clueless new englanders need recommendation of where to live in houston (Sugar Land: low crime, houses)

[jjrushbrook]

My husband and I grew up in New England our whole lives in very small suburban towns. We've actually lived in The Woodlands for the last 2 1/2 years, but have been completely sheltered in "the bubble." We haven't really explored much of Houston besides the downtown area and parks...

My husband worked here in the Woodlands, but recently got a new position down off of the 610 west loop. We have 3 small children, 6, 4 and 1. It just seems like it's going to be way to long of a commute. I know he was hoping for 1/2 hour or less. We looked at Sugar Land and Cinco Ranch and liked the older sections with more trees, further spaced apart lots, etc. Can you get anything like that closer to the city along with good schools, low crime, etc? Budget is up to 600... Thanks for your advice...

[houston-nomad]

I would look at Meyerland and similar neighborhoods along Braeswood. He'll have a super-short commute, and you'll find great houses on big lots with a New England neighborhood feel. I grew up in New England, and this part of the city has a real "town" feeling to it. Local sports clubs for the kids, local activities.

Bellaire might also be in your price range. Look at all the neighborhood hugging the southwest part of the loop, inside and out. Just pay attention to school zones, you should be able to score a good combo of schools all the way through high school.

[houstonfan]

Try West memorial just outside of beltway between IH10 and Westheimer. 77042, 77079, 77077. Meyerland/Bellaire.

[JaqueCosto]

Originally Posted by jjrushbrook

My husband and I grew up in New England our whole lives in very small suburban towns. We've actually lived in The Woodlands for the last 2 1/2 years, but have been completely sheltered in "the bubble." We haven't really explored much of Houston besides the downtown area and parks...

We looked at Sugar Land and Cinco Ranch and liked the older sections with more trees, further spaced apart lots, etc. Can you get anything like that closer to the city along with good schools, low crime, etc? Budget is up to 600... Thanks for your advice...

Input the travel times to get an idea of traffic flow.
Houston Speed Map Archive

Where on the West Loop around Uptown? Specifically north or south of US-59? Depending where on the West Loop and the time of commute 30 minutes is possible, regardless don't see commute times exceeding 45 minutes.

A couple places if you don't want to live in the city:

From Sugar Land you can catch US-59 to West Loop 610. From Cinco Ranch it's either Westpark Tollway or I-10. Traffic is almost always backed up on the West Loop particularly b/w I-10 and US-59 since the city decided not to widen it years ago.

Traffic is bad on Westpark since the city decided not to make it a 3-4 lanes each way and instead settled on 2 lanes. This in turn is why traffic is much heavier on I-10 than it should be. West Park Tollway is also being extended out to Cross Creek Ranch.

You can live in Sienna Plantation (Missouri City) or Riverstone (Missouri City / Sugar Land) and catch Fort Bend Tollway -> US 90 -> S Post Oak. Fort Bend Tollway is currently being extended into Sienna Plantation and later on will swing by Riverstone. Fort Bend Tollway could connect directly into West Loop 610 without tearing anything down but Houston will never build this. I'm not what Houston plans to do with S Post Oak Rd, they could make it a freeway all the way to US-90.