If you live in Texas

[admin]

KINGWOOD is great too !

[CW1992]

Hey, I live in Kingwood, TX, about 40 min drive from Houston. The Woodlands is nice - (the girls just beat the Woodlands Marlins in a swim meet a few weeks ago! LOL) There are so many friendly, nice, clean communities around here that are great areas for families. In Kingwood we have 60+ miles of walking trails, and families, joggers, bikers, are always out on them and always friendly. I think that the schools here are great. The kids are polite - and we are close enough to Houston to see lots of Astros games, and also close by for doctors in downtown. For more info you can go to www.kingwood.com - but the Woodlands is a nice area too - there are many nice areas depending on your husband's job commute and what you are looking for. What 'sold' me on moving here was that everything we needed was so close by and convenient, lots of kids for my kids to play with, and deer, armadillos, turtles and ducks in the lakes and ponds - but mostly the friendliness of all and all of the families you see out having fun together riding bikes or roller blading or whatever - (which you will find in all of the communities/subdivisions around Houston.) Where we live is nothing like being in the middle of downtown Houston traffic. Good luck to you. I love living in TX and even though we were asked to transfer again - my husband refused because we'all love it here so much.
Christy

[JessicasMom]

Christy,

Where did you live before Kingwood - was it outside of Texas? Thanks for the info. on Kingwood, I'll check out the website!

I appreciate all the help!

Michelle

[CW1992]

Hey,
We lived in NJ for a few years and then in Baton Rouge for 7 years, and were transfered to TX and have lived here for 7 years now.
Your welcome for the info. It is a scary, hard time trying to move your family to an area that you don't know much about - I can surely relate. Good luck to you and your family in finding a place just right for you.
Christy

[bugsntazz]

Hello,

We live in Round Rock TX, which is suburb north of Austin, TX. It was also the 8th safest city to live in. I grew up in NY, Long Beach, NJ Princeton East Windsor. We moved to TX about 4 years ago from Florida. We had to choose between Austin and Houston too. We like Austin better. It is more kid friendly and housing is new construction everywhere. Plus real estate value is growing. Schools are also number one priority. Round Rock ISD (Web RRISD.org) is in the tops of the state. They are very good. Compared to NJ, housing is reasonable. We bought new construction 3200 square feet for $243,00. Our development is only 4 years old and already houses selling for $340, 000 up to $500K. Round Rock has alot of land to develop thus alot of home builders new construction. Most of the houses are fairly new, last 5 years or so. Prices for existing homes range from $150K to over $500K, 1500 sq to over 5,000sf It depends upon the community. Also the people are very nice and very diverse. Neighbors are from CA, NY, TX, IL, MI, Ireland, etc. Our town is very kid friendly alot for them to do. My son is on swim team, He was 6 years old then, he is web fastfrogs.net, they swim at University of Texas swim pool on Sat, There are sport teams for all kind of players, select and non select. There are more then one league to play on too... I have a daughter, and she is in ballet, gynamastics, soccer, swimming, etc

Austin is a very growing community, University of Texas, Travis Lake. The population lives mostly NW of Austin, Leander, Cedar Park, Round Rock,. Living here now 4 years, it was a great move for the kids.

We go to Houston alot, Docs down there. We found Houston to be very hot, humid, weather and very developed. New construction was only found way outside of Houston, Katy, Sugarland, Tomball. The traffic was terrible so working and communiting took a long time in rush hour. We looked at those areas but alot was built up and real estate was already pricey. Best of luck with your decision... keep researching to see what you like best. Email if you have any other questions.

[jennyinsandiego]

Sandi-
I'll be flying in for the THSC state convention in August. Can't wait! Are you going?

[bugsntazz]

What is the THSC Convention?

[jennyinsandiego]

It is the Texas Home School Coalition. They've booked the Marriot at the Woodlands this year. They have all the the big names come and give workshops. It is free if you are a member. It lasts for three days. And the shopping....Their website is thsc.org for all the info

[admin]

I grew up in Spring area outside Houston. the woodlands is very nice...I don't think the drive into town is that bad if you take the toll road...would be worth the cost for everyday commute. If your hubby is used to nyc traffic...houston will probably be a breeze.
Shari (Jake'smom)
I don't know why it didn't sign me in.

[JessicasMom]

Wow, it's great to hear from people who lived in NJ, moved to TX and love it there!

Bugsntaxx, thanks for the info. on the Austin area. I've heard (from a few other people I've talked to) that the weather and area might be better than the Houston suburbs area. We are going to visit and look at all of the areas. My husband has a few offers he is considering in both the Houston and Austin areas so it's really a matter of which area we like best.

There's certainly nothing better than recommendations from people who live there.

We currently live in Hillsborough which is very close to Princeton. I was afraid the schools wouldn't rate as well, but I found a list of the top 1000 and many of the areas in Texas rate very, very well.

Thanks again, and if anyone has any suggestions for great places to visit (we're planning on going to the space center and maybe San Antonio), we'd love to hear them!

Michelle