Visiting Houston for DH Job - Where to Look?

nikkisun54

Hi Folks - I posted on here relatively recently and since then, things have gotten real. It looks like DH and I will be relocating to the Houston area with our 18 m/o son this fall. We aren't sure how quickly we'll be able to join him as we need to sell our house first, but we're hoping sooner rather than later. 

In the meantime, we're headed down this weekend to check out the city and scope out some of the suburbs. We've got Katy (Cinco Ranch, specifically), Sugarland, The Woodlands, and Kingwood on the short list as places we'd like to visit. Any recommendations of what to do, where to go? Have we left off any super desirable communities? DH will be working downtown (Greenway Plaza) and I know some of these areas provide for a not-so-great commute, but we're trying to balance lifestyle vs. commute. 

Thanks in advance! We'll have our son in tow as well, so any good recommendations for toddlers on hot days would be great too.

mellizzard

I grew up in Kingwood and currently live in the Spring/The Woodlands area. What are you wanting to do while you're down? We have a Wet 'N' Wild right off I-45 and Cypresswood (about 10-15 minutes south of The Woodlands), which is great for hot days. The Natural Museum of Science is always neat, but your son may enjoy the Children's Museum and/or the Aquarium a lot better (all located downtown).

From living in both Kingwood and The Woodlands, I feel like there is much more to do in The Woodlands area versus Kingwood. Don't get me wrong, Kingwood is a great community, but it's so much smaller and you have to really travel to find things to do on a usual basis.

Hope this helps. Good luck :-bd

nikkisun54

Thanks @MAHealy87! We are really open to anything, just want to find something fun for our son to do while still getting a feel for different neighborhoods. I've heard the Children's Museum is great, I'll have to check it out! 

I have received similar feedback regarding The Woodlands/Spring vs. Kingwood. My main concern is that I've also heard the commute from Kingwood is far better than both The Woodlands or Spring. DH will be working downtown near Rice U. I know we're looking at a commute no matter what, but DH has never had more than a 15 minute commute and I'm afraid anything that inches toward an hour would just be too much! Do you have any realistic insight on the subject?

Thanks for the recommendations!

mellizzard

You're very welcome!

You're right - US-59 (Kingwood) is better travel wise over I-45 (The Woodlands/Spring). However, it also depends on where you live in Kingwood -  if it's towards the back, traffic getting into/out of Kingwood can be a real pain as for there are only two major roads (Northpark and Kingwood Dr.). There is always the Metro (which I take advantage of since I work downtown) that uses of the HOV. The Metro is available in both Kingwood and Spring.  Regardless, if you decide to reside in the "burbs" there's going to be a lengthy commute - it's Houston!

AggieLeigh

You may consider looking in Fall Creek in Humble. It's a gorgeous neighborhood right off the beltway near 59 so it would be a real quick hop onto 59. I used to live in Eagle Springs in Atascocita/Humble and loved it. I'm now in Tomball and take 249/beltway/45 into downtown and, depending on the time I leave, it can take 40 minutes to an hour to get to work. The love I have for my neighborhood and that side of town just outweighs the commute though. Hope you were able to look around and find some fun things to do while you were here!

nikkisun54

Thanks @AggieLeigh! It was a very busy weekend. We checked out a few of the northern suburbs the first day which I LOVED. We saw some in south Houston the next day (Pearland, Sugarland, Katy) and I was much less enthused. DH just wants a short commute and a place that has decent access to shopping and amenities, so he didn't see what the big difference was and preferred the south side (except Katy, which we've both agreed would be too far, esp. with traffic). Sooooo it looks like we have a long way to go. I've heard some positive things about Sienna Plantation, so I'm that we may find some common ground there next time we visit?

I think we're likely going to rent for the first year to by us some more time. Ultimately, I'd just like an area that has a community with an intimate feel, as Houston is so scary and new. Since I'll be staying at home, I'm definitely hoping to find an area with lots of activities for little ones! 

JKlein

Hi,

I saw you posted again saying you were in town looking so I figured I would copy my response in here to, in case you did not see the original post:

We just relocated to Houston in April. We ended up in Sienna Plantation. My husband takes the Ft Bend Toll Road into the city, with no traffic issues what so ever. He works near NRG stadium and the toll road basically drops him off right there, and it leads right into the Medical Center for my appointments at Texas Children's. Its about 30 mins. 

nikkisun54

Thank you for your insight @jklein! That's all very reassuring. My husband and I were just discussing that area over dinner and our hopes that it might be a good fit. Do you find it has a nice family feel? Friendly neighbors? Hoping to find somewhere with lots of kids for our 18 month old to grow with and one that's welcoming to Yankees

JKlein

Yes, very family friendly and one of the more safer places we looked at during our housing search There is a golf course, gym, and several community pools. There are two elementary schools within the neighborhood and the community puts on several events over the year. Since we've been here, there's been a 4th of July event (with fireworks) and back to school movie nights. 

Please feel free to message me with any questions.

ashleybraziel

Hi! I live in Fall Creek (one of the spots mentioned above) and work in Greenway Plaza. It takes me about 45-1hr to get to work depending on when I leave my house. If you leave before 7, it's much easier to get to work as traffic is lighter, but after 7:30 plan on a full hour. As far as things to do, there isn't that much out here. We've started to look at the Katy area since its closer to my husband's job and there is much more stores/activities out that way. However, I must say, I do love the neighborhood here and the close community we have.

toodaloo

Summerwood...great access to beltway 8 and superb schools!