Living in College Station (as an adult)

18,031 Views | 57 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by jammer262
JeremiahJohnson
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My wife and I are thinking about leaving Houston behind and settling in College Station. We are in our early 30s and wondering if it would be good place to live for families. I travel for work so I can live anywhere in the country. Also contemplating rural areas near Ft. Worth or even Colorado.

We both miss College Station, but wondering how life is there after college. What do y'all think? What neighborhoods would you suggest?
Captn_Ag05
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
With new retail, restaurants, and residential development, BCS is definitely more attractive than it was 5 or 10 years ago for young professionals.

Some nice parks, relative low cost of living, good schools, and close to Houston and Austin for weekend getaways are big perks as well. I go back and forth between CS and Dallas and would like to find a way to move to BCS permanetely.

South CS, Milican Reserve, west Bryan, and, Castlegate are worth a look. If you have kids, I'd suggest staying in the CS school district.
AgGunNut
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
It is a great place to live, but I'm not sure about "relative low cost of living". It is fairly expensive to live here compared to many other communities in Texas. I could move to a few metro areas in the state and make more/pay significantly less for housing doing the exact same thing I do here, and many other occupations could as well.
AggieAces06
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
We love it. We are in the mid thirty/forty range. We have one little one, and feel like the schools will be good for him.

South college Station is really growing. Restaurants, shopping, etc., so we don't have to venture close to campus unless we want to.
JP76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AgGunNut said:

It is a great place to live, but I'm not sure about "relative low cost of living". It is fairly expensive to live here compared to many other communities in Texas. I could move to a few metro areas in the state and make more/pay significantly less for housing doing the exact same thing I do here, and many other occupations could as well.


And what would your commute times be to and from work in those metro areas ?
txgardengirl
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Class of 96 and still here - wouldn't change a thing now that we have a teenager.
We've watched CS grow (a lot!) and are in our third home here - couldn't ask for a better community to be involved in.
JeremiahJohnson
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
This is great. We were back in town again for the Kentucky game and both thought we needed to seriously consider move back for good.

I am in no hurry, but plan to by next summer as my wife is a teacher.

I travel for a living selling chemicals and have a 12 state territory. Checked today and flights to all my major cities from CS are cheap! Even more so than Houston. Hope to list my house by 2019 an start looking.

I really want an acre or 2 with a 2000-3000 sq ft house. There seem to be a lot of options at the moment that are reasonable.
mgreen
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I moved here from New Orleans 25 years ago in my 30's. Neither of us Aggies. It was for work. We planned to stay for a year and have been here 25 years. We can live anywhere but love it here. We stayed initially because it was a great place to raise a family. We stay now because we love it.

I am a realtor by the way if you need help with a house. PM me.
summergal
How long do you want to ignore this user?
In the last year or two, I have noticed quite a few young professional folks return to Aggieland. It is a great place to raise a family.
techno-ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
If you're looking for an acre or so you might consider one of the rural subdivisions. I like King Oaks, but there's lots of choices. Some of the nicer rural school districts include Iola, Franklin, and Mumford.
JeremiahJohnson
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
techno-ag said:

If you're looking for an acre or so you might consider one of the rural subdivisions. I like King Oaks, but there's lots of choices. Some of the nicer rural school districts include Iola, Franklin, and Mumford.

Thats what I want, but the wife might veto that choice.
Post removed:
by user
befitter
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Moved here in my 20's in 1994 (not an Aggie) and have raised and still raising kids here. Great schools and wonderful community. You won't regret it.
Tex Aggie
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I'd look at north Brazos County
I prefer Bryan to CS
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
We love it.

The school board makes some illogical decision concerning attendance zones, but the academic aspect of the district is great. The only reason that a kid wouldn't be prepared for any college or good trade school is if their attitude sucked and/or they didn't take their academics seriously.


Geop84
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My husband and I moved back last year. We were fed up with the traffic and crime in Houston. We love it here, we are on 2.5 acres in River Place. Lots of families with kids out here.
Orlando Ayala Cant Read
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
BCS is great for most age groups.

