Young couple with elementary children reallocated to Sugar Land Tx. Please need advice for communities. (Greenville: lease, houses)

[angiefarish]

Hi, we just got reallocated to Sugar Land, Tx from Greenville, SC. ....yes, we miss the Carolinas a great deal. We are both in our mid 30s and have 2 elementary school children. We are now renting a place in Greatwood and we love it here. But in a few months our lease will expire and need to find a house to buy. Although we have looked for houses in Greatwood, we've found pricey older houses. Therefore, we are open to other communities. My husband works in Sugar Land so we don't want to move anywhere else beyond this point (Sugar Land). A 20 minute average commute would be ideal. I've notice there are numerous neighborhoods to live. It is almost overwhelming. We want to find a family friendly neighborhood with lots of opportunities for outdoors for our children. We are basically looking for a community where kids get out and play with their neighbors, sports involvement, and good schools are a must. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[swopoe]

I live in Riverstone in Sugar Land. Our little section has lots of families, and the kids are always outside playing together. We are currently zoned for Commonwealth Elementary, which is a great school. However, FBISD is doing rezoning now, so you can't put too much stock in the current zoning, unfortunately. However, we all love our school and our community. My kids are 9, 8, and 4.

I guess the important thing would be your budget for a house though....that will give people an idea as to where you should look.

Good luck and welcome to Sugar Land!

[mingna]

You can also try Sienna Plantation and New Territory. I have not lived in either, but have met several parents with young children who do, and they seem to like it.
As far as kids getting out and playing, it may or may not be something you will need to facilitate. The community pools are a good place to meet other families with children in the summer, esp. later in the evening when it's cooler. Parks abound, and playmates can be found there too, esp. during cooler weather.

ETA: My impression is that Sienna Plantation is a newer MPC, and New Territory is older (but still very nice from what I've seen).

[angiefarish]

Comfortable between 300,000-350,000. My husband's coworker lives at Riverstone but have younger children. My children are 9 & 6 so I liked to hear there are children same age at Riverstone. I have also met someone at the gym who lives in Sienna Plantation and she seems to love it there too. Thanks for responses. I guess there are more than one option to choose from. I am not sure yet what the turning point will be. I've only be here for 3 weeks so I'll keep looking and asking. Lease ends by the end of the school year so I have a couple more months before I go desperately

[Snow-Flake]

Avalon at Riverstone, Commonwealth, Sienna Plantation, New Territory

[NY to LA]

We live in Telfair and I know new territory has excellent elementary and middle schools. It's fill of young families and it has lots of outdoor activities and sports offered by their club exclusively for NT residents. We preferred Telfair as it's newer community but I think in your price range you will be limited for Telfair. I drive through NT daily and really like it.

[ipuck]

Have you consider further your research in Greatwood? I think you can probably get bang for your buck with your budget and there are certainly some very nice houses in Greatwood for that price range. I am not a big fan of riverstone as I think is too far off 59 and there will be developments on University for many more years to come. Also, is a little too pricey imo and current zoning for HS is to Elkins.

[slnt]

You have gotten some great suggestions where to look from the other posters. Although not Sugar Land, you might also want to look at Fieldstone, Pecan Grove, Long Meadow Farms and Waterside Estates.

[AK123]

There are so, so many nice neighborhoods in Sugar Land. It's hard to go wrong. So you might just go with where you can find the best house, because the market can be tight.
As others have also suggested, you might also look at some of the places with Richmond addresses just outside of Sugar Land.

[angiefarish]

Thank you all for your responses. It helps a lot to begin house hunting after receiving local's opinions. Yes AK123 there are so many nice neighborhoods! We will just start by checking houses within our budget in the most mentioned neighborhoods and get to know the areas better.