Jump to content

Moving To Sugar Land From Georgia Need Help


EscapingGA2007

Recommended Posts

Hello there! My name is Tammi and I am new to this forum. I am actually new to all forums! My husband and I are in the process of deciding where we would like to move. We really, really do not like Atlanta, and we think we have settled on Sugar Land. I have fallen in love with Chelsea Harbor from what I can see in pictures and wanted to know if anyone could give me some insight on the neighborhood and the area. We do not have children now, but probably will within the next year or two. I have only been able to find basic info about the area on the internet. I would like some real life feedback. Can anyone, would anyone please oblige? Thanks so much! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello there! My name is Tammi and I am new to this forum. I am actually new to all forums! My husband and I are in the process of deciding where we would like to move. We really, really do not like Atlanta, and we think we have settled on Sugar Land. I have fallen in love with Chelsea Harbor from what I can see in pictures and wanted to know if anyone could give me some insight on the neighborhood and the area. We do not have children now, but probably will within the next year or two. I have only been able to find basic info about the area on the internet. I would like some real life feedback. Can anyone, would anyone please oblige? Thanks so much! :D

NO NO NO, DO NOT be decieved by Chelsea Harbors pics ! ! ! Those houses back right up to a very noisy Airport. No trees, don't be fooled. Look elswhere in Sugarland. For the money you are willing to spend, you can find a whole lot more for the money. I suggest that if you want to live in that area of Sugarland, try looking at New Territory, or Sweetwater across Hwy.59.

I just think you will be VERY dissapointed. I have seen the pictures also. It does look very appealing, but they ain't tellin the whole story it doesn't look ANYTHING like that off of FM1464. I used to live nearby, I won't jerk you around on this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello there! My name is Tammi and I am new to this forum. I am actually new to all forums! My husband and I are in the process of deciding where we would like to move. We really, really do not like Atlanta, and we think we have settled on Sugar Land. I have fallen in love with Chelsea Harbor from what I can see in pictures and wanted to know if anyone could give me some insight on the neighborhood and the area. We do not have children now, but probably will within the next year or two. I have only been able to find basic info about the area on the internet. I would like some real life feedback. Can anyone, would anyone please oblige? Thanks so much! :D

Well, by settling on Sugar Land you've made your first correct decision. As the 3rd best place to live in the US, it's a great town. I would agree with TJones in that you'd probably be happier on the SE side of HWY 59 (Southwest Freeway). It is much better planned, more mature, better schools, and closer to all the retail and restaurants that Sugar Land has to offer. Are you looking for only new homes? If so, you might look at Telfair or Riverstone. If you don't mind mature homes with trees (10-25 yrs old), look in First Colony or Commonwealth.

It's a great area with great access to Uptown and Downtown. Welcome to the forum and welcome to TX!

Why do you people make up new HAIF accounts and act like you are from somewhere else trying to move to Houston. If you are real I apologize.

What would be the impetus for doing this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why do you people make up new HAIF accounts and act like you are from somewhere else trying to move to Houston. If you are real I apologize.

Geez we have a tough crowd here. The post is from out-of-state, so there is no reason to think it isn't legitimate.

Tammi welcome to Houston and HAIF.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello there! My name is Tammi and I am new to this forum. I am actually new to all forums! My husband and I are in the process of deciding where we would like to move. We really, really do not like Atlanta, and we think we have settled on Sugar Land. I have fallen in love with Chelsea Harbor from what I can see in pictures and wanted to know if anyone could give me some insight on the neighborhood and the area. We do not have children now, but probably will within the next year or two. I have only been able to find basic info about the area on the internet. I would like some real life feedback. Can anyone, would anyone please oblige? Thanks so much! :D

Don't mind citykid09. I'm not sure what's gotten into him (maybe he's from Atlanta, I don't know), but most of us don't snap at folks like that.

I'd suggest that you rent an apartment on a month-to-month basis in the Sugar Land area for as long as it takes for you to find a place that you really like, to gain an appreciation for the rest of Houston, and to settle into jobs. It'd be terrible if you ended up buying a place in Sugar Land only to find that one of you will end up working in The Woodlands and the other will work in Greenspoint. Renting for a brief period also gives you a chance to get some hands-on experience with various neighborhoods.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd suggest that you rent an apartment on a month-to-month basis in the Sugar Land area for as long as it takes for you to find a place that you really like, to gain an appreciation for the rest of Houston, and to settle into jobs. It'd be terrible if you ended up buying a place in Sugar Land only to find that one of you will end up working in The Woodlands and the other work in Greenspoint. Renting for a brief period also gives you a chance to get some hands-on experience with various neighborhoods.

