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Best towns/neighborhoods in the Houston area for Aggies with kids

4,867 Views | 25 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Mr_mo8268
swtexan2005
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I've heard Tomball & Magnolia. Where else?
Aggie369
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Bridgeland is pretty awesome for families with young kids. Taxes are higher but it was worth it
nonameag99
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River Oaks

Bunker Hill

With your listed budget and criteria, the sky is the limit
Aggiemike96
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Drive by. OP won't be back.
JimPat33
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Old Katy-Small town feel.
Cane Island
Falls at Green Meadows
mazag08
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Cypress you can get a lot of bang for your buck and for the most part the schools are great, as are the taxes compared to similar areas like Katy.
IrishTxAggie
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Have you considered El Paso?

/Houston Board
Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno
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Where do you work? What is your budget? This will dictate what neighborhood would be recommended.
Ragoo
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Towne lake
dwaynego
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Clear Lake/Friendswood/League City
Mr_mo8268
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Frostwood, Wilchester, Spring Valley
case04
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I heard 3rd ward is on the come up.
Grits
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In my personal opinion, if your keeping your family in mind you should absolutely consider moving INTO A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!!!!!
E
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Independence Heights is a great place to raise a family... just got a Whole Foods!
one MEEN Ag
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swtexan2005 said:

I've heard Tomball & Magnolia. Where else?
Google judgmental map of houston. A good non PC recap of the whole city. It written by snarky millennials for snarky millennials. Some insults aren't created equal. Anytime it mentions 'boring' or 'republicans' - those aren't bad things.

Also, it moreso highlights the bad areas than the good areas.

Trulia.com has good features to look at crime and schools on a map overlay. To access it, you need to click on a home first, and then you can click through to the filters.

Realistically, you're going to on the outer rings of the city and joining a commute like the rest of the town.

Generally good areas for staying in the school district (going clockwise):

The Woodlands and outlying suburbia along 45 and 99.
Cypress area (Area under 290 is trending upwards with new builds. Area closest to 249 is trending down)
Katy (Pick between football or top top tier academics or neither)
Pearland
League City
Clear Lake
Atascocita
Kingwood- beware of flooding, eye rolling texags posts, and strip mining conspiracies. Both Atascocita and Kingwood's claim to fame is that you can get downtown super fast (not really) and enjoy suburban amenities (when dry).

Major corporations are trending moves to the woodlands area (Exxon and HP), and out west (Marathon, Conoco Phillips). Expect more movement in those directions. Though, oil and gas refining is always expanding and is driving a lot of new builds on the east side of town. Expect to see solid middle class expansion in pockets on that side of town.

Spring Branch ISD is good if you can get a place in memorial (congrats on your 2million+ house and your 80k tax bill.) or Stratford (congrats on your 600k house, 18k in taxes, and your kids being reminded they aren't in memorial). CFISD and KISD have solid track records of building taj mahal's of schools, leaning on the academic talent of their student demographics and patting themselves on the back. Don't buy where zoned to Cy-Ridge, Cy-Springs, Morton Ranch or Mayde Creek, or on the streets just on the boundary.

Sugarland is iffy. There's some old guard out there, but there is a gut check about what the core of Sugarland is going to look like in 20 years.









Mr_mo8268
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one MEEN Ag said:

swtexan2005 said:

I've heard Tomball & Magnolia. Where else?
Google judgmental map of houston. A good non PC recap of the whole city. It written by snarky millennials for snarky millennials. Some insults aren't created equal. Anytime it mentions 'boring' or 'republicans' - those aren't bad things.

Also, it moreso highlights the bad areas than the good areas.

Trulia.com has good features to look at crime and schools on a map overlay. To access it, you need to click on a home first, and then you can click through to the filters.

Realistically, you're going to on the outer rings of the city and joining a commute like the rest of the town.

Generally good areas for staying in the school district (going clockwise):

The Woodlands and outlying suburbia along 45 and 99.
Cypress area (Area under 290 is trending upwards with new builds. Area closest to 249 is trending down)
Katy (Pick between football or top top tier academics or neither)
Pearland
League City
Clear Lake
Atascocita
Kingwood- beware of flooding, eye rolling texags posts, and strip mining conspiracies. Both Atascocita and Kingwood's claim to fame is that you can get downtown super fast (not really) and enjoy suburban amenities (when dry).

Major corporations are trending moves to the woodlands area (Exxon and HP), and out west (Marathon, Conoco Phillips). Expect more movement in those directions. Though, oil and gas refining is always expanding and is driving a lot of new builds on the east side of town. Expect to see solid middle class expansion in pockets on that side of town.

Spring Branch ISD is good if you can get a place in memorial (congrats on your 2million+ house and your 80k tax bill.) or Stratford (congrats on your 600k house, 18k in taxes, and your kids being reminded they aren't in memorial). CFISD and KISD have solid track records of building taj mahal's of schools, leaning on the academic talent of their student demographics and patting themselves on the back. Don't buy where zoned to Cy-Ridge, Cy-Springs, Morton Ranch or Mayde Creek, or on the streets just on the boundary.

