West U to The Woodlands

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by Dirt McGirt

I commute from Southampton / Boulevard Oaks to I-45 & Beltway North.<snip>

Nice first post! Thanks for well-written, useful info for the OP.



from a fellow southamptonite

[sallybell]

I used to live in West U and commute to the Woodlands at non peak times several times a week. It's about 40 minutes to the exit ramp and then plan on another 15 to 20 minutes to weave your way around the Woodlands traffic.

I45 is a nasty highway with very narrow lanes, heavy traffic, semis, and multiple off/ on ramps. if there is an accident, traffic goes to a standstill.

I highly recommend you look at the Heights, or Woodland Heights to shave some time off of your commute. Then get yourself an EZ tag and try and take the Hardy toll road to and from your job.

[Keyan]

Originally Posted by sallybell

I used to live in West U and commute to the Woodlands at non peak times several times a week. It's about 40 minutes to the exit ramp and then plan on another 15 to 20 minutes to weave your way around the Woodlands traffic.

I45 is a nasty highway with very narrow lanes, heavy traffic, semis, and multiple off/ on ramps. if there is an accident, traffic goes to a standstill.

I highly recommend you look at the Heights, or Woodland Heights to shave some time off of your commute. Then get yourself an EZ tag and try and take the Hardy toll road to and from your job.

I live in midtown right by w.dallas and taft and it takes me 30 minutes to just get to 1960 with no traffic (even going 5mph over the speed limit for majority of time), tell me how you get to the woodlands pkwy ramp from West U in 40 minutes? - that an additional 15 - 20 minutes drive from 1960

[sallybell]

Keyan, I virtually lived right on 59. It's 34 miles from that spot to the Woodlands Pkwy exit according to Google Maps. So I had no city driving at all. That is strictly highway driving. Also I was traveling at times that no traffic was present. But you are certainly right, in heavier traffic times it could take an hour ++ to get there if there is even a minor mishap on the highway.

[sb2K14]

This is great feedback. Thanks everyone.

We were discussing this in detail and had some more questions: in the long run, we would like to start a family with maybe 2 kids. People change jobs all the time so given a long-enough time horizon, we could both get jobs in an area close to our (future) home. With this in mind, what would be the best place to raise a young family? West U, The Woodlands, Heights or someplace else?

I'm really interested in opinions of other young parents: I would like to be near parks/ somewhere where kids can still safely play outside etc. Things like day care/ schools etc also become important over time as this would just add to the commute in the future.

[sallybell]

SB2K14--are you a suburb person or more of a city person? Both The Heights and West U have a more city feel; you can even walk to some restaurants, cafes, stores. The Woodlands has more of a suburb feel and if you do want to come into town it is far. You won't be doing it often!!! Texas is large and spread out. It takes a looong time to get from one place to the next.

West U Elementary is an excellent school. The middle school for West U, is called Pershing and it gets mixed reviews. There are plenty of private schools to choose from in the City if you so choose that for your kids.

In both West U, Heights and The Woodlands there are plenty of nice parks so that's a wash. All three have their own beauty. West U and Heights have lots of large sweeping oak trees. The Woodlands has many pine trees.

Woodlands schools have a good reputation however they are very large and crowded.

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by sb2K14

This is great feedback. Thanks everyone.

We were discussing this in detail and had some more questions: in the long run, we would like to start a family with maybe 2 kids. People change jobs all the time so given a long-enough time horizon, we could both get jobs in an area close to our (future) home. With this in mind, what would be the best place to raise a young family? West U, The Woodlands, Heights or someplace else?

I'm really interested in opinions of other young parents: I would like to be near parks/ somewhere where kids can still safely play outside etc. Things like day care/ schools etc also become important over time as this would just add to the commute in the future.

The Woodlands is so much less expensive than the other two. So your pocketbook should get a vote. Also, their public schools are good, for public schools, k-12. You really can't say that about West U or The Heights. I didn't like our time in The Woodlands, neither did my brother's family,and was happy to return to the city. It felt very isolating to us, as our large family and life long network of friends all live in the Uptown/Memorial area. Getting together usually involved sleepovers.

Out of those three, and with deep pockets, I would chose West U and have funds to go private. As a young family with young family funds, I would chose The Woodlands and save up money to return to the city as the family ages. But you might have to convince yourself that you can really live a truley suburban lifestyle.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

The Woodlands is so much less expensive than the other two. So your pocketbook should get a vote. Also, their public schools are good, for public schools, k-12. You really can't say that about West U or The Heights. I didn't like our time in The Woodlands, neither did my brother's family,and was happy to return to the city. It felt very isolating to us, as our large family and life long network of friends all live in the Uptown/Memorial area. Getting together usually involved sleepovers.

Out of those three, and with deep pockets, I would chose West U and have funds to go private. As a young family with young family funds, I would chose The Woodlands and save up money to return to the city as the family ages. But you might have to convince yourself that you can really live a truley suburban lifestyle.

The OP's spouse works in-town.

I loved living in both the Woodlands and West U. But I would never live in the Woodlands and work in-town. The reverse, as has been discussed is tough, but not impossible.

[buckeroo]

If living in the Heights only cuts 10-15 minutes off a commute to Woodlands, I wouldn't think it was worth it. The commute from West U to the medical center is only 10 minutes, even during rush hour. Commuting from the Heights to the med center at rush hour can take a good 35-45 minutes!