Surgar Land vs Pearland (Houston, Sugar Land: to rent, price, vs.)

[CanTex]

Have to agree with the comments about traffic around FM518/Hwy 288... HORRIBLE. It is very clear that no one thought through all the traffic impacts once they permitted all that massive retail development. I am still amazed at the the stupid design they allowed with no access to retail on any of the four corners of 518/288 without having to go through the intersection... no direct connection to any of it from the 288 ramps or a frontage road. STUPID!!! It looks like they are realizing this with some of the 288 frontage road construction that appears to be underway.

Now, Sugar Land traffic on Hwy 6 as you get anywhere close to First Colony isn't great either, but at least it is a 6 lane highway and does not get really bad other than 1-2 hours each morning and evening. I'm thankful for the great new H-E-B and Kroger stores we now have at Sienna Plantation so my trips down Hwy 6 to either Sugar Land or Pearland are even less necessary.

[davidtk]

Originally Posted by CanTex

Have to agree with the comments about traffic around FM518/Hwy 288... HORRIBLE. It is very clear that no one thought through all the traffic impacts once they permitted all that massive retail development. I am still amazed at the the stupid design they allowed with no access to retail on any of the four corners of 518/288 without having to go through the intersection... no direct connection to any of it from the 288 ramps or a frontage road. STUPID!!! It looks like they are realizing this with some of the 288 frontage road construction that appears to be underway.

I agree 100,000%. There is hope though. In case you haven't noticed, there are multilane feeder roads being built on both sides of 288 between 518 and 2234 (McHard). I don't think it will fix the problem, but it should help quite a bit.

518 needs to be 3 lanes going each direction on both sides of 288, with dedicated right hand turn lanes.

[erinbearin]

I am in Pearland. I chose it for it's location to the medical center... as did a lot of other folks!!! I am glad we chose to live here (although it's only temporary). My main reason was for the schools. They are really good, and I've been happy with the elementary school my child attends.

If you do come here, I had an EXCELLENT obgyn, she was amazing! She delivered me at the Women's Hospital of Houston. There's quite a few really good hospitals for delivery as well. I was thrilled with her bcs I was required to have another c-section and it was soooo much better than my first one (performed in another state).
If you end up moving to Pearland, email me privately and I'll give you the names of my OBGYN and family doctor/pediatrician.

I will say that traffic is plain bad anywhere around here (Houston in general, LOL!). The biggest difference between Sugarland and Pearland (in my humble opinion) is that Sugarland has more trees. I know that sounds weird, but everyone else gave you really good pros/cons, etc also. I have noticed that when driving through SL, it just looks prettier. That said, I am still really happy PL is home for now.
BTW, check the property taxes/flood insurance requirements in both areas if you are buying. I know that parts of PL have MUD taxes & require flood insurance and they are pretty steep- I have no idea about SL.

[asonnier]

Pearland is very nice. The traffic on 518 near 288 is bad. I live there though and there are very easy ways to get to the shopping area these people are talking about and avoid it. I do it everytime I go that way. There is also a way to get to Town center and avoid the traffic so that is really a non-issue. Also, someone mentioned Pearland ISD as being a con. Pearland schools are very good. Silverlake is the only elementary school in Pearland ISD to get 5 stars and it is rated 250 in the entire state of Texas. I have 3 children, 2 of whom have moved out of elementary and 1 who is still there and I have always been impressed with the school as a whole. The teachers there are fabulous. We have been in Pearland for 10 years and love it.

Sugarland is nice. We have friends there. The school district is good also. Traffic on 59 can be very bad if you are commuting into downtown. I work near downtown. I leave my house in Pearland at 6:25am and get to work by 7:00 every day. It will take at least an hour from Sugarland. I lived there before I went to Pearland so I know the traffic is much worse that way.

[mirjaja]

Well I wrote out a long song and dance about why SL was better, but it got lost to the void.

So in a nutshell, while home prices may be cheaper in Pearland, home owners and auto insurance will be considerably higher there, and comparing a home in Sienna Plantation (Pearland) to the one we bought in New Territory (Sugar Land), well my Sugar Land taxes are almost half of what they would be over in Pearland - so it costs less to live over here.

