Houston neighborhoods

[IcyHotStunta]

Having grown up in Memorial, I'm biased and will say Memorial is the best place to raise a family as its close enough to the major places from Galleria to Downtown without horrible traffic and plenty of nature, great schools and plenty of space.

If you're looking for something more fast-paced anywhere from Tanglewood to Mid Town is the way to go.

 

[TXHookem]

huge - $1M goes a long *** way at Memorial and Wilcrest... about 1 1/2 miles away.

 

[Hookem2034]

I grew up in Hunters Creek (Memorial Village), lived in Bellaire from 2001-2006 and recently purchased a house in Tanglewood.

Per your original email here are the pros/cons of each as I see them:

West U.
Pros: Great schools, newer houses, lots of families, excellent re-sale
Cons: REALLY small lots; Price per sq ft is High

Bellaire:
Pros: Good schools, mix of new houses and old (soon will be all new), lots of families, much bigger lots than West U, excellent re-sale, great access to 610, 59 and DT.
Cons: Some houses are too close to 610, anything near or West of Chimney Rock gets a little sketchy.

Memorial Villages:
Pros: Best public high school in Houston, huge lots, excellent re-sale.
Cons: $1.2MM will not go very far

Tanglewood:
Pros: Good size lots (similar to Bellaire), nice mix of newer homes and remodeled older homes. Private security patrol. Excellent re-sale value.
Cons: Poor public school choices, although new elementary school under construction and close proximity to Kinkaid and Second Baptist (both private).

River Oaks
Pros - Similar to Tanglewood. Generally bigger houses and lots. Excellent re-sale
Cons: Not much available for $1.2MM. Poor public schools. Close proximity to St Johns (private).

Sugarland
Pros: Lots of house for the money. Good for families.
Cons: Long commute to downtown and most things in Houston, suburbs will be hard to sell during an economic downturn.

My advice for $1.2MM would be either Bellaire, West U. or Tanglewood. Might also want to check out Briagrove (very close to Tanglewood) and about 10% to 20% less expensive.

 

[huge]

and there you have it....

wow...77079

 

[bularry]

I would probably vote Memorial, too, but Sweetwater is zoned to Clements high school, which many would rank as the best high school in the greater houston area. Also, many neighborhoods around Sweetwater have homes well in excess of 1.2 million, of course many are also around 7,000 sq ft, which is pretty darn big.

 

[TXHookem]

...and with that house you're zoned to Rummel Creek, Memorial Middle School and Stratford - all excellent SBISD schools. $1.2 M will go very very far in 77079. Just don't go past Eldridge or you stop into another school district.

 

[TXHookem]

This house is on a street that is maybe 1/2 mile from our house... this street kicks *** in so many ways and you can get this house for under $1M on a nearly 50,000 sq. ft. lot
The Link

 

[IcyHotStunta]

In reply to:

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[Pancho Villa]

I'd go to West U...some great houses over there and for $1.2MM, you can get a great house. Southhampton's great too...a small town feel with a library, elem. school, little league fields all right there together. But I'm not sure $1.2 goes quite as far there.

If I could afford that area (for the size house I want), I'd be there in a minute...even good schools for HISD.

Instead, I'm closing on a house next month in Rustling Pines...the area at Memorial & Wilcrest mentioned earlier. Good schools, good area, not cookie-cutter type housing. $1.2 can get a very nice house out there. In Gaywood, they're tearing down some of the ugly early '70's style contemporary houses.

 

[themooge]

I grew up in Sugar Land and my parents still have a house in New Territory. I do like the fact that New Territory isnt totally engulfed and cramped in by other developments (yet). I consider it the more "country" portion of Sugar Land with how close we are to Richmond/Rosenberg. I went to Austin High in Sugar Land and i know that we had the most diverse set of students in the district (per the recent numbers that i saw). Until they built Travis, most of Pecan Grove went into Austin.

Anyways, I think its a good palce to raise a family and I think it has good city laws that keep the city looking nice. It has changed so much since I've been gone in the last 7 years that I have lived in Austin but theres still lots of school stuff there. And the thing about it looking plastic, I would tend to agree. But when you have a family and those type of things are what you need (the shopping centers, restaurants), couldnt one argue that you frequent the funky bars/restauarants much less?