It's looking like my youngest daughter will be at Texas Children's Hospital for around a year, so we are considering moving to the Houston area. Currently live in Midland and other than previous hospitalizations and work trips, I don't have much familiarity with Houston. What are some good areas to look at?

• We have 3 kids (11, 9, 9) so schools are at the top of our list. They currently attend a mid-size private school but are open to good public schools.
• My work has an office on I-10 just west of 8 but I will mostly work remote with only occasional office visits, so commute isn't much of a factor.
• Proximity to the medical center is nice but not a must. Looking at this as a long-term move (kids through high school) so community/schools are more important.
• Houses around $750k.

Appreciate any recommendations y'all have.

Meyerland/Willowbend/Willow Meadows/Westbury are all close to the Med Center and in your price range.

Send the kids to Trafton Academy if you don't like the HISD options. You are too late for the magnet program lottery, so you would have to buy near where you want your kids to attend.

West Texas native here…..I've been here for about 15 years. First 2 years I lived in the med center, lived in Pearland off of 288 for 1 year and spent the last 12 years in the Spring/Woodlands/Tomball area. We really enjoy living in the Northern part of the metro (the pine trees are nice) as it has many shopping, grocery options and also good/decent schools. Also, there is a Texas Children's right off of 45 in The Woodlands.

Find a townhome in the Southampton/Rice University area. There should be something in that price range. Maybe West University.

You won't have to deal with a yard. Doesn't sound like you would have time or desire for that anyway.

If you can live there and get your kids in at Poe Elementary it would be great.

Proximity to Texas Children's, your office, good public school are all "nice but not a must". What is the most important?

I would say find a house on this island.

Live in Katy

Maybe you can do some of the TCH stuff at West Campus

or the Woodlands for that matter.

I have trouble recommending the SW Side unless you really need to live close to the Med Center. The Meyerland/Westbury immediate areas are fine but everything is going to crap in several directions.

If I had no ties to the area, I would pick the Woodlands.

OdessaAg said:

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West Texas native here…..I've been here for about 15 years. First 2 years I lived in the med center, lived in Pearland off of 288 for 1 year and spent the last 12 years in the Spring/Woodlands/Tomball area. We really enjoy living in the Northern part of the metro (the pine trees are nice) as it has many shopping, grocery options and also good/decent schools. Also, there is a Texas Children's right off of 45 in The Woodlands.

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Woodlands is the best option. Added bonus, not having to live in Houston.

prices in West U have gotten pretty absurd. $700+/sqt for nicer new builds.

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The Meyerland/Westbury immediate areas are fine but everything is going to crap in several directions.

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what does this mean? Live in Westbury for 10 years its fine and so is Meyerland.

Not a whole lot of help with you specific question but sending your family thoughts and prayers. I'm a panhandle kid who ended up in Houston. It has its charm and I hope you and your family enjoy your time here. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need a hand with anything or want to vent about humidity or all the dang trees blocking your view of the horizon!

Diggity said:

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prices in West U have gotten pretty absurd. $700+/sqt for nicer new builds.

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Yep, they've gotten so absurd that price/sq ft has almost become obsolete. True for West U, Southampton and a few of those neighborhoods around there since the lot values have pushed past the seven figure threshold.

Case in point is that if you want to save money in West U you can skip a nice new build for $700/sq ft and go for an 80 year old house in mediocre condition for >$1,000/sq ft.

The surrounding areas to the South and West are getting worse. Hood rats all over SPO, Willowbend, Chimney Rock, etc. Have to wait a few seconds before entering an intersection after a green because somebody is bound to blow through a red.

Westbury itself could really use a more active HOA. Lot of people just do whatever they want so the yards look like crap. Doesn't help when when one of the board of directors is a serial offender.

/old man yelling at clouds.

Friendswood.

MAS444 said:

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Maybe consider the Spring Branch area. Close to work, lots of good private schools nearby and not crazy to med center.

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Whole heartedly agree

Sincerely, good luck. Where you live in this city is pretty dang important. Make a poor choice and you are in traffic all the time, flooded or the schools are crap. Get a good realtor. Drive the routes you would need to drive at the times you would drive them. Moving here from Midland is tough, do your homework so it isn't tougher than it has to be.

If you're looking at Spring Branch area and don't want to pay for private school, Afton Woods has some nice ranch houses.

They may be a bit north of your budget but not needing private should make that a good trade. There's a gated community over there called "Village of Afton Woods" with newer patio homes. Has a manned gate and a community pool. My parents lived there for years and liked it a lot. The 2-story section has a lot of younger families.

Diggity said:

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The surrounding areas to the South and West are getting worse. Hood rats all over SPO, Willowbend, Chimney Rock, etc. Have to wait a few seconds before entering an intersection after a green because somebody is bound to blow through a red.

Westbury itself could really use a more active HOA. Lot of people just do whatever they want so the yards look like crap. Doesn't help when when one of the board of directors is a serial offender.

/old man yelling at clouds.

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interesting I agree on the lights always got to wait a second once it turn greens....I have not see it bad on Willowbend or even Chimney Rock ...I do see an occasional run-down house in Westbury

That's too bad. It's been a nice hood for a long time and there's been really great value there (although probably not great appreciation).

