How's Life in Seabrook, Texas?

[LostInHouston]

Originally Posted by baddoctor

If I were you I would not live in Seabrook, it is just south of a chain of chemical plants that always have emergency emissions and could care less about the people living around there until the Feds get involved.

Yes, you're certainly not going to find the same level of environmental friendliness in Texas as you will in PNW... however, the wind is usually either blowing up along the coast (from the S/SW) or in form the bay. It doesn't usually blow down from the North. Therefore, polution from the refineries is generally pushed away from Seabrook.

Originally Posted by baddoctor

The traffic can get incredibly bad and Houston drivers are some of the worst.

Every big city has bad drivers and traffic issues. Houston/Texas drivers are far better than what I've experienced on the east coast. As for traffic, not an issue in Seabrook itself. In other areas of Clear Lake there are issues, but the only time I see traffic is on 146 on a Friday/Saturday during the summer when everyone is trying to get down to the boardwalk/restaurants in Kemah. if you need to commute into Houston, the drive from Seabrook via 146/225 is 100 times better than from Friendswood along 45.

Originally Posted by baddoctor

The schools in that area are also sub-par for being in clear lake, and the school district as a whole is hurting for money thanks to state shortfalls. Clear lake just finished a massive new education village construction project, go figure.

Every public school was hurting thanks to the budget cuts... including Friendswood. However, the schools in Seabrook are not inferior, far from it. The Seabrook area is zoned to Seabrook Intermediate, which house the CCISD science magnet program... if you think that's an inferior school, you're crazy. Furthermore, many of the subdivisions in Seabrook were zoned to Clear Lake HS, consistently voted one of the best public high schools in Houston and Texas. Critique the Texas public school system all you want, but to say Seabrook and CCISD don't offer some of the best public schools in the state is simply untrue.

[baddoctor]

Originally Posted by LostInHouston

Furthermore, many of the subdivisions in Seabrook were zoned to Clear Lake HS, consistently voted one of the best public high schools in Houston and Texas. Critique the Texas public school system all you want, but to say Seabrook and CCISD don't offer some of the best public schools in the state is simply untrue.

CCISD may be decent elsewhere, but I was talking about that specific area including CLHS.

Those glory days may have been ages ago. The 15 or so students I have hired there recently from CLHS have been extremely subpar to their counterparts. They just memorize facts and give a nice impression, but as soon as you ask them to do something they are like a deer in headlights.

They also cheat on final exams in high amounts.
Hundreds suspected of cheating on final exam at Clear Lake High School | abc13.com
I bet they´d make great lawyers/polticians though.

The Friendswood kids I have had were roping pullies and calculating buoyancy/lift on my boats on day one.

All of those best in TX accolades don´t mean anything If they don´t produce.

Originally Posted by LostInHouston

Yes, you're certainly not going to find the same level of environmental friendliness in Texas as you will in PNW... however, the wind is usually either blowing up along the coast (from the S/SW) or in form the bay. It doesn't usually blow down from the North. Therefore, polution from the refineries is generally pushed away from Seabrook.

Environmental friendliness is relative. It would be nice to have water that didn´t smell like chemical sewage and a healthy catch that will get past a wildlife and fisheries inspection. No not in this state...that would be "liberal" or "socialism", forget common sense.

[tstone]

Baddoctor, taking 15 kids of 3,000 to generalize speaks more about an entitlement mentality. I know of some former CLHS students who are "producing," and none of them would ever work a blue collar job. You'll find them in engineering internships and studying abroad in Europe. In Friendswood or League City you'll find more people who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

[baddoctor]

Originally Posted by tstone

Baddoctor, taking 15 kids of 3,000 to generalize speaks more about an entitlement mentality. I know of some former CLHS students who are "producing," and none of them would ever work a blue collar job. You'll find them in engineering internships and studying abroad in Europe. In Friendswood or League City you'll find more people who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

I think you hit the nail on the head, and the thing that note is that all of the students I had were engineering or science majors, mostly ocean engineering with the same background you describe. I have seventeen 40ft fishing boats that generally provide a good marine experience, so while some consider shipwork blue collar, you do need a good head on your shoulder. The hands-on work effort was clearly different for some reason.

[LostInHouston]

Originally Posted by baddoctor

CCISD may be decent elsewhere, but I was talking about that specific area including CLHS.

Those glory days may have been ages ago. The 15 or so students I have hired there recently from CLHS have been extremely subpar to their counterparts. They just memorize facts and give a nice impression, but as soon as you ask them to do something they are like a deer in headlights.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but your experience with a handful of CLHS graduates over the years is certainly not representative of the entire district/Seabrook. Look, both of my parents are recently retired teachers (in Michigan)... I'm with you on the issues facing schools today, e.g. too much teaching to the test and rote memorization. But it's an issue with all public schools, and not specific to Seabrook/CCISD.

Originally Posted by baddoctor

They also cheat on final exams in high amounts.
Hundreds suspected of cheating on final exam at Clear Lake High School | abc13.com
I bet they´d make great lawyers/polticians though.

Kids have cheated on tests forever. You don't think there are kids at Friendswood that cheat? Because of technology, it's easier for cheating to spread. Hopefully CCISD learned their lesson that it's not a good idea to give the same test to 600+ kids... all you need to do is have 3+ differently ordered tests.

Originally Posted by baddoctor

Environmental friendliness is relative. It would be nice to have water that didn´t smell like chemical sewage and a healthy catch that will get past a wildlife and fisheries inspection. No not in this state...that would be "liberal" or "socialism", forget common sense.

Fair enough... I'm a liberal and feel the same way. Again though, the OP was looking for recommendations on cities in the Houston area, and what you're listing are statewide issues not specific to Seabrook.

[texas7]

Granted the chemical industry is all around but a recent thread showed the area quality data in the area was pretty darn good as the winds carried most of that stuff into Houston. Don't remember what the thread was titled but it is on here somewhere.

[Laurarchrdsn]

In our house hunting moving into the area from Denver we have not yet found a real "town" in the Clear Lake or Seabrook region... Disappointing since the real estate values are awesome compared to Colorado. You can get twice the house in size and finishes for half the price but you can't easily walk downtown locally and enjoy a village atmosphere. (Unless you drive down to the tourist trap of a Kemah)

[Oildog]

You are in a city of 5 million, not a mountain town. Go further south if you want smaller town amenities. Like Alvin.