That said, I think the one age group we might be a little lacking on is the young just graduated college crowd. I can see that crowd wanting to try a bigger city.

I personally have been here my whole life and while I do love it, I'm considering making a move in the near future to try my hand at bigger city living. My own view is that life is really short and I'd like to maybe experience something different just to see how it is.
91_Aggie
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
If you have the freedom to live where you want and you are trying to decide between BCS and Colorado, then I question your decision making skills.
RJ3
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My wife and I moved back here about a year ago to run my family's business. We weren't sure what to expect living here since we both went to A&M, but we love it. We were living in Austin and really enjoyed being there but we're just as happy if not more living here. Most of my family members who are also in the business in other cities are now jealous after visiting and seeing how enjoyable it is to live here.

Everyone's friendly and there is year round sports with the same team, it's pretty hard to beat.
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
RJ3 said:



Everyone's friendly and there is year round sports with the same team, it's pretty hard to beat.
Yep. Outside of football, you can always find a game to go to pretty cheap, even during the summer.
FarmerKeith
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My wife and I love it!

At the end of the day, you have to be honest with yourselves about what you want. If you need lots of commercial activities to stay entertained, you might get a little bored. For us, we figured out that we wanted to raise our kids in a smaller community that offered professional opportunity, smaller town family feel, and strong conservative values. There is no substitute for the fact that my morning commute is 5 minutes. I was spending nearly an hour commuting each way when we lived in North Texas. Here in B/CS, we bought a modest house in a slightly older neighborhood and have a true sense of community in our area. South CS is starting to produce more of your conventional clone housing subdivisions (small lots with nice houses that all look the same, also featuring a more congested traffic flow to town, like urban suburbs), but there are plenty of alternative options scattered throughout town. Lastly, having TAMU in your backyard is pretty freaking awesome, too.

If you have a family and want to get out of the mainstream rat race, B/CS is a great choice!
Oogway
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Well, shoot. I'm torn here; do I tell you that we were similar to Farmer Keith and the other posters- moved here wanting a family friendly community; found a nice smaller house in central CS on a large lot and are within five minutes of work, good schools, hospital/dr/dentist, parks, campus, grocery store, (and eventually if necessary, nursing homes). Or, do I see the large subdivisions going in further south and all the mess there and say, "No, nothing to see here, all full up...."
Joe Schillaci 48
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
techno-ag said:

and Mumford.
Shhhhhhhhhh!

Don't give away secrets.
MiMi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
Is there a recommended rental agent/company for a young professional couple moving to town that would like to rent before buying a home? They are arriving mid-summer 2018 and would like to rent a 3 bed/2+ bath townhome/condo/house that is close to west campus (new faculty) in a safe neighborhood for $1500-1700/month.

ags4rocks
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I have lived several places over my adult life and live in B/CS currently. I have 4 kids too so spread out amongst schools. I think the schools are ok. We moved from a really small school district to CSISD, so it has been an adjustment for the kids for sure. The schools are very large and not getting smaller and like someone else said the school board is not predictable so don't get use to any one school. I have one kid that will be in his 3rd school in 2 years.

Overall it does have a good family feel and is close to Houston if you need to actually go to brick & mortar store. You think there is enough restaurants here but when you live here the selection gets a little sparse. Especially when there are major functions at A&M. There is not a lot of family friendly activities or good live music venues if you are into that. Housing gets to be a challenge if you are trying to be in a certain school district. I guess if you make enough money you can just put them in one of the private schools here too. I have heard great things about them. Private School for 4 kids is cost prohibitive for me.

If I could live anywhere and travel for work B/CS would be in my top 5. Not sure if it would be No. 1 or not but up there. Just my 2 cents!
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
MiMi said:

Is there a recommended rental agent/company for a young professional couple moving to town that would like to rent before buying a home? They are arriving mid-summer 2018 and would like to rent a 3 bed/2+ bath townhome/condo/house that is close to west campus (new faculty) in a safe neighborhood for $1500-1700/month.


Have them call Aggieland Apartment Finders.

Of course, there will be someone that will post on here that they had a bad experience with them just like every other company. But we used them and when friends from high school ask me to help them find a place for their kids, that is where I send them.
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
Quote:

There is not a lot of family friendly activities

Huh?

