woodlands

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carolyn Jardine on September 22, 2010 at 10:34am

Hi Allyson,

We don't live in the Woodlands. We live nearby in Spring (just south of The Woodlands on I-45). But I can tell you that I have friends with kids who live there and they do love it. The Woodlands has lots of great amenities for families: walking/biking trails, parks, a children's museum, shopping, restaurants, etc. but it is the suburbs, so be prepared for that. We have lived in the burbs for 5 years and we love it although it took us some time to get used to.

Good luck,
Carolyn

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Whitsett on September 22, 2010 at 9:19pm

Hi Allyson- The Woodlands reminds me a bit like Redwood Meadows or Bragg Creek. Lots of trees, nice trails, but also a good selection of retail and commercialism so basic necessities are easy to come by. Its quite beautiful and I do love the trees up there. That said, I want nothing to do with suburbia. The Woodlands may not be that far as the crow flies, but add some good ole Texas traffic jams to the equation and it becomes a commute into town. If I had to live in suburbia, I would choose the Woodlands hands down, or at least the areas of the wooded north. We live in town and love having the arts/music/cultural scene literally out our front door. The prices inside Loop 610 can get pricey but Calgary has had a ridiculous jump in real estate prices the past 10 years so what many locals consider 'pricey' may not be that bad by Calgary's standards. If the suburban lifestyle is what you seek, then yeah the Woodlands is a great choice.

Jeff

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Permalink Reply by allysonjillkinghutch@hotmail.com on September 23, 2010 at 6:13pm

Thanks Jeff. Sounds like you are from Calgary. My husband and I along with our two kids retruned from living in London, England last August and terribly miss living urban. Living in suburbia for the last year has been quite an adjustment. We would always be interested in looking inside the loop, however, our concern is with the public school situation. Do you have kids that go to public school? Do you enjoy Houston? We have really come to the conclusion that Houston, from the internet, seems to be like Calgary but with better weather, so is it worth the upheaval to move just for the weather. Alot of me says yes but the health care and schooling, not sure. What are your thoughts? I sometimes dream of playing outdoors all year long, or close to it, running, swimming, barbequeing and enjoy nature more than I do here. Thanks so much for your input,
Allyson

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Permalink Reply by allysonjillkinghutch@hotmail.com on September 23, 2010 at 6:33pm

Hi jeff its me again. Just wondering if our budget would find us a great urbanish home inh Houston? Where should I research, please?

Thanks again for your time and effort, Jeff.

Allyson

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Whitsett on September 24, 2010 at 6:57am

Well, I guess I could be guilted into being called a Calgarian. I moved there when I was 12 and did Jr High and High School there. When I was 18 I packed up and moved to Victoria and never looked back, except for trips to visit the parents and friends. I consider myself from Victoria at this point, Calgary never did anything for me whereas I embraced everything West Coast the moment I got there. But Calgary's a really nice city (minus winter) and I can't truly give a good reason why it never felt like 'home'. My parents are both in the medical fields so we had friends out in Redwood Meadows and I used to camp/hike/ski Bragg Creek quite a bit as a young teenager.

I think many folks are concerned about inner city schools, and often times its legitimate. How old are your kids? It is safe to say that there are many inner loop neighborhoods that are very well-to-do and as such the school system for that neighborhood is top notch. And there are transitional neighborhoods where some schools are fantastic and others not quite there yet. We live in the Heights and love it. No kids (yet) but the Elementary Schools in the area have quite a few accolades behind them. The Heights really started transitioning into a sought after neighborhood I hear around the 90s. Over the past 8 years or so there has really been a change with lots of young families either moving in, or starting up one. That has pushed the Elementary level schools in the area to much higher levels. The middle school and high school aren't quite there yet, however I have colleagues who's kids attend one or both of the middle/high schools and they have no complaints. I'll address those concerns when we have kids, but by the time our kids are Jr High level, I doubt there will be much of a concern. Outside of the Heights are neighborhoods that have developed well over time and have good schools throughout (West U, River Oaks, Galleria etc).

