Fall Creek, Summerwood, Eagle Springs, or Kingwood (Houston, Oakhurst: how much, house)

[mjsparks1o1]

I am moving to Houston next spring and am looking for a good place to purchase a home. I will be working downtown (Louisiana Street) and a reasonable commute is a must (less than 40 minutes). I really like the NE burbs with the trees and masterplanned layouts. Which community would you recommend for someone with a young family? We are looking for a home with over 3000 sq feet with a max price of < $350,000. I have looked at Fall Creek and really like its location (close to 59). How much farther of a commute does the other communities add in comparison to fall creek? Thanks for your help!

[Kandy]

I like all of the communities you mentioned and looked at those same areas when we were house hunting. We ultimately chose Fall Creek. My hubby has a co-worker that lived in Kingwood, but he moved to our neighborhood because the commute was so much better. You can get downtown to Louisiana St. in 30 minutes or less from FC. Add ten minutes if you live in Summerwood, add about 10-15 minutes for Eagle Springs, and add 15 - 35 minutes for Kingwood (depending on which village you live in). All of these times are considering that you are driving in traffic (rush hour).

You can get a great home in all of these areas in the price range and size you are looking for. It's best to come out and take a look and see what you fall in love with. This is what we did.

Fall Creek has lots of young children....as do Summerwood and Eagle Springs. The new elementary school is opening this month in FC. Woo Hoo! (just in time for our oldest to start school).

~K~

[BearBranch]

Fall Creek has the easiest commute. Kingwood has the best overall ambiance, shopping and amenities.

[irishtexan]

I have been considering Fall Creek, Eagle Springs, Summerwood, Lakeshore, and Kingwood. While FC, ES, Summerwood and LS are closer to Houston than Kingwood, you should consider the construction that will soon take place along the Beltway -- it's supposed to expand into a freeway, and I think is schedule to take about 3 years. Once that starts, the commute probably won't be that much shorter than it is from Kingwood (unless you live in FC, which is right off the Beltway). Once it's done, it will probably be a very nice commute.

In other words, the new neighborhoods along the Beltway are just now growing, and the Beltway and amenities are just now being put in place.

Kingwood, on the other hand, is older and more developed, and so it already has all the amenities, but it is farther out.

My wife and I are on the fence as well as to where to move because of these very reasons.

[JilliO]

We were in a similar position just last month. We began with Kingwood (and Champions which we ended up crossing off the list after a couple weeks). Then moved to also considering Fall Creek and Summerwood. We chose Summerwood. I would have preferred Fall Creek because it's about 5-10 minutes (depending on lights and time of day) closer, but we just liked Summerwood better, a lot better. Housing lots (at least what we looked at) were slightly larger, and prices slightly lower. I would have been willing, though, to have paid more for Fall Creebut we just liked Summerwood more. I recognize, though, that this boils down to personal preference.

I researched, researched, researched, AND I HATE, HATE, HATE to drive.... so if I pull out some advice from my experience it would be to drive through these areas and see which appeals to you the most. By far, we just liked the neighborhood we choose in Summerwood the best. It was worth the extra few minutes of commute.

What is best for you?

[mjsparks1o1]

Originally Posted by JilliO

We were in a similar position just last month. We began with Kingwood (and Champions which we ended up crossing off the list after a couple weeks). Then moved to also considering Fall Creek and Summerwood. We chose Summerwood. I would have preferred Fall Creek because it's about 5-10 minutes (depending on lights and time of day) closer, but we just liked Summerwood better, a lot better. Housing lots (at least what we looked at) were slightly larger, and prices slightly lower. I would have been willing, though, to have paid more for Fall Creebut we just liked Summerwood more. I recognize, though, that this boils down to personal preference.

I researched, researched, researched, AND I HATE, HATE, HATE to drive.... so if I pull out some advice from my experience it would be to drive through these areas and see which appeals to you the most. By far, we just liked the neighborhood we choose in Summerwood the best. It was worth the extra few minutes of commute.

What is best for you?

Thanks for the information and response. I too hate to drive and haven't looked to closely at Summerwood or Eagle Springs because I have heard it takes a long time to get to HWY 59 from those communities. What kind of extra time is someone from those communities looking at in commuting during rush hour?

[Kandy]

Originally Posted by mjsparks1o1

Thanks for the information and response. I too hate to drive and haven't looked to closely at Summerwood or Eagle Springs because I have heard it takes a long time to get to HWY 59 from those communities. What kind of extra time is someone from those communities looking at in commuting during rush hour?

I listed the drive times above (in my first post) for the neighborhoods you mentioned. The drive from Fall Creek is by far the best. Kingwood is the farthest, but still not horrible (ie: Woodlands). hwy 59 is great. I just asked hubby how long the commute from FC has been lately (Texas St) he said he has been averaging 20 to 25 minutes. He leaves around 7:20-7:35 each morning. For Summerwood, add 10 minutes.

~K~

[chris_ut]

Check out Oakhurst which is the newest neighborhood in Kingwood and has fast highway access. It takes me 2 minutes to get from my house to the 59S onramp.

[mjsparks1o1]

how are the schools at Oakhurst? I am mostly interested in Elementary schools as we will have one child that age when we move to Houston. Also, what about safety, etc.

[Kandy]

Here is some info on the schools. It appear the schools that oakhurst feed into are considered "Recognized".
Oakhurst Homes Online (http://www.oakhursthomesonline.com/schools.htm - broken link)

~K~