Lake Jackson - Sugarland - where to live (Houston, Sugar Land: houses, neighborhoods)

[chaichai222]

Hello all!


We are looking to relocate to TX in the near future. We will be a family of 3 (infant), coming from the Chicago suburbs. My husband will be working near Lake Jackson. I however am a designer and it looks like I will have to commute to Houston to find the work I need. So my question is do we live in Lake Jackson, or Maybe Sugarland (any good suburbs nearby)?



We still like to do fun things, but i'm guessing we will have to drive to do those on the weekends. We are very much into parks, and any kind of hiking. Nearby stores and restaurants are also a bonus as we don't want to be so far out in the country that there isn't much there.



Any input is welcome! Thanks!

[SugLandDAd]

Lake Jackson and Sugar Land are about an hour apart, and Sugar Land is an additional 50 mins to downtown if traffic isn't bad, so there is no easy answer. who is better able to handle a longer commute? sometimes working odd hours helps a bit with traffic and eases up on the commute.


Its true there isn't much between Lake Jackson and Sugar Land, rural, not even small town.


If you end up in Sugar Land, you may want to look at the Greatwood neighborhood, as it has the best route south towards Lake Jackson.


Sienna Plantation down in Missouri City might be a good compromise with equally decent access to both Houston and Lake Jackson.

[Jtxg]

If you end up in Sugar Land - I will add that I commute from Richmond to Angleton every day (and have for over 7 years). It's an hour commute, but there's no traffic. I go back roads (762/1462/521). I personally will take this predictable commute any day over sitting in freeway traffic.

If you buy in the Telfair/Greatwood/New Territory area your husband could take this exact route.

[LocalPlanner]

Many Lake Jackson workers who have a spouse working in Houston live in northern Brazoria County - Pearland or Manvel. If you're going to Fort Bend County, it's easy from Manvel.

[As Above So Below...]

I would probably suggest Pearland. Its about 40 minutes from Lake Jackson and 25 from Sugar Land. Its also not that far from anything youd want to do in Houston.

[Bamaman1]

FYI: My cousin lives in Sugarland, and has raised two sons there. He just loves the place.

One son would have been right at the top of his class academically, however his high school is just full of Chinese and Indians that have fathers that are physicians and Phd's. He ranked about 90% highest in his class--not enough to get full scholarships to college. But the boy graduated in Electrical Engineering with great grades and is doing great in his job because their clients prefer to talk to Americans about technical subjects.

The other son graduated in May with a computer engineering degree.

Sugarland has a very competitive public education system. That's good.

[chaichai222]

Wow thank you all for the information!


Jtxg: We both commute here for work. An hour is normal for us (though not enjoyable), but it's all stop and go traffic. It's good to know that traffic moves fast at least! I'll definitely look into the areas you mentioned as an option. Thanks!


Bamaman1: thank you for the school info, I didn't even get that far into researching. That helps a ton, thanks!


I didn't realize Pearland and Sugar Land were so far apart. I will have to look into both of them, and see which areas we like more. Both look great online, but I have a lot of touring to do when the time comes.
I appreciate the specific neighborhoods to look at too, that will help a lot!

So does anyone actually recommend staying in Lake Jackson, or are the other options more favorable?

[Failed Engineer]

I would probably recommend Pearland over Sugar Land for a Lake Jackson commute. Your budget also factors into the decision process. Another good family friendly option not mentioned yet in the thread is Friendswood.

Lake Jackson is nice. But it is sleepy and not a whole lot to do around there.

Where do you live in Chicago? I'm pretty familiar with it so I could tell you which Houston south suburb most resembles your current city.

[chaichai222]

Originally Posted by Failed Engineer

I would probably recommend Pearland over Sugar Land for a Lake Jackson commute. Your budget also factors into the decision process. Another good family friendly option not mentioned yet in the thread is Friendswood.

Lake Jackson is nice. But it is sleepy and not a whole lot to do around there.

Where do you live in Chicago? I'm pretty familiar with it so I could tell you which Houston south suburb most resembles your current city.

I saw Friendswood mentioned in another forum, I will have to look into that area as well.


We live in the Western suburbs of IL, and spend a lot of time in Bartlett-Wheaton and Naperville.

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by chaichai222

Hello all!


We are looking to relocate to TX in the near future. We will be a family of 3 (infant), coming from the Chicago suburbs. My husband will be working near Lake Jackson. I however am a designer and it looks like I will have to commute to Houston to find the work I need. So my question is do we live in Lake Jackson, or Maybe Sugarland (any good suburbs nearby)?



We still like to do fun things, but i'm guessing we will have to drive to do those on the weekends. We are very much into parks, and any kind of hiking. Nearby stores and restaurants are also a bonus as we don't want to be so far out in the country that there isn't much there.



Any input is welcome! Thanks!

Pearland is better considering the commute. Or if you don't worry about schools yet, Alvin is also ok, since you may get bigger houses for less. Friendswood and Clear Lake is nice, but again wouldn't make difference between Pearland due to the nearly identical commutes. Sugarland is far and not worth the hype.

Also these 3 places are a proper defitions of a suburb. You can still stay in Lake Jackson , but it would give a feel of a sleepy rural town, than a suburb.