Friendswood, Kingwood or Meyerland (Houston, Pasadena: insurance, crime rates, houses)

[LeavingDetroit]

Hello, I'm new to Houston (only a couple of weeks), work in downtown and have a family and dog, Our price max is likely around 600K. The public schools (middle and high) are important as we probably can't swing private school tuition for 2 kids.

Does anyone with knowledge of these areas have thoughts on where they would locate their family in these circumstances. I really dislike long commutes (i.e. over 45 minutes) but some family members favor the larger house and lots you find in the outlying areas (Friendswood, Kingwood) over the close-in areas of Meyerland/Bellaire. So perhaps you have insights into these neighborhoods that would give us some inside information/thoughts to help through this difficult decision.

[DJboutit]

Meyerland is a great choice you can get a nice home for $450k to $525k close to everthing and safe area. I live 1/2 mile away I love this area

[sundaze99]

We chose Kingwood last year and haven't regretted it. The schools here have been great for my kids. I have one at KHS and the other at Riverwood Middle. Both schools have full programs in just about anything you can think of. My kids were able to assimilate without any problem...I was concerned as we had been living out of the country with the kids in private school to this point. My husband works downtown and the commute was one of our big issues when house hunting. Kingwood has a very central Park and Ride which is also a nice option. The drive in on 59 is usually no problem even though we live in the back of Kingwood which adds extra time. I like the small town vibe here but that is an individual thing. We love all the parks and bike trails. I also love the wooded feel. Good Luck on your search!

[JasonAndJulie]

Kingwood is called a bubble because it is surrounded by not so nice areas. Check the crime rates, but they are going up. A lot. I don't know much about your other two options. You could always bring your home price down and do private if you wanted to change your area, since you home budget is fairly large. Hope you enjoy it here.

[DanielWayne]

Friendswood is great. It probably has fewer amenities then your other choices and population-wise, I am sure it is smaller. However it is adjacent to Pearland and Clear Lake so you can find anything you want next door. They generally favor small local businesses over big chains. It has more of a small town feel. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the state if not the country. The schools are among the best in the state, and the high school isn't even among the largest state classification.

Friendswood: Academic decathlon team back on top in Texas | khou.com Houston

[houston-nomad]

One thing to consider is how often you would coming into town for things other than work. We visit friends, go to restaurants in Montrose and Galleria-area, go to ball games downtown, museums, etc. From the Meyerland area, all these places are 15-20 minutes away, off-peak. If you live a good distance from the city, you can still come in for a special occasion, but you might not be doing that drive 3x/weekend.

One thing that swayed me when I was considering Meyerland area vs. Pearland were restaurants. Houston is one of the best restaurant cities in the country... why was I going to move to Pearland, home of the mediocre chain restaurant? I assume the situation in most suburbs (except maybe Sugar Land) is the same. It's not like we eat out all the time, but anytime I want take out Indian, Thai, whatever, it's right nearby from Meyerland. The best falafel is down the street from me. Ditto best bagels. That's quality of life, right there.

[tstone]

Those are 3 very different areas. Friendswood is a nice small town but covers a lot of land nowadays, and you could be as far out as Alvin. Clear Lake is closeby for the restaurant diversity mentioned above (replace Thai with Korean). You just have to go find it. Excellent Vietnamese just north of Friendswood and authentic Mexican just north of Clear Lake towards Pasadena. Otherwise much of Friendswood is in Galveston county so you'll be dealing with windstorm insurance in addition to homeowners. Both Meyerland and Friendswood have potential flooding issues. Can't speak for Kingwood but I do like the trees.

[Schumacher713]

Meyerland... no brainer.

[crbcrbrgv]

We love living in Meyerland. The one dirty little secret is the floods (which really is no secret if you know a little about the area).

[DejaBlue]

What part of Meyerland equals larger houses and lots? I'm really confused.

I think of Meyerland as ranch style homes aka smaller one stories and smaller lots. It's not like the outlaying suburbs with 3k plus sq and a larger backyard.

When someone says they want a larger lot I take that to mean a backyard big enough to accommodate a pool and still have some grass area left over. Meyerland would be a decent size pool but that's it. Walk outside and the pool is in your face and that's it. That's not a large lot.

Then again when I think people want a large lot they want more backyard because that's private. I'm one to not care about the front yard size wise as long as the landscape is pretty. No one chills in the front anyway. The back is your privacy and that's where you want space.