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Is there anyplace around the Houston area that I can raise my 5 children(ages 17 thru 4) that they can still experience a country lifestyle but close enough to the city where we can make a good income. We're fed up with Florida's "have children and forget about them"'s attitude.Our business does well but loosing my children to a bunch of thugs who don't care about anything but their material possessions is not an option for us.I want my girls to marry decent men and my boys to become hardworking, loyal men like my husband. Fighting the exterior influence is difficult.I want them to experience and appreciate the simple things in life.Some may think I'm running away and taking the same problems with me. I don't think so...long ago when people didn't like their surroundings they moved "out west"...isn't what this country was based on???
Is there anyplace around the Houston area that I can raise my 5 children(ages 17 thru 4) that they can still experience a country lifestyle but close enough to the city where we can make a good income. We're fed up with Florida's "have children and forget about them"'s attitude.Our business does well but loosing my children to a bunch of thugs who don't care about anything but their material possessions is not an option for us.I want my girls to marry decent men and my boys to become hardworking, loyal men like my husband. Fighting the exterior influence is difficult.I want them to experience and appreciate the simple things in life.Some may think I'm running away and taking the same problems with me. I don't think so...long ago when people didn't like their surroundings they moved "out west"...isn't what this country was based on???
Wow your asking alot. Well maybe I am well qualified to answer you. Im an hour above downtown Houston but living way out in the sticks is not for everyone.
Starting north of Houston: Im skipping the first city of Humble... Heading north from Houston is Kingwood. A great planned pretty community but very very crowded with only 2 roads out and take a guess what they look like at rush hour. Heading more north the next town is Porter. Not too bad but most of it is old and dumpy. Then comes my favorites.....New Caney and Splendora. Great little slow growing towns with little crime and good schools. It begins to get real countryish from here. You are still only about a half hour commute to downtown Houston. Depending on what you do for work it may be easy to find work in Kingwood or Humble. That would be a nice easy almost stress free commute.
Up here you escape much of the gang thug teenage crap. Many kids really do wear cowboy hats and boots and tight wranglers that actually fit them to school. Rather then pants so large that one can conceal 13 semi-automatic weapons in them without notice while wearing T-shirts to their knees like an evening gown and the crooked hats. Life is a whole lot slower and less stressfull up here yet still a real easy commute into where big business and traffic thrive. You have beautiful uncrowded parks and lakes up here. Kids actually say yes mam and yes sir, yes teenagers do this here.
Go research New Caney. The population is about 8000 but very well spread out. They are building a monsterous Dinosaur Park there that will burden the roads so stay clear of that. It just might ruin the area forever. That is to be seen. It will provide a thousand jobs for young people though.
Splendora has a population of about 2000. Very countryish and pretty. Check that too.
Just below Splendora and to the east is a gigantic subdivision called Roman Forest. It is quite old but remains real nice. I looked in there but the main reason I would never live in there is because they have their own 2 man police station and they sit in the road watching you come in and out 24/7. They are not afraid to stop a resident for stupid crap like a cracked windshield or a broken tail light. I dont like communism so that is not my style and neither are communist HOAs. How the locals tolerate that harrassment insults me.
Im talking too much. Hope I gave you a place to start researching. You need to look in person to get a real feel for what's right for you though.
Location: where nothin ever grows. no rain or rivers flow, TX
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that definitely sounds like Cypress. i go there all the time to see my sisters and I pass by rural type private airports, real ranch houses with deers and horses and no side walks and light poles on public roads.
Yeah, but any neighborhood or burb anywhere within driving distance (1.5 hours) to downtown is going to have the material competition aspect to it. There is no getting around it. At all.
Actually the only place that I've been in a very long time that isn't concerned about material things is where my weekend cabin is, deep in the Piney Woods. Nobody has anything and it's all farms and timber land. I think they only gang within 30 miles is a gang of loggers. Apparently it's school district is great though. The city of Tyler (100,000 people) is within a 35 minute drive.
But I just think it's unrealistic these days to find the lack of gangs, drugs and materialism anywhere. Especially the drugs part. Houston is too spread out, thanks to all the MPC's, so I would say it's impossible to escape your list and still be close enough to the city for income. You might have to look for a more compact city and then at the one hour ring around it.
Wow your asking alot. Well maybe I am well qualified to answer you. Im an hour above downtown Houston but living way out in the sticks is not for everyone.
Starting north of Houston: Im skipping the first city of Humble... Heading north from Houston is Kingwood. A great planned pretty community but very very crowded with only 2 roads out and take a guess what they look like at rush hour. Heading more north the next town is Porter. Not too bad but most of it is old and dumpy. Then comes my favorites.....New Caney and Splendora. Great little slow growing towns with little crime and good schools. It begins to get real countryish from here. You are still only about a half hour commute to downtown Houston. Depending on what you do for work it may be easy to find work in Kingwood or Humble. That would be a nice easy almost stress free commute.
