Moving to Houston: The Woodlands or Spring? (Conroe, Humble: apartment, middle schools)

[LoraMao]

Originally Posted by Texas Built

Good advice. Also don't forget MUD taxes in the suburbs. My property taxes are about $11K ($550K house) a year and MUD tax another $6500.

Yes, I forget about the MUD. It's another killer bill at the end of the year.

[natashakude02]

Thanks for the suggestions. What on earth is MUD tax???

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by natashakude02

Thanks for the suggestions. What on earth is MUD tax???

It stands for Municipal Utility District. It is sort of like Mello-Roos in California if you are familiar with that (I moved to The Woodlands from California). Often, rather than the developer of a subdivision paying for primarily the streets, street lights, and sewer system and incorporated into the cost of the house, instead that cost will be handled through a bond, and the home owners will pay a specific percentage of assessed valuation of the residence each year. I get the impression that bohunak (from this thread) owns a house in Legends Ranch that he or she rents out to someone else. I live in The Woodlands, but I have a rental property in a subdivision that is quite close to Legends Ranch. My property tax rate on that property is about 2% a year (it would be less if I lived there because a homestead exemption reduces your effective tax rate). I also pay an additional 1.0 % per year MUD tax on that property. Montgomery County (most of The Woodlands and also the NE part of Spring are in Montgomery County) used to bill the regular property tax items and the MUD tax on the same statement for my property. That is no longer the case. It turns out the MUD district just contracted with the county for the billing function, and now they contract with another entity, so I now pay two separate bills, and pay them myself. I paid cash for that property, so if you have a mortgage, this done might be automatically.

Old Town Spring is in Harris County in zip code 77373. Spring isn't an incorporated city. It is really more of a postal designation....a very large one that encompasses over 300,000 people, part or all of eight different zip codes, two counties (Harris and Montgomery) and at least four and probably five different school districts. The Woodlands is a Master Planned Community (MPC) that is also what the State of Texas refers to as a 'political subdivision'. Most of the residences in The Woodlands, as far as the USPS is concerned, have Spring addresses (although residents all over The Woodlands use 'The Woodlands' and then TX and then the appropriate zip code, and the USPS is fine with that re delivery). Other smaller parts of The Woodlands have, as far as the USPS is concerned, Conroe, Tomball, and Magnolia street addresses. If one looks at the big address embossed on the front of the two major established post offices in The Woodlands....the Gosling Road branch, and the Woodlands Metro branch....the address affixed on each = Spring, TX...not The Woodlands, TX.

The Woodlands Township was eventually created, but the 'township' doesn't function legally as a city. They can't pass municipal ordinances, they contract with local LE agencies for police services, etc. One of the main things having the township accomplished was to consolidate most of the separate HOAs (home owners associations). Who knows, The Woodlands may eventually elect to become a municipality/city...that option is open until 2057.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Texas Built

I would take Woodlands over Spring because less crime. The crime creep is getting into Spring.
The Woodlands is probably 40 years old. You can easily find something in there for $300K.

Spring is big,
there's a huge difference between Augusta Pines (HAR) and Timberlane (HAR)

[bu2]

And for resale, you have to consider school districts. You really don't want to be in the Spring ISD. Conroe ISD (the Woodlands) is very good. Now there are areas considered Spring that are in the Klein ISD, which has a number of good schools.

[bu2]

For that matter, areas in Montgomery County (Conroe ISD) are called Spring. And there are parts of Aldine ISD (avoid) and Humble ISD (some very good schools) that are considered Spring.

[bu2]

Now if you expect to be there for a long time and don't expect to have kids any time soon, maybe you sacrifice schools and possible long run appreciation for a bigger house for a lower price now.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by bu2

For that matter, areas in Montgomery County (Conroe ISD) are called Spring. And there are parts of Aldine ISD (avoid) and Humble ISD (some very good schools) that are considered Spring.

Do any of these areas in Aldine and Humble ISDs have "Spring, Texas" postal addresses?

Baldwin Boettcher Branch Library AFAIK is in Aldine ISD and is thought of as in the Spring area but I think it has an "Humble, Texas" address (it is in Mercer Park in an unincorporated area, as in it's not actually in the City of Humble).

Speaking of things, the U.S. government defined a "Spring, Texas" census-designated place but only Spring ISD areas are in the CDP. Anything in Klein and Conroe ISDs are outside this CDP.

Spring ISD has been having demographic pains with low income residents increasingly moving into apartments, and I heard Spring High School and its feeder middle schools are being affected by that now.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Vicman

Speaking of things, the U.S. government defined a "Spring, Texas" census-designated place but only Spring ISD areas are in the CDP. Anything in Klein and Conroe ISDs are outside this CDP.

That s... is so confusing,
There's places all the way up in The Woodlands that have Spring, TX address

Panther Creek Post office on Woodlands Parkway and Gosling has this address
10800 Gosling Rd, Spring, TX 7738

Same goes for Galatas Elementary School
9001 Cochrans Crossing Dr, Spring, TX

And The Woodlands Country Club Palmer Course
100 Grand Fairway, Spring, TX

[Vicman]

CDPs are used for gathering statistics on the population, etc.

This page lists the four map files from the Census Bureau: Index of /geo/maps/dc10map/GUBlock/st48_tx/place/p4869596_spring

• http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10...869596_000.pdf (overall map)
• http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10...869596_001.pdf (detail map of the NW corner)
• http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10...869596_002.pdf (detail map of the center of Spring (Old Town Spring)
• http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10...869596_003.pdf (detail map of East Spring)

All the guys living in Klein ISD and Conroe ISD are not included in the official federal statistics of the population of Spring, Texas.

Originally Posted by Dopo

That s... is so confusing,
There's places all the way up in The Woodlands that have Spring, TX address

Panther Creek Post office on Woodlands Parkway and Gosling has this address
10800 Gosling Rd, Spring, TX 7738

Same goes for Galatas Elementary School
9001 Cochrans Crossing Dr, Spring, TX

And The Woodlands Country Club Palmer Course
100 Grand Fairway, Spring, TX