We are looking to relocate to Houston Texas next year. We have no idea where the good areas are or where the bad areas are. We are looking for a smaller to medium size town or city with good schools. Thanks for your help.
8 Responses to “Where is the best community to live in the Houston Texas metro area?”
I lived in Houston for 23 years.
My favorite parts are in the SW part of the metropolitan area–possibly not “Houston” proper, but areas like Sugarland, Richmond, The Woodlands, etc.
Do searches on Google for these and you can get a good idea of what’s available.
Houston has excellent nightlife, restaurants, and shopping. You WILL need a great Air Conditioner, though. It’s very hot and humid, about like New Orleans.
Good luck.
If you’re willing/want to live out in the suburbs, try Fort Bend County (SW area - includes Sugar Land and surrounding towns) or the Cy-Fair area (NW - do a web search for Cy-Fair or Cypress Fairbanks).
If you want to live in the city proper, then it really depends on what your financial situation is. West University/Bellaire/Southside Place are all nice areas with (what I understand to be) good schools. These are separate townships surrounded by Houston. Others include the Memorial Park area and further west the Villages (Piney Point/Hedwig Village/etc). All these areas are “pricey” relative to the masses. Meyerland is also in my opinion a nice area. It’s south of Bellaire and I believe many of the residents there send their kids to Bellaire schools.
Edit: Also, I forgot about the northern townships like the Woodlands, Kingwood, etc. These are pretty far out there so…
One thing you must understand about Houston before proceeding. That is, Houston is one of the most spread out metro areas in the country. Some estimates put the maximum diameters at near 100+ miles depending on what qualifies as the “metro area”. That means that, depending on where you live and work, you could be travelling a good distance to get to places. The center of the city (Inner Loop) is relatively dense and you can find a lot of good neighborhoods and things to do there BUT it is also getting more and more expensive, just like any other city center.
I hope this helps. Not sure what your actual parameters are so I suggest you contact a real estate agent to help you with specifics.
The Northwest area of Houston is a nice area (outside beltway 8 near 290) but can be a little far for some to handle. Real estate prices are very low and the schools are great (Cy-Fair). This is where I have experience living. I have also heard that Sugarland, the Woodlands and Katy are great places to live with good schools, but again these places are not close to downtown. I would recommend staying out of Houston ISD as far as schools go. Houston is a very large city, actually the largest land mass of all the high population cities. It is 600 sq. miles which is twice the size of NYC and 1.5 times the size of LA. (This is the metro area that I speak of)
If you are considering the Northwest area, my father is a real estate agent and specializes in the NW area… you can check out his site at… http://www.americanarealty.com
Tomball or Magnolia northwest of Houston and only minutes away from downtown, but still in the country with not a lot of restrictions on your property…building sheds etc…if you can afford it The Woodlands north of Houston is very beautiful with expensive homes and the name tells it all…all shopping area, gas stations, all businesses are back off the streets and hidden by the trees…small signs at their entrances lets you know its there you can’t see them…they are continually building homes there and saving as many trees as possible…great schools…pavilions and PGA golf course…and lake…hope this helps and good luck…
Houston is a large area and greater Houston is bigger than some northeast states. There are a number of suburbs surrounding Houston proper that have more of a “town” feel to them.
Houston has good areas and bad areas, and some of the demarcations are hard to see because we have no zoning. You can go from a nice neighborhood with single family units to a crappy apartment complex where the cops go in and out hourly separated by an intersection (Briar Forest and Kirkwood).
It is difficult to point out, but your best bet is to NOT move into any place served by Houston Independent School District. There are exceptions inside Loop 610 (like the West U and Rice areas), but not many. If I had my choice I’d move to where I am now. I’m on the west side of town south of Interstate 10. This area has kept its value, and not a lot has changed in 30 years except the families.
Do some research and be sure to look at some of the surrounding towns (Cypress, Sugarland, Clear Lake) too.
I recommend you to stay away from the Southwest , Southeast, and Galleria areas. If you are looking to move the Houston Area, as opposed to Houston, look into the North side of town, or the Conroe, Woodlands area. These are far less populated, and offer great schools. As well, the crime rate on the Southwest side, is horrible. I am a life long Houston resident, and I avoid this side of town. Not to scare you, but it is very hectic overthere. I love the northside.
I would move to Sugarland where I live it is in the top 3 cities in the us to live. Great schools great shopping very family oriented and safe that is number one thing about living in Houston is you can have a nice house but in a bad neighborhood but not in SL it is nice everywhere and everyone is friendly so you should fit in well.
