Relocating to Houston this summer (Spring, Katy: transplants, houses, neighborhood)

[VickiMBA]

Hello,

I think Sugar Land is a great choice. So long as you don't pass the Brazos, the commute to the Galleria should be right around 45 mins. With your price range, you'll have many wonderful choices, and FBISD has some really good schools. There are plenty of nice, family-oriented communities in Sugar Land (Sugar Land is designed for families! 84% of households in Sugar Land in 2007 reported they were families). It really depends on the types of amenities you are looking for.

You should definitely check out Sugar Land. It's one of the "Best Places to Live" for a reason!

[baggiegenes]

There is a bus that leaves from the Kingsland park-n-ride in katy and goes down to the galleria area. I'm moving out there and will be taking to bus in the mornings all the way to down town. From what i've been told by my co-workers, you can catch a bus between 6 and 6:15 and be downtown by 7. It would be a little faster to the galleria.

There are also some homes in the westchase area (beltway and westheimer) that don't look to bad driving by, but i've never lived there. That wouldn't be too bad of a drive, except for the lights.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

My family is relocating to Houston from Philadelphia for my husband's job which will be in an office building at the Galleria. I am a bit familiar with the west side of the city because my grandparents have lived in Memorial (in Thornwood) for 30 years. We have two small children so we are looking for a nice family community with the best possible public schools we can find within about a 45 minute commute to the Galleria.

I think the Woodlands is out because the commute would be awful. I hear the commute from Katy down I-10 is bad, but there are sections of Katy ISD that are practically in Memorial and Taylor high school seems to be rated very highly.

Any suggestions are welcome. My husband tells me a lot of people take the bus just to avoid the traffic leaving the parking garage in the evenings.

Schools and commute are our priorites. Coming from here we can afford about a $350K house which will buy us plenty of house.

Kelliwood is zoned to Katy Taylor, and No it doesn't take more than 45 min. to make it to the Galleria. There's a park-in-ride in katy(near Kelliwood) that will take you to the Galleria in about 15 min.

[sbhubbell]

Thanks for all the advice, so far it's very helpful! Kelliwood does look like a good option, especially if the commute is 45 min and the park and ride is right there. Also it looks like Colony Meadows has the best schools (Clements High and Colony Meadows Elem.) in Sugarland, and it's pretty close to 59 but I don't know what the commute from there is really like. I wonder between those two which area people prefer. Seems like Sugarland may be a bit less expensive than Katy.

I like to be close to shopping but I don't think that's an issue anywhere. We need a good daycare facility and a good fitness center, preferably a nice YMCA. I have mixed feelings about buying a house with a pool...I worry about the safety issue with small kids and I don't want it to take up the entire backyard...the kids need at least a small green space for playing. However since we won't be used to the heat and humidity of Houston, a pool might be helpful.

[icon7]

Other locations in Sugar Land you may want to consider:
Austin Park and Crescent Lakes. Both are a hop away from 59 & shopping.
Austin Park homes are about 20 years old but the area is well kept and in the heart of Sugar Land.
Crescent Lakes homes are about 10-12 years old, but again are well kept and also in the heart of Sugar Land. Check both of them out on HAR.

[EasilyAmused]

Please don't forget to inform the OP that taxes in Sugarland and Katy can range fro 3.2-3.7% while Houston remains 2.8 or 2.9.

Not to mention the fact that Freeways are adding toll lanes at an alarming rate, increasing the commute cost beyond the sky rocking gas prices.

[jfitexas]

We have lived in falcon point for the last 10 years and have had no problems. we are a gated community and just around the corner from cinco ranch schools. i am in the insurance business and would hear anything that happens in my area. we have a park and ride just two miles from us on the grand parkway at 10. feel free to contact me at my office if you need any help with direction or any other questions

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

My family is relocating to Houston from Philadelphia for my husband's job which will be in an office building at the Galleria. I am a bit familiar with the west side of the city because my grandparents have lived in Memorial (in Thornwood) for 30 years. We have two small children so we are looking for a nice family community with the best possible public schools we can find within about a 45 minute commute to the Galleria.

I think the Woodlands is out because the commute would be awful. I hear the commute from Katy down I-10 is bad, but there are sections of Katy ISD that are practically in Memorial and Taylor high school seems to be rated very highly.

Any suggestions are welcome. My husband tells me a lot of people take the bus just to avoid the traffic leaving the parking garage in the evenings.

Schools and commute are our priorites. Coming from here we can afford about a $350K house which will buy us plenty of house.

[jd433]

Hello I just wanted to respond to all the jibber about Katy being a long commute to Houston. First of all the expansion of IH-10 is almost complete. I hear that as early as October it will be done. That will make the commute more like 25-30 minutes even to downtown. They are making a guarantee that traffic sppeds will maintain 45 mph even during rush hour. That menas no traffic back-ups at all. The $2.5 Billion project will pay off big when the citizens of Katy and West Houston can move about freely even during peak hours down this wonderful new freeway with out back-ups and slow and go traffic.

The amount they spent on this project would amount to every household in the Katy area putting up $35,000 in order to have a clear path to all of the best Houston destinations. I mean this is big news. I have been on a lot of freeways and I have yet to see a freeway as big as this one. I mean this is a Texas sized freeway.

[pacman777]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Please don't forget to inform the OP that taxes in Sugarland and Katy can range fro 3.2-3.7% while Houston remains 2.8 or 2.9.

Not to mention the fact that Freeways are adding toll lanes at an alarming rate, increasing the commute cost beyond the sky rocking gas prices.

I live in seven meadows (section 2) and my taxes last year were 2.85%. It is the cheapest out of any section in Seven Meadows since we are zoned to the MUD that the established Hickory Creek is part of.

[Bike4Life]

The traffic commute goes up like the inflation rates. The more road you build will give new housing developers more bragging rights to say, "Hey, 30-45 minutes to downtown". And so as the city continues to grow to unsustainable exburbs, then guess what? More cars will fill up the new roads and a few years later, hot-tempers are in bumper-to-bumper traffic and it will take an hour and a half to get home. At this rate, Houston is going to become like an L.A. commute, someday.

So, I would look for a house in and around West Loop. $350K isn't much for Inner Loop, so you may have a better chance just outside of the Loop.