Moving from NY to Houston (Sugar Land, Bellaire: for sale, real estate, houses)

[mikefoolery]

My company is relocating from NYC to Houston (Galleria area).
We have lived in NYC (upper west side) and currently live in Scarsdale, NY. I mention this in case anyone is familiar with those areas to give an idea of the kind of neighborhoods we like.

We are a young couple (30s) with two kids (2 and 3.5yo).

Just like everyone else, our priority in finding the right neighborhood is safety and good schools.

I've been told to consider the following areas: memorial, galleria, and west u.
We're planning a weekend visit in the near future to narrow down our search. Ideally we can figure out specifically which neighborhood we're targeting to purchase a home so we can start the pre-k enrollment process. But we'd like to be in a good area for grade/middle/high school for future as well.

Our immediate school search will be for pre-k. Target is to arrive 2nd half August 2016. We are concerned with finding pre-k programs w/space for the beginning school year in fall 2016. Is it difficult to get in due to limited spots and can anyone recommend good pre-k programs? We're non-religious, I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not.

We're budgeting around 1.5 million for home purchase..

Based on our research so far, we've found there are several 'villages' within Memorial. Which are more desirable based on school zoning, if any? Is there a specific zip code we could narrow our search down to? Seeing comments that anything within 77024 area code is great. I'm also seeing positive recommendations for Katy and Sugar Land.

We would love to be near parks/playgrounds for kids and generally near walkable areas.

We are Taiwanese American, I only mention because we eat home cooked Asian food daily and would like an Asian grocery store nearby.

If I'm leaving any details out that might help w/advice, please let me know.

[txdemo]

With a $1.5 million dollar budget I'd definitely check out West University first and foremost. You can't go wrong there. Use Texas Real Estate - 138,178 Homes for Sale and Rent- HAR.com to search.

[Failed Engineer]

Southside Place is close to West U as well and has more families with kids around your kids ages. I personally like the feel of Southside Place more, but that view will probably be in the minority.

Your budget is really high for the suburbs. I love Sugar Land and live here but if I had 1.5 mil to spend, it wouldn't be here. We do have great Asian markets, though.

[txdemo]

Best Asian markets are at Bellaire Blvd. and Beltway 8 which is about a 20 minute drive from West U or Southside Place.

[LocalPlanner]

Look in the Memorial Villages, or the portions of the City of Houston zoned to Memorial High School. There are some good Asian markets just north of the Katy Freeway that will be very convenient for you. Among the most desired schools in the region.

[ipuck]

With that budget, you can pretty much lived anywhere in Houston with the exception of one neighborhood. West U and Memorial are usually where the highly compensated folks live in Houston. I work in Galleria and both my C-level boss live in memorial. It is like a 10 minute drive. All their kids go to Kinkaid of course.

However, I do know some very wealthy Taiwanese/Chinese folks and they live in Sugar Land. I personally think paying over 1M for anywhere in Suburbia is absurd, but for Asians, it might make sense. Of course, you can save some money and just buy a 1M house in Sugar Land instead. For 1M you will get 6k sq/ft and up house with all amenities with a pool (if you want).

The public schools are very good, definitely top 3 in the city. Commute is 30 min-1 hr to Galleria. Half the area in SL is occupied by Asians, so there heavy Asian presence in the area (mostly highly educated professionals live there). From 2 big Chinese supermarkets and 2 huge shopping centers (3rd one coming) that are all Asian business with lots of Chinese restaurants along with all the Asian tutors and various Chinese schools and etc.

[Svensk08]

You might also consider looking at houses in the city of Bellaire itself (zip 77401). Zoned to good public schools.

The school year for most schools in the Houston area begins in late August instead of after Labor Day.

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by Svensk08

You might also consider looking at houses in the city of Bellaire itself (zip 77401). Zoned to good public schools.

The school year for most schools in the Houston area begins in late August instead of after Labor Day.

Good idea. OP, Bellaire is actually a tiny "city" in the middle of Houston. It straddles the 610 loop.

Also, check out Meyerland but many of the homes closest to the bayou flooded.

[bohunak]

You will not find something like Scarsdale inside Houston, you would have to go more to suburbs. Memorial will remind you little of NY upper west. We (as NY expats) liked Memorial and Bellaire a lot.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

EVA Air boasts direct Houston-Taipei service if you ever go back to Taiwan