Moving to Houston from Australia (Sugar Land, Missouri City: spring break, lease, house)

[Ozzie12]

We are planning to move to Houston where my husband will be working in Uptown, Houston. We have 2 boys ages 10 & 12, currently in years 5 (primary school) & 7 (high school). A couple of questions to help us get started ...

1. What is an affordable suburb (approx $350k for a 4 bedroom home) to live in which isn't far for my husband to commute to work? Preferably near water (even man-made is fine). How long will travel time be from suggested suburb?

2. What schools would be recommended? What years would be the equivalent to the Australian schooling years as listed above?

3. Are there any Charismatic Church close by to suggested suburbs?

4. Can we bring our TV & Surround sound systems which uses 240v currently?

5. What is the average cost of living per month?

6. When do schools start for the year? When are their term break? When is their longest school holidays?

7. What are the school hours like?

Thanking you in advance.

[timtemtym]

Woah, if you have that much money to spend, you can live pretty well in Htown. If you're working in Uptown and want a decent school system, close to work, safe area, in that price range, try Spring Branch area. It's a patchy area of super nice and somewhat sketchy but overall the school system always gets high ranks. The homes in SB range from 100k to over a million but for 350 you should be ok with a decent sized 4-5 bedroom in a pretty area.

It's city of Houston unless you're in one of the six memorial villages which are independent cities but share a police force. Any house in the villages would be almost double your price range though. In general, 350 goes pretty far in Houston. 77055 or 77079 would be my preferred zips for that district.

Otherwise, you might be able to swing something nice in Bellaire for that price range but be in Houston ISD (77401 zip code).

[timtemtym]

Oh and the other questions
3. There is ALWAYS A charismatic church nearby in Houston!
6. Schools start usually two weeks before Labor Day (first monday in september). school breaks are usually a week for thanksgiving (4th thursday in nov), two weeks for christmas/new year holiday, then a week for spring break sometime in early-mid march.
7. Elementary schools are usually from 8-3 in most districts, you can find a complete calendar on the districts' websites (spring branch isd, houston isd, katy isd, etc...)

[Backspace]

Originally Posted by Ozzie12

4. Can we bring our TV & Surround sound systems which uses 240v currently?

You'll need to have an electrician wire a 240V outlet for you but it should work just fine.

[MIBS98]

The US grade system is one back of the Oz year system. So, if your kids are year 5 and 7 then they are 4th and 6th grade which puts them in elementary and middle school respectively.

As for the TV, it depends. The analog standard in the US is NTSC while in Australia it is PAL/SECAM. The two are not compatible with each other. If you have HDMI them you should be okay, I believe.

[ToyYot]

$350k will get you into the Spring Branch School district south of Memorial between Kirkwood and Dairy Ashford. We too came from overseas last year and rented and then bought in that area. Very good schools with Stratford High being one of the best high schools in Houston (note the schools here may be bigger than what you're used to). It's a great neighborhood, mostly white collar professionals, lots of kids, very well kept and borders Terry Hershey park which does have a stream flowing along it. That's the best you'll get for water around here. My commute to the Galleria (Uptown) is 30 mins in and 35 mins home on average 8 to 5, desk to door with options if the freeway is tied up. I do the surface roads home.

If you want the "Texas experience" with the 4,000 sq ft house and a pool, look further out into Katy. You gain house but lose access to local neighborhood dining and shopping amenties and you'll do a lot more driving. The MPC's do have nice man made lakes and recreational facilities. The schools are well regarded out there, but VERY big with zoning changes in the newer areas. Look for an hours commute on a good traffic day or pay the tolls.

Look on HAR.COM map search for lease and buy options and good information about the schools. Don't get too hung up on the TAKS scores. I'd advise renting for six months to a year and get to know the city and test drive your target neighborhood, as we did.

Leave the 240V behind.

Good luck!

[HookTheBrotherUp]

One thing you will find is that electronics are much cheaper in the US than just about anywhere else. However, if your TV is newer, it should accept 220, or 120, you might just need to get a US power cord for it. Also, most newer TVs allow you to select the format signal. That said, I tend to agree with the previous poster, leave your 240V things behind and make your move easier.

Welcome to Texas!

[Kannadiga]

Sell your TV and surround sound system in Australia and buy new ones in Houston. That's much much easier than moving something as fragile as TV. I've done that before though. Bought a LG HDTV in US last year and was not using it much. So decided to leave it with my parents back in India. Packed the TV in its original box and checked in. Some airlines do handle them carefully. India uses PAL/SECAM and 240V. LG supports both 120V/240V and PAL/SECAM/NTSC but I never got to test the latter. Just hooked in HD connection and it started working fine. No NTSC/PAL converter or voltage converter.
But my suggestion would be to sell the TV back in Australia and buy a new one.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

One thing you will find is that electronics are much cheaper in the US than just about anywhere else. However, if your TV is newer, it should accept 220, or 120, you might just need to get US power cord for it. Also, most newer TVs allow you to select the signal. That said, I tend to agree with the previous poster, leave your 240V things behind and make your move easier.

Welcome to Texas!

[Ozzie12]

Thank you lovely folks of Houston! The information provided is priceless. I'll be checking out Spring Branch & its school as it was certainly not on my list. I had been checking Sugar Land & Missouri City.

We DID actually want the "Texas experience" but I hear what you are saying about travel time. I so agree with the suggestion to rent first.

My heart just dropped hearing about the TV. Yes, our home theater system along with out "toys" PS3 & XBox & our brand new 3D TV is only a couple of months old. But I hear what you are saying too. .

Thanks again, I certainly have a whole lot of new information to work on now.