Houston buddies...need some advice!

[m95roadster]

Fellas,

I have the option to relocate to Houston and I'm seeking some housing info. If you guys can help me out that would be great! What areas/suburbs of Houston have very low crime rates, excellent school districts, gated community (preferably), etc. with home prices in the range of $250,000-400,00? Also, what's the weather like? Does it rain alot, snow, hail/ice, tornadoes, etc.? I don't get any of that where I live so I would consider the weather a factor in my decision as well. Well, if you guys can point me in the right direction I would much appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

M95Roadster

[llajumpvid]

Well we got snow this last Christmas so I can't say it doesn't snow....I guess it snows once about every 15-years. We do get a few nights of temps below freezing. It rained 0.08" last month....not typical. I does usually rain fairly often but not to the point that it is depressing. It hails occasionally, and there are a few tornados. You forgot to ask about hurricanes, we get a few of those occasionally. I haven't experienced one in the 6 years here but have seen a few tropical depressions dump 1 to 3 feet of water in a day or two's time.

I live on the west side of town near...not in...the Royal Oaks area. I love it here there are all the best shopping, and eating facilities within a couple of miles so you don't have to fight traffic just to get a burger. I'm in the Alief school district which I don't think is that good. My daughter hasn't started school yet so I can't say much on that subject. You might check out the Cinco Ranch area. It's on the far west side, a lot of new development going on. I think if you get in the Fort Bend County vs. Harris County the taxes are less. Your insurance will definately be less, probably 40% less. Sugar Land is another nice location but they have been having some problem with home invasions etc in the past year or so. I haven't heard of one lately though, so don't let that be the only thing you base a decision on. Sugar Land is on the SW side. North side look into the Woodlands. Its a fairly new community too and is expanding. South and east of town I can't talk about as I don't know anything about them.

What part of town are you going to be working in?.....let that be a major consideration for location. Traffic here sucks.

[CajunTitan1969]

Originally Posted by m95roadster

Fellas,

I have the option to relocate to Houston and I'm seeking some housing info. If you guys can help me out that would be great! What areas/suburbs of Houston have very low crime rates, excellent school districts, gated community (preferably), etc. with home prices in the range of $250,000-400,00? Also, what's the weather like? Does it rain alot, snow, hail/ice, tornadoes, etc.? I don't get any of that where I live so I would consider the weather a factor in my decision as well. Well, if you guys can point me in the right direction I would much appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

M95Roadster

m95roadster,
I live in Louisiana but my brother lives in a place called Kingwood Texas and works in Houston. All information like schools and real estate can be found by checking out it's website:

http://www.kingwood.com/

You might want to be closer to work though. It is definately one place to consider ... and don't forget, they do get hurricanes now and then. Good Luck!

CajunTitan1969

[m95roadster]

Thanks for the replies! I like Cinco Ranch and the Woodlands type settings. Master planned communites appeals to me very much and is a preference. I can't believe how much cheaper homes are over there. The houses in the $250-300k range would run $800-900k over here. Incredible!

I live in SoCal so traffic elsewhere will not bother me. I'm used to 10-20 mile commutes that take an hour!

[ChadEberly]

i am in the woodlands, way better then kingwood. The woodlands has tons of stuff todo and is still developing, everytime i go to king wood its the same, kingwoods nice but kindav stagnet.

[baseballfanz]

Cinco Ranch is a nice area. I live in the Sugar Land area and Fort Bend School District is top notch. Woodland is nice also. Where about is your work at? That way maybe some of us Houstonian will point you in a better direction. I mean there are tons of nice area but if it's to far from work or play, it might not be feasible for you. BTW, it will get some times for you to get use to the heat and humidity down here. If you hurry you might be able to attend the next Titan meet on July 17th.

[RB's Titan]

Cy-Fair is a good area and you can find gated communites on Eldridge Parkway called Lakes on Eldridge and Twin Lakes that fit the comfort and price range you are looking. I believe that area code is 77041.

http://www.thelakesoneldridge.com/

Temperature today is 104 on Titan rear view mirror. Mostly in June we have 6" rain for the month however this month we have 0.8". Mostly heat, rain and humidity the Fall however is the nicest as the Summer heat turns to just a few days at freezing.

Hey if you make the decision to move we'd treat ya to some good ole Tejas BBQ

[hamop]

m95roadster,
Welcome to the site and welcome to TNT-SE a group of Titan owners recently formed.
I am sure that if you have looked at the Texas Forum you have seen it.

A definite need to know where you are going to be working would make it better for any here to send you in the right direction. Traffic is a huge consideration and most routes are always under construction. I work downtown and drive from the South side of Houston. At 6a.m. it takes about 20 minutes w/o slowdowns. There are also many gated communitys all over Houston. As told earlier it would be better if you lived outside of Harris county for insurance costs are much higher in HARRIS.
We will look forward to seeing you at one of our meets.

