Help!! Moving to Houston (Galveston, The Woodlands: apartment complexes, rent, crime)

[nola11]

We are planning to move to Houston within a year and I want to get all the research done that I can so we can make a good decision on where to buy a home. I have 2 boys 6 & 3. We live in Charlotte, NC in a neighborhood built in the 60's all brick homes avg 2500-3000 sq ft. We are close to the main mall, their Catholic school, bike ride to the swimming pool, short drive to downtown (entertainment). I live 2 houses away from my mom and a block away from my sister. I'm leaving my little bubble and need HELP to find something as similar as I can get to what I have. We are looking in $400,000 range. No McMansions, we like older homes with character. Is this possible to achieve in that price range?

TIA.. I could use all the help I can get.

[Oildog]

Where will you be working, huge issue in Houston as commute time is a big factor on where to live. www.har.com

[nola11]

I will be a stay at home mom and my husband is opening a branch of his company there. Where we find a comfortable neighborhood is where he will try to find office space. (ideally!)

[Poltracker]

Look to areas like Timber Grove, Lazybrook, Meyerland or maybe West University. All have good access to catholic and other private schools are older, established neighborhoods w/ good shopping.

[EasilyAmused]

Briargrove would be perfect, but it's well over the 550 mark these days.

If you want to be very close to downtown, I'd say Meyerland. If you don't mind being west (20 minutes to downtown) I'd say Wilchester. You get a little more for your money in Wilchester and the neighborhood is packed with kids, a community pool, and an excellent public school system,one mile from a huge shopping/dining/enertainment area and backs to a massive park and bayou river. It would be in another one of Houston's "Downtowns," The Energy Corridor. Both suggested neighborhoods have easy access to all the you requested. Both are older neighborhoods with character.

Also Cedarwood in Spring Valley. The problem is, character and good location, AND IN GOOD CONDITION, in this city is expensive. It can be found, but in the under 400 category, your work is cut out for you finding a "family neighborhood," where kids can bike to pools safely, the nieghborhood not bordering questionable apartment complexes, and be close in for under 400k. Fortunately you are going private,which will help. When you throw in the need for public schools, 95% of the population is forced out to a planned community in the under the 400k range.

[nola11]

WOW, such great info so quickly.. This points me in the right direction.. 20 min to downtown is just about right for us, not too far. We are about 10 mins from downtown Charlotte and my understanding of Houston is that it is very expansive, so 20 min to downtown Houston is very reasonable for us. Sounds like zoning is different then Charlotte, with the issue of lower income apartments so close to these neighborhoods. What exactly is the Energy Corridor?? Are the catholic schools in these areas good for academics?

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by nola11

WOW, such great info so quickly.. This points me in the right direction.. 20 min to downtown is just about right for us, not too far. We are about 10 mins from downtown Charlotte and my understanding of Houston is that it is very expansive, so 20 min to downtown Houston is very reasonable for us. Sounds like zoning is different then Charlotte, with the issue of lower income apartments so close to these neighborhoods. What exactly is the Energy Corridor?? Are the catholic schools in these areas good for academics?

Look at Strake Jesuit and St. Agnus for High School.
St. Ceclia's,St. Michaels, Regis and Duchesne. Also don't discount Catholic Lite. St. Francis Episcopal (K-8)is extremely good and provides a more advanced education than the above Catholic lower schools.. If you chose Meyerland, I think St. Anne's is where a lot go.

All these schools are within 10-20 minutes drive from the Beltway.

The Energy Corridor is an area that runs from right about the Beltway (second ring around the city) along I-10 to almost the Katy area. It's where many of the big oil,gas and energy company are located.

As to apartments in Houston: You have areas with multi-million dollar homes within blocks of low rent apartments that have crime issues mostly within it's own complex. Crime often doesn't spread out into the neighborhoods, but it does put a lot of people off. There is no zoning in Houston..at all. The only area in Houston itself that doesn't really have a problem with such apartments is the Memorial Villages in zip code 77024. There are lower income units along I-10 in the area, but they are fast disappearing due to property values. PS- You can't get into the Villages for under 800k these days. BUT, the Wilchester area does share the same school district.

Other areas to Consider: Garden Oaks and Oak Forest northwest of downtown. I'm not as familiar with those areas, but I know that most people go private there. Good location to the main downtown.

I don't think DOWNTOWN here in Houston will have the same draw as Charlotte, it's mainly a business/office/ballpark destination. Houston is expansive and we have several downtowns and a Musuem District.

[Poltracker]

EA has good suggestions. I am more familiar with the Upper grades of catholic schools in the Timber Grove, Garden Oaks, Lazybrook area i.e. St. Thomas High School, St Pius. Of the lower grades, I believe St Anne's is a nice Elem/Middle School (farthest away at about 10 min.) there is also St Rose of Lima, and St. Theresa's all within 5 min.

Good tool for schools: The Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

[Malvie]

If we may ask, what is your husband's business? Is he going to be downtown, or suburban, or suburban office park? (For example, The Woodlands is a beautiful suburb, excellent place to live, meets all your requirements, but it's a long way from "the city").

Houston has several "downtowns". There's "downtown" (mostly financial district), the "Galleria Area" (which is bigger than downtown Denver, and features the Galleria (a very large mall) and many other shopping/restaurant venues. There's the Texas Medical Center (largest medical complex in US) and all that goes with it, including the museums and Rice University. Then there's the "Energy Corridor" as described above, and "Greenway Plaza", another office/food/entertainment area.

EasilyAmused has given you excellent advice. I agree with his comments about Wilchester; it's a lovely area, with big trees (you should feel more at "home" there, but remember: Houston is flat as a pancake). Meyerland is also excellent; it's possible (unlikely) you could squeak into West University Place (would fulfill all your needs) for $400k but you'd need to shop carefully.

Good luck, and welcome to Houston!!!

(I've never been as lost as I have been the few times I've been to Charlotte; Houston is much easier to get around in. Just remember, though: we've got a freeway 20 lanes wide, and there's a reason it's that size....).

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by Malvie

If we may ask, what is your husband's business? Is he going to be downtown, or suburban, or suburban office park? (For example, The Woodlands is a beautiful suburb, excellent place to live, meets all your requirements, but it's a long way from "the city").


.

The major problem with The Woodlands, other than it's far far away from all things city, is that it has only one Catholic school that I'm aware of. St. Anthony's, and I really never heard anything positive about. People move there for the public schools, more for the illusion of safety than any superior education, and cheaper housing prices. Secondly, you are hitting neighborhoods with mostly newer homestyles , and a population of people in their 30s and 40s. You don't have that wonderful mix of age groups that keeps a neighborhood sane, like you do in the older areas of Houston. The Woodlands isn't very "old" Charlotte IMHO.