SnowboardAg said:
Seriously - give me a break. Maybe there are some snobby people, but I never got that feeling living there for over 13 years. It is not as diverse as other areas, but I never felt a need to keep up either. I think this response is inaccurate.
This. The Woodlands is an affluent area. I think the last survey reported an average household income of over $150k/year. However, I've found it to be a very lovely community. It's very ethnically diverse (probably 20% of the houses in my neighborhood are owned by people originally from Mexico/Latin America). If anything, the great "equalizer" is income. My son did a project at our church a few years ago and made a bag of toiletries and necessities to hand out to homeless people. While I applauded his effort, I had to explain to him that there really weren't any homeless people on our neighborhood (at which point he asked me to drive him downtown so that he could give what he'd made to someone).
It's not "snobby", but there is a certain stereotype. As a single, working mother, I can tell you that there aren't a lot of women here that I have that in common with. But there are plenty of very welcoming people.
The reason why you hear a lot about The Woodlands being a "great" place to live is because, compared to the rest of Houston, The Woodlands has imposed some pretty strict building/aesthetic standards. We have (a lot of) trees. There are clear separations from commercial and residential properties. HOA rules are strictly enforced. From a visual standpoint, it kind of is a little utopian.
Does that mean it's the greatest place in the world to live? From my standpoint, no. I love it here, but I also work here. If I had to commute into town every day, it would make me crazy. As others have said, consider the impact a long commute will have on your quality of life. I think very few people who drive more than about an hour each way in Houston traffic would say that it's "worth it".