Commute From The Woodlands To Downtown?

[Observer]

Hello folks, hope you can help!

I keep hearing the morning commute from the Woodlands

to downtown Houston is "very long" and then in the same

breath, someone mentions a time of 35 minutes.

Where I'm from (NY City area), a 35 minute commute is

abnormally short, with the average commute into the city

at about 1 hour.

So, how long is the commute from the Woodlands into downtown

Houston?

Since it probably varies, any estimates for the following departure

times from the Woodlands:

6:00AM

7:00AM

8:00AM

9:00AM

Also, how about at night, say leaving the Woodlands at 8:00PM?

I'm headed to Houston next week to look at some homes, and have

been considering the Woodlands, and Clear Lake (I like that it's

near the water, but hear that commute is quite long?).

Aside from comute time, other Houston things I've been curious

about are "the unbearably hot summers" and floods. Anyone have

thoughts on these two items?

Is the Woodlands in general out of a flood area?

Thanks!

[skwatra]

So, how long is the commute from the Woodlands into downtown

Houston?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

check out houston transtar to get an idea. it's a real time traffic map that's very accurate. you can get online and check it out during rush hour. you can use the route builder or speed reports to estimate times. or you can also go to historical data and look at the averages for 2003. though 45N has been expanded since then. i'm sure there's someone here that actually does the commute, i personally don't.

clear lake is closer to downtown by several miles (30 minutes or so, 45 during rush hour depending on where you are), and closer to most of the places i go like medical center, rice area, galleria, etc.

i would just check out both places, they're pretty different.

don't know about flood plains, never had any problems in clear lake. roads flood every once and a while, but it recedes rather quickly.

let me know if you have any questions about clear lake. don't know much about the woodlands except its newer and nicer. though there are some new neighborhoods in south shore harbour that are incredible (across the lake from clear lake, even farther out).

har.com for housing if you haven't been there already.

[kzseattle]

Hello folks, hope you can help!

I keep hearing the morning commute from the Woodlands

to downtown Houston is "very long" and then in the same

breath, someone mentions a time of 35 minutes.

Where I'm from (NY City area), a 35 minute commute is

abnormally short, with the average commute into the city

at about 1 hour.

So, how long is the commute from the Woodlands into downtown

Houston?

Since it probably varies, any estimates for the following departure

times from the Woodlands:

  6:00AM

  7:00AM

  8:00AM

  9:00AM

Also, how about at night, say leaving the Woodlands at 8:00PM?

I'm headed to Houston next week to look at some homes, and have

been considering the Woodlands, and Clear Lake (I like that it's

near the water, but hear that commute is quite long?).

Aside from comute time, other Houston things I've been curious

about are "the unbearably hot summers" and floods. Anyone have

thoughts on these two items?

Is the Woodlands in general out of a flood area?

Thanks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Never been to Clear Lake. Woodlands is nice. It reminds of nicer 'burbs around Seattle except, of course, there are no hills. Many people from California and NY have been moving down there. My guess is that the commute to DT is about 35-40 minutes. It should definitely be less than 1 hour.

I moved from Seattle about 5 months ago so haven

[pineda]

Comeback to "Houston's just too hot and humid":

The heat surely beats snow and ice, plus the humidity is good for your skin!

[MidtownCoog]

It should definitely be less than 1 hour.

Man, it takes some people in The Woodlands 20 minutes just to get to I-45/Hardy Toll Road. I guess you assume they live at the mall.

I lived in Midtown and took the Hardy to The Woodlands everday. Even with zero traffic, it still took 45 minutes to get to Research Forest Drive @ New Trails.

[MidtownCoog]

"the unbearably hot summers"

The Summer is actually when it's less humid and fells nice IMHO. We get rain, unlike certain North Texas dust bowls.

What you have to watch out for is the humid Octobers. Now THOSE are hard to deal with.

[Trophy Property]

Man, it takes some people in The Woodlands 20 minutes just to get to I-45/Hardy Toll Road.  I guess you assume they live at the mall. 

I lived in Midtown and took the Hardy to The Woodlands everday.  Even with zero traffic, it still took 45 minutes to get to Research Forest Drive @ New Trails.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I was out there a few weeks ago. On a Sunday from Midtown it took me 45 minutest to get there. There is no way to make it in 35 minutes during the week. People always exaggerat downwards the commute. When it takes them 45 minutes they seem to round that down to 25-35 minutes. Its like they are telling us their commute is not so bad.

