Moving from NY to Houston

[mikefoolery]

Thanks a lot! All of your responses have been really insightful.

Great to know there is an H-mart near Memorial. We shop there nearly exclusively now, so it has everything we need.

If public schools are better in Memorial, that might be a defining factor. We may have the budget for private, but I'd rather save and be zoned for good public. $40-50k/yr to cover both kids can go a long way twrd travel, college, savings instead.

We're quite relaxed about politics/religion, so I don't see that being a game changer.

We'll be down in a month or so and will definitely check out all the different areas still. But leaning toward Memorial unless anything major dissuades us from there or we really fall in love w/another area.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by mikefoolery

Thanks a lot! All of your responses have been really insightful.

Great to know there is an H-mart near Memorial. We shop there nearly exclusively now, so it has everything we need.

If public schools are better in Memorial, that might be a defining factor. We may have the budget for private, but I'd rather save and be zoned for good public. $40-50k/yr to cover both kids can go a long way twrd travel, college, savings instead.

We're quite relaxed about politics/religion, so I don't see that being a game changer.

We'll be down in a month or so and will definitely check out all the different areas still. But leaning toward Memorial unless anything major dissuades us from there or we really fall in love w/another area.

Take "better schools" with a grain of salt. Bellaire (HISD) schools are top quality (Condit/Horn for elem, Pin Oak for MS, and Bellaire for HS), so often it comes down to people's own perceptions, what they hear from others, or (unfortunately) how white the school is/how wealthy the families are (and all the disadvantages that come with it). Test scores are only one indication of the success of a school.

Bellaire, to me, is closer to the action. Adjacent to more "urban" (for Houston, anyway) areas like Rice Village and the Museum District (no freeway travel required). It's still basically a big neighborhood, I just find the access to inner loop (especially the part of Bellaire inside 610) to be more valuable.

Coming from a leafy NY suburb, you will find Houston overall to be visually VERY different, so it depends on whether you want to replicate what you have now, or are willing to live in a little more "cramped" environment to be closer to what inner loop has to offer.

They are both great areas, you can't go wrong.

[mingna]

A bit late to the thread, but Memorial Villages area will meet your criteria for:

- Good public schools K-12.

- Good access to Asian groceries at Ranch 99 and Hmart (located only a few minutes apart). There are also other grocery markets nearby, including HEB, Kroger and Costco for more general supplies.

- Quick commute to Galleria area, esp. closer to I-10. Look into 77055 zip zoned to Valley Oaks elementary, which can place you within a 10min drive to the Galleria area depending on traffic and route.

- Leafy, mature tree-lined neighborhoods with larger lots providing a suburban feel, yet relatively close to all of the action of urban Houston.

- Close proximity to Memorial Park (one of Houston's major urban parks) for running, biking, and nature trails. Check out it's Arboretum and Nature center for lots of activities for kids (and adults, too).

We didn't look into Bellaire due to commuting constraints, but driving through I felt it to be more congested, higher density, with less convenient access to Asian groceries (lots of stop lights if via surface roads). Depending on where you live in the Memorial Villages, it can be a quick 5-10 min or so drive on I-10 (or the feeder roads) to Ranch 99 and Hmart, making it easy to swing by quickly for fresh supplies, without the need to hoard or stock up if making less frequent shopping trips.

[Snazzy1]

77024 for Memorial proper.
77401 for Bellaire.

I've lived in Bellaire and live in Memorial now. Schools are better in Memorial but the elementary level in Bellaire is very good.

I find it funny you said "walkable" in one of your posts. Very little in all of Houston is walkable because it is just not the culture here. Seriously, in the parking lot that houses Academy and HEB over on I-10 - folks will get in their car and drive to the other store...in the same parking lot.

Getting food/groceries is not an issue in either community.

I don't know where your commute would go but I'd avoid having to be on 610 in any direction during rush hour. In front of the Galleria on 610 is gridlock. I think if you are trying to get to the office buildings in the Galleria you can go a back way from both Bellaire and from Memorial but if you need to go I-10 to 610 to 59 or the reverse of that, then you will be tempted to commit suicide every day.

I find Bellaire roads more congested than Memorial as well. Mostly because it seems more folks park on the street over there.

Memorial lots are 4 times bigger on average than Bellaire lots. But, for 1.5 million you will get an older home in Memorial and a nicer home in Bellaire. If you go further west the prices start to go down (a little) in Memorial.

There are few, if any, public pools in Memorial but they have community pools in Bellaire. I guess this is because with larger yards in Memorial most homes have pools. You can join the Houston Racquet Club (for a large fee) if your home doesn't have a pool. Further west in Memorial (I'm not sure what they call that area - but it is past the five villages) I think there are pools you can join for a more nominal fee. Homes in Bellaire rarely have pools in their backyards.

You obviously need to pick a location to live before you pick pre-schools but there are loads of good ones in both places. I wouldn't let pre-school impact your decision.

I have to say that I liked the folks we met in Bellaire quite a bit. It was easier to transition there than Memorial. It seems like Memorial has a lots of old families where the kids went to the high school, etc. Its worked out in the end though - just took longer.

[mikefoolery]

My wife and I visited a few weeks ago and were very pleasantly surprised by how much we liked it. We got a pretty good taste of what Houston has to offer during our short visit...we sat in some traffic, got confused by roadways, got caught in some heavy rain (saw how streets flood pretty quickly), saw beautiful family friendly streets/neighborhoods, ate some terrific meals, and overall just felt very warmly welcomed.

After visiting Memorial, West U, and Bellaire, we decided that Bellaire is just the right fit for our family. All three areas were beautiful.

Now that we've narrowed our home search to Bellaire, I was wondering if anyone might be able to suggest preschools for our 2 children. I haven't been particularly successful finding recommendations online. I know we're painfully late to apply for whatever open spots might still be available for the 2016-17 school year, but these are our circumstances...

Our son, 2.5yo, will likely be looking to enroll in some 'Mothers day out' program, while our daughter would be looking for a 4s program.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!