Houston visit--which communities should we tour? (Spring, Katy: apartment complexes, house, neighborhoods)

[The Gem]

So we will be in Houston at the end of next week to do some initial checking out of various communities in the Katy area. So far we have Cinco Ranch, Grand Lakes, and Seven Meadows on our list.

Where else should we check out and why???? Any more ideas would be GREAT!!!

(We're relocating from Chicago, husband will work in energy corridor, home budget is not totally known yet, but probably around 300-425 or so.)

[Mom2Feebs]

Try some more of the upscale areas closer to town and to the Energy Corridor. Do a search on HAR.com for the zip code 77079. It encompasses the following well-to-do neighborhoods of Memorial:

(Listing from Hwy 6 to BW 8)

Fleetwood
Barker's Landing
Marywood
Thornwood
Westchester
Nottingham Forest
Memorial Drive Acres
Yorkshire
Nottingham
Wilchester West
Wilchester
Memorial Trails
Memorial Way
Gaywood
Memorial Glen
Memorial Valley
Rustling Oaks
Rustling Pines
Autumn Oaks
Memorial Plaza
Memorial Bend (great mods here)

They are all densely wooded older homes, most of which are beautifully and meticulously maintained on larger lots. Some are ripe for a re-do and priced as such. Others have already been done, and well at that.

Good luck on your house hunt. Let us know if you have any more questions!

[The Gem]

Thanks for that amazing list.
What are the schools like in these areas you've listed?

[Mom2Feebs]

EXCELLENT! The first two are actually zoned to Katy ISD, but the rest are all Spring Branch ISD. Most of the neighborhoods above are zoned to exemplary or recognized elementary schools, except Thornwood Elementary (funny thing, the neighborhood of Thornwood isn't zoned there...go figure) but unfortunately they are near about 5 apartment complexes, so just know that. The best elementary schools in that zip IMHO are Rummel Creek, Wilchester, Nottingham, and Meadow Wood. The best middle schools are Memorial and Spring Forest. The high school is Stratford and though it received an acceptable rating, it is an excellent school in the eyes of most parents. Unfortunately, and again, the large apartment complexes are zoned to Stratford and while it makes for a more diverse campus, it is the biggest reason for the lower rating. We know people, though, who wouldn't have their kids anywhere else, and insist it is the best school in the area for academics and extracurriculars. Shoot, even prestigious Memorial High School got the same rating this year for the same reasons. Just keep that in mind. I'd pay a lot more attention to the ratings for lower schools than high, but that's just from a developmental standpoint.

BTW, I live right in the heart of the area and have for 7 years. It's so close to everything, including Town & Country Village, Memorial City Mall, and the new City Centre that is being built. I-10 is scheduled for completion in this section by next year and we're really looking forward to the benefits from that.

[tstone]

Schools are excellent there. But there was one atypical incident:

Katy Seven Lakes High School Student Shoots Himself On Campus - FortBendNow (broken link)

(Poor little rich white kids.)

[Texas Mack]

Originally Posted by The Gem

So we will be in Houston at the end of next week to do some initial checking out of various communities in the Katy area. So far we have Cinco Ranch, Grand Lakes, and Seven Meadows on our list.

Where else should we check out and why???? Any more ideas would be GREAT!!!

(We're relocating from Chicago, husband will work in energy corridor, home budget is not totally known yet, but probably around 300-425 or so.)

Are you open to living inside the city limits, because if so I think Mom2Feebs' list is actually a very good one to consider. If not, then you're probably on the right track with Grand Lakes or Cinco Ranch in the Katyland area, although you're still looking at about 25-30 minutes worth of a commute, and construction on the Katy Freeway (I-10) won't be done for another year and a half.

[The Gem]

Yes, we're open to living in the city limits, as long as we can send our kids to good public schools. The list from Mom2feebs is very extensive, which of those places should we check out next week? I was thinking: Fleetwood, Barker's Landing, Nottingham Forrest, and Wilchester b/c they seem to be mentioned a lot. Then we'll also look at Cinco Ranch, Seven Meadows, and perhaps Grand Lakes, to compare. We'll only be there two days and this is an initial search of areas, not really homes yet.

[Texas Mack]

Sounds like a good plan of attack.

In particular, looking at Cinco Ranch, Seven Meadows and Grand Lakes at the same time is advisable, since they are in direct proximity of each other. All you do is take Fry Road south from I-10 and you'll run through all three eventually.

[Premont]

Memorial remains nice east of Beltway 8 and in fact gets more expensive. As you go east, somewhere it goes from Stratford High School to Memorial. Memorial is probably the wealthiest public high school in the area. There's nice neighborhoods around Gessner and Memorial you might also want to check out. Just keep driving east as far as you want to keep looking.