Up here you escape much of the gang thug teenage crap. Many kids really do wear cowboy hats and boots and tight wranglers that actually fit them to school. Rather then pants so large that one can conceal 13 semi-automatic weapons in them without notice while wearing T-shirts to their knees like an evening gown and the crooked hats. Life is a whole lot slower and less stressfull up here yet still a real easy commute into where big business and traffic thrive. You have beautiful uncrowded parks and lakes up here. Kids actually say yes mam and yes sir, yes teenagers do this here.
Go research New Caney. The population is about 8000 but very well spread out. They are building a monsterous Dinosaur Park there that will burden the roads so stay clear of that. It just might ruin the area forever. That is to be seen. It will provide a thousand jobs for young people though.
Splendora has a population of about 2000. Very countryish and pretty. Check that too.
Just below Splendora and to the east is a gigantic subdivision called Roman Forest. It is quite old but remains real nice. I looked in there but the main reason I would never live in there is because they have their own 2 man police station and they sit in the road watching you come in and out 24/7. They are not afraid to stop a resident for stupid crap like a cracked windshield or a broken tail light. I dont like communism so that is not my style and neither are communist HOAs. How the locals tolerate that harrassment insults me.
Im talking too much. Hope I gave you a place to start researching. You need to look in person to get a real feel for what's right for you though.
They have that police presence because they want it. The people of Roman Forest don't want any B.S. in their neighborhood and they've made sure it doesn't happen. A quick read of the Roman Forest Neighborhood website forums will definitely show that! They've always had that reputation, but after reading the site, I see why.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EasilyAmused
Yeah, but any neighborhood or burb anywhere within driving distance (1.5 hours) to downtown is going to have the material competition aspect to it. There is no getting around it. At all.
Actually the only place that I've been in a very long time that isn't concerned about material things is where my weekend cabin is, deep in the Piney Woods. Nobody has anything and it's all farms and timber land. I think they only gang within 30 miles is a gang of loggers. Apparently it's school district is great though. The city of Tyler (100,000 people) is within a 35 minute drive.
But I just think it's unrealistic these days to find the lack of gangs, drugs and materialism anywhere. Especially the drugs part. Houston is too spread out, thanks to all the MPC's, so I would say it's impossible to escape your list and still be close enough to the city for income. You might have to look for a more compact city and then at the one hour ring around it.
Agreed. I think Columbus, Sealy, Brenham, Dayton/Liberty, Cleveland, Wharton, etc would be more of what you seek, bloomingdale. I don't blame you for wanting that for your kids, heck, there are times I wish I could pack up and move to the country--but your kids will be who they are more for what YOU show them than where they live and what they own.
Sorry to say...small town America is just as bad if not worse than the city. many un-educated with little to no opportunity. Meth labs etc... I taught in Cleaveland Tx and it was small town but high in crime,drugs,stupidity. Sorry Cleaveland the truth hurts. A fellow teacher/ coach got caught Moderator cut: way too graphic for a PG13 forum. deferred adjudication is all he got.
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 01-08-2009 at 09:13 PM..
Sorry to say...small town America is just as bad if not worse than the city. many un-educated with little to no opportunity. Meth labs etc... I taught in Cleaveland Tx and it was small town but high in crime,drugs,stupidity. Sorry Cleaveland the truth hurts. A fellow teacher/ coach got caught Moderator cut: way too graphic for a PG13 forum. deferred adjudication is all he got.
You described Cleveland almost perfect. You forgot all to mention most of it's residents are on welfare and live in homes that look like old slaves quarters on plantations down in Georgia circa 1885.
But that's not what we are talking about here. Cleveland does not even qualify as country having a popuation of over 8000. On any given day the population of their Walmart shoppers exceeds the whole towns popuation as those who purchase cheap Chinese products come from all around Cleveland. And as far as teachers getting caught with drugs, I dont think a day has gone by in a month where yet another teacher was caught with drugs in their car while on school grounds down in the big city.
I just dont know of any of those gangs you speak of up here. Including Cleveland. My spouse works the night shift in Cleveland and says she never seen or heard of gangs. That dont mean there ain't none. If there are they must not get into much trouble. Even the cops hang out in all the casinos or gambling palors whatever they call them here. So no...gambling does not bring more crime either.
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 01-08-2009 at 09:14 PM..
Reason: updated quote
I just dont know of any of those gangs you speak of up here. Including Cleveland. My spouse works the night shift in Cleveland and says she never seen or heard of gangs. That dont mean there ain't none. If there are they must not get into much trouble. Even the cops hang out in all the casinos or gambling palors whatever they call them here. So no...gambling does not bring more crime either.
Nah, in the country they don't call them gangs, or like the "polite" society in the city they don't call them cliques either, but that does not mean they don't exist. In the country, it is just a bunch of kids getting together and getting into mischief...same thing. I've experienced both (as a teen and adult) and find that "country kids" have just as many issues just slightly different. Drunk driving and alcohol is a big problem and there are still plenty of drugs available. Gotta sell the products of the meth labs somewhere after all.
It's getting to be too late for this. Everyone wants to be in the middle of everything and nothing at the same time.
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Apparently it's school district is great though. The city of Tyler (100,000 people) is within a 35 minute drive.
