Young family relocation to Houston (city) - need advice

Hello again. I posted about checking out and maybe moving into the suburbs of Houston (SUgarland/Woodland/Cypress, etc).

I want to keep my options open.

Are there any areas WITHIN Houston city that are suitable for a family with young children (10, 6, 4)? I do not plan on enrolling them in private schools. Which areas would have ';acceptable'; schools for them? I%26#39;d like your advise. I would like to check out those areas as well as the outer areas

Thank you!!

Young family relocation to Houston (city) - need advice

Kingwood is a beautiful community with great schools. It has over 200 miles of running trails etc. Check it out. It is about 25 miles from downtown and the commute is not as tough as Katy or the Woodlands....plus its not too far from the large airport which I have found comes in very handy.

Best of luck to you in your family. I hope you enjoy the Houston area.

Young family relocation to Houston (city) - need advice

You have hit on the eternal dilemma for many inner-city Houstonians. I have a 4-year old and I live ';in Houston.'; I will do my best to help as I spent the last few days disucssing this very topic with several other parents. The most obvious neighborhoods within Houston that are ';nice';are The Heights (my neighborhood), Bellaire, West University, Memorial, Spring Valley, Oak Forest, Garden Oaks, Montrose, Braeswood and Meyerland. First option is to live ';inside the Looop'; (as I do) and consider HISD. For your 4 and 6-year old there are many good elementary schools if you are in a nice neighborhood. We are hoping our daughter gets into the Vanguard program within HISD. Your kids would have to test into the schools and even then the schools are very urban. I have friends that moved to the Memorial area in order to take advantage of the Spring Branch ISD schools ( most, but not all, are excellent). It is certainly one of the more expensive areas of the city. I personally never want to live outside of Houston, but I also understand that parents often sacrifice things for their kids. We will do whatever we can to stay ';in town,'; but I can%26#39;t guarantee that we will never flee to the burbs for the ';free'; public schools. In many ways it is hard to answer your question without knowing what is important to you and your budget. The neighborhoods I listed above all have distinct peronalities and different people would be more ';at home'; in some of the neighborhoods than others.

Thank you. I will look in those areas as well!

Hi!! I would never move my children within the houston city limits. There are alot of suburbs right outside of Houston that are great for kids and an easy commute. Try Spring, Tomball,The Woodlands etc. Those are very nice area and great for children.Klein school district is great and located in Spring, and The Woodlands is just beautiful.

Checkout:

Rice University Area

Bellaire

The Heights

West University

Memorial Drive Area (Spring Branch School District)

These are great areas for families who do not want to live in the suburbs. Checout www.HoustonNewcomerGuides.com for detail information about Houston neighborhoods. You may also want to checkout www.tea.state.tx.us for school performance reports and profile information.

FYI Bellaire and West University ARE NOT CITY OF HOUSTON!!!!!!!!! They are there own incorporated cities. check out www.westu.org and www.ci.bellaire.tx.us. It steams me when people call these cities ';Houston'; they are not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deezick - that%26#39;s why Kirby hasn%26#39;t been fixed in forever.

tamlyn - check out the Cinco Ranch area it%26#39;s outside the Beltway 8 loop.

Deezick, other than having their own police force and tax system, I consider Bellaire and West U. to be part of Houston. They are part of HISD. Tamlym was most concerned about schools. The only thing I notice about going into West U. or Bellaire is the color of the street sign.

well they are completely seperate from the City of Houston. Both have their own police, fire, EMS, public works etc. The tax rate is lower in both cities . Kirby Dr, by the way is in the City of Houston. The City of West U. starts on the western curb of the street.

True, West U and Bellaire are HISD. Many kids in both cities go to private schools. Residents in both cities will quickly tell you they do not live in the City of Houston.

My daughter is an associate principal in the Spring Branch system, but lives in Cypress. She%26#39;s pleased with the schools in Cypress--and the homes cost less.

networking