Sugarland is iffy. There's some old guard out there, but there is a gut check about what the core of Sugarland is going to look like in 20 years.












Why the shots at SBISD?
one MEEN Ag
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Mr_mo8268 said:





Why the shots at SBISD?
There are shots at a lot of neighborhoods/school districts in there. Spring Branch has a ton of appeal, if that is your cup of tea.
ATM9000
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one MEEN Ag said:

swtexan2005 said:

I've heard Tomball & Magnolia. Where else?
Google judgmental map of houston. A good non PC recap of the whole city. It written by snarky millennials for snarky millennials. Some insults aren't created equal. Anytime it mentions 'boring' or 'republicans' - those aren't bad things.

Also, it moreso highlights the bad areas than the good areas.

Trulia.com has good features to look at crime and schools on a map overlay. To access it, you need to click on a home first, and then you can click through to the filters.

Realistically, you're going to on the outer rings of the city and joining a commute like the rest of the town.

Generally good areas for staying in the school district (going clockwise):

The Woodlands and outlying suburbia along 45 and 99.
Cypress area (Area under 290 is trending upwards with new builds. Area closest to 249 is trending down)
Katy (Pick between football or top top tier academics or neither)
Pearland
League City
Clear Lake
Atascocita
Kingwood- beware of flooding, eye rolling texags posts, and strip mining conspiracies. Both Atascocita and Kingwood's claim to fame is that you can get downtown super fast (not really) and enjoy suburban amenities (when dry).

Major corporations are trending moves to the woodlands area (Exxon and HP), and out west (Marathon, Conoco Phillips). Expect more movement in those directions. Though, oil and gas refining is always expanding and is driving a lot of new builds on the east side of town. Expect to see solid middle class expansion in pockets on that side of town.

Spring Branch ISD is good if you can get a place in memorial (congrats on your 2million+ house and your 80k tax bill.) or Stratford (congrats on your 600k house, 18k in taxes, and your kids being reminded they aren't in memorial). CFISD and KISD have solid track records of building taj mahal's of schools, leaning on the academic talent of their student demographics and patting themselves on the back. Don't buy where zoned to Cy-Ridge, Cy-Springs, Morton Ranch or Mayde Creek, or on the streets just on the boundary.

Sugarland is iffy. There's some old guard out there, but there is a gut check about what the core of Sugarland is going to look like in 20 years.












I live in Nottingham Forest, paid x for my house and pay less in taxes than my brother in law in Katy who owns a house that is 2/3 * x.
one MEEN Ag
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ATM9000 said:


I live in Nottingham Forest, paid x for my house and pay less in taxes than my brother in law in Katy who owns a house that is 2/3 * x.

So yes, a quick look up shows that Nottingham Forest pays 2.6% taxes on roughly $160/sq ft valuation. (Which is probably bi modal based upon those who flooded vs those who didn't with outliers who have just decided to completely rebuild)

So I don't know where you're brother in law lives, I'll try my best to arbitrage Stratford's scholastic performance to Katy's. Using USNews rankings **shudder** Stratford is #213 in Texas. Closest Katy school to that is Katy High School at #231. I mostly hate this style of rankings, but they'll get the job done here.

So lets say your house is worth 600k, that means your brother in laws is worth 400k. if you look at neighborhoods zoned to Katy High School worth 400k there are homes with tax rates all over the place. You want something new in a brand new neighborhood? 3.8% (Stupid high). Older home that doesn't have a MUD? 2.5%. Katy price per square foot is usually around 120 for older stuff and 140 for brand new stuff.

For your equation to work out, your brother in law probably bought a newer home in an area with a MUD (or two).

One thing to watch out for in the future is that Nottingham Forest is going to see more and more rebuilds, updates, and higher valuations. Especially as people forget Harvey more and more. Thats a good problem to have. Katy is not going to see that kind of valuation growth over the next 10 years. There's just too much open land to convince buyers that location is paramount.
mazag08
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one MEEN Ag said:

ATM9000 said:


I live in Nottingham Forest, paid x for my house and pay less in taxes than my brother in law in Katy who owns a house that is 2/3 * x.

So yes, a quick look up shows that Nottingham Forest pays 2.6% taxes on roughly $160/sq ft valuation. (Which is probably bi modal based upon those who flooded vs those who didn't with outliers who have just decided to completely rebuild)

So I don't know where you're brother in law lives, I'll try my best to arbitrage Stratford's scholastic performance to Katy's. Using USNews rankings **shudder** Stratford is #213 in Texas. Closest Katy school to that is Katy High School at #231. I mostly hate this style of rankings, but they'll get the job done here.

