boyz05 said:
TXTransplant said:
I'm in The Woodlands, zoned to Tomball ISD. I've been very happy with the schools and like the fact that Tomball high school isn't as big as the ones in The Woodlands. The downside is Tomball High School is not at all conveniently located where we live. But the elementary school and jr high are all within walking/biking distance, so it's a trade-off.
Other school zones in the area are Klein, Magnolia, and Montgomery. There are other high schools in addition to The Woodlands High and Woodlands College Park that are also part of Conroe ISD. I've heard good things about them all.
The one school zone that I would definitely avoid up here is Spring ISD. There are some new/expensive houses near the XOM campus that are zoned to Spring.
Thanks for the input. We're looking at areas that are in Magnolia, Montgomery and Tomball, which I've heard mostly good things about. My wife has been talking to her buddies that moved to the Woodlands recently and they have been talking up all these good things the schools have offered and done for their kids versus where they came from and the wife is buying into it. She has also been reviewing the school ratings on HAR, not sure how accurate they are.
I'm in Creekside and have been thrilled with the schools so far. I originally wanted to be in the "old" part of The Woodlands because I wanted my kiddo to have access to the math and science academy at Woodlands College Park. But when I moved here, the housing market was crazy, and I couldn't find anything that I both liked and could afford.
At the $130/sq ft price point, you are going to get a nicer, newer, bigger house in Creekside. New construction is well above that price, but you could easily find something that's 5-10 years old. That's a harder price to target in the original part of The Woodlands, but not impossible. It's just going to be older and probably need some updating.
There was some flooding in Creekside, but it was all on the west side of Kuykendahl, and a good realtor and/or message board can tell you exactly what streets were affected. The development on the east side of Kuykendahl was fine. There was also some flooding in the original part of The Woodlands, along Flintridge, between Panther Creek and Gosling, and of course Timber Creek/Timber Ridge.
You can easily get a new (or nearly new) house in Woodforest (with all the upgrades and amenities one would expect in a new house) for $130/sq ft.
With that said, I don't think your kids are going to be happier in one district or another. They can get a great education and be involved in lots of activities in all of the ones I listed in my previous post. The bigger issues are probably the house and your commute, both of which will affect your wife's happiness. At your price point, I don't think there is any reason to sacrifice on the house or make your commute worse (there are certain areas of The Woodlands that it can take 20-30 min just to get to 45) just to be in a specific school district. They are all good.