wordgirl

Wow! I didn't expect to see any activity on this thread still. I posted last year when we were looking for a new house. We have since moved to Fall Creek (northeast of Houston near Beltway 8 and 59), mostly because we were priced out of most neighborhoods zoned to Memorial unless we wanted to go the fixer-upper route again. And paying $300,000 plus for a fixer-upper in Spring Valley was hard for us to stomach. The lack of affordable housing stock was also the main reason we moved from GO. I am sure we could have figured out HISD, but I'm not sure if we wanted to deal with all the hassle. They are building a new elementary school in our neighborhood and will also be building a new middle and high school to which we will be zoned. I have no idea whether the schools will be good or not, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I do know that my daughter will be going to school with kids in her neighborhood, and that was what we wanted for her. Thanks for all the information!

All I know is that when it is close to a hundred degrees outside, and you are bored out of your gourd at home watching your baby all day long--an airconditioned mall is a nice place to go. When we lived in Garden Oaks, we hung out at Memorial City Mall pretty often. Lots of moms from the Heights sought refuge there as well. We live in Fall Creek now, so it would be great if Greenspoint were renovated, because it is just down the road from us. But I probably wouldn't shop there too much until it got cooler. I much prefer the open-air "town-center" concept, but in August, the mall is the way to go! I wish Deerbrook would get a redo like Memorial City, but it is not too bad.

Thanks for the info. Sounds lilke Memorial has a lot to offer, but I'm not too keen on the snotty factor. Can't keep up with those Joneses. Guess it is too much to hope for a mostly middle class experience near the city. Seems like what you get is a mix of very rich and very poor. Oh, you did say south of I-10. Got my directions mixed up.

What villages are we talking about? Hilshire? That's too rich for my blood.

Huh...I didn't know they bussed to magnet schools. Something to consider.

Thanks for the suggestion. We are zoned to Garden Oaks elementary and Oak Forest in nearby. Choices nearby for middle and high schools get rough. We would have to be shuttling kids across town. Spring Valley is closer to here I work part time and downtown where my husband works, than the west side of Houston I think. I work at Gessner and Kempwood.

OK. Maybe it is a loaded question, but I welcome your feedback. My husband and I need more space for our growing family, but are still wrestling with the decision on whether to make the move out to the burbs. We are in HISD and can do the Vanguard/magnet thing, but kinda liked the idea of our kids growing up and going to school with the same bunch of kids. Spring Valley seemed like a good option because it is zoned to Valley Oaks, Spring Branch Middle and Memorial, and is still close in. We are not millionaires, and I want to raise a grounded kid. Are we out of our league here? Does anyone have experience with these schools? Of course, academically, Memorial is excellent. Valley Oaks is recognized and Spring Branch Middle got an acceptable score this year, although they have performed better in the past. Thanks!