So lets say your house is worth 600k, that means your brother in laws is worth 400k. if you look at neighborhoods zoned to Katy High School worth 400k there are homes with tax rates all over the place. You want something new in a brand new neighborhood? 3.8% (Stupid high). Older home that doesn't have a MUD? 2.5%. Katy price per square foot is usually around 120 for older stuff and 140 for brand new stuff.

For your equation to work out, your brother in law probably bought a newer home in an area with a MUD (or two).

One thing to watch out for in the future is that Nottingham Forest is going to see more and more rebuilds, updates, and higher valuations. Especially as people forget Harvey more and more. Thats a good problem to have. Katy is not going to see that kind of valuation growth over the next 10 years. There's just too much open land to convince buyers that location is paramount.

Valuation growth of an existing property and re-valuing a property after a huge remodel / rebuild are not the same thing. Valuation growth in general will always favor a desirable location closer in to the city over another desirable location due to scarcity of land and land value alone. So your point is correct there, but not rocket science. Buyers are flocking to Katy constantly though, and there will be PLENTY of valuation growth to go around. It's already more expensive to buy the same house on the same size land in Katy as it is in Cypress. It's not going to suddenly stop going up.
ATM9000
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one MEEN Ag said:

ATM9000 said:


I live in Nottingham Forest, paid x for my house and pay less in taxes than my brother in law in Katy who owns a house that is 2/3 * x.

So yes, a quick look up shows that Nottingham Forest pays 2.6% taxes on roughly $160/sq ft valuation. (Which is probably bi modal based upon those who flooded vs those who didn't with outliers who have just decided to completely rebuild)

So I don't know where you're brother in law lives, I'll try my best to arbitrage Stratford's scholastic performance to Katy's. Using USNews rankings **shudder** Stratford is #213 in Texas. Closest Katy school to that is Katy High School at #231. I mostly hate this style of rankings, but they'll get the job done here.

So lets say your house is worth 600k, that means your brother in laws is worth 400k. if you look at neighborhoods zoned to Katy High School worth 400k there are homes with tax rates all over the place. You want something new in a brand new neighborhood? 3.8% (Stupid high). Older home that doesn't have a MUD? 2.5%. Katy price per square foot is usually around 120 for older stuff and 140 for brand new stuff.

For your equation to work out, your brother in law probably bought a newer home in an area with a MUD (or two).

One thing to watch out for in the future is that Nottingham Forest is going to see more and more rebuilds, updates, and higher valuations. Especially as people forget Harvey more and more. Thats a good problem to have. Katy is not going to see that kind of valuation growth over the next 10 years. There's just too much open land to convince buyers that location is paramount.



On a pro rata basis, the Homestead exemption in city of Houston is about double what it is in Katy. You are correct in that 200k was high, the real differential is more like 150k... but my point still stands. Most of the exurb taxes on a percentage basis are substantially higher than what you'll find in Memorial/Spring Branch.

Hell I was shocked by it when my brother in law shared what he paid outright annually.
Mr_mo8268
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Down with paying the man a fat tax bill and being a non-disclosure state over paying state income tax. Which is as a general statement the trade off among states.

I lump sum and wait till damn near Jan 30 to pay it bc it pisses me off once a year. But still
MAS444
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Are we talking actual effective tax rates? 2.5 - 3.5+? Unless I'm not understanding (which is very possible), that's crazy high. We're at about 1.9% in town.
ATM9000
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MAS444 said:

Are we talking actual effective tax rates? 2.5 - 3.5+? Unless I'm not understanding (which is very possible), that's crazy high. We're at about 1.9% in town.


I was... other guy I don't think grasps that. My stated tax rate is like 2.7%, but my effective rate is a sliver above 2. This area is expensive, but, relative to areas like Katy or Sugar Land or wherever, you really aren't getting gouged by taxes.
Mr_mo8268
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ATM9000 said:

MAS444 said:

Are we talking actual effective tax rates? 2.5 - 3.5+? Unless I'm not understanding (which is very possible), that's crazy high. We're at about 1.9% in town.


I was... other guy I don't think grasps that. My stated tax rate is like 2.7%, but my effective rate is a sliver above 2. This area is expensive, but, relative to areas like Katy or Sugar Land or wherever, you really aren't getting gouged by taxes.


Can someone explain an effective tax rate when it comes to property tax? I have not heard it in this sense before.
Aggie71013
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I assume effective tax rate is property taxes paid divided by appraised value which would be less than property taxes paid divided by appraised value minus exemptions.

I.e. 2k paid / 100k value = 2% (effective rate)
2k paid / 75k value minus exemptions = 2.67% actual rate


Edit apparently Texags Mobile can't use the divide symbol.
Mr_mo8268
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Gotcha. On quick head math I wouldn't think that would move the needle much for the suburban Ags with a newer MUD tax if you have a nice home. There's an added tax in there somewhere no matter how you skin it.
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