This is always the most solid advice for anyone moving to Houston.

I live further north on FM1464, just south of the Westpark Tollway in West Oaks Village. I spent a lot of time looking around the greater Sugar Land metro area before we settled on WOV. I can back TJones up that the homes look good in photos, but in real life it looks like a cookie cutter Miami inspired (stucco with Spanish tile) subdivision. There is no greenery as the subdivision was built on a cow pasture immediately southwest of the Sugar Land Regional Airport just a few years ago. Also with in walking distance (through fields) is the Texas Department of Corrections, where an inmate escaped just a few weeks ago.

Finally, the worst feature of this subdivision (at least in my opinion) are the "lakes" that the homes sit on. They are actually ditches (no, I'm not kidding or exaggerating) maybe 100 feet wide. You're right on top of your backside neighbor. Also, all the houses have iron fences instead of wood fences. So there is ZERO back yard privacy. The waterway is about 20 house long and two house wide. So there isn't even the illusion that you live on a lake front. More like you share a small duck pond (with no ducks) with about 40 neighbors.

DO NOT BUY HERE. The greater Houston area has so many better neighborhoods to consider before this one. Do the forum a favor and tell us your budget and what about Sugar Land caught your eye. Also let us know your absolutes (schools, commute, pedestrian friendly, etc etc). Then we can help provide suggestions for that area, or even similar areas in other parts of the city. In the meantime, you can try HAR.com. About 70% of all real estate in the Houston metro area is listed here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why do you people make up new HAIF accounts and act like you are from somewhere else trying to move to Houston. If you are real I apologize.

Who are you suggesting that "EscapingGeorgia" is then citykid09, or is citykid your REAL persona, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NO NO NO, DO NOT be decieved by Chelsea Harbors pics ! ! ! Those houses back right up to a very noisy Airport. No trees, don't be fooled. Look elswhere in Sugarland. For the money you are willing to spend, you can find a whole lot more for the money. I suggest that if you want to live in that area of Sugarland, try looking at New Territory, or Sweetwater across Hwy.59.

I just think you will be VERY dissapointed. I have seen the pictures also. It does look very appealing, but they ain't tellin the whole story it doesn't look ANYTHING like that off of FM1464. I used to live nearby, I won't jerk you around on this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you (most of you ;) ) for the advice. For those of you who doubt me (you know who you are), I live just north of Atlanta, still in the metro area, still in the traffic, and the crap that IS Atlanta.

We are still in the investigatory stages of changing states, so this has been very enlightening. I must say that I am very disappointed about Chelsea Harbor, but glad to find out now instead of later. Thank you.

Now for more detail so we can dig in a bit more. We are looking for something up to the 300K range, we love the water so we would like something with a real lake (that is what attracted me to Chelsea Harbor at first), and like any potential parents we would like to be in a good school district, but we do not have any children yet. We like a nice quiet neighborhood where you can go for a walk but you are not stacked on top of the houses next door and the back yard is big enough and private enough for a pool. We live in a 30 year old house now, so we would really like a newer home this time and we want to be out of the city. The thing is, we don't know yet where my husband will be working. I will probably work for the company I work for now, just from home and a lot further away. I hope that has given enough detail that you guys can make some more suggestions. I will check into the ones you have already given me this weekend.

I know we will be dealing with traffic no matter where we go, but it seems that the drivers in Altanta are more stupid than anywhere else in the Unites States. I work 20 miles from home and it takes me an hour to an hour and 15 minutes every day to get to work. Somehow that just doesn't seem right.Summer is not quite as bad. It only takes 45 minutes then. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you (most of you ;) ) for the advice. For those of you who doubt me (you know who you are), I live just north of Atlanta, still in the metro area, still in the traffic, and the crap that IS Atlanta.

We are still in the investigatory stages of changing states, so this has been very enlightening. I must say that I am very disappointed about Chelsea Harbor, but glad to find out now instead of later. Thank you.

