Moving to Houston area from Southern California (Sugar Land, The Woodlands: best suburbs, house)

[SoCalTracy]

Hello...I am relocating my family to the Houston area and would like some suggestions on a good Houston suburb to raise a young family. I would like an exceptional school district, a reasonable commute to downtown (flexible commute schedule 2x week), house price range $450k, an area that is fun for kids but decent night life for young parents.

I was looking at Pearland and Katy. I've never been to Houston but need to make a trip in the next 2 weeks and I'd like to pick a few areas to visit before we make the big move.

Any suggestions would be so appreciated.

Thank you!

[ChazG]

Memorial city. While technically it's in Houston it has a good school district, reasonable commute, fun for kids, city centre's night life is..decent. Katy is kinda far from DT and I-10 can get ugly during rush hr.

Good luck!

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by SoCalTracy

Hello...I am relocating my family to the Houston area and would like some suggestions on a good Houston suburb to raise a young family. I would like an exceptional school district, a reasonable commute to downtown (flexible commute schedule 2x week), house price range $450k, an area that is fun for kids but decent night life for young parents.

I was looking at Pearland and Katy. I've never been to Houston but need to make a trip in the next 2 weeks and I'd like to pick a few areas to visit before we make the big move.

Any suggestions would be so appreciated.

Thank you!

The two best suburbs are probably Sugar Land and the Woodlands. But to me the Woodlands is too far out, so I would go with Sugar Land.

[sxrckr]

For your wants, I would look at SugarLand over either of those.

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

For your wants, I would look at SugarLand over either of those.

The Woodlands actually has a decent nightlife for young adults with a family. There are a number of bars up there that draw a lot of people in the same demographic. Additionally, traveling to downtown you have two routes, I-45 and Hardy Toll Road.

The Woodlands has good schools and the number of pocket parks, green trails, fishing ponds, etc is pretty amazing.

IMHO, Sugarland and The Woodlands are pretty much equal. It would be good to visit both over a weekend to experience the nightlife, restaurants and kids stuff. Then jump onto Google maps and get directions (that will provide drive times with traffic) to and from where you'd be working during rush hours to give you an idea of the commute times.

Edit: BTW, if you hear Kingwood, it's a good MPC for families; however, it won't provide the "young" atmosphere that you are looking for.

Oh, and one more cool thing about The Woodlands, it has Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion, if you like going to concerts.

[Michelle Morris]

Sugar Land, Missouri City, Pearland, Katy, Woodlands... you have a lot of options!!

[rhn]

Originally Posted by SoCalTracy

Hello...I am relocating my family to the Houston area and would like some suggestions on a good Houston suburb to raise a young family. I would like an exceptional school district, a reasonable commute to downtown (flexible commute schedule 2x week), house price range $450k, an area that is fun for kids but decent night life for young parents.

I was looking at Pearland and Katy. I've never been to Houston but need to make a trip in the next 2 weeks and I'd like to pick a few areas to visit before we make the big move.

Any suggestions would be so appreciated.

Thank you!

I can comment on the commutes, as I have experienced most all of them withen the past two years.

I am not sure what you mean by flexible commute; however, time of day is critical. Between the hours of 6:30AM-9:30AM, you can expect a one hour commute +/- 15 minutes to downtown from Katy, Cypress, The Woodlands/Spring, Friendswood, Pearland, Missouri City, Sugar Land, and North Richmond (Unincorperated). Between 4:00PM and 7:00PM, you can expect a one hour commute +/- 25 minutes.

From a commute standpoint, I personally would avoid I-45 (all of it), I-10 (primarily the west portion leading to and from Katy) and Highway 290 (it is horrible as it currently is and construction will be starting soon that will prob last over 5-10 year). The routes are always at full capicity and usually every rush hour someone manages to wreck and get some of the main lanes shut down. With respect to that, Friendswood, The Woodlands, Katy, Cypress all use these routes to downtown.

The easiest commutes to downtown will be Highway 288, Highway 59 (also called I-69) and the Westpark Tollway (mostly during the evening rush hour it flows decent, in the mornings it is jammed about as badly as I-10). Pearland, Sugar Land, Kingwood, North Richmond (Unincorperated), Some Katy, Some Woodlands/Spring residents use these routes to downtown. Even though they are "easier" routes, it will still take quite some time.

Living inside the Beltway 8 Loop will improve your commute, but it will be more expensive, and you will likley have to pick and choose which suburb qualities you are willing to sacrifice (yard space, school quality, etc...). One importanat road to the suburb communites you may want to look into is the Grand Parkway (Highway 99). It is partially built and currently under construction. This road is slated to be a 187 mile tolled loop around the Houston Area. It may help with commute times to an extent when it is finished around 2018.

Best of luck to you.

[Keyan]

I'll give ya two options. The Woodlands and Cinco Ranch, Katy. Pick between the two - Sugarland is just as far out as the Woodlands, but you get less bang for buck, and you won't see as much appreciation. Not that it's not a good suburb, because it's Great. It's just not the best possible option for current investment sakes

I would probably consider the Woodlands, for 2 reasons. You will see more appreciation in your home, 2nd reason it's got pretty good schools. It's a great long term investment, Woodlands is the way to go if your early to mid 30's. The reason why the Woodlands is good for you is because you still have a night life there.

Cinco Ranch in Katy is another good area, one reason why people choose this area so much is because of the great school district. I can't go on anymore about how good the district is, but then you sort of miss out on that night life. But if your primary reason to move is schools, go with Cinco Ranch.

Best of luck to you

[Failed Engineer]

Are you kidding me about Sugar Land's appreciation? It's going crazy out here, just like the Woodlands. Sugar Land's young professional nightlife is thriving too, the best in the Houston suburbs.

I would probably try to stay in town at the 450k range, but Sugar Land would be my first suburb choice in that budget.

[Keyan]

Originally Posted by Failed Engineer

Are you kidding me about Sugar Land's appreciation? It's going crazy out here, just like the Woodlands. Sugar Land's young professional nightlife is thriving too, the best in the Houston suburbs.

I would probably try to stay in town at the 450k range, but Sugar Land would be my first suburb choice in that budget.

I'm sure it has a bit, but you will see much more appreciation with the Woodlands. The Woodlands prices will reach higher than that of Sugarland . I'm giving the OP the heads up that he/she will see more return. I think Sugarland is a great suburb, I just wouldn't put my money there while there's some great fresh up and coming neighborhoods in the making that can give them that 'added bonus'.