[kjb434]

Even at 45min it's not bad. Especially if you are some moving from New York or Los Angeles where a 1 hour commute is a good thing.

[Trophy Property]

Even at 45min it's not bad.  Especially if you are some moving from New York or Los Angeles where a 1 hour commute is a good thing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that is true. at my old job I had a boss who worked out of NYC but lived in Philly. He would take the train in each morning and back home each evening. he worked from home about 2 days a week. I think he was on a train 3-4 hours each day. He was wired with all the latest gadgets and he would make a lot of calls from the train. I also cringed when he called because I knew he was bored and would drill me for as long as possible. he is not the reason I left.

[MidtownCoog]

My co-workers in London take 1.5 hours to get to work, and that's using a combo of car, train and tube.

Makes Houston look pretty good IMHO.

[kjb434]

I've always though that people complaining of Houston's traffic have no good leg to stand on. Our traffic is some of the best around the country is not the world. Dallas isn't that bad either. For the size of out cities (population and land area), we should be experiencing much worse traffic.

After the Katy Freeway project, US 290 needs to be upgraded and Houston will be doing fine.

[westguy]

It can take people in the Woodlands 20 minutes just to reach the fronts of their additions.

[bachanon]

i live in grogan's mill near woodlands parkway and grogan's mill drive. it takes about 40 minutes to get downtown when not in rush hour.

[LTAWACS]

I would not consider moving so far out. Move to downtown or the like.

[f95kai]

I can't comment on the commute to downtown, but the intra-Woodlands commute (i.e. getting from Cochran's Crossing and beyond to the freeway) can be a delicate flower.

Luckily, I live right around the corner from bachanon, that is in Grogan's Mill, where the freeway, mall, Cynthia Woods pavilion, Waterway and pretty much any place you would ever want to spend any amount of time in the Woodlands is at your fingertips.

As for floods: Only in Timber Ridge/Timber Lakes. The Woodlands proper have an excellent irrigation system.

Choose the Woodlands!

[kzseattle]

i live in grogan's mill near woodlands parkway and grogan's mill drive.  it takes about 40 minutes to get downtown when not in rush hour.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One of my colleagues live in Woodlands and he drives during the rush hours. He says it takes him about 40-45 minutes. I haven't driven there during rush hours so I cant sure for sure exactly how long it is but the number I usually hear is 45 minutes.

[kjb434]

An Timber Ridge/Timber Lakes is some of the older parts isn't it?

It may even preceded the actual Woodlands Development.

[bachanon]

timber ridge/timber lakes is not a part of the woodlands development.

[Observer]

Thanks for the great replies!

So, to sum up:

• Commute time during rush hour: One hour?
  
• Floods: Not a problem.
  
• Hot weather: Similar to Miami?
  

I've been hearing so much whining and criticism about Houston's

"nasty traffic," and "unbearably hot weather," so it's good to hear

some different perspectives.

I'm thinking we should live in an apartment complex for awhile, before

deciding on the Woodlands, or elsewhere.

Does anyone know of an apartment complex near the Woodlands,

or another nice community? We're more into suburbs than city

life -- a quiet community with easy access to stores and downtown

Houston would be ideal.

Thanks again!

[Observer]

It can take people in the Woodlands 20 minutes just to reach the fronts of their additions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL

[kzseattle]

LOL 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, Woodlands is pretty big so it can take that long.

I suggest that you find an apartment first and explore the area. Perhaps, you like some other area. By the way, dont assume that Woodlands and Clear Lake are the only nice areas. There are many other communities such as Sienna Plantation in the south west near Sugar Land, Glenloch Farms in the north west, Cinco ranch in the west, Kingwood in the north east and Pearland/Clear Lake in the south east. I think Woodlands is a bit more expensive among all of these. Kingwood, by the way, is very similar to Woodlands and commute is probably similar. Aside from these, there are many other communities. Of course, if you don

[kjb434]

yeah, the beltway (or raceway) is very quick when needing to move around different areas of the metro.

[rps324]

One thing Woodlands has going for it commute wise is the Hardy Autobahn, I mean toll road.

[kzseattle]

The apartment is your best bet, so that you can explore and find what suites you.

Also, have you ever lived anywhere down here in the south? If not, you might be surprised that all the whining about the heat isn't unfounded. You can't say I didn't warn you...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We surely cannot deny that it is going to get uncomfortably hot over here. However, I guess what I was trying to say was that it would be unfair to whine only about Houston's heat as if every other place is Hawaii or Palm Beach. We have often complained about it on this forum that why is it that when people outside of Houston think about this city, the first things that come to their minds are traffic and heat when there are many other cities having the same issues.