Now for more detail so we can dig in a bit more. We are looking for something up to the 300K range, we love the water so we would like something with a real lake (that is what attracted me to Chelsea Harbor at first), and like any potential parents we would like to be in a good school district, but we do not have any children yet. We like a nice quiet neighborhood where you can go for a walk but you are not stacked on top of the houses next door and the back yard is big enough and private enough for a pool. We live in a 30 year old house now, so we would really like a newer home this time and we want to be out of the city. The thing is, we don't know yet where my husband will be working. I will probably work for the company I work for now, just from home and a lot further away. I hope that has given enough detail that you guys can make some more suggestions. I will check into the ones you have already given me this weekend.

I know we will be dealing with traffic no matter where we go, but it seems that the drivers in Altanta are more stupid than anywhere else in the Unites States. I work 20 miles from home and it takes me an hour to an hour and 15 minutes every day to get to work. Somehow that just doesn't seem right.Summer is not quite as bad. It only takes 45 minutes then. :P

If I was you I would look into Pearland better schools then Sugar Land. Major airport only 5 minutes away and you will be closer to Downtown and the Medical Center and only 20 minutes from the beach in Galveston.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I was you I would look into Pearland better schools then Sugar Land. Major airport only 5 minutes away and you will be closer to Downtown and the Medical Center and only 20 minutes from the beach in Galveston.

I'd have to disagree with this post. I think you'd be happier in Sugar Land, a much more established town, not just sprawl. Additionally, Sugar Land already has updated roads and highways, something that has yet to happen in Pearland where it is quickly becoming more congested.

Now, back to Sugar Land. Most if not all of the lakes out here are manmade for the subdivisions. You can't get a boat on them. However, you'll find plenty of options in your price range. Fort Bend ISD is one of the best in the area and if you stay in the Clements HS zone you won't be disappointed. It's one of the best in the city and is known as a feeder school to the big universities in the state. Most homes are 25 years old or younger, for the newest homes go to Telfair, Riverstone, Waterside Estates (further out on Hwy 99), Grand Lakes (further out on Hwy 99), or Sienna Plantation (further east on Hwy 6).

Let us know what else we can tell you. Do you want to be near retail? Highways? etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get a bungalow in Montrose, the Heights, or Bellaire, send your kids to HISD magnet schools... but that's just me, and is nothing close to your stated interests. :) But try it, you might like it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have lived in the area for more than 13 years and loved it. In our work we travel on average 300 miles per week around Houston and Sugar Land. As long as you are not in peak drive time Sugar Land provides is best access to the main attractions of the city. For instance; 25 mins to the baseball stadium, basketball arena, downtown and convention center, 18 mins to the Galleria, 45 mins to Kemah (water front boardwalk) and 80 mins to Galveston. Since the opening of the Sugar Land Town Square, a much more livley commercial district has developed. Regular community events are held at this great city center piece. Is it NY or LA no. But crime? None. Golf? Yes. 4.5 star dinning? Yes. Class A Retail? Yes. Great Schools? Yes And you are still a short drive to all the features that the 4th largest city in America offers.

Click Here..... Sugar Land Relocation for the Latest Information on Sugar Land

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd have to disagree with this post. I think you'd be happier in Sugar Land, a much more established town, not just sprawl. Additionally, Sugar Land already has updated roads and highways, something that has yet to happen in Pearland where it is quickly becoming more congested.

Now, back to Sugar Land. Most if not all of the lakes out here are manmade for the subdivisions. You can't get a boat on them. However, you'll find plenty of options in your price range. Fort Bend ISD is one of the best in the area and if you stay in the Clements HS zone you won't be disappointed. It's one of the best in the city and is known as a feeder school to the big universities in the state. Most homes are 25 years old or younger, for the newest homes go to Telfair, Riverstone, Waterside Estates (further out on Hwy 99), Grand Lakes (further out on Hwy 99), or Sienna Plantation (further east on Hwy 6).

Let us know what else we can tell you. Do you want to be near retail? Highways? etc.

I thought waterside estates, grandlakes is considered south Katy area already.

And sienna plantation missouri city

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing is, we don't know yet where my husband will be working. I will probably work for the company I work for now, just from home and a lot further away. I hope that has given enough detail that you guys can make some more suggestions. I will check into the ones you have already given me this weekend.

My advice to you is still the same. Rent month-to-month and spend a lot of time in your car on nights and weekends looking for the best spot. There are a lot of out-of-the-way nooks and crannies in this area that I'd live in in a heartbeat, but that aren't even bareably close to where I work.

If you need to get a sense of where the better demographics are, go to this website and download some household income and density maps. A lot has changed in seven years, but mostly for the better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you (most of you ;) ) for the advice. For those of you who doubt me (you know who you are), I live just north of Atlanta, still in the metro area, still in the traffic, and the crap that IS Atlanta.

