League city/Friendswood or Allen/Plano for small business and raising kids. (Houston: insurance)

[Chapinadancer]

My husband and I live in Irving/Dallas right now for Chiropractic school. He will be graduating in 1.5 years and we are researching areas that we'd like to start a family/practice. We love Plano/Allen/Frisco area but since my hubby and I were both born and raised near beaches (He is Hawaiian and I'm from Maryland) we are interested in living at least an hour or two from one. We have heard nothing but good things about League city and Friendswood and would like as much information about those cities as we can get before planning a trip to visit. I'm a little nervous about home insurance and dealing with flooding though so if that is a major concern then please let me know. We will be starting from the ground up so any advice is welcome.

[Texas Ag 93]

I thought your posts in other forums indicated you did not like the DFW area and had pretty much eliminated it from consideration, so I'm surprised to see you mention it in the posts above. If you tell people a bit more about what you like/dislike about the Metroplex, maybe we can give you better answers about how it compares to these Houston suburbs you are mentioning above.

That said, I live in the Bay area of Houston, having moved back to the Houston area from Colorado as mentioned in other threads. I would categorize League City as part of this area, along with the entire area directly on the North and East side of Clear Lake/NASA (like Webster, Nassau Bay, Seabrook, Kemah). Friendswood is an adjacent, but different feeling area IMO. If you are looking for the coastal living vibe, then focus on Seabrook, Clear Lake Shores, Kemah etc. That's where you can find homes on the water. Parts of League City fit this criteria, but as it extends South, it's just typical suburbia that has overtaken old farms and fields. Friendswood has, to me, a different feel, and by design is much more residential focused and less commercial/retail focused. That can be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences.

Both League City and Friendswood are very desirable suburbs in terms of housing options, great schools (Houston addresses in Clear Lake and League City are part of CCISD, Friendswood has its own schools). Both are very family oriented areas and somewhat lacking in fine dining, nightlife etc. Expect to go into the urban core of Houston for that. And, yes, if you live on, or near, the water, expect to pay high premiums for flood insurance, and more importantly, Wind and Hail. It's not as high in all parts of SE Houston, but it's going to be much higher (likely by thousands) than other locations you are considering.

Personally, I think you guys will probably want to stay in New Zealand once you go there. I think I would

[Chapinadancer]

Haha I apologize you must think I'm so crazy haha.We have literally been back and forth all over the map trying to figure these next three years out and we arent even finsihed haha. After lots of research we decided to sacrifice some quality of life for the sucess of our practice. Since we are starting from the ground up I'd rather be in a place with a secure economy and a fast growing population for a while at least until we get on our feet and then we can really live where we want (close to beautiful nature and or family). And New Zealand is just sounding too far for our families to handle since we probably will be having babies over there who's grandparents and aunties won't be able to visit... I just have to convince everyone to move with us haha. So many conflictions... but on the topic of South houston, it looks very appealing and now I think we are going to have to decide between dallas suburbs or houston. We hate inner dallas because of the crazy and dangerous traffic, terrible drivers, high crime, rudeness, lack of any natural beauty, and overall uglines. We liked Allen and Plano because they were clean, diverse, had a decent amount of parks and trees, less traffic, somewhat affordable housing, great schools, a fast growing population, new developement, and an overall friendly manor at least from what we noticed when we went shopping up there.We have only lived in places like Maryland, Hawaii,Utah, and Idaho so I guess we are a little spoiled when it comes to natural beauty. So do Houston suburbs have all that Plano has plus the beneifit of the coast? Do you really love where you live? Is it nice to be able to drive to the beaches? Have you had any severe weather damage to your home or car? Just give me all the details you want. Thank you so much for all of your help!

