Moving to Houston...
 

Will be moving in the next 8 or so months. Looking at Friendswood, Pearland, Sugarland, possibly Kingwood, Humble, the Cy-Fair area and remote possiblity of way out towards Conroe. Husband will be working near the Galleria so have to consider the commute. House: 400-600K,would love to get some acreage(1-2) but know this is tough in Houston, and obviously a great school district (middle and high school).
So would love to have any and all suggestions!!!

Let me be the first to say...Welcome to Houston. I can give you a little insight on the Pearland, Friendswood area. One thing that you should know is that Pearland has gone from a sleepy great city of 25K people to a crowded and bustling city of over 100K in about 5 years. Developers finally realized, hey, here's a bunch of farm land just 15 miles from downtown Houston, let's do something with it. In this area, you will do quite well with the money that you are planning to spend and still may find the acreage. The problem is that it may be an older house. Everything new are on postage size lots. I suggest that you look on www.har.com. (Houston Area Realtors) You can specify size of home, property and location. Traffic will be tough in any of the locations that you suggested. But there is really no way to get around it in Houston. Just keep it in mind. Good Luck!

Kingwood would fit almost everything but you would get maybe 1/2 acre and the commute to the Galleria would be horrible.

Welcome to Houston! I would really consider the west side of town - west Memorial is really nice and good schools in Spring Branch area - areas like Wilchester, Nottingham, Nottingham Forest, Westchester. Would be closer to the Galleria than some of the other areas you mentioned. We used har.com when we bought our house; it is a great tool - you can plug in subdivisions, prices, school districts, etc. and it will show pics/prices/descriptions of all the available houses. I think the acreage thing may be a bit tough, but Terry Hershey Park is nearby - lots of miles of trails, etc.

Not sure if you have considered Katy or not, it's on the far west area of town. They have lots of amenities and good schools. We looked out there in the Cinco Ranch area before buying our house - they have lots of pools, their own waterpark, lakes, etc. It's a long drive back into town though, and lots of traffic, but prices are affordable.

The villages are really nice - large homes and good schools; prices will be quite a bit more expensive there. Not sure if you could get something for 600K there or not. For the most part, housing in Houston is very affordable.

If you find homes that interest you, you can search for the address on hcad.org, and it will give you an appraised value and value history for the homes.

I agree with volcanogirl. Go to www.har.com and put in 77079 zip code and $400,000 to $600,000 and check out what comes up. These are in Spring Branch ISD, most in Stratford HS and Memorial MS attendance zones. You can check out other areas, but that's where I'd start. You don't want a long commute with kids the age of yours--no way to get home to watch their games, etc. if you're living in Kingwood, for instance, and working in the Galleria.

Traffic on I-10 Katy Freeway is horrendous right now; but they're also going through major reconstruction that will be completed by the end of this decade. So, if you're planning to stay here for a while, then there's something to look forward to, if you like the west side of Houston.

If you're living near Memorial and Beltway 8, you can take the Beltway to the Westpark Tollway to the Galleria--avoiding I-10 completely--and that usually is very fast.

If your husband is working near the Galleria, the Sugarland area would be my choice. Although there is heavy traffic inbound and outbound, this is the closest of the locations. You could also consider the Katy area and take the tollway in. Kingwood, Humble, Cy-Fair are too far away in my opinion, and Conroe would be located in another state if this were New England. I agree with considering west Memorial (beyond Beltway 8 in the price range you are considering). Houston may have "affordable" housing in an average sense, but the reality is that desirable neighborhoods are quite expensive, and property taxes quite high. Also make sure you inquire about flood plains!

If you are considering Humble ISD, there are some definite schools to consider and others to avoid.

Property taxes are high in Texas, but there is no State Income tax, so it evens out for the most part.

The Westpark Tollway is a great way to get from the Katy/Sugarland areas to the Galeria . . it takes me about 20 mins. most days.

Sugarland and Katy schools are top notch

Christine, Houston does have its share of traffic. Check into getting an EZ tag - it lets you get on the tollroads without having to stop and pay the tolls; you just keep an account with them, and the money is automatically deducted per usage.

We lived in Katy for 2 years and basically moved there because of the proximity to DHs work, the schools, and all the friends we had there. But it drove me NUTS that getting into town was such a chore! But I was really impressed with the new Westpark tollroad that has recently opened up. Wow! Katy to downtown in a reasonable time!

You shouldn't have any problems finding a house in the Katy area in your price range (I LOVE www.har.com!) but I think you will have a hard time finding any big pieces of land.

To me, one of my biggest problems with Katy was the lack of trees!!! There are some older neighborhoods in Katy with good trees and the trees in other areas are starting to fill in, but not like what I was used to. Coming from a tree filled area of New Orleans - that was one of the things we really missed.

Thanks all for the suggestions!! The har.com site is great, I used it to look up schools too. We hadn't really considered Katy but with the tollroad open it's looking like a great option. It's going to hard going back to 'zero lot lines' though!!

You can find some larger lots in the Katy/Sugarland area ( they are growing together ). . just tell your agent what you are looking for.

You're correct about not being able to get acreage near houston, so if you can do with out and you want to be near the city, I suggest sugarland. I used to work in the area and it has really expanded over the last year or 2.

I have lived in the Woodlands for 18 years now, so if you are willing to come out near conroe, you should definitely check into The Woodlands. The school system is excellent, I am a graduate of McCullough (which is now a junior high) and there are a lot of conveniences such as groceries and gas stations usually no more than 5 min away. Plus there is now market street with some great shopping and restaurants. If you are willing to commute, the Woodlands offers the woodlands express which is a park and ride. It is definitely the way to go, I recomend it. Let me know if I can answer any more questions and good luck!