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Commute from the Woodlands to downtown

16,676 Views | 98 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by Ciboag96
water turkey
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5:15p, 11/27/15
How is the commute on the shuttle that runs from the Woodlands to downtown?

Taking a job in downtown and looking at places to move the family to. It seems that anyplace we would want to live with good schools is going to be a pretty long bus ride into downtown. Have always heard good things about the Woodlands and wondering just how much longer of a bus commute it would be?

TIA
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onceaggie
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6:08p, 11/27/15
AG
move to El Paso Houston is full
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6:26p, 11/27/15
Waltonloads08
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6:55p, 11/27/15
AG
2 Hours
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SnowboardAg
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7:01p, 11/27/15
AG
Just moved from woodlands to galleria area for one reason. The commute. If you're a patient person that is ok with 2-3 hours on the road daily and can handle a nap, reading book on bus, etc., than more power to you. I did it for 12 years and I'm done with my sentence of commutting. My patience is done.

Research park and ride is around 45-55 minutes at 630 in the morning. At 5-530pm plan on anywhere from 75-120 minutes home. Another frustration is waiting for buses downtown, and that is not always reliable. I loved the woodlands when I was there, but just DONE. You may want to consider Kingwood over Woodlands as 59 is better from what I hear. I personally will not move outside of bw 8 and would prefer close to 610.

Btw, my only regret since moving 6 months ago was not doing it sooner. I have more time with my family, cook more at home, and work out 5 days a week. I get to take my son to school and made every soccer practice. That is not a guarantee in the woodlands.
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water turkey
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8:28p, 11/27/15
Thanks Snowboard
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Al Bula
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9:12p, 11/27/15
AG
There is no way I would rely on the shuttle from the woodlands to downtown. The commute at best is 45 minutes downtown leaving the woodlands at 5:30AM in HTR.
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Punked Shank
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10:59a, 11/28/15
AG
Going against the grain for traffic FTW.

Commutes suck and im counting the months down to make houston one less person populated.

+1 for the galleria area if youre dt. $$$ though
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LostInLA07
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3:53p, 11/28/15
AG
45 minutes is from when the bus leaves the park and ride to the first stop downtown. You need to add in time from home to park and ride and 5-15 minutes if you aren't the first downtown stop.
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BillYeoman
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6:43p, 11/28/15
Home in Spring Branch area and private school. Beats a suburb commute.
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RightWingConspirator
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2:48p, 11/30/15
AG
I've done this commute daily for almost 10 years. I don't mind it, to be honest. It gives me some time to unwind before I get home. I leave at 6:00 AM from the Park 'N Ride in the morning and I'm sitting at my desk by 6:45 AM. I head out of the office at about 4:15 PM and am sitting in my house by no later than 5:15 PM.

To me, living in The Woodlands just makes it worth while, but it does depend on the person. I work out and have never needed to skip. There have been a few kid things I've missed over the years, but the alternative is either pricey private schools or terrible public schools itl. To me it's worth it.

Add 10 minutes in the AM to the commute to the park n ride so 1 hour total to get to my office from my home. I often take a vanpool that my job offers. This cuts down on the time as I'm not stopping every other stop through downtown before I get to my stop.
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water turkey
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3:41p, 11/30/15
Thanks for the info.

Any others areas with good schools that have a shorter bus ride in, Klein or Katy?
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Serotonin
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9:09p, 11/30/15
AG
water turkey, what ages are your kids?
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brotheraggie
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9:53p, 11/30/15
This commute is a real challenge but worthwhile .
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water turkey
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10:03p, 11/30/15
Only have 1 left in school. She will be s sophomore next fall.

Wherever we land, I have to have access to a park and ride. Don't think I have the patience to drive in.
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SnowboardAg
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10:24p, 11/30/15
AG
For 3 years, I would private and move close in. Go to the heights.
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CrossBowAg99
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In reply to water turkey • 12:31a, 12/1/15
AG
quote:
Only have 1 left in school. She will be s sophomore next fall.

Wherever we land, I have to have access to a park and ride. Don't think I have the patience to drive in.
What are your plans after 3 years? From your posts on the OB I would suspect that you don't want to be in the CITY long term either way, Correct?

Give us some details about the kid in school.

Is she in to any specific sports, clubs that finding the right fit for schools would help make the transition easier?

Katy to Downtown is about as bad if not worse than the woodlands to downtown.
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Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno
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7:08a, 12/1/15
AG
this all depends on your housing budget...

