Relo to Houston and Have A LOT of Questions.... (Austin: to rent, new home)

[lucyinhouston14]

We (me, my husband, and our 2 elementary school age kids) found out this week that we are getting ready to move to Texas from Raleigh, North Carolina. My husbands company is relocating us to either Austin or Houston, it’s our choice since he will be working from home (although his plant is in the Navasota area).

I have been researching both cities nonstop since Tuesday. My first and foremost concern is where the kids will attend school (Elementary, Intermediate, and JH). I have limited my search to the Woodland and Conroe since my husband would like to stay north of Houston. I’m trying to convince him of also looking into Sugar Land. I would like a new home in a neighborhood with elememtrary school aged kids and nice amenities (pool, park, tennis courts ect). Our max budget is 450 to 475. Here are the neighborhoods i’m looking at Harmony, Harpers Preserve, Jacobs Reserve, Barton Woods, Pebble Glen, and Greystone Hills.

Questions:

Is the woodlands a city or a neighborhood?
Is spring TX in the Spring ISD or in Conroe ISD?
I read somewhere Spring is getting unfavorable, is this true?
What other areas of Greater Houston should we stay out of?
What other neighborhoods have great schools and nice homes, I’ll take any and all suggestions?
What is the average property tax percentage or is there somewhere I can go to research?
How is Westin, Love the floor plans and photos but read some good and not so good reviews?
What do you love or not love about the houston area?

My husband is coming to Houston next week and I would like to have a good number or neighborhoods to visit. Due to his repo package it would be a pain to rent….

Thanks in advance!

[jerbear30]

On The Woodlands: It's a city. It's known for being more contiguous than most suburban cities and also for having more nature. It's going to get a lot more populated because of a huge Exxon development.

On Spring: From what I can tell of it, Spring is the most rural white suburb in Houston. I know it sounds strange to see a suburb as rural but that's my sense of it. If you keep up with Spring in the national news, it's almost never good. I've been there once to buy a car. I only go back to get the oil changed.

What other good areas are there with great schools?: I'd suggest Kingwood for staying in the north part of the Houston metro. I think I'd even rather live there than the Woodlands, since there will likely be less immediate development there. Parts of Cypress are nice--their schools get a lot of positive talk here. If you can convince your husband, I think Sugar Land is the best suburb. It's diverse, has excellent schools and has a reasonable commute to downtown. Pear Land is underrated and has the best commute but is also probably the most "generica" suburb. The schools are not "excellent," but are quite good.

I love the people. There is a lot of cultural diversity here, and somehow it works really well. I think the way the city is planned is kind of ugly. It's also more expensive than it used to be.

[Pairodice25]

We live in Spring and it is a nice place to live. Just stay in Klien School district if you want don't want to go up to the woodlands. If I worked from home I would live north of the woodlands. Rural but close to the awesome woodlands mall (and I'm a guy so that's saying a lot, maybe it's just the Apple store...)

[texas7]

Actually the most rural suburban/independent city areas of Houston that I can think of would Santa Fe to the South, Tomball on the NW and Porter/New Caney on the NE

[lucyinhouston14]

I need to be close to the mall, my son was already asking where the nearest Lego store is located... My husband will also work from home, which means i'm going to need a JOB!!!! Thank you all for your input. The more information I can gather the better!

[Schumacher713]

We (me, my husband, and our 2 elementary school age kids) found out this week that we are getting ready to move to Texas from Raleigh, North Carolina. My husbands company is relocating us to either Austin or Houston, it’s our choice since he will be working from home (although his plant is in the Navasota area).

Austin would be a two hour drive each way. Plus, Austin kind of sucks as a city. The traffic is much worse than Houston. The food kind of sucks for the most part. Besides outdoor things there is not a lot to do. It is much prettier than Houston. It is the allergy capital of the US. It is a very over rated city.

I have been researching both cities nonstop since Tuesday. My first and foremost concern is where the kids will attend school (Elementary, Intermediate, and JH). I have limited my search to the Woodland and Conroe since my husband would like to stay north of Houston. I’m trying to convince him of also looking into Sugar Land. I would like a new home in a neighborhood with elememtrary school aged kids and nice amenities (pool, park, tennis courts ect). Our max budget is 450 to 475. Here are the neighborhoods i’m looking at Harmony, Harpers Preserve, Jacobs Reserve, Barton Woods, Pebble Glen, and Greystone Hills.

Exxon is moving 80K employees to The Woodlands area. This is creating a massive demand. You will be paying peak prices for houses there. After all these people are moved there. The prices will eventually level out. That being said The Woodlands is a very nice suburb. Conroe and Spring are big steps down. If you can afford it I would go to the Woodlands. I would buy an older home instead of new construction. New construction is very over rated like a new car is. Sugar Land would add an hour to the commute. The Woodlands is on par with Sugar Land. I don't know prices in The Woodlands, but I suspect 475 will be cutting it close.

