Looking for the Collin County Equivalent in the Houston Area? (Dallas: best suburbs, house)

[TotallyTexasBound]

Good Evening,

My wife and I are considering a potential relocation from DFW to the Houston area, and have not yet enlisted the assistance of a realtor as we're still in the preliminary phase of determining the feasibility of relocating.

I'm familiar with Houston as my business takes me regularly there, but not familiar enough to know what is a good place to live. I've been scouring Zillow and HAR - hoping you could help us provide something similar to where we live now (Collin County), which is a relatively affluent collection of suburbs north of Dallas (Plano, Allen, Frisco).

We don't have kids living at home, so schools are not important, but I understand that good schools definitely help stability and ease of resale in a property, and I like the community pride of having good schools. We enjoy going out to local restaurants a couple of nights a week (not chains) and take in a few entertainment events a month (ball game, musical, etc..) - so we don't want to live too far out where those activities become difficult. On a daily basis we like getting out and walking or riding our bicycles, so access to sidewalks or a trail system is a quality of life requirement.

I'll be working in the Energy Corridor area, my wife has some flexibility to where she offices. Budget is $400,000 to $600,000 and prefer newer build (less than 10 years, or substantially updated) for the amenities and energy efficiency. I'd like to live within 30-45 minutes of work with reasonable working hours, obviously closer the better - but willing to trade off a little longer commute for a better quality of life when home.

What place would you recommend and why? Places I've researched:
Riverstone - Possibly too far out of town, but area looks beautiful and appears to be a decent amount of commercial
Imperial - Not really sold on - Seems very expensive for quality of home, don't like surrounding area.
Aliana & associated area- Neighborhood looks nice, but there is no commercial activity in that area and the surrounding businesses (Dump, Port a Potty Rental, Goodwill Store) leave a lot to be desired
Any neighborhood west of 99 - I hear from peers how their commute to the Energy Corridor is awful
Parkway Terrace (Energy Corridor) - Area is relatively nice, don't understand why all the properties are in gated communities.
West Spring Branch & Memorial Area - Area looks good from Google Maps overview, like the access to the park on the river running through the area. Updated older homes seem to be on the upper end of our budget (although would save in gas & potentially taxes). Probably second favorite location to Riverstone, not as appealing to my wife.
Rice Military - Some cool properties, but way too dense. No way those property values will hold up over the long run.
Shady Acres / Heights - Love a lot of the properties, but too transitional for us
Bellaire / River Oaks / Montrose - Unfortunately we are priced out of a SFH
Westbury / Willowbend / Braeswood - Flood concerns, would rather stick to Memorial / Spring Branch

Are there any places I am leaving out - or has my internet research failed me in identifying the positives/negatives of each area? I am feeling very overwhelmed as there is no area that sticks out as someplace I'd love as much as where we live now.

Thank you.

[hbcu]

There is no Colin county here...different beast of an area...if sugar land, pearland, the woodlands touched each other and all had things that Rivaled Houston then maybe

Sugar Land comes closest with things that compare to Houston such as art venues, stadiums, etc

[ilikeme]

The Houston equivalent of Collin County is the Fort Bend County area, particularly Sugar Land, Katy, Missouri City, and Parts of Richmond. I have lived in DFW and know that area well also. Sugar Land and Katy are very similar to Plano. I would probably recommend looking around Fulshear and the northern parts of Richmond and Sugar Land along the Grand Parkway. Katy would be a good area also.

[TotallyTexasBound]

Originally Posted by ilikeme

The Houston equivalent of Collin County is the Fort Bend County area, particularly Sugar Land, Katy, Missouri City, and Parts of Richmond. I have lived in DFW and know that area well also. Sugar Land and Katy are very similar to Plano. I would probably recommend looking around Fulshear and the northern parts of Richmond and Sugar Land along the Grand Parkway. Katy would be a good area also.

Thanks - it appears I am looking in the right areas. The Fulshear area (Cross Country Ranch) looks very nice, but I am not sold on living that far out.

I failed to mention that New Territory/Telfair/Greatwood area looked really good at first glance, however doesn't appear to be a lot in the size home we are looking for.

We are taking a trip down in the next week or two - will definitely check out the areas you recommended - I hadn't looked at Missouri City, but will do.

[War Beagle]

There is nothing comparable to Collin County in the Houston area. Huge swathes of DFW are affluent, where as affluence in houston is mainly found in pockets.

Houston is much more blue collar where as DFW is much more white collar.

[kel7]

Check out the Green Trails area of Katy. It has a Houston address and should be an easy commute to the Energy Corridor as it is east of 99.The homes are in your price range but built in the '90's.

[Failed Engineer]

I think this basically boils down to Sugar Land and The Woodlands. They are without question the 2 best suburbs in Houston. Good restaurants in both (although if you are out twice a week you will have to go into Houston for the better dining), lots of walking trails in the Woodlands and Sugar Land had started a massive project to expand walking and biking trails in the city. Woodlands has the Pavilion that holds a bunch of events. Sugar Land has the Performing Arts Center opening in January. Sugar Land has the Skeeters minor league baseball team which they've surprisingly made a fun night out. You'll have to go to Houston for musicals and theater. Katy has some of the things you are looking for but not as much as The Woodlands and Sugar Land do. The Woodlands commute to EC got a lot better with 99 opening but the tolls will be painful.

I live in Sugar Land and I'd recommend looking at significantly updated or total remodels in the established neighborhoods that offer a better commute to the EC than Riverstone. Looking at, in order of better commute to EC, Sugar Mill (although you may not like this if you didn't like the Imperial surrounding area), Sugar Lakes, Venetian Estates, New Territory, Sugar Creek, and First Colony. You may have to be patient to find a complete remodel, but you will, especially in the oldest of these like Sugar Mill, Sugar Lakes, and Sugar Creek where they happen fairly often. Telfair may have some relatively recent construction you could like in your price range too.

Edit: Forgot to see that you'd ruled out New Territory, Greatwood, and Telfair based on size of homes. What size home are you looking for?

[TexasTallest]

I agree Fort Bend is probably the closest to Collin County. As others have pointed out, the wealth in Houston is more evenly distributed across the region compared to the concentration in the northern suburbs of Dallas. I noticed you didn't mention Cinco Ranch. Any reason..?

[NigerianNightmare]

He semi did when he said Any neighborhood west of 99. Their are some parts of Cinco Ranch east of 99 that are actually great too.

[FTWRunner]

Check out David Weekly's Villages of Spring Branch. For your budget that is typically the type house you'll get near the Energy Corridor if you don't want to buy old.

Houston is much more patchy than DFW, I had to put on my "Houston filter" when looking at an area as it is not uncommon for very nice area back up to much rougher areas.