As far as Calgary vs Houston, in my opinion Houston seems in many ways like Calgary circa 1990. Homes are affordable, you're seeing a big push towards inner city infrastructure, rail is starting to kick into high gear, the city is fairly well diversified beyond oil/gas. Considering Houston is the 4th largest city in the US its quite affordable to live here. That said, the weather can be....ummm.......steamy. Summers are hot and sticky. Spring and Fall are super nice. Winter is amazing compared to London and Calgary but its not Miami thats for sure. There is no laying on the beach in January. Golf is year round, it doesn't get pitch black at 3 in the afternoon (conversely it doesn't get sunny at 3am either in the summer). Many homes have swimming pools and if I chose suburbia that would be a must. Inner loop homes have them, but you have to search a bit more.

Assuming you'd be moving here because you or your husband would get relocated? So as long as you have health coverage you'll be just fine. Houston has the largest medical center in the world and with that are some seriously fine doctors. My wife and I have our doctor over in the med center and receive top notch care from them. If you make the move I can give you their website/contact info.

As far as budgeting for inner loop homes, what ballpark numbers are you looking at? For me personally, I love the Heights because it reminds me so much of any given Pacific Northwest neighborhood. The neighborhood dates back to the 1800's so architecture is very prevalent. There are bike paths, parks, playgrounds, lots of mature trees that date hundreds of years old, some good pubs and patio cafe's and the Heights is developing into quite a foodie destination with several high level chefs opening up their own places. Its also great for biking and walking and has a very strong local artist scene. So it reminds me much of 'home' or at least as much as I could possibly get here. Plus I work downtown and I'm at my office in about 5 minutes. Traffic makes me very grumpy and stressful. lol.

The Greater Heights comprises several neighborhoods some of which have deed restrictions, some of which dont. Those that don't are trending towards townhouse development, those that do are trending large home construction or bungalow remodels.
But the 'Heights' as a neighborhood costs about $350K start for a small turn of the century bungalow that is probably move-in condition.
Example: http://search.har.com/engine/429-Euclid-St-Houston-77009-7222_HAR81...

There is newer construction out there that is still period architecture and that starts $600K to over $1M
example: http://search.har.com/engine/733-Oxford-St-Houston-77007-1608_HAR98...

The Houston MLS website is www.har.com . From here you can map search any property in Houston. A fantastic tool for those searching. Neighborhoods aren't well defined on here, but I can help you with my .02c if you find a few homes that pique your interest....

Oh and one more thing, since Houston is affordable by most city standards, this allows us to travel a ton. With Houston being a Continental hub, direct flights to many cities are easy. And if you love blue water, the Caribbean is only about an hour and a half flight from here so many western Caribbean destinations can be done over a weekend. Same with cruises, Galveston is a cruise terminal so those are ridiculously easy to jump on and very cheap too.

Jeff

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Permalink Reply by allysonjillkinghutch@hotmail.com on September 25, 2010 at 9:02pm

Hi Jeff,

I don't know what else to say but THANK-YOU for your in-depth, detailed and well written message. I am definately going to research your neighbourhood. I looked at the first web site you sent me and I also love that west coast vibe home, my husband on the other hand would love to live on or near a golf course but after London he is open for inner living also. Our kids are age 6 and 3. Our budget would be up to 1.4. So I would hope there would be some pretty cool homes out there in your community.

I am sure there are some very cool, up and coming inner loop neighbourhoods that have attracted many young professionals with or without kids that would rather not have to pay over 25 grand per kid for schools. So good news on the public school system getting better.

Arriving back to Calgary, after 4 years in London, both my husband and I cannot fathom doing 20 years of these winters. I often say that, from what I have read, 3 months with the AC is better than 6/7 months of freezing cold weather and indoors also. We just had a 2 week spell where I wore my down coat the whole time. So I would think your steamy summers would be much better that our longgggg winters.

Thanks again Jeff for your time. You are very kind.

Allyson

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Permalink Reply by Tom Furmanczyk on October 24, 2010 at 1:09pm

Hi Allyson,

Last June I moved my family to Cypress Texas which is not too far from the Woodlands ... these are great communities.

My wife is the one who lived in Houston for many years, I believe that several of her doctor friends live in that neighborhood.

Cheers,

Tom

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