Cypress vs. Katy (Houston, Cinco Ranch, Richmond: crime rates, homes, neighborhood)

[katydogs1]

Cypress is going to keep growing. Cypress Creek Lakes, Bridgeland, Towne Lake are all very nice communities. New subdivisions are already planned for the area. Mirabella has 925 homes planned. An Ersa Grae development is supposed to have 3137 homes. A new Newland Community is approximately 4000 acres at FM529 and Grand Parkway. A Kroger Marketplace just opened on Barker Cypress and Tuckerton. Heb is supposed to break ground on a new store in November at Fry and Tuckerton.

http://smithcodevelopment.com/wp-con...2014-Flyer.pdf

[Kiovo]

Originally Posted by westhou

I-10 is getting to be worse than 290 and will only get worse. The construction boom in the Energy Corridor is creating a traffic nightmare. The construction boom in Westchase is also creating a nightmare along Beltway 8 around I-10. I wouldn't wish any of the Houston freeways on anyone.

I10 traffic will get a little better once 290 is done. Since grand parkway open the traffic on I10 has definitely gone up. Cypress might not be growing as fast as the Katy area but there are neighborhoods going up left and right and as soon as 290 is complete it will already be congested.

Both areas are great, both will have the basic amenities you'll need. Katy is more established but it really comes down to the neighborhood and home you feel is right for your family. Also, a home isn't forever so you can always move after living here and find another area you like better!

[Trae713]

A benefit to Cypress too is that you are relatively close to the west side and north side business districts. The only thing holding it back is 290 being inadequate currently, but that will change in a few years. Once the Grand Parkway northern arc complete, it will make Cypress more accessible to those northern business districts.

So if I were you, I would buy in Cypress, where you can get more bang for your buck currently. The schools are comparable to the better Katy ISD schools in the western side of the district.

[Mr. Football]

Katy's quite popular right now with Houston newcomers, but Cypress has been booming ever since the 1990's and will become one of the hottest areas over the next decade. Cypress has more geographic variety than Katy, IMO. North of 290, in North Cypress you already get Woodlands-like master-planned neighborhoods, schools, and demographics in Longwood, Coles Crossing, Lakewood Oaks Estates, Rock Creek, Stable Gate, Lakewood Glen, Lakes of Rosehill, etc....and South of 290 and Fairfield you get larger master planned communities as nice or nicer than Cinco Ranch in Bridgeland, Towne Lake, Fairfield, Blackhorse, Cypress Creek Lakes, etc. Dozens upon dozens of great choices in neighborhoods in the Cypress area, no matter which side of 290 you choose, north or south.

North Cypress, shares 249 with Klein and Tomball, and there's some really nice growth going on in/around this area around Vintage Park with the new Whole Foods, Churassco's, Noble Energy's new 20-story corporate HQ, etc. It's nice to be surrounded by other large, nice communities.

The 290 commute is what it is...however it'll be finished id 3-4 years. Currently, the commute from Longwood to the Energy Corridor (I-10 and the Beltway) or Westchase takes the same amount of time 30-40 minutes in rush hour (20 minutes otherwise) as it does from Cinco Ranch to the same location. You can live in Cypress and access the Beltway, 249, 1960, 290, Greenspoint, The Woodlands, Energy Corridor, Westchase, Galleria employment centers relatively easily compared to other suburban areas of town.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by Kiovo

I10 traffic will get a little better once 290 is done. Since grand parkway open the traffic on I10 has definitely gone up. Cypress might not be growing as fast as the Katy area but there are neighborhoods going up left and right and as soon as 290 is complete it will already be congested.

Both areas are great, both will have the basic amenities you'll need. Katy is more established but it really comes down to the neighborhood and home you feel is right for your family. Also, a home isn't forever so you can always move after living here and find another area you like better!

Geez I hope you're right....Traffic on I-10 is insane nowadays.

[haudi]

The Phase 3 rec center/pool/splashpad is fantastic. Haven't used the kids facilities since I don't have any children yet, but I'm sure I will when I do. I also love that you can book the club house at the rec center for free so long as its available. My neighbors are all incredible. Such great people living in the area from all backgrounds and places in life.

They have a nice community 5K Zombie Stomp Walk/Run for charity going on this weekend too as part of the Halloween celebration. They do a great fireworks show for Memorial Day and Towne Lake does one for 4th of July. During the summer they have big outdoor movie showings at the community center and a farmers market type thing in the fall. Bridgelands has their big Naturefest which is just a 2-minute drive away.

The homestead is not automatic. I closed in June so I will have to apply in January for the Homestead. The HCAD appraisal was just on the dirt, however my escrow is based on the actual appraised value for the first year. The actual appraised value was higher than my purchase price (by a few thousand, not a ton). I will say that the starting price of the floor plan I built has gone up $15,000 since I signed my contract in December of '13.

Originally Posted by Three23

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Haudi, that picture looks amazing. What other features of the community do you like?

How are the rec centers?

Also is a homestead 20% exemption automatic? When you purchased your new construction was it appraised at the sale price of the home or was the appraised value less than market value?

Sorry for the mouthful of questions but moving from a different country requires extra diligence I feel.

Thanks,

Mo

[Craig1101]

Another plus to CCL is schools. I always hear of Katy ISD having a great reputation and I have no reason to doubt that, but having first hand experience of kids going to Warner, Smith and Cy Ranch, I find it hard to imagine how any school can be any better.

Smith was extremely crowded until this term when the new middle school opened near Towne Lake. My only medium term concern is that Cy Ranch becomes over crowded. When it was first built, the housing boom stalled because of the 09 financial crisis and construction in Bridgeland came to a halt. This led the district to zone areas of Fairfield to Ranch because otherwise it would have been under capacity. Now the boom has returned in Bridgeland and CCL, it's starting to get crowded.

There is a High School planned for Bridgeland for 2018, as good as that is for development, I'm a little concerned as I love Cy Ranch and don't really want my kids going anywhere else.

[JohnnyDA]

Lots of neighborhoods in Cypress are also not pass 99 yet. I see that as a positive!

[anilsubramanian]

We just moved to South of 290 - community called "Copper lakes" from Katy. We really love it! I was commuting from Katy to beltway 8 and clay and I hated I10 traffic. It was taking near 1 hr+ everyday to cover 18 miles and now its only 35 min drive. Yes I am taking 290 - its bad, but in my opinion its not nearly as Bad as I10 .. so go for it man. Just to make another point - We are also basically from India and we got lot of Indian families in Copper lakes too!!

[Three23]

Originally Posted by anilsubramanian

We just moved to South of 290 - community called "Copper lakes" from Katy. We really love it! I was commuting from Katy to beltway 8 and clay and I hated I10 traffic. It was taking near 1 hr+ everyday to cover 18 miles and now its only 35 min drive. Yes I am taking 290 - its bad, but in my opinion its not nearly as Bad as I10 .. so go for it man. Just to make another point - We are also basically from India and we got lot of Indian families in Copper lakes too!!

Awesome good to hear that about the traffic situation.

Also does anyone know if Canadians get a homestead exemption if I claim it as a primary residence?

I am not a citizen of the us nor do I have a greencard