[the head]

The Clear Lake area of Houston is also a good place. The Clear Creek school district is one of the best around the Houston area abd the property is, in general, cheap. Another thing to consider is what county you might be moving to since (ditto) Harris county has some of the highest insurance rates around. League City is really growing and there are some really nice homes there. I live in Harris county, so we just put up with the insurance hikes and save a little in taxes compared to Galveston county, which were the two areas we looked at.

www.har.com is a great website to go home shopping on.

[keiffers]

I was just in The Woodlands (Grogan's Mill) and that area appeals to me considerably. Nice and quiet with great shopping nearby. If I was to ever move to Houston, I'd consider anything north of Spring.

[m95roadster]

Again, thanks for all the replies. Is the high insurance costs with autos or homes or both? Can you guys give me a ballpark yearly rate for insurance. I pay under $1k/yr for the Titan and I have a clean record. As for work location, I have my own business and can work from home or find an office near the house so commute is not an issue. Is Missouri city a nice area? TIA!

[MOTO-MAX-TITAN]

I grew up in Missouri city, my mom still lives there..
Really dont care for it that much, it's starting to get really run down in places, there are some new construction in places..

1 Cinco is really nice, but like here in Katy it's a pain in the arse to get into town.
2 The Woodlands area is beutiful, especially if you like going to concerts, Cynthia Mitchell woods pavillion, again a pain to get into town..
3 Kingwood is nice, parts of it getting dated.
4 Clear lake is nice, pretty good cummute to down town.

I'm thinking about moving to Sealy,fulshear area's, there building alot of custom ranch area's I'm looking at a 2700sq ft custom home new construction on 3.79 acres for 195k
The draw back's are the commute into downtown est 1-1.5 hrs and the school system's are lack luster, ie hillbillies and other toothless wonder's?

[Bhudda454]

m95roadster,

I am sure that the things you find fun to do will be easily had from just about anywhere in the area. Insurance for my truck with a decent record just renewed for $ 748 for the year. I live in the Woodlands and couldn't tell you enough good about it. There is an element that is sneaking inthe older villages, but overall still a great place to live. You would easily get spoiled by never having to leave there if you didn't want to. Movies, concerts, eateries, shopping, parks, pools, hike-n-bike trails, etc.... The amount you are wanting to spend on housing would buy you a huge house. Schools are above par, and the golf is exquisite. The commute to town and points beyond is long, but you have two main roads to choose from and not just one. The school taxes would be my only real *****, but i can live with them for my kid to get the level of education he gets. Welcome to Houston, took you long enough.

[Titan4x4Aggie]

Originally Posted by the head

The Clear Lake area of Houston is also a good place. The Clear Creek school district is one of the best around the Houston area abd the property is, in general, cheap. Another thing to consider is what county you might be moving to since (ditto) Harris county has some of the highest insurance rates around. League City is really growing and there are some really nice homes there. I live in Harris county, so we just put up with the insurance hikes and save a little in taxes compared to Galveston county, which were the two areas we looked at.

www.har.com is a great website to go home shopping on.

I definately have to second the Clear Lake area.

Obviously, where you want to live depends on your pastimes and hobbies. This area is great because it is midway between Houston & Galveston - about 25-30 miles in each direction. There is also the Space Center, and Kemah / Seabrook. It's a really neat area of town with lots of palm trees and what not. I fell in love with the town the first time I drove here. If you like seafood, there are lots of good resturauns here.

I defiately did not get that feeling when I visited the Spring / NW side of town (sorry Havock!) That whole area seems boring and too woodsy for me. That's more of the area of town that people go to to settle down and have a quiet little life where they spend lots of time at their house, IMO. But, you're getting the opinion of a 24 year old guy here.

Also, your screen name implies you have a BMW roadster? Do you autox? If so, the Houston SCCA does lots of meets down here at the Texas City Greyhound Racetrack parking lots. I've been to two of them with my buddy, who drives down from the 290 / Beltway 8 area (Spring).

Like the head said, this area is growing greatly, and it's pretty nice. A lot of girls at my church are teachers in the area, and Clear Lake / Clear Creek / Pearland all sound like good schools.

Just stay away from Pasadena...or so I've heard.

Still, it's great being only 45 min away from the beach - that's one of the best things about this area. If one weekend you want to take the family / dog / Titan to the beach, you can. I like Galveston. I'm sure it's no SoCal, but it works, and it's a nice swim in the gulf.

If you want an area more inland, but a little closer to Houston, checkout Pearland. It's midway between Sugar Land and Clear Lake, and right off the Beltway. Seems like a pretty good town.

I think you best bet might be to fly out here for the weekend of July 16-17, drive through some of the towns we listed, meet us on the 17th for the TNT-SE meet, and see which town pulls at you the hardest. See which one you can see yourself living in.

[Titan4x4Aggie]

I forgot to mention about my commute through Houston. It really isnt that bad, at least coming from the SE side of town. I had to work on the NW side for about a month, and was driving from here in Clear Lake to the Beltway and TC Jester. I could make it there by 8 if I left my apartment around 6:45 or so.

Just have a cup of Joe in hand and crank up the Dean & Raj show / your favorite 6 CD's, and you'll be good to go!