Moving from the San Fernando Valley (Houston, Sugar Land: sublease, renting, mortgage)

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by Encino.Man

Uncles name is still on the house..all legal of course (he is a CPA)

Anyhow. I looked up Bellaire HS and I am a bit underwhelmed. I don't pay attention to test scores because that's variable child to child but the school has lots of low income and ESL. I see that it is in Houstons school district which I understand isn't the greatest. We are in LAUSD now which also sucks but we have been able to work the system and get our kids into charters and stuff like that where the schools are better. We are established here and know the system but in Texas we will be noobs at this so it would be easier if we were just in a good school feeder.

I looked up and the best schools in Metro Houston seem to be in Friendswood, Clear Lake, Pearland, Humble and Katy,

Which would you reccomend? I don't know if we are interested in Katy since it seems to be really booming (most moved to place in America or something) which means that you don't really know what you're buying into because it could go through a lot of changes. I would rather buy in somewhere a bit more settled/established for 2 reasons. Firstly because I don't want to buy a home in the "perfect neighborhood" that I love and watch it change into something I hate. This happened to a close friend of ours who moved to a nice and quiet area in the Inland Empire and watched it blow up into a congested mess and then turn into a foreclosure ghetto during the recession. Secondly because I like older homes and areas with family and neighbors with roots and also the physical attributes like nature landscaping and not having construction sites as neighbors.

Which of the aforementioned areas are most established? Which are most centrally located?

Just a quick defense of Bellaire, it is still a highly regarded and sought after school. If that is the only reason you rule out Meyerland I would recommend that you wait until some in the area are able to fill you in on the nuances of HISD and the area schools of Meyerland/Westbury.

Well they say Friendswood has the better schools of those you listed. But I would prefer a place closer to the Bay like Clear Lake or more specifically League City or Seabrook or some similar community. If you like coastal living that is the area to be. None of these areas would be what you would call "central" though.

[Benta_Goss]

Originally Posted by Encino.Man

Uncles name is still on the house..all legal of course (he is a CPA)

Anyhow. I looked up Bellaire HS and I am a bit underwhelmed. I don't pay attention to test scores because that's variable child to child but the school has lots of low income and ESL. I see that it is in Houstons school district which I understand isn't the greatest. We are in LAUSD now which also sucks but we have been able to work the system and get our kids into charters and stuff like that where the schools are better. We are established here and know the system but in Texas we will be noobs at this so it would be easier if we were just in a good school feeder.

I looked up and the best schools in Metro Houston seem to be in Friendswood, Clear Lake, Pearland, Humble and Katy,

Which would you reccomend? I don't know if we are interested in Katy since it seems to be really booming (most moved to place in America or something) which means that you don't really know what you're buying into because it could go through a lot of changes. I would rather buy in somewhere a bit more settled/established for 2 reasons. Firstly because I don't want to buy a home in the "perfect neighborhood" that I love and watch it change into something I hate. This happened to a close friend of ours who moved to a nice and quiet area in the Inland Empire and watched it blow up into a congested mess and then turn into a foreclosure ghetto during the recession. Secondly because I like older homes and areas with family and neighbors with roots and also the physical attributes like nature landscaping and not having construction sites as neighbors.

Which of the aforementioned areas are most established? Which are most centrally located?

If you are not interested in Katy, perhaps Sugar Land or Richmond area maybe more to your liking. They are a little more established and also have schools which are rated excellent.

Zip Code 77479 Sugar Land, TX

[Mr. Football]

Check out Cypress, Klein, and Tomball. Big trees, nice neighborhoods, good schools, low crime. Predominately Republican and libertarian.

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by Encino.Man

Uncles name is still on the house..all legal of course (he is a CPA)

I looked up and the best schools in Metro Houston seem to be in Friendswood, Clear Lake, Pearland, Humble and Katy,

Which of the aforementioned areas are most established? Which are most centrally located?

Those are all far out suburbs that are 45min - 1 hr commute into Houston.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Encino.Man

Uncles name is still on the house..all legal of course (he is a CPA)

Thanks for the follow up... makes sense since the deed has not been changed.

[Meyerland]

Since you want a central location, I would try Spring Branch ISD south of I10 if you can up your budget a bit. It's a great area, top schools, shopping, etc...

With your budget, you can get into the SW part of Houston in Meyerland area. It sounds like you want easy Suburban type schools, and HISD does take some navigating through the magnet and vanguard programs to get a perfect fit. It's a hot area with good to great schools. Some of the top schools in the nation are in HISD, but some are terrible. You have to understand how the system works before moving into it.

I would not do Katy, the Woodlands, upper parts of Cy Fair school district ....Great schools, but far out. Definitely not a central location.

Sugar Land and Friendswood fit your budget, school requirements, and they have easier access to other parts of the city than some others. (Since you travel all over.)

I'm not sure if you would be happy with Pearland, even though many think it's great. (Including me.)

[ekatiel]

I live in Friendswood. My husband commutes daily to the med center. He uses park n' ride these days-- it takes a little bit longer, but he can nap on the way to work and not have to worry about crazy traffic! We love Friendswood-- great schools and a real "small town" feel, instead of a generic suburban feel. Your commute to the med center will be about an hour during rush hour traffic. It will be shorter in off-peak times. One thing that many people don't realize about Friendswood is that not all of Friendswood is in the Friendswood Independent School District (FISD has those good schools that you are reading about!). In order to narrow your search to just Friendswood ISD, when you search in "HAR" select the "Houston- gulf coast" region and then search by school district, selecting Friendswood ISD. Also, when thinking about your housing costs, know that the property taxes here in Texas are higher than many places, and our insurance costs (especially on the coast) are higher. If you finance $350K, you can expect a house payment between $3,000 and $3,500 a month, including taxes and insurance.

[Vicman]

Encino.Man,

Bellaire High School has high end academic programs for AP and IB. There are large numbers of low income immigrant students, and they are placed in separate classes. Depending on where your child is now, he/she may easily qualify for Bellaire High's higher end classes.

[Encino.Man]

Thank you guys. I am really liking everything I am seeing in Friendswood. Ideally we would be in that area that feeds into Memorial HS, but it seems very expensive. I am going to have to take my wife out there and look around. Thanks again God bless.

[TallGreengrass]

Originally Posted by Vicman

Encino.Man,

Bellaire High School has high end academic programs for AP and IB. There are large numbers of low income immigrant students, and they are placed in separate classes. Depending on where your child is now, he/she may easily qualify for Bellaire High's higher end classes.

Just my two cents since I went to Bellaire...I agree that Bellaire is a school-within-a-school. If you are a low income/ESL household then chances are your child will run in that crowd, too. However, if your child is academically talented then it's a whole 'nother tier of classes/opportunity. In my group, we were a good blend of smart, popular kids with successful, educated, and professional parents to provide the examples and expectations of learning. But yes, there was the overlap/interaction with the occasional pregnant girl and the obvious future drug dealer in your homerooms.

The city of Bellaire carries a desirable reputation. It's a good, 'close to everything' location and homes are not cheap. This ensures a solid student base just by zoned attendance alone. The problem was that in the 90's BHS expanded and remodeled and started bussing in kids. Eh, people will tell you apartment kids are the problem for lots of schools in all the ISDs. I think diversity, flavor, and variety in a balanced fashion can be a good thing in high school. Life lessons and perspective.

Maybe the suburbs are for you. Good luck in your search. I've heard from out-of-towners that our 'no zoning' approach was a surprise/adjustment.