Where to Live in Houston?

My friends moved there in droves a few years ago with job transfers. They sent the whole department. They all moved to the Spring area.

depends on where in katy you go. we live in far west katy which is old katy. it is 20-25 minutes to the beltway (8) from here. Katy is closer to the beltway (8) and 610 loop than you think. Mason would be a good area a cluster of stores right there. Fry road would be a cluster of stores there too. If you go to these areas it would knock off about 10 minutes of travel time. I live off of katy hockley cut off. It is more of a small town feel. my so can get to downtown in 35 minutes in the morning but it takes him about 45 minutes coming home because of traffic. Even if you get off of highway 6 in katy that is not a rough area of town. Highway 6 to the beltway (8) is about that would put you about 15 minutes from the beltway. then depending on how far north or south you do add that to travel time. 6 can get real congested in the morning at I 10 and hwy 6. It is not real bad but can get congested. now going north on 6 in the evening after work can be areal nightmare. if you want more info on katy feel free to im me.

I grew up in Kingwood, TX, it was a fabulous area, still is from what I understand...it maybe out of your way but look into it b/c it is a great neighborhood for familys

I moved to Houston 31 years ago from rural western PA. BIG difference. I lived all over Houston. Very close to the address you gave as your hubby's work address for over 10 years. It's in one of the most congested areas. There's are lovely areas near to it going both east and west on Memorial - just get ready for REALLY high price tags on homes. Can't tell you about the schools - other than there are a TON of private schools right around there, so I'm assuming that the public ones are terrible. Briar Forest has some nice homes on it also - just slightly west, but traffic in the mornings is stop and go - very frustrating. I wouldn't go NEAR the medical center - it'd take 45 minutes AT LEAST and not that nice of an area. Parts of West University, near Rice Univ. are nice - very old and VERY expensive. It's close to the med center, but a bit farther west - closer to where he'd need to be. 610 loop in the mornings and evenings are just a HUGE parking lot. I used to work on a building next to it and would look out the window and by 3:45pm it was already packed. They have widened it since then. 290 is a ZOO, wouldn't go to Cy-Fair schools - they're so under water financially it's a crime.
We live in The Woodlands. Without traffic, getting to San Felipe takes about 30 minutes. I haven't made that trip in morning or evening traffic for years, so can't tell you how long it'd take, but the schools are Exemplary and one of the few school districts in the entire Houston area that are in the black. The HS girls' softball team just won State and are rated #1 in the country. The girls and boys rugby teams also won state!! Be happy to tell you more if you want to know.

I am in Sugar Land and it is a wonderful place to live!!!!! Check us out!!

a lot of people do drive in from Katy. They built that big 16 lane highway just for that purpose. We lived in CySprings and I'm not a big fan but it does have a bot more of a country feel. Katy is definately country.

If he's wking on the West side, Katy is NOT that far. It actually blends in w/Houston. It looks farther on the map b/c that's just the way maps are. We moved from Katy/Brookshire to north of San Antonio & we thought San Marcos was far from New Braunfels but it's only like 10 mins. My advice would be to take a weekend, go to Houston & just 'look'. See how it is. Houston is a BIG deal to move to. I don't know how KC compared to Houston but I would strongly urge you go & look around, in person first. That way, you'll know what to expect & also learn the 'back roads' or 'the back way' as we like to say in case of heavy traffic, you'll know where you can go to get around to avoid some of that. But honestly, Katy is really on the outskirts of Houston & truly is NOT that far & is a fairly decent place to live too. There's always new housing areas going in & a great variety of places to live to choose from as well as good shopping & eating choices, medical places for your needs (i.e. dentists, doctors, hospitals) too. Hope this helps, good luck.

The Woodlands and Cypress are pretty far from where your hubby will be working. I would suggest checking Sugarland, Missouri City and Richmond. Since Houston is so large you may also want to look into West Houston. If you need a real estate agent, I have an excellent one! Her name is Rachel King, she is super knowledgeable and knows Houston very well. She helped us buy our current home and also helped friends of ours as well. We let her know what we were looking for, what our budget was and she found us lots of options and put them all online for us to view before going to see them.
Here is her email:
____@____.com

Good luck!!

