Woodlands vs Sugar Land vs Memorial Northwest

[SkyeAnjel]

Memorial Northwest is a beautiful neighborhoood with excellent schools, Theiss elementary, doerre middle and Klein high. My own kids went to Klein and I used to live right next door to MN. This is a great area that will afford you more home then The Woodlands and Sugarland.

[Sampaguita]

We are currently renting in The Woodlands but we are not planning on buying here. We will likely end up around the Sienna Plantation area as that is where my brother & SIL are looking to buy. We want to be close to them & living up in TW isn't very convenient.

I guess if you were to compare it to other Houston suburbs, TW IS a very nice area but DH & I find it to be somewhat claustrophobic with all the trees - you really ARE in a forest. Perhaps it's just our house but it just seems so dark around here all the time.

It is also quite far from everyone we know who live in downtown Houston or Sugar Land. We're not thrilled by the lack of diversity either. We have to trek into Houston for more authentic ethnic cuisine. So far everything we've tried up here is very unauthentic.

On the positive side, it is very tidy & clean around here and shopping whether for groceries, pharmacies, gas, etc...are very convenient. Again, don't know whether it's the particular neighborhood we're in but no one in ours is particularly friendly. We've been here 2 months and met only 1 neighbor - on our overture. Having come from a very friendly neighborhood previously, this is quite disheartening to us as we had really hoped that The Woodlands would work out for us. But who knows? It's only been 2 months so our impressions may change. Regardless, we won't be purchasing in the area simply because of poor proximity to family.

If at all possible, I would rent before buying. I really did not think that we'd be having the kind of experience we're having right now so we're extremely glad that we chose to rent first.

Good luck with all the decisions you're making.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by Sampaguita

We are currently renting in The Woodlands but we are not planning on buying here. We will likely end up around the Sienna Plantation area as that is where my brother & SIL are looking to buy. We want to be close to them & living up in TW isn't very convenient.

I guess if you were to compare it to other Houston suburbs, TW IS a very nice area but DH & I find it to be somewhat claustrophobic with all the trees - you really ARE in a forest. Perhaps it's just our house but it just seems so dark around here all the time.

It is also quite far from everyone we know who live in downtown Houston or Sugar Land. We're not thrilled by the lack of diversity either. We have to trek into Houston for more authentic ethnic cuisine. So far everything we've tried up here is very unauthentic.

On the positive side, it is very tidy & clean around here and shopping whether for groceries, pharmacies, gas, etc...are very convenient. Again, don't know whether it's the particular neighborhood we're in but no one in ours is particularly friendly. We've been here 2 months and met only 1 neighbor - on our overture. Having come from a very friendly neighborhood previously, this is quite disheartening to us as we had really hoped that The Woodlands would work out for us. But who knows? It's only been 2 months so our impressions may change. Regardless, we won't be purchasing in the area simply because of poor proximity to family.

If at all possible, I would rent before buying. I really did not think that we'd be having the kind of experience we're having right now so we're extremely glad that we chose to rent first.

Good luck with all the decisions you're making.

Oh Sienna Plantation is REALLY nice. I have friends who live out there and on Halloween their neighbors build a free public haunted house for the whole community and it's jam packed with kids and people walking around in costumes eating hot dogs and drinking. You even see lots of socializing between neighbors, people jogging, kids playing,etc. The neighborhood was surprisingly diverse as well. I feel it is one of the better master-planned communties in the Houston area.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by Sampaguita

If at all possible, I would rent before buying. I really did not think that we'd be having the kind of experience we're having right now so we're extremely glad that we chose to rent first.

Good luck with all the decisions you're making.

That is really excellent advice. We learned this the hard way when we bought a house too quickly in Colorado and then realized we had made a mistake. We would definitely have realized we didn't want to buy a house in that neighborhood if we had just rented first.

Here in Sugar Land, renting first has confirmed that we definitely do want to buy in this neighborhood, but on the side closer to 59.

Renting first is smart.

[Supermac34]

Memorial Northwest is just one of about a dozen similar neighborhoods in the Spring/Klein area that would fit a similar description. Its hard to compare it to basically entire towns such as the Woodlands and Sugar Land.

That being said, I live and work in the area and love it. You are still close enough to the Woodlands to use their shopping and amenities, however, Champions and Willowbrook are also close by for similar shopping/eating. You also have a shorter commute if going into town, by about 20-30 minutes in some cases. They are also building out the Vintage shopping area which when it finally gets finished out and occupied will probably be very similar to the Woodlands Town Center or Uptown Park near the Galleria.

My advice if you are interested in Memorial Northwest, you should not hold yourself back from looking at the similar neighborhoods in the area such as Champion Forest, Champions, Gleanloch, Windrose, Spring Creek Forest/Oaks, etc.

They are all similar and in the same area, but offer different price ranges and home size/style ranges as well.

[EasilyAmused]

Uptown and The Woodlands/Sugarland/Vintage have totally different retail. Same or similar eateries, but the shopping and vibe is completely different in Uptown compared to Market Street.

[bethmckinney74]

Thanks to everyone for sharing all this helpful information. I've been reading threads about neighborhoods and communities in northwest Houston on here for a month or so. My husband was offered a job in the north side of Houston, not too far from Willowbrook Mall is the best way I can describe the location. We'll be moving this summer. We're thinking of Champions, MNW, Gleannloch Farms, or the Woodlands. I saw a house online in Glenn Haven Estates. I found it on a map, but I can't figure out if it's part of a larger HOA or anything and I haven't been able to find much information about a community by that name. Any info. would be so appreciated. Thanks again for all the posts. It's making a big, scary move a lot easier!!!

[Indianspringsguy]

Originally Posted by SkyeAnjel

Memorial Northwest is a beautiful neighborhoood with excellent schools, Theiss elementary, doerre middle and Klein high. My own kids went to Klein and I used to live right next door to MN. This is a great area that will afford you more home then The Woodlands and Sugarland.

I am not big on Klein High School. Klein Oak is much better, near Tomball. Things have changed over the past few years.