Kingwood (77339) or Pearland (Silverlake) (house, neighborhood, schools)

[Topaz]

Kingwood and your wife needs a carpool partner.

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by texas7

I would go with Kingwood. Friends who live there have a GREAT commute into downtown since they widened and improved that freeway a couple of years ago. Only negative I see is that the nearest mall is Deerbrook which seems to be slowly about to decline.

Ahhhh come on Texas7. Getting in or out of Kingwood is a real test of patience. There is really only one main way in and out by way of an old narrow functionally obsolete 2 lane road with no shoulders and no deceleration lanes to make those left turns. So when some one has to turn they are sitting in the right in the lane stopping everyone behind them. Add to this frustration the mistimed traffic lights and your knuckles turn white. But yes once you hit 59 it's pretty clear sailing.

Other then this, Kingwood is pretty nice.

Why do you say Deerbrook is declining? I have been in uglier malls and Macys is rebuilding for the better. A decent food court inside. Never much of a crowd in there though but I never been in there on any weekend.

[chris_ut]

Kingwood has 3 routes out: Kingwood Dr. , West Lake Houston Parkway and Northpark Dr. If your worried about the drive out you can live in Oakhurst which is the only village on the west side of 59 and has very fast highway access.

[briky69]

Thanks all for the opinions and comments.

We have found a couple of homes (older) closer to the front of Kingwood; ie closer to 59. Our only concern is that the elementary and middle schools to which they are zoned have only been rated "Acceptable". To get into the Exemplary/Recognized schools, means moving deeper into Kingwood and this obviously increases the commute time. In peak evening traffic, we drove U of H to one of the homes in under 40 minutes which is comparable to the Silverlake commute despite the shorter distance and the same time of day. 59N does seem to flow quite well. That said, to move deeper into Kingwood, we estimate an additional 15-20 minutes via Kingwood Dr to get to the sub-divisions East of W Lake Houston Pkwy during peak traffic.

Besides Kingwood Dr, are there any other quicker routes out of the East end of Kingwood?

We tried 1960 outlet on the weekend (3 weeks ago) and that was a nightmare. Indication we have received is that 1960 should be avoided.

We love the area, now it is down to finding a home that is zoned to Exemplary schools yet have the quick access to 59.

Suggestions of sub-divisions welcome.

BTW we are looking for a home 3500+ sqft, 4+ bedroom, 3+ bathroom, study, game room and pool.

[briky69]

Perhaps the more important question is...

How much weight should one put into the TAKS rating of the schools? Our experience in Pearland is that although the schools are rated Exemplary, the staff seem more focused on achieving Exemplary status versus the education and care of the students. Granted our kids have enjoyed the schools, however at times I feel as though the staff treat them as numbers.

So, if you have any experience of the schools in Kingwood, we are very keen to learn more.

For the homes we have found, the zoned schools are Foster Elementary and Kingwood/Creekwood Middle Schools.

[chris_ut]

All the schools in Kingwood are good. TAKS ratings are over rated imo.

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by briky69

Thanks all for the opinions and comments.

We have found a couple of homes (older) closer to the front of Kingwood; ie closer to 59. Our only concern is that the elementary and middle schools to which they are zoned have only been rated "Acceptable". To get into the Exemplary/Recognized schools, means moving deeper into Kingwood and this obviously increases the commute time. In peak evening traffic, we drove U of H to one of the homes in under 40 minutes which is comparable to the Silverlake commute despite the shorter distance and the same time of day. 59N does seem to flow quite well. That said, to move deeper into Kingwood, we estimate an additional 15-20 minutes via Kingwood Dr to get to the sub-divisions East of W Lake Houston Pkwy during peak traffic.

Besides Kingwood Dr, are there any other quicker routes out of the East end of Kingwood?

We tried 1960 outlet on the weekend (3 weeks ago) and that was a nightmare. Indication we have received is that 1960 should be avoided.

We love the area, now it is down to finding a home that is zoned to Exemplary schools yet have the quick access to 59.

Suggestions of sub-divisions welcome.

BTW we are looking for a home 3500+ sqft, 4+ bedroom, 3+ bathroom, study, game room and pool.

I've looked at the TEA scores for 2008 and I can't find one elementary school in KW that is rated Acceptable...? Middle Schools around Houston are notoriously "Acceptable", for whatever reason. I wouldn't put too much stock into that.

All the schools in KW are pretty good. They're large so keep that in mind when you shuffle your kiddo off to high school. I had kind of a harder time with that, not everyone does though.

[gkv74]

We moved to Kingwood about 2 years ago. We wanted to get as close to the front as we could for commute purposes but also wanted good schools and a nice area. We looked at houses in the 3000 sq foot range all over Kingwood, and really liked Bear Branch. We have a home there now. Bear Branch Elementary is great (exemplary). Depending where you live in Bear Branch, you can either go to Kingwood or Creekwood Middle Schools.

Bear Branch is more in the middle of Kingwood, but I can get out of Kingwood in under 10 minutes a lot of the time. It has taken me up to 20 minutes at rush hour a few times, but usually more like 15 minutes. The drive into Downtown is a breeze though compared to most freeways in Houston.

We loved Bear Branch and King's Forest (didn't want to spend that much though). There are a lot of nice areas towards the back, but as you noted, commute times from there can get pretty long. It still shocks me how overlooked Kingwood is sometimes. We previously lived in a brand new house in a new development. After living in a mature neighborhhod, I'll never buy in a new development again.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by briky69

Our experience in Pearland is that although the schools are rated Exemplary, the staff seem more focused on achieving Exemplary status versus the education and care of the students. Granted our kids have enjoyed the schools, however at times I feel as though the staff treat them as numbers.

I think this problem is ubiquitous in the public school system in Texas.

[Mr. Football]

Between those two, I'd go with Kingwood over Pearland 10 out of 10 times.

Friendswood's a good choice too.