I grew up in Bellaire, the largest small city in Houston. Inside the loop is more expensive than outside the loop (610). Condit is an excellent elementary, Pin Oak Middle school was built after I left, and Bellaire is still a nationally rated H.S., so you might look in that area. There are also some excellent private schools. West U. is an good place to live.
For whatever area you are looking at, please remember to look activities that are available for children...scouts, ball, soccer, pool, dance, gymnastics, etc.

I am from Houston and grew up in the area your husband will be working so I know the area very well. Actually, I have a client in Kansas City so I am there ever other month.

When I moved back to Houston from college, I discovered a part of town I did not know exist. The neighborhood is called Garden Oaks. It is located at 610 and Shephard. I absolutely love it. My children go to the Catholic private school in the neighborhood. The lots are a very nice size. My lot is over 12000 square feet.

It is so quiet and there is no traffic. It takes me 15 minutes to get to my parents house, the Memorial and Gessner area. It takes me 15 to 20 minutes to get to work, Greenway Plaza. It takes me 10 minutes to get downtown and on the weekends when we go to the zoo, it takes me about 15 minutes.

Please feel free to contact me if you need to get in touch with a real estate agent in this area. My neighbor is one of the top agents in this neighborhood.

What age are your kids? Bellaire and West University Place are small cities within Houston that are close to the Med Center, the zoo and the museums. I live near the Galleria, and I like being able to go on streets during peak traffic times. (It may also having something to do with my age! I came to Houston in 1963 to go to Rice University, and spent 38 years teaching high school before I retired.) It just depends on how much you want to participate in convenient activities.
I can put you in touch with a wonderful neighbor/realtor who helped my daughter & son-in-law find a house in Houston if you are interested. (They wanted to find an area like they lived in in New Orleans where they could walk to restaurants, etc.)
There are also areas in Spring Branch that are called the villages that are small towns within Houston. I-10 runs through that area between 610 and beltway 8. I personally would not go anywhere outside beltway 8, just because of the commute, but I never was farther away than 15 minutes from any school where I taught.

the medical center is also the art center (or really close to it). my good friend lived there for years. we always felt safe and had lots of fun with near by parks, great eats, and all the art!!! that was about six years ago. other wise i would have said katy!

Spring, Cypress, the Woodlands, and Katy will all be a long, congested drives to San Felipe. Unfortunately, the closer you are to San Felipe, the more $$ you will spend on a house. I currently live in Richmond (south of Katy, west of Houston) and have previously lived in Sugar Land as well as Cypress.

The public schools in HISD are not what you want. A previous poster mentioned all the private schools in Houston - there's a reason for that. I would suggest Sugar Land or certain parts of Missouri City (Sienna Plantation, Riverstone.) Alternately, the area around the Sam Houston Tollway and I-10 is nice, but also pricey. I think that's Spring Branch school district.

I don't know much about the Shadowlake area near the medical center. That would probably be a decent commute, but homes in that area can be pricey, too.

Whatever area you are considering, check it out during peak traffic times. Anything claiming to be "minutes from the Galleria" or "minutes from downtown" was clocked at midnight, not during rush hour.

Good luck to you!

Plan on a drive longer than 20-30 minutes, even if distance looks like it should be a 10 minute drive... traffic in Houston will ruin that.

I grew up in Spring and loved it but it has grown quite a bit since I was there. My dad had a 45 minute drive to work on I45 with traffic, so he altered his day and drove into work super early to beat the rush. Just food for thought.

Katy is a nice area with good schools. Pearland may be another option.

It's going to be huge culture shock from KC. Good luck!

You will not find a 20 minute commute in Houston. It is a HUGE city and no matter where you are there is horrible traffic with horrible accidents that can turn a small commute into a nightmare. On most days rush hour traffic is from 6:00-8:30am and 4:00-7:00pm. Keep in mind Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. If you have children you will not want to send them to any public school in HISD so be prepared and look into the private schools in any area zoned inside HISD. The Woodlands, Katy, Cypress, Sugarland are all nice areas, but will be atleast a 45 min commute and most likely an hour on most days. I-10 was recently expanded which has helped the traffic issues on that highway, but there are plans to start construction on HWY 290 which will last for years and will cause many commuters to flood I-10 in order to avoid HWY 290. When you live in Houston you have to except traffic. It's just part of life here. Good luck!

I am a Texan and love Texas. But I am not a fan of Houston. I had to live there for almost a year once. It will be a big change from Kansas City. Spend some time checking it out before you decide. The traffic is horrible.

Woodlands or Cypress