We are still in the investigatory stages of changing states, so this has been very enlightening. I must say that I am very disappointed about Chelsea Harbor, but glad to find out now instead of later. Thank you.

Now for more detail so we can dig in a bit more. We are looking for something up to the 300K range

There are excelent properties within that range that are not in the sterility of a SugarLand

we love the water so we would like something with a real lake (that is what attracted me to Chelsea Harbor at first),

You'll have to go elsewhere as most lakes in Texas are man-made

and like any potential parents we would like to be in a good school district, but we do not have any children yet. We like a nice quiet neighborhood where you can go for a walk but you are not stacked on top of the houses next door and the back yard is big enough and private enough for a pool.

Look at Garden Oaks. The lots are huge and the streets and parks are built for walking. It also affords freeway free access to DT, TMC, Greenway and the Galeria

We live in a 30 year old house now, so we would really like a newer home this time and we want to be out of the city.

Why would you want to be out of a city that has more cultural amenities than Atlanta ever will have?

The thing is, we don't know yet where my husband will be working. I will probably work for the company I work for now, just from home and a lot further away. I hope that has given enough detail that you guys can make some more suggestions. I will check into the ones you have already given me this weekend.

Well, since you don't want to live in the city, I suggest The Woodlands. Even though it is in "the city" it is much more sterile in that you won't be exposed to as much diversity. On the other hand, your future children will probably have greater access to drugs and sex. It's just the dominate Sugarland/Woodlands culture.

I know we will be dealing with traffic no matter where we go, but it seems that the drivers in Altanta are more stupid than anywhere else in the Unites States. I work 20 miles from home and it takes me an hour to an hour and 15 minutes every day to get to work. Somehow that just doesn't seem right.Summer is not quite as bad. It only takes 45 minutes then. :P

No different here. We have the worst drivers and some of the longest commutes.

In any event, welcome to Houston. Travel the city and experience the diversity before you settle on a location. You may be pleasently surprised by the quality of life available for you and your future kids.

B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't mind nmainguy's cynicism. He's just an urbanist partisan. Take a look at the data, become familiar with the areas that you prefer, figure out where you'll be working, and make your own decisions.

Ditto. nmainguy forgets that there are people with other interests than him and that it's ok.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was being serious when I suggested Montrose/Heights/Bellaire. Houston has some really fantastic in-town neighborhoods of single family homes. Many people who break out of the suburban mindset and move into the city don't regret it at all. Your kids will be exposed to a much richer environment that afford them many more opportunities than some cul de sac in the middle of nowhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was being serious when I suggested Montrose/Heights/Bellaire. Houston has some really fantastic in-town neighborhoods of single family homes. Many people who break out of the suburban mindset and move into the city don't regret it at all. Your kids will be exposed to a much richer environment that afford them many more opportunities than some cul de sac in the middle of nowhere.

Rich like a king or rich like a big chunk of quintuple chocolate cake that tastes great but makes you dehydrated? I don't know that I'd want to raise kids in Montrose, although the Heights or Bellaire seem far more kid-friendly. Unfortunately, $300k will get you nowhere as far as new construction in Bellaire or the Heights.

My personal preference would be a good solid middle-of-the road kind of school district. Parents tend to be the deciding factor for their kids' success anyway, so I'd prefer to send them to an environment where they're safer on the one hand, and not in classes designed to ensure the success of the lowest common denominators of society, but also not crushed by competitive pressures. Compare Milby or Wheatly HS in HISD to anything in the Clear Creek ISD as an example of the extremes. I'd prefer a place more like a La Porte or Dickinson ISD, where there's a good mix of every kind of person and a good selection of neighborhoods as well, but also a greater sense of familiarity and community, which I think is lacking in urban areas where anonymity often prevails just as much as it does where there are overwhelming concentrations of alike suburbs.

I doubt that my preferences would be reflected in the folks moving from ATL, but that's my two cents, at least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rich like a king or rich like a big chunk of quintuple chocolate cake that tastes great but makes you dehydrated? I don't know that I'd want to raise kids in Montrose, although the Heights or Bellaire seem far more kid-friendly. Unfortunately, $300k will get you nowhere as far as new construction in Bellaire or the Heights.