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randy828
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7:12a, 12/1/15
AG
quote:
There is no way I would rely on the shuttle from the woodlands to downtown. The commute at best is 45 minutes downtown leaving the woodlands at 5:30AM in HTR

But if you drive, it is only 30 minutes....anywhere, anytime!
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8:10a, 12/1/15
Ferris Wheel Allstar
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In reply to BillYeoman • 8:16a, 12/1/15
AG
quote:
Home in Spring Branch area and private school. Beats a suburb commute.
Nope, it is the barrio. We only allow mexicans
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94chem
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8:49a, 12/1/15
The charm of knowing that you're within 15 minutes of an overpriced piece of fish, 200 mediocre concerts, and a really good cross country team wears off when you realize that most of your life is going to be spent in a car wondering why making a simple U-turn should cost you an hour. The Woodlands isn't a bad place to spend a Saturday evening, but living there would be like giving at a never-ending blood drive where they take your soul instead.
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94chem
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8:50a, 12/1/15
Probably only slightly better than Katy, because you know, trees, and closer to Kyle Field.
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chico
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9:14a, 12/1/15
AG
lived in Heights for 20+ years & it's fantastic, 5 min drive to downtown / 10 min bike ride or bus. We've juggled the school thing between HISD & private for our 2 kids (e.g. Travis, HSPVA, St. Thomas). One thing about HISD is that you can apply to any school in the district, not just what you're zoned nearby; there are usually more options than you might think at first glance as several public schools are by application only & there are lots of private schools.
I can honestly say that minimized commute has greatly enhanced my family & personal life. Years ago I worked in Katy and did the reverse-commute. Life is so much better now with the minimal commute.
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Ag_07
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9:29a, 12/1/15
AG
If your kid is in HS I think it's much easier to find a place close with a good public high school.

Places that come to mind are Bellaire, Memorial, Spring Valley, Spring Branch. Plus like chico mentioned you can go to pretty much any HS you'd like nowadays. I think you can easily find a place that gets you a decent school and easier commute.

And I've got to say that this is most civilized OTL vs ITL thread in tine board history. Congrats guys!!
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Bondag
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In reply to 94chem • 9:31a, 12/1/15
AG
quote:
The charm of knowing that you're within 15 minutes of an overpriced piece of fish, 200 mediocre concerts, and a really good cross country team wears off when you realize that most of your life is going to be spent in a car wondering why making a simple U-turn should cost you an hour. The Woodlands isn't a bad place to spend a Saturday evening, but living there would be like giving at a never-ending blood drive where they take your soul instead.
U turns are not allowed in the woodlands. They want you to make a serious of right hand turns because traffic is not bad enough.
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redag06
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In reply to [removed post] • 9:40a, 12/1/15
Keep advertising this and the commute will be worse than 45.

EASTEX is awful!
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water turkey
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9:46a, 12/1/15
Wanting to stay below $250,000. I will soon have 2 kids in college, so we are trying to downsize. I figured for that budget, we were stuck with the suburbs. Not paying $1,000/month for private tuition.

Maybe renting in a suburb for a couple of years would be the way to go and then be able to move closer in.

I plan to do 10 years in Houston and then go sell bait and ice (or something) at the coast for my last job.
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aTm2004
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In reply to [removed post] • 10:21a, 12/1/15
AG
quote:
Kingwood has a park n ride, good schools and is a shorter commute than woodlands.

Kingwood sucks. Pearland is a great community with a reasonable drive in.
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TXTransplant
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In reply to water turkey • 10:46a, 12/1/15
quote:
Wanting to stay below $250,000. I will soon have 2 kids in college, so we are trying to downsize. I figured for that budget, we were stuck with the suburbs. Not paying $1,000/month for private tuition.

Maybe renting in a suburb for a couple of years would be the way to go and then be able to move closer in.

I plan to do 10 years in Houston and then go sell bait and ice (or something) at the coast for my last job.


Sadly, $250k and under won't get you much of anything in The Woodlands proper. At that price point, most of the selection is 30+ year old properties in the very oldest parts of The Woodlands or a condo/townhouse in the newer areas (there are a few exceptions). The pickings are really slim at that price point. The alternative would be to look in Jacob's Reserve off of 1488, or try Klein/Tomball in the 77389 and 77375 zip codes.
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Ag_07
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10:51a, 12/1/15
AG
At $250K you won't be in the Heights either, but you could get into Spring Branch or some of the outskirt areas that are zoned to Memorial (just north of I-10 that's not Spring Valley)
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Finn Maccumhail
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In reply to Ag_07 • 11:13a, 12/1/15
AG
quote:
At $250K you won't be in the Heights either, but you could get into Spring Branch or some of the outskirt areas that are zoned to Memorial (just north of I-10 that's not Spring Valley)

$250K can get you into Spring Branch & zoned to Memorial? Really??

I'm gonna have to see HAR listings to believe that.
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Ag_07
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In reply to Finn Maccumhail • 11:36a, 12/1/15
AG
If I remember correctly there's a pocket just north of I-10 right behind Costco that's right around 250k and it's zoned to Memorial.

Again, that's IIRC because schools weren't a big concern for us when we were looking in that area, but I think there's a pocket somewhere that gets you into MHS.
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Serotonin
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11:41a, 12/1/15
AG
https://www.springbranchisd.com/keymaps/2011_12/HIGH/MEMORIAL.pdf

Based on a quick HAR search you can go north of I-10 zoned to MHS and stay under $500k. It looks like the houses under $300k are all Northbrook.
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Ag_07
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In reply to Finn Maccumhail • 11:42a, 12/1/15
AG
Yeah I'm wrong.

The cutoff is Blalock not Bunker Hill.
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