cypress and am next to the 77382 zip in The Woodlands. The 77382 zip includes Sterling Ridge, Alden Bridge, Carlton Woods and Indian Springs. Homes can range from the 100's to millions but there are few mid 100's communities (Star Ridge, etc in SR).

Without a doubt The Woodlands is better for a family as a whole than Klein is. There are just too many "shady" areas of Klein now. A community has alot to do with the included ammenities of the area along with shopping etc. Champion Forest is nice and there are beautiful homes there, but it is like an island in the middle of an ocean.

[Sadiebelle]

I am really confused. We are possibly transferring to the Houston area within a few months. People keep talking about The Woodlands being more "upscale" and "better" than Klein or Katy or Spring, etc. Does this mean there is a keeping up with the Joneses factor going on there? We definitely want to be in a safe, family-oriented neighborhood with excellent schools and other professional people but don't do the "Jones" thing. My husband will be working out of our home and I stay home with our children so we can live wherever we like. Are there neighborhoods or suburbs where professional families live that have good schools and are safe but are not too "sophisticated"? Houston housing prices seem very reasonable across the board so it's hard for me to gauge what type of atmosphere I'm looking at. Any help would be appreciated!! Thank you!!

[Mr. Football]

The Woodlands is a nice community. Is it West U? Hardly. Is it Memorial? Not a chance. It's a homogenous suburban community filled with mostly cookie cutter, cheaply built homes. The newer sections built since the mid 1990's are nicer. They've built some extraordinarily nice homes in Carlton Woods, but if you're looking for resale, these sit on the market forever. Woodlands residents are quite proud of the community that The Woodlands Operating Company has created for them. While it is pretty, it's pretty much the same all over. If you like homogeneity and people who live in $200k homes who think they're loaded...The Woodlands is your place.

Believe it or not, there are trails, trees, lakes and exemplary schools outside of The Woodlands.

Amazingly, growth in the Klein area, Spring, Champions and Cypress have vastly outpaced growth in The Woodlands. They have since day 1. Why is that? By the way the Woodlanders talk, you'd think its the only place to live and that there'd be a waiting list to get in. I guess those thousands of people living in half million dollar homes in the Klein/Cypress area didn't get the message....Somebody tell those thousands of new $300k+ homeowners off Fry Rd. in Cypress to hightail it to the Woodlands, don't they know it's the only place to be! My area of Cypress has a higher avg HH income than The Woodlands and a larger population. What were we thinking??? Somebody get over to Champions and tell them to stop building those million dollar homes, don't they know there are a bunch of homes for sale in Carlton Woods?