Which Houston Suburb? (Sugar Land, Bellaire, Katy: townhouse, schools, university)

[chris_ut]

I swear SugarLand has a marketing department on here. OP is working next to Memorial, one of the nicest and most desirable areas to live in Houston and numerous posters want them to commute 30 minutes on a toll road from Sugarland. Makes no sense.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by chris_ut

I swear SugarLand has a marketing department on here. OP is working next to Memorial, one of the nicest and most desirable areas to live in Houston and numerous posters want them to commute 30 minutes on a toll road from Sugarland. Makes no sense.

Don't necessarily disagree, but since OP hasn't been back to indicate budget (which is necessary to make recommendations) and specifically stated suburb in the thread title, that's why I think there's been quite a few Sugar Land responses on here.

[jerbear30]

I don't have a strong sense of loyalty to Sugar Land. I don't even go there very often. I just think that given the OP's thinking, there is a good likelihood that only Sugar Land or the Woodlands will come close to providing that sense of "community" desired. This is not a sense of community that comes only from meeting people somewhere for sports or a shared interest--it's spatial and it has to do with how a city is planned. You're not going to find that in Pearland or Katy, or even Clear Lake, which are basically pure sprawl. You're not really going to find it in Sugar Land like you would in Chicago, but that's the closest you can get, imho.

As to Memorial, it is true that I didn't recommend that, but without knowing budget, and combined with the fact that the OP said "suburb" I'm guessing that most of Memorial is going to be cost prohibitive. Also, it's not a place that has that sense of "community" in my experience.

[mingna]

How accurately can some one assess a neighborhood's/city's "sense of community" if one has never lived there?

I have lived in both Sugar Land (First Colony) and now the 77055/Memorial area. My assessment is that "community" can be found in both places, depending on the input of the person seeking such.

Now, in regards to other criteria those such as OP need to be more concerned about...

[usernameexists]

Hi all, thank you so much for the feedback. My husband would prefer to keep the new house under $500k -- from a resale perspective we just find that going much above that and you really do limit your audience. I will continue to look back here and see what other advice you give. Thanks again -- truly appreciate it!

[chris_ut]

Texas Ag 93: I think Memorial qualifies as a suburb just as much as Sugarland, just a more conveniently located one.

OP: Unfortunately $500k is not enough to get you into any of the good neighborhoods near your husbands work so looks like you are going to be banished to a far off burb and Sugarland probably will be the way to go.

[JakeinChina]

There's a reason why so many Asian's have flocked to Sugar Land. Its because of the best overall bang for your buck in terms of places to live. Asians are very careful when it comes to spending their money and investing (Esp investing in their families future) and they want the very best. Great schools, family environment, healthy lifestyle, jobs, proximity to Houston and reasonable cost of living are all key factors they look at, and believe me they look at them more extensively and do much more research then the average American family.


Just my two cents but Sugar Land for comparing cost of living, with all of the things I stated above, is a great deal.

[HTownNearNative]

Originally Posted by usernameexists

Hi all, thank you so much for the feedback. My husband would prefer to keep the new house under $500k -- from a resale perspective we just find that going much above that and you really do limit your audience. I will continue to look back here and see what other advice you give. Thanks again -- truly appreciate it!

Limit your audience? Not necessarily. A home in Spring Valley Village zoned to great schools is in very high demand and pricing starts from the $600's for a remodeled older home... the starting price point is high, but people will pay to be closer to work and having a good commute with good schools is priceless in the minds of many. Buying the $600k home in a suburb with continual new construction starting in the $300k's will have a more limited audience.

[Prey521]

Congrats on getting out of that hellhole!

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by usernameexists

Hi all, my husband could be getting a job offer in Houston. We are currently in Chicagoland. I am hoping to find some insight as to which suburbs offer great schools and also have their own sense of community. Our current suburb has a great downtown and park district, making it entirely possible to experience culture without traveling into "the city". We would love to find something similar in TX. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Coming from St. Louis, which you might be familiar with
The only places that I've seen like that is Sugar Land and Tomball