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by Chapinadancer

Haha I apologize you must think I'm so crazy haha.We have literally been back and forth all over the map trying to figure these next three years out and we arent even finsihed haha. After lots of research we decided to sacrifice some quality of life for the sucess of our practice. Since we are starting from the ground up I'd rather be in a place with a secure economy and a fast growing population for a while at least until we get on our feet and then we can really live where we want (close to beautiful nature and or family). And New Zealand is just sounding too far for our families to handle since we probably will be having babies over there who's grandparents and aunties won't be able to visit... I just have to convince everyone to move with us haha. So many conflictions... but on the topic of South houston, it looks very appealing and now I think we are going to have to decide between dallas suburbs or houston. We hate inner dallas because of the crazy and dangerous traffic, terrible drivers, high crime, rudeness, lack of any natural beauty, and overall uglines. We liked Allen and Plano because they were clean, diverse, had a decent amount of parks and trees, less traffic, somewhat affordable housing, great schools, a fast growing population, new developement, and an overall friendly manor at least from what we noticed when we went shopping up there.We have only lived in places like Maryland, Hawaii,Utah, and Idaho so I guess we are a little spoiled when it comes to natural beauty. So do Houston suburbs have all that Plano has plus the beneifit of the coast? Do you really love where you live? Is it nice to be able to drive to the beaches? Have you had any severe weather damage to your home or car? Just give me all the details you want. Thank you so much for all of your help!

No worries, lots of people who are considering multiple areas will post in several forums simultaneously, it just so happens you are considering my current and immediate prior locations, so I frequent those boards and see your posts.

If I were you, I would consider either the Metroplex or Houston, but not both. Too much overlap, including some of the negatives you expressed above, especially when compared to the Western states you are/were considering. I think you really need to do realistic planning as best you can to determine if the smaller communities you are considering have a good market for Chiro, or, if, conversely, the highly desirable cities (Denver) are not over saturated, which I suspect they are based on our experience there. So, if you've already decided to eliminate those, then so be it.

We enjoy where we live on the water in the Clear Lake area. In fact, being on the water was the only acceptable place for my husband to live if we returned to Houston (something I'm still stunned he agreed to do). But, yes, I do worry to some degree about storm damage, and it will happen, it's just a question of when. We've only been back here 7 months, so I haven't experienced it, but I know it happened with Hurricane Ike here less than 10 years ago.

And I was kidding about NZ. As awesome as it would be, it's just too isolated and not logistically possible for traveling for most people. I guess if it were me, not seeing enough of a distinction between Dallas and Houston, I would stay in that area where you are now and give it 3 years or so, realizing that it is very possible that you will not be there forever. Many practitioners leave their first practices within that 3-5 years timeframe anyway. It's just like any other job. It's okay to relocate as needed.

[texas7]

Good luck on the chiropractor thing. Many are having a rough go here and have added multiple offerings to their practices to make it. Most now come with massage therapy, holistic medicines, bio-identical drugs, fitness trainers etc.

[Stacylull]

Hi,
I lived in Houston and relocated to the League City area now for about 20 years. I absolutely love it and both League City/Friendswood are great for raising children. It is a very family oriented area and I would recommend for anyone looking to raise a family.
Galveston is not too far away and has really rebuilt the city from 2008 on.
The Clear Lake area is currently under construction and the area is seeing a large growth in restaurants and other entertainment places which I think is great as well.
I have worked all over the Houston area and I will continue to make the commute.

[texas7]

Clear lake is pretty much built out. There is one new neighborhood being built on the last available land. I think it will have about 1,000 homes when complete. They are building some retail pad sites just at the entry to the neighborhood with large heb grocer as the cater piece. Other than that, clear lake is a built out area.

[shortel]

if your going to live in friendswood or anywhere check the flood plain. I lived in friendswood for 36 years. those small innocent looking creeks become very large in a good rain storm quickly.

[DanielWayne]

League City is proposing re-development of their downtown, which seems to be pretty common these days. Some people are upset about the costs for just the research alone, while others are optimistic about the changes it could bring. The claims are they could have something similar to downtown McKinney when all is said and done.

So this could be a big money pit with nothing ever getting done. Or League City could have something competitive with the Woodlands. I am hoping for the latter.