[CanTex]

Originally Posted by mirjaja

Well I wrote out a long song and dance about why SL was better, but it got lost to the void.

So in a nutshell, while home prices may be cheaper in Pearland, home owners and auto insurance will be considerably higher there, and comparing a home in Sienna Plantation (Pearland) to the one we bought in New Territory (Sugar Land), well my Sugar Land taxes are almost half of what they would be over in Pearland - so it costs less to live over here.

Confused about your reference to Sienna Plantation (Pearland). SP is not close to being part of Pearland...

[coog78]

I love this post.

Copy and paste Republican suburb with beige buildings and strip malls vs. Copy and paste Republican suburb with beige buildings and strip malls.

It's like the "Vomit vs. Urine" argument.

[CanTex]

Originally Posted by asonnier

Pearland is very nice. The traffic on 518 near 288 is bad. I live there though and there are very easy ways to get to the shopping area these people are talking about and avoid it. I do it everytime I go that way. There is also a way to get to Town center and avoid the traffic so that is really a non-issue. Also, someone mentioned Pearland ISD as being a con. Pearland schools are very good. Silverlake is the only elementary school in Pearland ISD to get 5 stars and it is rated 250 in the entire state of Texas. I have 3 children, 2 of whom have moved out of elementary and 1 who is still there and I have always been impressed with the school as a whole. The teachers there are fabulous. We have been in Pearland for 10 years and love it.

Sugarland is nice. We have friends there. The school district is good also. Traffic on 59 can be very bad if you are commuting into downtown. I work near downtown. I leave my house in Pearland at 6:25am and get to work by 7:00 every day. It will take at least an hour from Sugarland. I lived there before I went to Pearland so I know the traffic is much worse that way.

Would love to hear any tips you can share abour navigating around the Town Center / Target / H-E-B areas without having to deal with the mess at FM518 & 288. Coming up 288 from Hwy 6, I haven't found a good way around this.

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by Houston456

Following is a comparison I made and posted in another thread in Oct 2007 with some editing. To call it as Sugarland vs Pearland may be little miselading. I would say Sugarland vs West Pearland. If your husband is working at Fresno, West Pearland may be the better option.



Pearland

Pros

* Near to Downtown/Medical Center (Easy access to these places on non -peak hours)
* Just started booming (?)

Cons

* 288 getting worse day by day (May take 40-45 minutes to downtown and 30-35 minutes to TMC on peak hours)
* 288/518 area getting over crowded
* Brazoria county, meaning hefty home insurance premium (windstorm)
* Flooding on 288 when it rains heavily
* Alvin/Pearland school District
* Average price of homes near 288/518 is $85 sq.ft.
* Landfill expansion issue (the news itself, irrespective of whether it expands or not)

sugarLand:

Pros :

* Established area for family living
* fortbend ISD and good established schools
* No (Few) flooding issues
* No high insurance costs (flood/windstorm)
* 59 upgrade/constructon completed till Hwy6 - Traffic not as bad as 288 or 290
* ALT 90 (South Main st )becoming another freeway by end of 2009 (?) and would provide alternate route to Medical Center / Downtown/ Galleria (if needed)
* Average price of homes near 59/6 is $90 sq.ft

Cons :

* Proximity to Sharpstown/Alief area
* Far from Downtown/Medical center (Delayed access to these places even at non-peak hours)

Actually, a wise Houstonian would make proximity to Sharpstown/Alief area a pro. I certainly have.

[texas7]

Pearland schools are fine - not sure about Alvin's but think Pearland's are probably better. Traffic in Pearland is horrible but only in the new areas. The older areas are not that bad but most newcomers to the area don't like the older areas by virtue of the fact that they are older and a bit more rural feeling. As far as aesthetics the new areas of Pearland (288/518 areas) pretty much look the same as Sugarland - community after community of similar looking homes from modest to very upscale. Shopping centers and restaurants bounding everything with a similar decorum.