I know people in Bellaire and Meyerland who flooded 3 years in a row ending with Harvey. Lots of other good recs here. I lived in west Pearland for 24 years. Access to the med center was nice apart from the 288 construction, which I assume is finally complete. Don't move there if you like trees.

The Ex Officio Director said:

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OdessaAg said:

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West Texas native here…..I've been here for about 15 years. First 2 years I lived in the med center, lived in Pearland off of 288 for 1 year and spent the last 12 years in the Spring/Woodlands/Tomball area. We really enjoy living in the Northern part of the metro (the pine trees are nice) as it has many shopping, grocery options and also good/decent schools. Also, there is a Texas Children's right off of 45 in The Woodlands.

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Woodlands is the best option. Added bonus, not having to live in Houston.

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But it's still the woodlands, so no real bonus there outside of living in a bunch of pine trees.

Hub `93 said:

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I know people in Bellaire and Meyerland who flooded 3 years in a row ending with Harvey. Lots of other good recs here. I lived in west Pearland for 24 years. Access to the med center was nice apart from the 288 construction, which I assume is finally complete. Don't move there if you like trees.

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There should at least be pear trees, amiright???

schmellba99 said:

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The Ex Officio Director said:

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OdessaAg said:

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West Texas native here…..I've been here for about 15 years. First 2 years I lived in the med center, lived in Pearland off of 288 for 1 year and spent the last 12 years in the Spring/Woodlands/Tomball area. We really enjoy living in the Northern part of the metro (the pine trees are nice) as it has many shopping, grocery options and also good/decent schools. Also, there is a Texas Children's right off of 45 in The Woodlands.

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Woodlands is the best option. Added bonus, not having to live in Houston.

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But it's still the woodlands, so no real bonus there outside of living in a bunch of pine trees.

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LOL what's wrong with The Woodlands.

Diggity said:

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If you're looking at Spring Branch area and don't want to pay for private school, Afton Woods has some nice ranch houses.

They may be a bit north of your budget but not needing private should make that a good trade. There's a gated community over there called "Village of Afton Woods" with newer patio homes. Has a manned gate and a community pool. My parents lived there for years and liked it a lot. The 2-story section has a lot of younger families.

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I know OP said that proximity to Med Center is nice, and not a must, but I'd hate to do that drive too much every week. If it's only once a week or so, then that makes it more manageable. I always make my appointments to miss rush hour traffic. I'm only down there once a month so traffic isn't too big of a deal for me if I hit it (I'll still ***** and moan though).

That said, I live near that area and know it well. South of Westview is great. But that particular neighborhood (afton oaks) is zoned to Housman Elementary. if you go just west of Antoine you get Hunters Creek Elementary, Spring Branch Middle and Memorial High. That's a pretty dang good combo. There's patio homes and townhomes there, too. A nice one on Bobbit Manor just popped up on HAR.

Hub `93 said:

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Don't move there if you like trees.

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He said he's moving from Midland so he probably doesn't care about trees to begin with.

Kolbe Farms. Small, intimate community near Bingle/Emnora. Great as a place to live but you'd definitely have to find good private schools.

Rice Military

Darthag11 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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The Ex Officio Director said:

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OdessaAg said:

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West Texas native here…..I've been here for about 15 years. First 2 years I lived in the med center, lived in Pearland off of 288 for 1 year and spent the last 12 years in the Spring/Woodlands/Tomball area. We really enjoy living in the Northern part of the metro (the pine trees are nice) as it has many shopping, grocery options and also good/decent schools. Also, there is a Texas Children's right off of 45 in The Woodlands.

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Woodlands is the best option. Added bonus, not having to live in Houston.

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But it's still the woodlands, so no real bonus there outside of living in a bunch of pine trees.

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LOL what's wrong with The Woodlands.

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Its in South Dallas

Diggity said:

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The surrounding areas to the South and West are getting worse. Hood rats all over SPO, Willowbend, Chimney Rock, etc. Have to wait a few seconds before entering an intersection after a green because somebody is bound to blow through a red.

Westbury itself could really use a more active HOA. Lot of people just do whatever they want so the yards look like crap. Doesn't help when when one of the board of directors is a serial offender.

/old man yelling at clouds.

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I've been in Maplewood 10 years (near Hillcroft/Willowbend) and couldn't agree more with this. The neighborhood itself is great and seems to be getting an influx of younger families as the original homeowners pass on. I also really appreciate its convenience to TMC, Galleria, and downtown, but it's definitely becoming more of a warzone as soon as you leave. My particular neighborhood has a large presence of Precinct 5 officers patrolling constantly so crime in the immediate neighborhood seems almost non-existent, but all bets are off as soon as you venture onto Hillcroft or Fondren.

I guess I tune it out or am hard of hearing, but my wife also keeps commenting lately on the much more frequent sound of police sirens and helicopters at all hours of day and night.

North of W Belfort, East of Hillcroft, West of South Post Oak. T&P otherwise.

agreed.

That was me tagging along to the hypothetical possibility of the OP utilizing the TCH West Campus for some visits. Have no idea if that's feasible but would be a great choice if so.

Regarding Housman, that has been correct up until now. Starting next year, that area will be zoned to Hunters Creek, which should be a huge boost (going from Bottom 10% school to Top 10% school is nice).