There are always family friendly activities going on here.
KidDoc
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
We moved back 3 years ago after living in the Houston burbs then in rural central Texas for 8 years. Love it and plan to retire here. Cost of living is a smidge higher than the urban centers but not as bad as most of the USA.

If you want acreage just make sure you check on the school districts. King oaks is Iola which isn't bad but it is rural and therefore will limit options are your children get into high school. The larger high schools offer significant specialization in computer, cooking, etc that rural schools cannot duplicate.

Also make sure you have valid internet options. I believe WISP (wireless internet service providers) are improving but back in 2005-2008 when I had no other options in a country home it was a nightmare.

No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
JarAG2007
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My wife and I are in our mid to low 30s with 3 kids. We moved away after college and then came back because of work and family.

College Station is an awesome place to live honestly. Best time of year is summer and Christmas break because no traffic and you can get in any restaurant! Schools district in general are good according to the Texas testing scores. I am worried because we have been rezoned 4 times since living here, and the high schools are getting more and more crowded.

In regards to housing I would recommend anywhere in south CS depending on your budget. Castlerock, Castlegate, Indian Lakes, Pebble Creek, and for larger lots you can go towards Welbourn and there are subdivisions there.

All in all I rather live in CS versus Houston any day!
Science Denier
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Good thread. I live in Houston, but am looking at a place to retire. We've had season tickets forever, so being "fairly close" to CS is a must.

Every time I come to CS, I hate the traffic. And, yes, I live in Houston (Katy) and also come to CS many times that are not FB games. Getting around is much more difficult for me in CS than in Katy.

My thought is that with A&M growing and CS not doing really much to improve traffic, it's just going to get worse. That's what has kept me from considering retiring there.
The Anchor
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
jblaschke said:

Good thread. I live in Houston, but am looking at a place to retire. We've had season tickets forever, so being "fairly close" to CS is a must.

Every time I come to CS, I hate the traffic. And, yes, I live in Houston (Katy) and also come to CS many times that are not FB games. Getting around is much more difficult for me in CS than in Katy.

My thought is that with A&M growing and CS not doing really much to improve traffic, it's just going to get worse. That's what has kept me from considering retiring there.
You must have a driver in Katy. It's not difficult to get around BCS at all. There are occasional outliers with construction, but this place is very easy to navigate.
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
This isn't a shot at you, but that statement varies on who says it.

People that live elsewhere and come into town for events: They aren't doing anything to improve the traffic.

People that live here: They are about to tear up another road for improvement?
KidDoc
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Stupe said:

This isn't a shot at you, but that statement varies on who says it.

People that live elsewhere and come into town for events: They aren't doing anything to improve the traffic.

People that live here: They are about to tear up another road for improvement?
Usually they are tearing up the roads to put in larger sidewalks or bike lanes. So helpful!
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
Geop84
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
jblaschke said:

Good thread. I live in Houston, but am looking at a place to retire. We've had season tickets forever, so being "fairly close" to CS is a must.

Every time I come to CS, I hate the traffic. And, yes, I live in Houston (Katy) and also come to CS many times that are not FB games. Getting around is much more difficult for me in CS than in Katy.

My thought is that with A&M growing and CS not doing really much to improve traffic, it's just going to get worse. That's what has kept me from considering retiring there.
If you are only coming up on gamedays, I can see your complaint. Pretty much every other day but gamedays traffic is no problem. I live in South College Station, 10 miles from Kyle Field. I work at Bright (Kyle Field essentially) and it takes me 16 minutes to arrive at 8 am and that is if I hit the lights wrong. I don't consider that bad traffic after living in Houston for 30 years.
Stupe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
If you're referring to the jokes about Longmire and Rock Prairie, they did a whole lot more than that.

And, considering the amount of people that are on on bikes in this town, I have no problem with them adding bike lanes to road.
Better there than slowing traffic like that moron that always seems to decide that 8:30 on weekday is a good time to get on his super biker, glow-in-the-dark leotard suit and ride on Wellborn Road.
Page 1 of 2
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.