Phoenix to Houston? (The Woodlands, River Oaks, Atlanta: house prices, neighborhoods, private schools)

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by Texyn

An example of the aesthetic reasoning: many people may aim for an "evergreen" look to their landscape, so if a forested area the development is planned in has deciduous trees, expect the entire area to be flattened, and replanted with evergreen saplings. This happens in many areas of the FL Panhandle, such as Tallahassee; that area has many deciduous trees in the natural forests, so the forest often gets cut down for a new subdivision, as people are looking for "palms and tropicals" when coming to Florida.

Everyone has their own aesthetic taste. I get that some people want to transform the native environment to look like something completely different. I lived in Tallahassee and I thought the natural vegetation was beautiful. But it is FL and in many peoples' minds FL equals tropical (nevermind that only the southern tip of FL is truly tropical) and tropical equals palm trees. I get it.

The OP mentioned hiking and that led me to believe he enjoys nature. If so, I don't consider saplings planted exactly X feet apart nature. In my mind it is artificial nature. I would much rather look at the scrubby native vegetation found in the Katy and SL areas than vegetation that is obviously planted and foreign. It might not be traditionally beautiful but it has its own unique charm.

But that is just me and I admit to being weird.

EDIT:. I think the vegetation in Lake Jackson is very pretty. It's a shame it gets bulldozed for stepford wives saplings.

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by War Beagle

Everyone has their own aesthetic taste. I get that some people want to transform the native environment to look like something completely different. I lived in Tallahassee and I thought the natural vegetation was beautiful. But it is FL and in many peoples' minds FL equals tropical (nevermind that only the southern tip of FL is truly tropical) and tropical equals palm trees. I get it.

I know, I was just using that as an example of how preservation/clearing of original vegetation can vary depending on many variables, no matter which state you are in.

Originally Posted by War Beagle

The OP mentioned hiking and that led me to believe he enjoys nature. If so, I don't consider saplings planted exactly X feet apart nature. In my mind it is artificial nature. I would much rather look at the scrubby native vegetation found in the Katy and SL areas than vegetation that is obviously planted and foreign. It might not be traditionally beautiful but it has its own unique charm.

But that is just me and I admit to being weird.

EDIT:. I think the vegetation in Lake Jackson is very pretty. It's a shame it gets bulldozed for stepford wives saplings.

Sugar Land sits right on ancient soils from the Brazos River; the land is very fertile, so the area has many stands of tall, bottomland forest. Cullinan Park, and Brazos Bend are some public areas for the OP to hike in if he/she is looking for woodland areas near Sugar Land. Katy has coastal prairie to its west, but it is also right along the extension of the Piney Woods region (areas like Cinco Ranch). These areas aren't really scrubby (and the "scrub" is really just successionary vegetation).

As for Lake Jackson, that has actually been one of Houston's premier suburbs, in terms of preserving trees; the developer for the neighborhood, Alden Dow, intentionally designed the streets to allow as many trees preserved as possible. Furthermore, the city continues to be present on the Tree City USA list from the National Arbor Day Foundation.:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Jackson,_Texas

And not all man-made constructs fall out of sync with nature; I feel that urban parks, if well crafted and planned (i.e. plant trees randomly, rather than X feet apart) can offer natural feel for hiking.

No, it isn't weird to have preference for preservation. There are many ecological treasures worth preserving in the Houston area, and lots of biodiversity can be lost if that isn't respected.

[detachable arm]

Looks like Sugar Land to Katy is one big subtropical paradise. Ain't that right, brotha?

[SugLandDAd]

There are a lot of great parks in and around Houston, those of us who get out regularly and use them know that.........some people just dont want to see.

Best hiking trails in Houston area to start 2016 on the right foot - CultureMap Houston

https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/Faciliti...llinan-Park-64

Houston Parks: 10Best Park Reviews

Parks Near Houston

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

There are a lot of great parks in and around Houston, those of us who get out regularly and use them know that.........some people just dont want to see.

Best hiking trails in Houston area to start 2016 on the right foot - CultureMap Houston

https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/Faciliti...llinan-Park-64

Houston Parks: 10Best Park Reviews

Parks Near Houston

Yep, of course. It's always quite jarring how ready people are to talk of "lack of nature" in Houston, while you rarely hear the same sorts of complaints about areas in overall similar settings (i.e. Orlando, New Orleans, etc).

[analogkid84]

Those aren't hikes; those are walks. I could cover all of those trails in a few weekends at a leisurely pace. Very few, if any, of those leave little doubt that you're still in an urban environment as the smell of exhaust and automobile noise permeates the air. Is there "nature" around? Sure. Fortunately, not every habitat has been plowed under, but many have. Take a look at the crap going on along West Lake Houston Parkway in the Atascocita-Summerwood area. It's reckless development, nothing less.

There are definitely a lot of wooded areas around, though less than even just five years ago when I moved here. I was very surprised when I came down to interview at how wooded it was, even post-drought. I pretty quickly decided the Atascocita-Kingwood area would be high on my list to look for a house; Katy, on the other hand, was out quickly as I could see within minutes what they had done there with housing. A stick planted for every yard - no thanks.

It's not just trees either. It's entire habitats/ecosystems being destroyed. Deer left wandering around looking for a place to go as their home is destroyed within the span of a day. I've watched it happen several times here. It's just very frustrating to see this in action. A few trees left for some urban park is not preservation. It's accommodation (reluctant I'm sure) by the developers.

[SugLandDAd]

Those aren't hikes; those are walks. I could cover all of those trails in a few weekends at a leisurely pace. Very few, if any, of those leave little doubt that you're still in an urban environment as the smell of exhaust and automobile noise permeates the air.

Its a city...what is it you expect?

The point is there are places to walk/hike etc. in Houston. Can you do better if get away from the city? YES....but for everyday walks and hikes, most people seem to be able to find something that suits them.

Try Brazos Bend State Park... there is no doubt there, you are in the country.

[analogkid84]

Originally Posted by SugLandDAd

[i]

Try Brazos Bend State Park... there is no doubt there, you are in the country.

Been there; it's pretty nice. I'll wait until summer when I can head back up to the North Cascades for a week or two on non-manicured trails.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by analogkid84

Been there; it's pretty nice. I'll wait until summer when I can head back up to the North Cascades for a week or two on non-manicured trails.

Try Sam Houston National Forest





https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/t...ational-forest

[Texyn]

Originally Posted by analogkid84

Those aren't hikes; those are walks.

Hiking, by definition, is a walk.

to walk or march a great distance, especially through rural areas, for pleasure, exercise, military training, or the like.

Hiking | Define Hiking at Dictionary.com