French family moving to Sugar Land (Houston, New Territory: where to stay, lease, crime)

[Chris B]

My husband got a new assignment in Sugar Land. We have two children aged 5 and 8 and a half who, BTW, do not speak english at all yet. We are concerned about schooling because we are on a waiting list at AWTY international school and would like your advice on good private schools in neighborhood such as First Colony, Sienna Plantation or Cinco Ranch. We are concerned that they might feel completely lost surrounded by children and teachers not speaking french.
Where should we look for first ? we will decide where to stay when we have found a proper school for our children.

Thank you for your help !

[mjewell]

I've heard good things about the Honor Roll School. Lots of international students, some oil companies pay tuition I hear and it's located in First Colony. I'm not sure about French speaking teachers, but it's worth checking into. You can also get a list of schools on Yellowpages.com. Just type in 'private schools' and use zip code 77479 for Sugar Land (First Colony area).

Hope this helps and welcome to Texas!

[Vicman]

One of my teachers at my former high school, a French Moroccan French-language teacher, lives in Sugar Land - You should find some company

[ayannaaaliyah]

Awty is a fine school, hope you get in. My daughter attends, although she's not in the French program, she's in the International section. Good luck!

[Doudou]

Hello,

We are in the same situation then you, we are moving next august to Houston, my daughter is still in waiting list for awty international school, she is only 3 years old, she will not face a language problem because we live in Shanghai china, she already attend a kindergarden here and speak, Chinese,french and english so do not worry about the language problem, the children will adapte quicker then the adult.

My husband will work in merorial drive area, if any body can give us advice about safety situation there, i found a town house not far from Galleria and i wonder if it is safe or not.

Any advice are welcome.

[ayannaaaliyah]

Doudou, for the most part some areas around the Galleria are safe, however you do have some shady parts as well, it just depends. You're in the city so you're going to have crime. Not to say that suburbs don't experience crime, but being within the city limits you have night life to deal with. Like I said, it all depends on where near Galleria, but overall I'm sure you'll be fine.

[Vicman]

Doudou, check the address of the townhome with Houston Police Department - they will tell you if the area is safe.

Originally Posted by Doudou

Hello,

We are in the same situation then you, we are moving next august to Houston, my daughter is still in waiting list for awty international school, she is only 3 years old, she will not face a language problem because we live in Shanghai china, she already attend a kindergarden here and speak, Chinese,french and english so do not worry about the language problem, the children will adapte quicker then the adult.

My husband will work in merorial drive area, if any body can give us advice about safety situation there, i found a town house not far from Galleria and i wonder if it is safe or not.

Any advice are welcome.

[Doudou]

Thank you for your replys, i find a map of the crime in houston of 2006 from the police department, and i was a little be chocked, we live in Shanghai for more then 5 years and it is very very safe, i think it is the most positif part of Shanghai. I know it depend always the area and not all houston is an safe( thank god). I was wondering if you can help me for my research, i was told you before my husband job will be in memorial drive, my daughter school and i hope so will be awty so just 10 mn from my husband job, where is the best location for us to look for a house?

In houston they are many park and green area around and this is reason why we choose to leave Shanghai. So we are really looking forward to enjoy our life there. I red that the fees(gas,water,electricity)for a house is around 500$? is that correct? we hope that we can rent a house with pool, what is the average price of the lease ???

Thank's all of you for your help.

[Chris B]

Thank you all for your welcome and advice. Would anybody have a clue about how much wuuld be the rend for a 3 to 4 bedroom house in New Territory, Missouri city, Cinco ranch or Sienna plantation ? Thx in advance !

[ayannaaaliyah]

Doudou, you can try and go to HAR.com website and put in the zip code 77042, that areas has some nice properties. If you're looking to buy or lease. If you need more help let me know what you're looking for and I can pull up some properties and forward to you via PM. I too hope your children get into Awty - it's great!