Might be relocating to Houston

Do you have kids? are ISD's and issue? do you want trees, yard, inner city bla bla bla 130-175 does not go far anywhere in Houston on a home.
are you looking for a house or condo..

Have you been to Houston? each of the areas you listed are very different and have good and bad points..

where is your office in Houston (specific), how close do you want to be to your office?

 

Katy is really nice...I have a couple of close friends there and it has good schools and neighborhoods where people get out and meet each other.

 

I'll extend my condolences right now. You're leaving San Diego to come to sugar land or cypress??? Man I love Houston since I've lived here my whole life but I think I would take a gigantic pay cut or just give up money in general to live in Del Mar or Gaslamp full time.

 

Have you checked on HAR.com? Thats where my girlfriend and I have been looking. I live now in the Cypress area, and have lived in the Katy area. Both are good places to live. Once you get here don't EVER go to Galveston, it will just make you cry.

 

I will second HAR.com There is also alot of info on there about the neighborhoods, schools, $ per sq/ft and so on. easier to search than realtor.com Good Luck

 

Check out Weston Lakes. It's a neighborhood in Fulshear which is just west of Katy. It's far enough west where there's no traffic and no city noise, but close enough to do your shopping and hanging out. Also, if you're going to be traveling towards downtown, the road in front of Weston Lakes becomes West Park Tollway a few miles down. I love the neighborhood though. And because it's out west, the housing should be a bit cheaper than if they were in the city.

 

Those look fairly realistic to me. Then again, I'm comparing to when my parents house-shopped down there 11 years ago. You said your waterbill was your biggest expense? Don't know my parents' bills, but here in Dallas my water bill usually runs about 1/5th of my electricity, $20 a month or so for my (shared, 2-bedroom) apartment.

If you like the Katy-Sugarland area in general, take a look at Pecan Grove. I grew up there, well-located. 15 minute drive to both Katy and Sugarland--I spent most of my time in Katy but went to school in Sugarland.

 

I lived in cypress until last year and for your price range , check out fairfield or even close to black horse for good neighborhoods. only problem is west side of town= worst traffic ever

 

I like the first house, but both seem within line of the market. And you can't

I grew up in Jersey Village so I'm partial to that area. Best part is it has it's own Fire/Police Dept. My parents just closed on the house I grew up in 2 weeks ago. It was on the market one day and sold.

I also do like Katy, but all in all the areas you mentioned are worth wild. Fairfield is pretty far out, but it's all relative to where you would be happy and how far you're comfortable living with from work.

 

The thing about Houston is you have to decide your tolerance for driving in traffic. If your tolerance is high and you don't mind a longer commute then you have lots of options about where to live, especially since your office is near the Beltway. So just pick a place with quick access to a freeway and you should be fine. And let's be honest, all suburban neighborhoods with their generic cookie-cutter houses and associated strip malls are all the same anyway.
But if you have a low tolerance for traffic, better stick closer-in. The house and lot will be smaller, but you'll spend less time commuting EVERY day, plus it'll be a lot closer when you want to come in to the city. Check out Spring Branch. It's an older middle-class neighborhood that suffered during a previous recession, but is now on the rebound. It's not up to innerloop niceness yet, but the appreciation potential is there. And since it's closer in, you'll be reverse commuting so that'll really cut down on traffic.

 

Come on down and visit, to get the feel of the place...Jersey Village has some nice homes, a little older construction for the most part..

Fairfield and Black Horse are much newer..

Jay Stoneburner is who I'd use to shop, he single handedly outsells entire branches of Century21!! LOL!

Seriously as most are telling you live close to work or spend your life in terrible traffic.........that said, I drive about 100 miles a day!!! But I live "in" and drive "out" as most of Suburbia is doing the opposite!

Heights and Garden Oaks as well as Timbergrove are some nice areas where redevelopment is seeing some nice results.....

 

I agree with looking into the Weston Lakes/Fulshear area as the property values have risen considerably with each passing year for the past decade and it is on the verge of exploding. My business partner and I are keeping a very close eye on that area for investment opportunity's.

tex

 

I was highly satisfied, he knows his stuff.......

 

No, Texas does not have a state income tax. The property taxes on our houses seems high, though... or at least it seemed that way when I moved here from SC 13 years ago. Seeme to be about a wash for me.