New Territory/Sugar Land info (Pecan Grove, West: houses, landscaping, neighborhoods) - Houston - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

kadera · 09-13-2010, 05:05 PM

I have been a long time lurker on this forum and I know that you kind people probably get tired of answering the same question all the time. Unfortunately I have another "relocating to Sugar Land" question.

I am interested in a house in the High Meadows section of New Territory, which is in the northwest side of the neighborhood.

I am curious as to why the home values in that quarter of the area are so much lower than the ones to the East of 99.

My two main concerns are:

1. reselling. Is there some sort of stigma or reputation for the west side that would make it more difficult to sell in the future? We are a young professional couple with no children. So there are many home features that really do not matter to us (sq footage, number of bedrooms, school zoning, etc.), but we are trying to anticipate what the needs will be of our future homebuyer. We think that NT appears to be a great neighborhood for families, but like I said I am worried about the home values in this particular part.

2. the noise. Can you hear road noise from the train and highway? I want to be able to peacefully be outside and I just dont think I can handle loud road noise or the sound of a train. Not to mention I make my own hours so I work from home often during the day.

Thanks in advance for any information

CDeb · 09-14-2010, 06:50 AM

We moved into the east side of New Territory about a year ago, so I'll attempt to answer your questions as best I can.

1) The east side is generally regarded as more desirable for a couple of reasons. It is "closer in" so it provides better access for commuters, as passing through the 99/90 intersection during rush hour can be unpleasant. Also, The Club and several nice parks are within walking distance from many of the neighborhoods on the east side. Finally, the east side is older, so the landscaping and trees are more mature, which gives that "tree-lined street" feel that some people really like.

Given all that, though, I still think the west side of NT is a great place to live. A house won't sell for as much as it would on the east side, but it will still sell. It is zoned to examplary schools just like the east side (I know you don't care about schools, but your future homebuyer almost certainly will) and has several nice parks just like the east side.

2) re noise: it depends on where you are in the neighborhood. If you are backed up to 90, then the road and train noise will likely be an issue. If there are a few houses and trees between your house and 90, it will likely not be an issue. My only advice to you is to go sit outside the house you are looking at and see how loud the road and train are. With train noise, I think distance from a crossing is much more significant than distance from the track itself. I can handle the low rumble, it's the horn that bugs me. We live relatively close to 90 and the tracks on the east side, but we're far from a crossing, so the noise doesn't bother me.

kadera · 09-15-2010, 02:50 PM

Thanks for the info. That confirms what I was thinking that East NT is preferable to West NT, but anywhere is NT is still a desirable part of SL.

Any idea what the train schedule is? I think I would like to go check it out when it is coming by so I can see.

Thanks again for reply!

Topaz · 09-15-2010, 08:49 PM

I have lived on both the west side (as a renter) and the east side (as a home owner) of New Territory. The east side has the gated communities and the lakes and it is closer in. The exact same house will be $20K more on the east side.

When I lived on the east side, my neighbors looked down on the west side because the homes cost less. I probably felt a little bit the same way. But then we had a very narrow window of time to find a house to buy and the best deal happened to be on the west side. Now that we are here, we are quite happy. The west side has a friendly, down-to-earth vibe and the extra 5 minutes it takes to get to everything is really not a big deal.

Both sides have trees. And all the New Territory amenities are open to all residents.

The train bothered us quite a bit when we lived close to 90. We barely hear it now that we are a lot farther from 90.

dadsearchingforahouse · 09-17-2010, 03:24 PM

I was faced with similar dilemma a few months ago - we decided with the east side precisely because of the reasons CDEB mentioned above. We also added the fact that its easier to reach 59 from the East side than the West side. The West side does have better (read: newer pools) that for some reason unknown to me stay open longer in the summers than the pools on the East side. Besides the train, there the airport - some airplanes to take off close to the east part of NT (almost over some streets of Telfair).

Topaz - u mean u lived on West side as an owner & east side as a renter, correct ?

Topaz · 09-17-2010, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadsearchingforahouse

Topaz - u mean u lived on West side as an owner & east side as a renter, correct ?

Yes, I'm sorry I got that mixed up! You're correct. West side as an owner and east side as a renter.

Topaz

dadsearchingforahouse · 09-24-2010, 09:17 PM

Actually, I remembered since you were very helpful when I was looking to move into NT

Topaz · 09-25-2010, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dadsearchingforahouse

Actually, I remembered since you were very helpful when I was looking to move into NT

I'm glad I was helpful despite my directional challenges.

Hope you are enjoying New Territory!

Topaz

CDeb · 09-27-2010, 07:16 AM

We're over on the west side a lot because the Cunningham Creek pool is the best one for toddlers, in our opinion.

Regarding folks on the east side looking down on folks in the west, I guess it just depends on who your neighbors are. We are fortunate to live amongst some pretty down-to-earth folks in Wilkins Crossing, so I never get that vibe from anyone. However, attending NTRCA meetings, I certainly feel a vibe of resentment from folks living on the west side, so I assume the "looking down" attitude is out there.

Topaz · 09-27-2010, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDeb

We're over on the west side a lot because the Cunningham Creek pool is the best one for toddlers, in our opinion.

Regarding folks on the east side looking down on folks in the west, I guess it just depends on who your neighbors are. We are fortunate to live amongst some pretty down-to-earth folks in Wilkins Crossing, so I never get that vibe from anyone. However, attending NTRCA meetings, I certainly feel a vibe of resentment from folks living on the west side, so I assume the "looking down" attitude is out there.

We love the Cunningham Creek pool!

I think the east/west divide is about to get worse if FBISD tries to zone the west side away from Sartartia to the new Pecan Grove Middle School. That is going to make a lot of west side parents very unhappy because Sartartia is so highly ranked.

Or maybe it would make things better...who knows?