Why in the world shoud I not move to the Woodlands? (Houston: houses, transfer)

[apm193]

Originally Posted by testmo

Woodlands is not hilly - houston is not hilly. DFW is 100x more diverse terrain than the houston area, but Woodlands does have a lot of trees.

there is no way on the planet the commute from woodlands into the city is 30 minutes. you could be driving at a random time of day (outside of our 4-5 hours of rush hour) and luckily not be stuck behind some freak accident and make it from the outside of the woodlands to the city in 30 minutes. door to door on an average day? i doubt it. no one is trying to be snarky about this. it is just a fact. people who live here are well aware the drive from woodlands to the city is probably the worst in the area. fair warning

downtown houston is the epicenter of stuff going on - meaning within the 3-4 miles radius of the heart of downtown is where the most active stuff is (new alamo drafthouse, sundance, high end restaurants, concentration of high end and laid back bars, galleria, rice village, upper kirby). im talking about the museum district, downtown and montrose. it is getting to the point in time where all of this should simply be referred to as "downtown."

you mentioned the west side. west side inside the beltway or close to it is also a nice area akin to the woodlands, but for a nice place a whole heck of a lot more money. city center - the inner suburbs response to a downtown district - is a pretty active place for a slightly older crowd (30 somethings - 50s, people with kids). good public and private schools

if your comment about Atlanta being expensive for the city I don't know if houston will be very different. i dont think you mentioned a budget at all except that is wasn't an issue. for close to the city living, or west side I would suggest an entry level of $500,000. you could get a comparable home in the Woodlands for significantly less.

The OP already mentioned that commute was not a factor. Driving from the woodlands to downtown would be about 30 min during the weekend.

There is a lot of cool things in the loop but most of these things are available elsewhere. There are great bars and restaurant everywhere in the city. There's already an Alamo in Katy, another being built at Vintage Park off of 249, and a Studio Grill at Town and Country. When i lived in Katy I would usually only drive "downtown" (everywhere in the loop) about once a month.

If you don't mind spending the extra money, and you don't mind living in a smaller house, then move to the west end.

[HoustonRonnie]

The Woodlands has cooties. Move to Pearland, we are cootieless and it's a shorter drive.

Ronnie

[westhou]

Originally Posted by jek74

Pelode, be careful. There is a rather large anti-Woodlands contingent on this board. I don't think it's personal by any means, I think a lot of people hate what they "think" the Woodlands represents. The Woodlands has many advantages compared to other burbs. I'm comparing burbs to burbs here, not burbs to city.

One, the Woodlands is pretty close to IAH. Not close, but pretty close especially compared to the west side, north west side and south side.

Two, you are right, Woodlands is very wooded. I honestly think it looks like a forest, others here claim it's fake. To each their own.

Three, the Cynthia Woods Pavilion is the 2nd most popular outdoor amphitheater in the country. You have great concerts there, many of which are free.

Four, probably one of the only burbs to have a theater playing art house films if you are into along with a large multi-plex.

Five, one of the better downtown town centers. Again, people like to make fun of it, but it's very dense, completely walkable and a lot of fun.

Six, a lot of corporations are based there. This adds to a nice mix of people and draws in a lot of retail development.

Seven, parks and trails. I mean a ridiculous amount of parks and trails. I mean it's almost over done. There are over 70 miles of wooded trails to hike, bike and walk and I don't even know how many parks. Honestly, the parks and sports facilities here are as good as most division one colleges.

If I was a kid, I would have a blast growing up here between the parks, sports fields, trails, lakes and town center area.

As a bonus you have some of the best hospitals in the state right in the Woodlands.

The only reasons not to live in the Woodlands is commuting to downtown. Although they do have park and rides which zip you downtown pretty fast going on the HOV lanes. Also if you carpool, you can get downtown pretty fast as well as you can ride in the HOV lanes too.

If the OP really wanted some useful information and not anti Woodlands feedback than he probably should have worded his thread title a little better. It's pretty much begging for comments on what you don't like about The Woodlands.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

LOL-- that USA Today study is backward.

Whether you agree with the methodology or not, at least I am citing sources (and I cited more than just the USA Today study) rather than just rehashing exaggerated bash-Houston talking points.

[David Dollar]

Originally Posted by jek74

Pelode, be careful. There is a rather large anti-Woodlands contingent on this board. I don't think it's personal by any means, I think a lot of people hate what they "think" the Woodlands represents. The Woodlands has many advantages compared to other burbs. I'm comparing burbs to burbs here, not burbs to city.

One, the Woodlands is pretty close to IAH. Not close, but pretty close especially compared to the west side, north west side and south side.

Two, you are right, Woodlands is very wooded. I honestly think it looks like a forest, others here claim it's fake. To each their own.

Three, the Cynthia Woods Pavilion is the 2nd most popular outdoor amphitheater in the country. You have great concerts there, many of which are free.

Four, probably one of the only burbs to have a theater playing art house films if you are into along with a large multi-plex.

Five, one of the better downtown town centers. Again, people like to make fun of it, but it's very dense, completely walkable and a lot of fun.

Six, a lot of corporations are based there. This adds to a nice mix of people and draws in a lot of retail development.

Seven, parks and trails. I mean a ridiculous amount of parks and trails. I mean it's almost over done. There are over 70 miles of wooded trails to hike, bike and walk and I don't even know how many parks. Honestly, the parks and sports facilities here are as good as most division one colleges.

If I was a kid, I would have a blast growing up here between the parks, sports fields, trails, lakes and town center area.

As a bonus you have some of the best hospitals in the state right in the Woodlands.

The only reasons not to live in the Woodlands is commuting to downtown. Although they do have park and rides which zip you downtown pretty fast going on the HOV lanes. Also if you carpool, you can get downtown pretty fast as well as you can ride in the HOV lanes too.

I am not disputing anything you said about The Woodlands. However, there are several reasons (not counting distance) I wouldn't want to live there.

1. Too homogeneous.
2. Too pretentious.
3. Lack of independent coffee shops and restaurants.
4. Price.
5. Sterile and lacks personality.
6. No taco trucks.

[texas7]

The Woodlands is living in Houston but without the Houston.

[annie_himself]

Its boring, pretentious, too far, no personality, etc. Suburbs suck.

[CAHomeschoolMom]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

Its boring, pretentious, too far, no personality, etc. Suburbs suck.

Pretentious? Go to either coast to get a big taste of what real pretension is. The Woodlands is not pretentious! Every time I go out somewhere, I see people in the Woodlands who look like Honey Boo Boo relatives...you just don't see that in the OC. And, really, I'm not trying to be mean, but just trying to paint a picture of my perceptions coming from another ( non-southern) State. The Woodlands is just a nice suburb....but not without it's own seediness in spots.

[CAHomeschoolMom]

I also wanted to add that coming from a different culture on the west coast, I find the Woodlands area refreshingly friendly and slower paced. I don't get the dislike of the Woodlands on this board. In spite of some "Honey Boo Boo types" ( or, maybe even because of them ) . I find this a wonderful place to live and raise a family.

[crone]

Most of us have our preferences.

Some, just like my dil, would slit their wrist if they had to go outside the loop.

If The Woodlands feels like home to you, go for it.

The only thing to keep in the back of your head is growth. That Exxon campus will bring lots more people to enjoy the very same things that drew you there.