Questions:

Is the woodlands a city or a neighborhood? A city

Is spring TX in the Spring ISD or in Conroe ISD? Spring ISD Conroe is about 30min north of Spring

I read somewhere Spring is getting unfavorable, is this true? There are parts of it that are not as nice. It is not near as nice as the Woodlands. It is hardly the hood or a trailer park.

What other areas of Greater Houston should we stay out of? I would not worry about that. Good and bad parts are scattered all over.

What other neighborhoods have great schools and nice homes, I’ll take any and all suggestions? I think Conroe, Woodlands, and Spring is where you should concentrate on. I would skip Spring mainly for the Navasota commute. Being totally honest. You will almost never drive into the city.

What is the average property tax percentage or is there somewhere I can go to research? This greatly varies depending on the county or if you are in a mud district. We have high property taxes to make up for no state income taxes.

How is Westin, Love the floor plans and photos but read some good and not so good reviews? They are ok houses. You get what you pay for.

What do you love or not love about the houston area? It depends on what part of Houston you live in and what kind of person you are. When you live up in The Woodlands area you will very rarely go to the city. Different parts of the city have different vibes.

My husband is coming to Houston next week and I would like to have a good number or neighborhoods to visit. Due to his repo package it would be a pain to rent….
Call a realtor ahead of time. Search on har.com

[TexasDeere]

You can live in Spring and go to Conroe ISD. It all depends where you buy. We like our selection of Conroe ISD but there are a few schools within this system that I would avoid. I do not have a favorable opinion of Spring ISD however there are a few Elementary level schools that are ok. Ultimately they all feed I to a less than desirable High School. You can also be in Klein ISD and live in Spring. There are some good and no so good schools in Klein. Just do your homework.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by mnpruitt2005

We (me, my husband, and our 2 elementary school age kids) found out this week that we are getting ready to move to Texas from Raleigh, North Carolina. My husbands company is relocating us to either Austin or Houston, it’s our choice since he will be working from home (although his plant is in the Navasota area).

I have been researching both cities nonstop since Tuesday. My first and foremost concern is where the kids will attend school (Elementary, Intermediate, and JH). I have limited my search to the Woodland and Conroe since my husband would like to stay north of Houston. I’m trying to convince him of also looking into Sugar Land. I would like a new home in a neighborhood with elememtrary school aged kids and nice amenities (pool, park, tennis courts ect). Our max budget is 450 to 475. Here are the neighborhoods i’m looking at Harmony, Harpers Preserve, Jacobs Reserve, Barton Woods, Pebble Glen, and Greystone Hills.

Questions:

Is the woodlands a city or a neighborhood?
The Woodlands is NOT a city. It probably will be one eventually, but its just a 75,000 person, 25,000 acre, master planned community
Is spring TX in the Spring ISD or in Conroe ISD?
Spring addresses according to the post office could be in Spring, Conroe, Klein or Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
I read somewhere Spring is getting unfavorable, is this true?
I'd tend to agree.
What other areas of Greater Houston should we stay out of?
Aldine ISD
What other neighborhoods have great schools and nice homes, I’ll take any and all suggestions?
Look at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. It is the closest area to Navasota. Also Katy and Klein ISDs.
What is the average property tax percentage or is there somewhere I can go to research?
Its all over. If you are not in a city, make sure to make note of MUD (municipal utility district) taxes. I'd ask your realtor. If you are interested in a particular house, you can look at HCAD.org (Harris County Appraisal District) for Harris County. Montgomery Count (Conroe) probably has a similar site.
How is Westin, Love the floor plans and photos but read some good and not so good reviews?
What do you love or not love about the houston area?

My husband is coming to Houston next week and I would like to have a good number or neighborhoods to visit. Due to his repo package it would be a pain to rent….

Thanks in advance!

Good luck!

[Hacklernewtohouston]

I just found this post and would love to know what you ended up doing! We are in the thick of the process now and have looked as far as Bentwater, greystone Hills, harpers Preserve, woodland, all through spring and cypress then as far west as Firethorne. Our poor realtor! I'm on the cusp of analysis paralysis.
I met someone that just sold in harpers reserve to build in Jacobs reserve. He admitted a lack of school research before the purchase and put a ton of improvements in only to sell and go through the painful move process. Primary complaints were schools, covenants not consistently and strictly enforced, required front yard contractors did not do the scope of what the covenants say will be done.
We found a home in Greystone Hills and are familiar with the governing documents only to see so many violations.
We want a sub with very strict deed restrictions that are enforced. Otherwise there's a slow decline in quality and values. I would love to hear from others and open to all opinions and experiences.
Thanks in advance because I am so frustrated

[analogkid84]

Man, I have got to get out of cancer research. Trying to do something good in the world just doesn't pay. I'd love to have the issue of what to do with a $450k house budget, and a relo package - what is that? Good luck with your move - I hope you find your happy place here.