My personal preference would be a good solid middle-of-the road kind of school district. Parents tend to be the deciding factor for their kids' success anyway, so I'd prefer to send them to an environment where they're safer on the one hand, and not in classes designed to ensure the success of the lowest common denominators of society, but also not crushed by competitive pressures. Compare Milby or Wheatly HS in HISD to anything in the Clear Creek ISD as an example of the extremes. I'd prefer a place more like a La Porte or Dickinson ISD, where there's a good mix of every kind of person and a good selection of neighborhoods as well, but also a greater sense of familiarity and community, which I think is lacking in urban areas where anonymity often prevails just as much as it does where there are overwhelming concentrations of alike suburbs.

I doubt that my preferences would be reflected in the folks moving from ATL, but that's my two cents, at least.

Why does everyone assume that the suburbs are far better places to raise a family than the city? It isn't like the Inner Loop is Midtown Manhattan. There are plenty of places with yards and houses with more than enough room (especially for a family WITHOUT KIDS at the time being). AND, you can find plenty for under $300,000. Of course, few will be new construction but I'd take a well-built older house over any of the new cheap-assed crap that rises overnight on the plains.

Also, there are plenty of schools in HISD that I would much rather attend than Fort Bend ISD. And, your kids will have EASY access to the museums, arts, public parks, transportation, library system at various universities, and all the other cultural things that are lacking in the suburbs.

I find it curious that the original poster complained about suburban Atlanta and wanted to get away from the horrible commutes but is now looking at Fort Bend County before she even knows where her husband will work. If you hated northern Atlanta, you'll hate far Southwest Houston for all the SAME REASONS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ditto. nmainguy forgets that there are people with other interests than him and that it's ok.

I have no need to address any of The Pedant's babeling but you apparently have the ability to read minds! Except this time you missread. I'm always aware there are people with other intrests and that it's as OK for them as it is for me to offer alternatives to poorly built homes in poorly planned communities with time-wasting commutes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why does everyone assume that the suburbs are far better places to raise a family than the city? It isn't like the Inner Loop is Midtown Manhattan. There are plenty of places with yards and houses with more than enough room (especially for a family WITHOUT KIDS at the time being). AND, you can find plenty for under $300,000. Of course, few will be new construction but I'd take a well-built older house over any of the new cheap-assed crap that rises overnight on the plains.

Also, there are plenty of schools in HISD that I would much rather attend than Fort Bend ISD. And, your kids will have EASY access to the museums, arts, public parks, transportation, library system at various universities, and all the other cultural things that are lacking in the suburbs.

Parts of the inner loop have seriously bad schools (like just about anything east of 288 or 45). In other parts, there's too great a perponderance of cash, portions that are holdouts from before gentrification or from neighborhoods where the process hasn't yet begun, and a dearth of students from middle-income backgrounds. ...and elementary schools draw from so small of neighborhoods that in most cases, the kid would be amongst a very uniform demographic from an early age. That sounds like fertile ground for cliquish subcultures. ...and then there's the sense of anonymity, especially at the middle or high school level.

Amenities like museums, arts, university library systems, and other cultural venues are within a short drive if they become necessary, but frankly...who takes their kid to go see a production of Madame Butterfly? Who takes their kid to the Menil? And who at all goes the UH library, when their assortment of books is so gawdawful and dated? And to those that do take their kids to such venues, there is a car and a freeway. No big deal, since it'd only be a now-and-then thing anyway. For the most part, the nearest B&N store will suffice for high culture.

...and amenities such as public parks and transportation are flat out better in the burbs, especially if you work there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

but frankly...who takes their kid to go see a production of Madame Butterfly? Who takes their kid to the Menil? And who at all goes the UH library, when their assortment of books is so gawdawful and dated?

I was exposed to all of those things and more.. plays, opera, all the museums, the libraries, the parks, art movies, the architecture of Houston and Galveston, etc. And I still lived an hour away but had a family who really cared about their kids having proper cultural experiences when they were young. If they hadn't, and I didn't live close enough, I would have just been "sorry, out of luck."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was exposed to all of those things and more.. plays, opera, all the museums, the libraries, the parks, art movies, the architecture of Houston and Galveston, etc. And I still lived an hour away but had a family who really cared about their kids having proper cultural experiences when they were young. If they hadn't, and I didn't live close enough, I would have just been "sorry, out of luck."

My parents tried to expose me to that stuff every time that we'd emerge from the abyss that was McAllen, but I resisted on all fronts but the architectural, so they pretty much stopped. You must've been very well-behaved. Makes me wonder how that came about...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...