Friendswood or the Woodlands? (Houston, West: cul-de-sac, crime, new home)

[dejamiller]

The Woodlands

[mamallama1]

Thank you all for your input. I especially appreciate the comments from those with direct knowledge of living in or near these two suburbs. Even with all my research, DanielWayne and Sunderpig brought a perspective I didn't have before.

BenzLawyer, so glad to hear your kids grew up happy in the Woodlands! I am sure my paranoid comments sound ridiculous to some (including myself when reading them back!).....but the Woodlands does have a reputation for being snobby and living beyond their means. I think someone on this forum calls it the home of the thousand-aires??; meaning they live like they are millionaires even when they aren't. The ironic thing is I went to a very nice suburban high school in another city, similar to TWHS, and I had a great experience! I guess I just feel like the area we raise our kids in should be one choice we get right and I want to do my due diligence.

Maybe it will come down to whatever house is on the market and feels like "the one" when we finally get ours sold!

[MNCold]

Even though I live right next to Friendswood b/c of my job, I'd vote for the Woodlands . The Woodlands has a lot more to do than Friendswood . It is also more beautiful than Friendswood .
Friendswood is very safe and have excellent school .

For snobby people, you will also find that in Friendswood. What's more important is to teach your kids to realize and how to stay away from it . My daughter is 4 . She was recently invited to a nice birthday party where the guests showered gift onto a poor little 3 years old who seems to get lost on a full room of gifts , etc...

Obviously, my daughter asked if she can have a nice birthday party like her friends. We discussed it and taught her that everyone is different , no need to be like her friends .

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by BenzLawyer89

We've been in The Woodlands for 12 years and can say, with certainty, that our kids enjoyed all levels of their schooling in CISD, from K through to TWHS. The kind of social pressures they and their friends discuss don't sound much different from the issues we saw while we were in school: my siblings and I grew up in Spring and were in KISD.

As for the area, we've visited Friendswood - there are NOT a lot of trees! Someone here said that there were a lot of trees; if you're used to the "forest" of The Woodlands, you'll feel the Friendswood area is lacking in this dept.

And just because your budget is 300k-400k doesn't mean you have to spend it all (if you choose Friendswood.) Being able to get everything you want in a house and bank the rest of the budget for a rainy day is a nice problem to have.

Bottom line: we love The Woodlands and have agreed we will never live anywhere else.

Best of luck with your decision!

Dude, I just drove through Friendswood 45 minutes ago. I do it 5 days a week. There's a lot of trees. You are still close to the coast, so it's not going to be heavy forest like the Woodlands. But a better portion of the town looks like this:

Best Places to Live 2009 - Top 100: City details: Friendswood, TX - from MONEY Magazine

The difference - Friendswood feels like a small town and it is a bedroom community. The Woodlands feels like a well-to-do-suburb with big office towers and it actually has a few corporate headquarters.

[tstone]

Yeah there are plenty of trees on the south side, they just top out around 25 feet, where they are twice as tall in The Woodlands. There aren't really any real "forests", just brush so thick you can't walk through it. In the newest development that stuff is clear-cut and baby trees are put in its place. In 20 years it turns somewhat into a man-made forest. I think they preserved The Woodlands' natural trees.

If you're looking at Friendswood, might as well look in League City for "small town". Maybe even north into Clear Lake (Webster-Houston) which is a bit more urban-suburban. Can't go wrong with Friendswood ISD or Clear Creek ISD.

[Maddie800]

We are moving to Friendswood next month, we did extensive research (although not in the Woodlands b/c it was too far for my husbands commute). Schools all received highest rating (no chance of school boundries changing), near the water (if you like that) we love boating so want to take advantage of that. We really liked it there, we bought in West Ranch.

[Sunderpig2]

The trees in the Woodlands are much taller than in Friendswood. They're more reminscient of those found in East Texas (tall pines, etc.), and really can't be matched in the greater Houston area.

As far as snobbery goes, I've found that in Friendswood with people who are a bit stoggy, and narrow-minded. But as mentioned above, that can be encountered anywhere.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

As far as snobbery goes, I've found that in Friendswood with people who are a bit stoggy, and narrow-minded.

There's quite an insular community within Friendswood. If you ask my educated opinion, I think they are all related to each other and they run the show in that town. Still a very nice town, though...

Anyway I've never heard anything about such an established element in The Woodlands, just new money, well educated, and liberal use of credit/loans. But that could describe any affluent suburb or the trendy white parts of the inner loop. Just depends on what kind of snobs you like to hang around I guess.

Also keep in mind much of "Friendswood" is unincorporated Harris County. Diverse crowd, reminds me of SW Houston but it's actually a fairly well-kept area aside from Forest Bend and some of old Heritage Park. They feed into CCISD.

[mamallama1]

There's quite an insular community within Friendswood. If you ask my educated opinion, I think they are all related to each other and they run the show in that town

Very interesting that you say that. That is one of the reasons the Klein community has never felt like home to me. There are many people whose family have lived in this area for generations. So many of the women I've met that are around my age grew up here, maybe went away to college, and came right back to work and start their family. There is nothing wrong with that but it does make it hard to make friends. They already have a network of friends and family.

I am wondering if that would be the same issue in Friendswood also? I am sure people are friendly but is there also sort of a "wall" up to people who are not natives?

There is a family that just moved on our street recently (from out of state) but they had previously lived in South Shore Harbour. I was asking her if she had liked the area and she said "I liked it but neighbors didn't talk like they do here." This was a conversation in our cul de sac while our kids played. I was surprised....do you think that was just a fluke situation or are people in the bay area less social and in touch with neighbors?

[Maddie800]

Originally Posted by mamallama1

I am wondering if that would be the same issue in Friendswood also? I am sure people are friendly but is there also sort of a "wall" up to people who are not natives?

I think that is why it is so beneficial to move into a new development - most everyone will be in the same boat (although some people are moving from another neighborhood within Friendswood). There was a house I liked a little better but it was in an established neighborhood - I wasn't sure if it would be as easy to make friends (and friends for kids). Good luck!! Once I'm in West Ranch for awhile, I can give you my honest opinion!