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We did basically the same thing...found out about the Woodlands online, asked some realtors about it, went to look, fell in love, etc. I'm starting to think all the people in the Woodlands are from Florida! lol We opted for a resale...but it's only 2 1/2 years old. I think no matter what part you choose, you're going to love it there. Good luck with your home search!
We have met a lot of Floridians , but the majority of transplants seem to be from California . The people in The Woodlands are a lot friendlier than in South Florida , but I will miss the nice beaches here !!
The Woodlands is just far enough from Houston where you feel that you are isolated from the problems of that huge city , but close enough to be able to enjoy some of the amenities on the weekends . Anyhow last time I was up there with my wife , everyone looking at the model homes in Stirling Ridge was either from out of state ( Calif , Fla , Arizona ) or wealthy Mexicans from Mexico City
We should create a club of ex-Westonites! I have friends in The Meadows...also been trying to sell their home for a loooong time. Do you know Robyn and Randy Souza?
Also, my daughter goes to the Cambridge School for Pre-K....where do your kids go?
My husband will also be working from home for the most part...unless he needs to travel. But no real need to commute into the city of Houston on a daily basis.
Anyway, I'm sure The Woodlands was cemented for us because we told the realtor so much about Weston and how much we liked the way everything is coordinated here. The Woodlands is so much like Weston....but better I think.
We should create a club of ex-Westonites! I have friends in The Meadows...also been trying to sell their home for a loooong time. Do you know Robyn and Randy Souza?
Also, my daughter goes to the Cambridge School for Pre-K....where do your kids go?
My husband will also be working from home for the most part...unless he needs to travel. But no real need to commute into the city of Houston on a daily basis.
Anyway, I'm sure The Woodlands was cemented for us because we told the realtor so much about Weston and how much we liked the way everything is coordinated here. The Woodlands is so much like Weston....but better I think.
Hi Honie B , did Robyn and Randy Souza just rent their home in The Meadows and move to Ohio , the names do ring a bell but I am not sure ?
Anyhow , I really like Weston it just has gotten absurdly expensive with taxes and homeowners insurance , we are now paying $ 7,900.00 a year for the former and $ 7,600.00 a year for the latter . Property taxes are high in The Woodlands and in Houston in general , but we will be purchasing our house in cash thus we will have no mortgage payments !!
Cost of living in general will be much lower than in Weston , with I think better schools and recreational venues than in Weston , in spite of some of the negative press thrown on Houston my wife and I loved the weekend recreational venues there and only 45 minutes from the Woodlands ( with out traffic on weekends )
We also drove out to the Hill Country in Austin to see what the drive would be , and it was surprisingly short only , two and 1/2 hours !!
Our girls go to Falcon Cove Middle School , 6 & 7 th grades . Sounds like your husband and I will be one of the lucky few who will not have to commute to Houston and yes Bush Intercontinental Airport is only twenty five minutes away via the Hardy Toll Road . We should start a club of ex- Westonites !!
Hi JJNNINO, No, the Souzas still live there. They are just relocating to another part of FL, but also want to stay here at least till the end of the school year.
Although I've heard a lot about the parks and recreational facilities of the Woodlands, I haven't yet experienced them firsthand. My thoughts are that they would be better than Weston since The Woodlands is so much larger and it's more established. Did I read somewhere that The Woodlands is the first planned community in the country? I'm not sure...maybe someone else can verify that for me...but if so, surely Weston was molded to be like The Woodlands to a certain extent. The only things I'll miss a lot are the endless rows of palm trees lining our roads (which after the hurricane a year ago are much sparser anyway) and the beautiful beaches (more so on the West coast of FL). But who says we can't go back for a long weekend every once in a while?
I believe we are both in the position of making a move toward a better quality of life. I hope it works out for us all.
Quick question, since your daughters are school age...how do they feel about moving to another state at this point? Are they excited or are they resentful for having to give up their school and friends? My son is too young to know the difference (5 months)...but my 4 year old daughter keeps saying she wants to stay in this house....I hope the move isn't too traumatic for her.
Hi JJNNINO, No, the Souzas still live there. They are just relocating to another part of FL, but also want to stay here at least till the end of the school year.
Although I've heard a lot about the parks and recreational facilities of the Woodlands, I haven't yet experienced them firsthand. My thoughts are that they would be better than Weston since The Woodlands is so much larger and it's more established. Did I read somewhere that The Woodlands is the first planned community in the country? I'm not sure...maybe someone else can verify that for me...but if so, surely Weston was molded to be like The Woodlands to a certain extent. The only things I'll miss a lot are the endless rows of palm trees lining our roads (which after the hurricane a year ago are much sparser anyway) and the beautiful beaches (more so on the West coast of FL). But who says we can't go back for a long weekend every once in a while?
I believe we are both in the position of making a move toward a better quality of life. I hope it works out for us all.
Quick question, since your daughters are school age...how do they feel about moving to another state at this point? Are they excited or are they resentful for having to give up their school and friends? My son is too young to know the difference (5 months)...but my 4 year old daughter keeps saying she wants to stay in this house....I hope the move isn't too traumatic for her.
Must have the Souzas confused for another couple , anyhow I have heard the same about The Woodlands being one of the largest master planned communities in the U.S. , but not the oldest ?