Katy and the Woodlands are nice too but traffic is bad out there all the time.
I lived in Houston for 23 years.
My favorite parts are in the SW part of the metropolitan area–possibly not “Houston” proper, but areas like Sugarland, Richmond, The Woodlands, etc.
Do searches on Google for these and you can get a good idea of what’s available.
Houston has excellent nightlife, restaurants, and shopping. You WILL need a great Air Conditioner, though. It’s very hot and humid, about like New Orleans.
Good luck.
I’d say the following:
If you’re willing/want to live out in the suburbs, try Fort Bend County (SW area - includes Sugar Land and surrounding towns) or the Cy-Fair area (NW - do a web search for Cy-Fair or Cypress Fairbanks).
If you want to live in the city proper, then it really depends on what your financial situation is. West University/Bellaire/Southside Place are all nice areas with (what I understand to be) good schools. These are separate townships surrounded by Houston. Others include the Memorial Park area and further west the Villages (Piney Point/Hedwig Village/etc). All these areas are “pricey” relative to the masses. Meyerland is also in my opinion a nice area. It’s south of Bellaire and I believe many of the residents there send their kids to Bellaire schools.
Edit: Also, I forgot about the northern townships like the Woodlands, Kingwood, etc. These are pretty far out there so…
One thing you must understand about Houston before proceeding. That is, Houston is one of the most spread out metro areas in the country. Some estimates put the maximum diameters at near 100+ miles depending on what qualifies as the “metro area”. That means that, depending on where you live and work, you could be travelling a good distance to get to places. The center of the city (Inner Loop) is relatively dense and you can find a lot of good neighborhoods and things to do there BUT it is also getting more and more expensive, just like any other city center.
I hope this helps. Not sure what your actual parameters are so I suggest you contact a real estate agent to help you with specifics.
The Northwest area of Houston is a nice area (outside beltway 8 near 290) but can be a little far for some to handle. Real estate prices are very low and the schools are great (Cy-Fair). This is where I have experience living. I have also heard that Sugarland, the Woodlands and Katy are great places to live with good schools, but again these places are not close to downtown. I would recommend staying out of Houston ISD as far as schools go. Houston is a very large city, actually the largest land mass of all the high population cities. It is 600 sq. miles which is twice the size of NYC and 1.5 times the size of LA. (This is the metro area that I speak of)
If you are considering the Northwest area, my father is a real estate agent and specializes in the NW area… you can check out his site at… http://www.americanarealty.com
Tomball or Magnolia northwest of Houston and only minutes away from downtown, but still in the country with not a lot of restrictions on your property…building sheds etc…if you can afford it The Woodlands north of Houston is very beautiful with expensive homes and the name tells it all…all shopping area, gas stations, all businesses are back off the streets and hidden by the trees…small signs at their entrances lets you know its there you can’t see them…they are continually building homes there and saving as many trees as possible…great schools…pavilions and PGA golf course…and lake…hope this helps and good luck…
Houston is a large area and greater Houston is bigger than some northeast states. There are a number of suburbs surrounding Houston proper that have more of a “town” feel to them.
Houston has good areas and bad areas, and some of the demarcations are hard to see because we have no zoning. You can go from a nice neighborhood with single family units to a crappy apartment complex where the cops go in and out hourly separated by an intersection (Briar Forest and Kirkwood).
It is difficult to point out, but your best bet is to NOT move into any place served by Houston Independent School District. There are exceptions inside Loop 610 (like the West U and Rice areas), but not many. If I had my choice I’d move to where I am now. I’m on the west side of town south of Interstate 10. This area has kept its value, and not a lot has changed in 30 years except the families.
Do some research and be sure to look at some of the surrounding towns (Cypress, Sugarland, Clear Lake) too.
I recommend you to stay away from the Southwest , Southeast, and Galleria areas. If you are looking to move the Houston Area, as opposed to Houston, look into the North side of town, or the Conroe, Woodlands area. These are far less populated, and offer great schools. As well, the crime rate on the Southwest side, is horrible. I am a life long Houston resident, and I avoid this side of town. Not to scare you, but it is very hectic overthere. I love the northside.
Katy!! Has great schools, and is a nice area. Other cities that are nice & have good schools include:
Sugar Land
The Woodlands
Kingwood
I would move to Sugarland where I live it is in the top 3 cities in the us to live. Great schools great shopping very family oriented and safe that is number one thing about living in Houston is you can have a nice house but in a bad neighborhood but not in SL it is nice everywhere and everyone is friendly so you should fit in well.
Katy and the Woodlands are nice too but traffic is bad out there all the time.