Been looking at different areas and we are really struggling with the Spring Valley / Hilshire Village vs. Memorial (West of Gessner) - Below is the breakdown, but looking for anyone's thoughts that know the areas well:

1. Spring Valley / Hilshire Village

Pro:
- Close to 610 / Galleria (I work downtown)
- Lots larger (more for your money)

Con:
- Elementary and Middle School not as desirable (but still not "bad")
- Possibly less appreciation rate / investment down the road? Stigma that I-10 North is not as good as I-10 South?

2. Memorial (West of Gessner and Possibly West of Beltway)

Pro:
- Schools (Frostwood Elementary and Memorial Middle Very Desirable)
- Possibly greater appreciation rate?
- Close to City Center (we aren't huge shoppers btw).

Cons:
- Area has had some issue with flooding (need to be careful here)
- Further commute and heard traffic starts stacking up around Gessner
- Lots smaller (less for the money today).

This is just what I can think of but open to hear others opinions as we want to get this purchase right.

upon closer reading, I see you work downtown. I'll post some thoughts in a bit once I get into work.

Nm

Spring Valley all day everyday

We just faced this exact question over the past year. Our realtor warned us that areas of Fonn Villas and Frostwood have flooded and a few properties were worth lot value after flooding a few times. But yes, Frostwood is a great school.

We ended up buying in Brykerwoods. It is a section North of 10 and East of Wirt. Goes to Hunters Creek Elem. and not Valley Oaks. Both are great btw. It also gets you into Post Oak LL.

I live in SV/HV so while my thoughts may seem biased, I am trying to be objective. I went through the same process a few years back. The main things that sold me were location, small town feel, and potential price appreciation (which has been very nice...over 100% in 6 yearsnot that I'm selling but still nice). I'm not up to date on the memorial area anymore so I wont be able to discuss that as much as someone that lives there. That said, I have friends in that area that love it.

1. Spring Valley / Hilshire Village

Your Pros/My thoughts:
- Close to 610 / Galleria (I work downtown) - good call. It's a great location.
- Lots larger (more for your money) -speaking just to SV/HV, I don't believe this to be true. There may be some large lots but they are not cheap, nor do I think you can find "value" anymore. You can buy a large lot, but you'll pay for it.

My Pros
-Own Police department that patrols very actively, resulting in a very safe area. I see them a few times a day patrolling my street.
-SV and HV are their own municipalities. I once emailed the city council and heard back from every single one of them. Response time from city services is quick. It's a nice small town feeling.
-lower tax rate than Houston (I assume this to still be trueI haven't checked in a few years)

My Cons
-entry point is high and getting higher.
-hippies that live next door to me.

Your Cons/my thoughts:
- Elementary and Middle School not as desirable (but still not "bad") - I would classify them as good, not "not bad." There is a lot of parental involvement. But we send our son to private school anyways. It's not a knock on the schools here at all, it's more of a personal thing for me. We moved to this area for the schools, and if we ever had to pull him out of private, it's a nice fall back.
- Possibly less appreciation rate / investment down the road? Stigma that I-10 North is not as good as I-10 South?- Spring Valley has no stigma whatsoever. That should be obvious by the demand there. If there is lesser appreciation than what there has been the last 5 years, it will slightly less off a very strong market, so still strong. I still see lot values increasing even as I expected a slow down because of the O&G softness.

2. Memorial (West of Gessner and Possibly West of Beltway)

Your Pros/my thoughts:
- Schools (Frostwood Elementary and Memorial Middle Very Desirable) -both are good schools. I would send my son there.
- Possibly greater appreciation rate? -I don't follow that market so can't comment on that.
- Close to City Center (we aren't huge shoppers btw). -Meh. SV/HV is three exits away so that isn't too big of a deal.

your Cons/ my thoughts:
- Area has had some issue with flooding (need to be careful here) -I've heard the same so do your homework.
- Further commute and heard traffic starts stacking up around Gessner.- I've seen traffic backing up at Campbell and sometimes before. I don't commute but when I do get stuck there I am thankful I don't have to go any further.
- Lots smaller (less for the money today). -As I mentioned, I don't follow that market but I remember seeing decent sized lots in addition to the smaller lots at prices cheaper than SV/HV.

As El Duke mentioned, the Brykerwoods area is great too. We looked there before deciding on SV/HV.

Memorial is better but more expensive, only you can decide if you believe it to be worth the extra coin.

quote:

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Memorial is better but more expensive, only you can decide if you believe it to be worth the extra coin.

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Yes, parts are better. Memorial has a lot of single streets off roads without the neighborhood feel. In my opinion for young families the best areas are Sandalwood and Strey Lane area. I wouldnt want to be right off Gessner or backed up with City Centre.

Also, if you have young kids, join the HRC.

HRC?

Houston Racquet Club..Im not a big tennis player but they have a nice pool area and workout facility and its a very relaxed atmosphere. A lot of fun events for little ones.

What are initiation/dues like for HRC?

under 35 is 10k and $350'ish per month and over 35 is 25k and $550'ish per month.

I'm in the under 35 category and my typical monthly tab is $500-600 after meals are factored in.

Memorial

Still in the market and as it stands today, been really seeing the value of SV as stagnant with some reductions. Good deals are moving quickly, but many lot value homes available in SV (helping the reductions).

Waiting till after December in hopes that rising interest rates will bring the market more favorable to me. I wish I saw a little more reductions in Memorial, but giving up on Memorial in April - May timeframe if I don't see better deals.

Why not man up, save some dough, and buy in Spring Branch proper? We need some more white blood in the barrio.

A drive down LoPo didn't feel too welcoming to me.