Our family with 2 kids under 2 is looking to move out of Houston to The Woodlands/Spring area and have really liked the Benders Landing/BL Estates communities because of the good public schools and large lots. Can anyone give insight how the area is with young kids and what kind of community feel there is?

Are there any other areas you would recommend looking at?

Thanks!

Have you looked at El Paso?

Be aware that there were houses in BL that flooded during Harvey. My observation has been that enough time has passed that people have forgotten about that.

The area out here is great.

I have lots of friends over in Benders, I'm in Spring Trails. My friends who live there with smaller kids complain because with the bigger lots it's a challenge for their kids to play outside with friends.

My only complaint about the area, having older kids, is the Jr. High is severely over crowded and there isn't much of a plan to fix it.

It's only 7 & 8th grade and would be a 6A High School based on enrollment. That coupled with the fact there's people in the area who's kids want for nothing, and seem under-disciplined, there is a behavior problem at the school.

You can email me at my username @Gmail if you want to discuss further or want more information.

We were interested in this area as well, but it was just too much of a beast commute for me. It's a great area. And did I see a new golf course going in along 99 between 5 and 59 out there? Seems like it could have some potential.

We live out here in a semi-new subdivision that butts up against Benders. Benders is very nice.

I agree with StillNot, if you have small children, the only "issue" is the houses are so far apart, you would have to make quite an effort to meet other kids/families. Once the kids hit school-age, that shouldn't be an issue though.

And yes, the new golf course on 99 opened up a couple of months ago in the new subdivision called The Highlands. That's another area that might be worth looking into. I believe they are zoned to Porter HS.

Only a few houses in the very far back of the estates. Most of the neighborhood was completely fine.

We live in benders with our two year old. I'd agree with some of the other posters that the large lot size makes it a bit more difficult to meet the other families. Cost also means it doesn't seem to have as many families with younger kids. Our neighbors kids all pay together out in the cul de sac though.

It's great having a larger lot and the neighbors are all friendly and nice. Low tax rate is nice as well. Some of the neighborhoods around are much higher and you end up paying similar for smaller lots and houses.

We definitely don't regret moving out here.

That's what I thought, but I wasn't certain. Mentioned it because I figured it was something a potential buyer should definitely ask about.

We had a similar issue in my neighborhood. A very small number of houses flooded, but people's memories are short.

redaszag99 said:

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Have you looked at El Paso?

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Probably about the same commute.

LeftyAg89 said:

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We live out here in a semi-new subdivision that butts up against Benders. Benders is very nice.

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My sis and BIL live in Woodson's Reserve and are quite happy there.

Developers there seem to have outsmarted mother nature, but defintely buy flood insurance just in case

TXTransplant said:

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Be aware that there were houses in BL that flooded during Harvey. My observation has been that enough time has passed that people have forgotten about that.

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Only 24 homes had any water. Most of us were high and dry.

OP we live in the Estates and love it. I have 3 boys 11, 9, and 5. Plenty of kids in the neighborhood. It may be an issue getting to them if they aren't in your immediate vicinity, but once they are old enough to take off on their bikes, no problem. My immediate neighbors are retirees whose kids are gone, so that kind of sucks for my kids.

Brittmoore Car Club said:

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We were interested in this area as well, but it was just too much of a beast commute for me. It's a great area. And did I see a new golf course going in along 99 between 5 and 59 out there? Seems like it could have some potential.

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That is The Highlands. Nice golf course owned by the same people who own Agusta Pines.
Only downside on that subdivision is it is in the other side of the vSan Jacinto, I'm sure that area flooded over there during Harvey, but it's also zoned to New Caney ISD.
Much lower socioeconomically than the Benders area. My BiL teaches at the High School there so I hear all the horror stories.

Based on what data?

Doesn't appear to be the case according to this article: https://communityimpact.com/houston/the-woodlands/education/2022/08/15/see-how-conroe-isd-campuses-performed-in-2021-22-texas-education-agency-accountability-ratings/

Lived in Benders 15 years. Moved into our home 2 mo before we had our oldest. Opened the Snyder elementary with her in kinder and opened Clark middle when she went to 5th. York is overcrowded and has some issues but the new principal for '23-'24 has an amazing track record in both of the aforementioned schools.

She's a freshman this year at Grand Oaks. It's an overall good school however it's crowded and near capacity now. It's certainly an issue that they need to plan for as there's tons of growth in the immediate area. She's got tons of opportunity to take AP and DC classes but all extra curricular activities are extremely competitive. Kids basically need to pick one thing to concentrate on to excel and be competitive. Appears to be even more competitive for the classes coming up as the class sizes are larger. My youngest is finishing her 7th grade year at York.

There are definitely some brats but I think that blaming the behavioral issues solely on the "rich benders kids" is pretty short sighted and laughable. There's a ton of great families in here that raise their kids well. The majority of the folks we know are well adjusted, dual income families that work their tails off. Majority of which appear to be self employed in some form or fashion.

Have to just ignore comments like that. Such a gross generalization that it is laughable.

All good! I know there are bad apples too. Hoping none of our kids get grouped in to that and the schools do what they can to handle it. Seems like a mounting task with all the growth.

AggieSam02 said:

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Based on what data?

Doesn't appear to be the case according to this article: https://communityimpact.com/houston/the-woodlands/education/2022/08/15/see-how-conroe-isd-campuses-performed-in-2021-22-texas-education-agency-accountability-ratings/

Lived in Benders 15 years. Moved into our home 2 mo before we had our oldest. Opened the Snyder elementary with her in kinder and opened Clark middle when she went to 5th. York is overcrowded and has some issues but the new principal for '23-'24 has an amazing track record in both of the aforementioned schools.

She's a freshman this year at Grand Oaks. It's an overall good school however it's crowded and near capacity now. It's certainly an issue that they need to plan for as there's tons of growth in the immediate area. She's got tons of opportunity to take AP and DC classes but all extra curricular activities are extremely competitive. Kids basically need to pick one thing to concentrate on to excel and be competitive. Appears to be even more competitive for the classes coming up as the class sizes are larger. My youngest is finishing her 7th grade year at York.

There are definitely some brats but I think that blaming the behavioral issues solely on the "rich benders kids" is pretty short sighted and laughable. There's a ton of great families in here that raise their kids well. The majority of the folks we know are well adjusted, dual income families that work their tails off. Majority of which appear to be self employed in some form or fashion.

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I also wasn't generalizing everything to kids from BE. I know s#itty kids in BE, ST and Harmony. I have 6th and 8th graders. I hope the principal from Clark can turn York around, but I have low expectations. I hear she's bringing the Harry Potter "houses" to York, I'm not sure how well that will translate with 7 and 8th graders.

I have a feeling she will need to come in with an authoritarian viewpoint, and with how bad parents are at disciplining their own kids, I don't know how much she can get done. Teachers hands are tied and there isn't much they can do, and they are leaving the school at a high rate. My kids Spanish teacher quit at Christmas and they just got a new teacher last week. They had subs who didn't speak Spanish for months, and no one there thought it was a problem when I talked to the principals.

I love this area and have lived here for 17 years and grew up in the area, but this is not what I had in mind when we chose to live out here as far as schools go. I hope and pray it gets better, but I don't expect much before my kids are out of GO.