Anyhow don't think it really matters ,as they seem to have their act together . It is much like Weston in many ways , but there are more parks , and walking / biking trails , more shopping and entertainment venues i.e. The Woodlands Mall , Waterway & The Dorothy Mitchell Pavillion . We saw the
"Black Eyed Peas " there last year with my girls !!
They have two YMCA facilities , and about the same amount of sports leagues as Weston . My wife has chosen to be a "domestic engineer " for a couple more years ( because of our girls ) and I work from home a large percentage of the time so we can go days without leaving Weston , and I assume it will be the same if not more in The Woodlands !!
Main Street in The Woodlands really mops the floor with our Town Center here in Weston , so again it is like Weston but I think superior in many ways .
Anyhow I am sure it will work out well for us , we have been there five times in the last 18 months , and like it more each time we go there . Despite some naysayers on this board , we liked a lot about Houston as well in fact it will be like Miami for us , you know go down there eat , have fun and the get the "heck out " I am sure you guys will love it as well !!
My daughters are excited about moving there , they liked Texas in general . They are 13 & 11 and will both be a little older by the time we move there , and yes they have expressed some concern about missing friends , but they both know that with the internet , chat rooms and super low long distance rates they can keep in touch with friends in Weston . We will also be coming down here at least twice a year to visit family and friends , so we are not too concerned . I would not worry about your little girl , come on she is only four and your current house will not even be a memory after a few weeks in The Woodlands .
I will miss many aspects of South Florida as I was born and raised here , yes and the palm trees and beaches are at the top of my list !!
Not having a mortgage and living in a beautiful community in Texas will make the blow a little softer !!
I've been reading through a lot of these threads and see that you've been posting quite a few responses. I agree with your views on the illegal immigration problems. Interestingly, my husband is a legal immigrant from Greece...he is always interested in the politics of this country and is generally more informed than I am. Unfortunately, as he likes to point out, I am (or was) one of those Americans who tuned the bad things out....mostly due to the thought, "there's nothing I can do about it anyway."
However, you can't live with someone so interested in this stuff and not have some filter in...lol. Politics and world news have always made me feel stressed and I guess I didn't want to deal. But as the years go by I see the importance of being informed and proactive.
It certainly would be great if you guys would like to get together once you've settled into The Woodlands ... I think we'd have some mighty interesting conversations. Feel free to email me (HonieB@aol.com) if you'd like to stay in touch.
Moving to the Houston area.. from Florida but we live in Cleaewater area.. Orginally we were thinking about going to Wellington Boyton beach Fl.. but after checking around I was floored by the home prices in Houston.. The weather is basically the same as Florida.. and its in the middle of the state...which gives me closer access to other family members.. I too looked at the Woodlands and yes this is what i have been looking for.. My husband is semi retired and he can work if he chooses anywhere.. but my major concern is schools.. i have a 8 yr old(will be going into the 3rd grade next year) and want to make sure I am going to be sending her to the too rated public schools..Can someone help me in this dept.. What is the best school district around and if not the Woodlands what developments would have the best schools... Has anyone heard of sienna plantation that looked awesome too.. What I love most about this area is I can sell my house here and have alot of money left over after I buy a home there.. We still want a large home as I have 3 older sons who do not live at home.. and the prices on the 4 bedroom 3 bath homes were fantastic!! Does anyone know about real estate taxes., if they are comparable to florida? Any information will be greatly appreciated you can email me privately but please make sure on the subject line you say you are from this message board... Thanks in advance!
The schools in The Woodlands are excellent....especially compared to any school in Florida. Someone in one of the previous posts said the Katy ISD was better than the Woodlands...but I disagree. When doing my research, Katy always came in at the same level or a bit behind the Woodlands.
The biggest difference here is that there seems to be more affluence in the Woodlands and most of the schools have very strong PTO's. I'm sure the schools in Katy are very good as well...and I'm sure some of them have good PTO's too. My top choices of schools to find a home that was "zoned" for are: Galatas for its extremely strong PTO and fundraising capabilities and neverending list of extracurriculars, arts and sciences programs (Galatas was named "one of the best schools in Texas" by Texas Monthly); Coulson Tough for just about the same....difference between the two is that Tough is a "Flex" school which means your child will stay in it until the 6th grade. You won't have to put your child in Middle School before they go to Jr. High. Then last there was Deretchin, a fairly new school in the Sterling Ridge area. It also is a "Flex" school, has a very strong PTO and lots of extracurriculars. In fact I have a booklet here from the Woodlands Homefinder Center that gives an overview of every school in The Woodlands and it was extremely tough narrowing down the choices. In the end we opted for a newer neighborhood in Sterling Ridge which zoned us for Deretchin.
I highly recommend you make a visit to the Woodlands Homefinder Center located at 2000 Woodlands Pkwy. They have TONS of info on just about anything you want to learn about the Woodlands.
Regarding your question about property taxes....property taxes in TX are a bit higher than FL....and that's no matter where you decide to buy.
Pupils in the Montgomery County section of The Woodlands attend Conroe ISD schools - Two high schools, The Woodlands High School and The Woodlands College Park High School, serve the portion.
As for Creekside Park Village, in Silent Hill in Harris County, that portion will be zoned to Tomball ISD.
That is correct...but I keep forgetting about Creekside since it hasn't been developed yet. Personally, I would stay in the Montgomery County side of The Woodlands....but that's just me.
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Too Funny
