looking for very small town near houston (Baytown, Galveston: house, public schools)

[s.lintemuth]

we are moving very soon and we are looking for a small town near houston. we have four children so we want someplace safe,with good schools. any ideas?

[heightsian]

Is a suburb ok? The Houston metro area is so large, you will have to go far out to find a "small" town. Where will you be working?

[chris_ut]

Where will you be working, commute into downtown from a small town outside the Metro would be 1-2 hours each way.

[irishlover]

Bellville, Sealy, Brookshire, Pattison, Magnolia.

I grew up in Sealy in the 80s. Sealy's demographic has changed considerably since the 80s. If you want a real step back in time, with good schools (mostly white),town square etc check out Bellville. Population around 3500.

[crone]

A family bought next door to me. Moved in in April. They drove to Bellville every day to finish up school. By August, the house was back on the market. They could not stand Houston. Took a big hit on the house to get back to Bellville and commuting daily to Houston. The guy must have lived in his car.

[Sunderpig2]

I can definitely understand not wanting to live in or near Houston, but the distance needed to get sufficiently far away from Houston would result in a brutal and time-consuming drive. Maybe living in a quieter area will get cancelled out by not being home much. Time at home is important too, and needs to be factored in.

Besides all of that, I'm not convinced that the smaller towns are necessarily safer and/or have better schools. This is Texas afterall, and much of the state is experiencing extreme school budget shortfalls and cutbacks. Smaller towns usually have less say and less attention, and fall more behind. Smaller towns sometimes are also short on law enforcement too, and have less resources to work with.

[irishlover]

Small towns have taken a hit because of the rapidly changing demographic of the last 15 years. Lets face it, we practically live in Mexico. Sealy schools were about 20% Hispanic in the 80s and now they are about 70%. You tell me how you are supposed to take a poor child that just came to the US with NO English and expect them to pass all the ridiculous standardized tests in ENGLIsH within one year of starting school. This has really taken a toll on schools throughout the state but particularly small towns where resources are more scarce and people can be poorer generally. I know all of this because I know the sealy esl teacher very well and can only assume it is applicable elsewhere in the state too.

A bit off topic....there are some nice small towns outside of Houston. But, like others have said, the commute can be killer.

[tstone]

I can suggest a suburb that still feels like a small town, even after all the explosive suburban growth of the past decade -- Friendswood on the south-SE side. The commute to/from downtown or Galveston isn't completely unreasonable if your job is located on that I-45 Gulf corridor. Where is the job located?

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by irishlover

Bellville, Sealy, Brookshire, Pattison, Magnolia.

I grew up in Sealy in the 80s. Sealy's demographic has changed considerably since the 80s. If you want a real step back in time, with good schools (mostly white),town square etc check out Bellville. Population around 3500.

Excellent response.

[jdw7337]

If you want a very small town near Houston that also has good schools you're out of luck, most areas with good schools have been "discovered" by developers. If you are looking for a small town feel and homes with acreage with good schools, you can find it in West Chambers County (Barbers Hill), the area has just began developing and most people out here live on at least an acre if not more. The reason that we were discovered by developers fairly recently is that Barbers Hill ISD is one of Houston's highest performing public schools. Our four town's population still totals out fairly low for a Houston Ex-burb at around 30,000 especially considering the town over the Bayou, Baytown has a population of 80,000+.

The best way to find what you want is to go on google maps and take a look at the Houston area to find an area you think looks small enough and then research it. It may take you some time but you'll find what you want in the end.