Hey 27, this is going to be my first summer in Houston. You are already scaring me man!

Here is a link to brief descriptions of many neighborhoods around Houston. This doesn't meant that every neighborhood mentioned here is nice. It should give you some idea and if a particular neighborhood interest you, you can always ask about it here.

http://www.heritagetexas.com/relocation/Ho...ommunities.htm#

Here is another site with similar information but lists fewer neighborhoods. Most of the neighborhoods listed in this one, except Alief/Sharpstown, are considered nice.

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/bus...a/overview.html

By the way, some of the information here is a bit old.

[bachanon]

one thing i've noticed (i'm a native houstonian) is that when i spend time in the yard or walking outside in the morning heat during the worst days of summers, the ac can get a little too cold and outside becomes more bearable. make a point to spend some time sweating it out early in the day and your body temp will adjust (somewhat) and help you tolerate the hotter days more easily. people who are inside all the time have a more difficult time with august and september. don't get hooked on ac or the heat will be miserable.

one other thing to you newbies, WATER!, white/bright clothing and auto. skip the cold beer and soft drinks after may, too dehydrating.

[Guest danax]

Even at 45min it's not bad.  Especially if you are some moving from New York or Los Angeles where a 1 hour commute is a good thing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not bragging but I love my 15 min. commute. I have had a Spring to Heights commute and it took 45 min to an hour and by the time I'm home, I really don't feel like doing anything for some reason, whereas with the 15 min hop, I am ready to get some things done. I don't know if just the extra driving combined with traffic drains one's momentum or what.

[Observer]

Thanks again for all the great info and insights!

I'm going to print this entire thread before we leave for Houston.

How about home appreciation in the Houston area, have homes

consistently increased in value over the last 5 years or so? It

seems the Woodlands has a high appreciation rate, is this correct?

Also, in general, how is the Houston job market? I'm in high tech

(Java application development), and there seem to be a decent

amount of Houston area jobs listed on monster.com.

[travelguy_73]

In general (there are always exceptions) homes in Houston--or anywhere in the sprawling south for that matter--don't appreciate nearly as fast as on the east and west coast. the amount of housing stock and lack of geographical barriers to prevent sprawl keep prices/values in check. With that said, if there is a pop in the real estate bubble, then conventional wisdom says Houston will be spared and prices/values should not take a hit.

Real estate junkies can probably comment on the appreciation of suburb vs inner loop, but in my experience the inner loop will always win the appreciation race because of limited land supply. Of course, the price of entry is higher to begin with--pick your poison!

Oh, and keep in mind that when compared to older parts of the country like the NE, Houston is just one big suburb (I'm from Scarsdale, I know ). Don't think that when we say 'urban' we mean urban in the NY or BOS sense. I live 4 miles from downtown and have a 7k sq ft lot in a quiet deed restricted neighborhood. That would be next to impossible anywhere up north.

[Trophy Property]

In general (there are always exceptions) homes in Houston--or anywhere in the sprawling south for that matter--don't appreciate nearly as fast as on the east and west coast.  the amount of housing stock and lack of geographical barriers to prevent sprawl keep prices/values in check.  With that said, if there is a pop in the real estate bubble, then conventional wisdom says Houston will be spared and prices/values should not take a hit.

Real estate junkies can probably comment on the appreciation of suburb vs inner loop, but in my experience the inner loop will always win the appreciation race because of limited land supply.  Of course, the price of entry is higher to begin with--pick your poison!

Oh, and keep in mind that when compared to older parts of the country like the NE, Houston is just one big suburb (I'm from Scarsdale, I know ).  Don't think that when we say 'urban' we mean urban in the NY  or BOS sense.  I live 4 miles from downtown and have a 7k sq ft lot in a quiet deed restricted neighborhood.  That would be next to impossible anywhere up north.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Another issue that I believe helps keep Houston Houses from massive appreciation is the high level of property taxes. If I lived in other parts of the contry where taxes are about 1% I could afford nearly twice the house. If our property taxes were lower people would be able to afford much more house.

[travelguy_73]

True that! Another thread should be started on what impact potential school property tax relief will have on home values. In my experience, people can afford a certain amount each month for housing--whether that is all mortgage, all rent, all tax, etc., isn't important as long as the final number matches up to what is affordable.