Houston Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
possibly relocating to Houston
My DH is potentially being relocated to Houston. Both of us have lived in CA (specifically the SF Bay area our whole lives). He will be working, I think in or near downtown Houston. I have a 6 yr old & 4 yr old. Presently my oldest is in Catholic school. I am looking for information about the best places to raise a family ( best schools - Public & catholic, how to understand the state test scores, walking / biking trails, sports teams - soccer, swim, softball / baseball, low crime, etc. Many boards I have come across suggest the Woodlands. The only downside I have found is many stores are not near there (whole foods, REI, Costco...). Thanks!!!
Re: possibly relocating to Houston
The other downside to The Woodlands is the distance from downtown Houston. It is REALLY far. Your DH can take the bus (no awesome option like the Muni) so it won't be too bad for him but it will be a pain for you to do things like go to the zoo, museums, etc. That said, if you are looking to live in the suburbs it is very nice. It has other nice grocery options instead of Whole Foods (a large, very nice HEB which is a Texas grocery chain with fantastic store brand products and lots of organic options and Hubbel & Hudson) and lots of great shopping, as well as many good restaurants.
There are good public schools in any area of Houston you would even consider living in. Texas schools receive one of 4 main ratings. In order of best to worst: Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable, and Academically Unacceptable. Lots of indicators play into the ratings but they generally hinge on test scores for elementary schools. More info here. "Best" is subjective but there are excellent schools in all of the nice areas. Narrow it down to an area of Houston and the ladies with kids and the teachers can help you figure out the best schools within that area. Houston is VERY large.
If you are looking for something more central, there are many posters with children on this board that live "ITL" (inside the loop, which is Loop 610) that can advise you on those areas. The only downside to living ITL is the cost of housing but, coming from the bay area, the prices likely won't phase you.
Good luck! We were in SF this summer. The tempurature there was literally half the temperature in Houston (low 50s in SF, 108 in Houston).
thanks for all the info ladies!!!
Ditto. I love love love this area and I am so glad that we choose to move out here.
There's also several Catholic schools in the area that I have heard great things about. (One I can remember off the top of my head is Northwoods Catholic School on 2920).
We lived in the Heights area until last year. I loved the commute to work, but we decided that we wanted a good public school system rather than sending 3 girls through Catholic School. (Oddly, we aren't Catholic but my DH was raised Catholic and we decided in the area that was the best choice for us.) My girls went to St. Rose of Lima Catholic School that is in Garden Oaks right outside the Heights (and the inner loop). We absolutely loved the school and I can't say enough great things about it. They are currently expanding to 8th grade so it will be a while before you'd need to look into High Schools.
I guess you might mean me? LOL!
Yes, I can give you a lot of information about the Heights. I write a blog about the neighborhood, which is a decent place to start, IMO (actually not just my opinion, as people contact me regularly about how the blog helped them to pick the Heights
) http://theheightslife.com
Reasons I love living in the Heights:
As an older neighborhood, it has a lot more character to me then the suburbs of Houston. Unlike older cities, the 'burbs here have mostly been master planned from scratch in the last 50 years. That doesn't appeal to me, personally.
Walkability. There is no other neighborhood that is a) as family friendly, where you can b) get pretty much everything you need on foot or bike. We often park our cars on Friday and don't drive again until Monday. From my house, I can walk to a great dive bar, several family friendly restaurants, a couple of nice date night spots (google Stella Sola and Zelko Bistro), get groceries and go to the park.
Family is a big one in the Heights. Our family group-- as opposed to a "moms group" because we also have dads who participate-- is one of the largest in the city and there is definitely a STRONG sense of community with families in the neighborhood.
Commute. My son goes to a private school out side the loop but I can still be there in 10-15 minutes. We have <5 minute access to 3 of the main highways in the city, while still feeling like we live in a bedroom community. Plus, my husband works downtown and works long hours. He can work a 10-12 hour day and still be home to finish dinner or put the boys to bed. For us, this is tantamount to anything any other area would have to offer. Time together as a family is #1 for our quality of life.
There are a lot more great things I could share but people here get sick of my ramblings. As a PP said, it's pricier than the 'burbs but also probably very affordable compared to the bay area.
I also know another mom in the Heights who moved here from the Bay Area less than a year ago. I can put you in touch with her as well.
Feel free to email me: viula at theheightslife. com
Where do you live now? My husband and his family is all from Moraga....
This. I love the Woodlands because it is zoned and has some pretty good local restaurants, but like everyone else has said..it is FAR. The Heights have so many good options, and is very close to downtown. You may want to check out around the museums, although some of that area is transitioning into newer construction, high density living. If you want more distinct homes, then I would go with the Heights, as Viula suggests.
As far as schools go, I had a conversation with my college suite mate over the weekend that put the final nail in the coffin for me for Texas public schools. Her daughter is in 6th grade, and just transferred to a Virginia public school. Despite having made straight A's in a public school in Humble, the Texas lesson plans were so deficient that her daughter is 1-2 years behind the Virginia 6th graders. I tried to reason that it may have just been the school in Humble that was the problem, but when an entire state is teaching to the TAKS test (or whatever they call it these days), many kids are only learning the bare minimum to pass a basic skills test. I'm sure there are some bright spots in some areas, but you may want to really evaluate the lesson plans for the various grades to be sure they are teaching what you expect them to be teaching. If you are interested in private schools, I know a lot of the Catholic ones in town, but I'm not as familiar with the ones in the burbs. If you want the best school in town, and price isn't an issue, then you may want to consider AWTY. It's pricey, but the education is amazing. http://www.awty.org/
Good luck with the move!
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