What part of town? (Houston, Mission: best neighborhoods, insurance, houses) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Nina2125 · 12-17-2018, 06:55 PM

Can anyone recommend a neighborhood or part of town that would be a good commute to both Katy and Stafford? I really liked a few neighborhoods in cypress north of 1960 but I was told it would be a terrible commute to Stafford. My budget is 230,000 for a 4 bedroom house and we have 4 kids so schools need to be decent.

Failed Engineer · 12-17-2018, 07:46 PM

Check Meadows Place, adjacent to Stafford. You basically want to draw a straight line from Katy to Stafford and make a circle passing through both cities and use that as your search area. $230k and 4 bedrooms doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room and I think Meadows Place is your best bet for good schools K-12.

Meadows Place doesn't look as pretty as the neighborhoods you like in Cypress, but holds it's value well because it's a very family orientated neighborhood with strong civic engagement. Plus, it gives you or your spouse (whomever is working in Stafford) an extremely short commute.

jerbear30 · 12-18-2018, 07:13 AM

Echoing the previous poster, I would wholeheartedly recommend Meadows Place.

Nina2125 · 12-18-2018, 08:14 AM

I will check it out thank you! Would it be crazy to live in south Katy? GPS says it’s only 30 minutes but that obviously doesn’t tell the whole story with traffic.

Corridor Chick · 12-18-2018, 08:47 AM

I don't think you'd find anything in your budget in South Katy. If you did, it would be a fixer-upper. You might search zips 77406, 77407, 77478, or 77498, but look for houses zones to Lamar CISD Foster HS or FBISD Travis or Kempner HS. Also, even though it's zoned to Kempner, avoid Townewest.

Ghost Town · 12-18-2018, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerbear30

Echoing the previous poster, I would wholeheartedly recommend Meadows Place.

With pretty much everyone here recommending Meadows Place I can't imagine this place to have any housing stock available for purchase. It is supposed to be totally sold out with the waitlist for the next few years.

In a case if nothing is available at Meadows Place, how about Mission Bend? Why there is so much prejudice against this area?

Failed Engineer · 12-18-2018, 01:05 PM

Because we should counsel people asking for advice the best neighborhoods they can buy into. Meadows Place is better than the Mission Bend neighborhoods and it's not debatable.

You used to be able to buy into Meadows Place for under $200k comfortably but that figure has gone up significantly over recent years. OP has a budget of $230k for 4 bedrooms. They could easily buy in Mission Bend, but worth their effort to secure a home in a better neighborhood and better schools. I think in another year $230k won't be enough to buy there. But it is today.

You could also look into some places off 99 south of Westpark Tollway for places closer to Katy but a lengthier commute to Stafford. For example the lowest price homes in Long Meadow Farms may fit (and check the older neighborhoods just south of LMF), there should be homes in Lakemont that might be in budget. Maybe some older neighborhoods off 1464 close to Aliana, like Oak Lake. That's what I would recommend checking out. Everything else is out of budget or will make for longer commutes. If you are ok with a little bit longer commutes for both of you see if Pecan Grove or New Territory west of 99 is too far. I'm sure you will like the look of the neighborhoods and there will be homes in budget, but not that many.

timtemtym · 12-18-2018, 03:47 PM

Meadows Place is amazing. I have friends who live there and they refer to it as Mayberry because it is a very good small town. Unlike Cypress, MP is its own city with its own police force and services. It is known SW Houston as a speed trap along Kirkwood where they have all those stop signs. That's something you want when looking for a safe place for kids. The police are always out and about.

Years ago I got pulled over in MP because I turned left without using my turn signal. I had put it on, but when I moved into that lane and straightened out the signal kicked off. The officer was super nice and he let me go with a warning, but I was always extra careful driving through there.

It's Fort Bend ISD which is known for good schools (especially on the west side of the district).

Other options would be to look in all those new neighborhoods around Aliana. There may be some cheaper houses in there and you'd have Grand Parkway to get up to Katy.

Nina2125 · 12-19-2018, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Failed Engineer

Because we should counsel people asking for advice the best neighborhoods they can buy into. Meadows Place is better than the Mission Bend neighborhoods and it's not debatable.

You used to be able to buy into Meadows Place for under $200k comfortably but that figure has gone up significantly over recent years. OP has a budget of $230k for 4 bedrooms. They could easily buy in Mission Bend, but worth their effort to secure a home in a better neighborhood and better schools. I think in another year $230k won't be enough to buy there. But it is today.

You could also look into some places off 99 south of Westpark Tollway for places closer to Katy but a lengthier commute to Stafford. For example the lowest price homes in Long Meadow Farms may fit (and check the older neighborhoods just south of LMF), there should be homes in Lakemont that might be in budget. Maybe some older neighborhoods off 1464 close to Aliana, like Oak Lake. That's what I would recommend checking out. Everything else is out of budget or will make for longer commutes. If you are ok with a little bit longer commutes for both of you see if Pecan Grove or New Territory west of 99 is too far. I'm sure you will like the look of the neighborhoods and there will be homes in budget, but not that many.

Thank you this was so helpful! You were right I love the look of Pecan Grove and New Territory and I did find a handful of houses that were a good fit for us. I did notice that the Brazos River is close by is that something I should be concerned about?

Failed Engineer · 12-19-2018, 08:20 AM

Both Pecan Grove and New Territory are levee protected. I know there was significant street flooding in Pecan Grove, but I don't recall any reports of flooded homes during Harvey. I also believe all of New Territory was okay during Harvey.

The area between Pecan Grove and New Territory is in a flood plain and not levee protected as far as I understand it and was hit badly (but no residential neighborhoods between them).

It is a concern yes. Enough of one to completely disregard buying there, I wouldn't say so. I would 100% buy flood insurance annually though, even though neither is in a flood plain.