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Future The Woodlands Downtown?


SpringTX

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He's right, you know. The Woodlands has every kind of white person you can imagine.

LOL :lol:

If only they had poor people, that would be a very valid criticism. Relative to the Houston MSA, The Woodlands CDP has only 14% as many black people as would be expected and 25% as many hispanic people as would be expected if it had an equal racial distribution. Even asians are at 72% of what'd be expected.

About 88% of Woodlanders speak English at home, as compared to 69% region-wide. Although they have a disproportionately large population of folks that speak other IndoEuropean languages at home, they only have 28% as many households that speak Spanish at home as might be expected if The Woodlands were as sociologically diverse as the region.

Only 9% of their population is aged between 25 and 35, as compared with 15% of the population, region-wide. That is to say, if The Woodlands were equally as sociologically diverse as the region, it would have 39% more persons of that age group living there. Big difference.

About 74% of Woodlands households are comprised of married couples where the couples are each present...the compares to 54% of households in the Houston MSA. The Woodlands has significant deficits of every other kind of household as defined by marital status.

37.3% of Woodlanders over the age of 25 do not have any post-secondary degrees. Region-wide, that figure is 68.03%. Once you factor out the 'Some College, non-degreed' category, the respective figures go to 15.6% versus 45.8%. Factor out the 'High School Diploma' category, and they go to 4.25% versus 22.98%. In order for The Woodlands to be considered equally as sociologically diverse as the region in terms of educational attainment, they'd need 5.4 times as many high school dropouts.

In terms of household income, the median annual income in The Woodlands is nearly TWO TIMES that of the median household income throughout the MSA, at $101k vs. $52k! This is socioeconomic diversity!? :blink: 27% of Woodlands households earn in excess of $150k per year whereas only 8% of households throughout the region earn $150k per year. That's 3.35 times as many households above that income threshold as would be expected if The Woodlands were indeed "a model for socioeconomic diversity!" :mellow:

Sadly, I could go on. ...and on. I could spend all day telling you how different Woodlanders are from non-Woodlanders, but I just don't have that luxury. I'll leave you with this bit of trivia: Woodlands residents that are employees of a firm are twice as likely to work from home as other employees throughout the region. Stuck behind the pine curtain. Insulated from the world.

Edited by TheNiche
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Thanks Red, we close in a few weeks. Hubby is so excited I'm afraid he'll pop a tent in the front yard until we close. ;)

Please remember that "popping a tent" means something completely different IN THE CITY than it does up in the burbs. :)

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LOL :lol:

If only they had poor people, that would be a very valid criticism. Relative to the Houston MSA, The Woodlands CDP has only 14% as many black people as would be expected and 25% as many hispanic people as would be expected if it had an equal racial distribution. Even asians are at 72% of what'd be expected.

About 88% of Woodlanders speak English at home, as compared to 69% region-wide. Although they have a disproportionately large population of folks that speak other IndoEuropean languages at home, they only have 28% as many households that speak Spanish at home as might be expected if The Woodlands were as sociologically diverse as the region.

Only 9% of their population is aged between 25 and 35, as compared with 15% of the population, region-wide. That is to say, if The Woodlands were equally as sociologically diverse as the region, it would have 39% more persons of that age group living there. Big difference.

About 74% of Woodlands households are comprised of married couples where the couples are each present...the compares to 54% of households in the Houston MSA. The Woodlands has significant deficits of every other kind of household as defined by marital status.

37.3% of Woodlanders over the age of 25 do not have any post-secondary degrees. Region-wide, that figure is 68.03%. Once you factor out the 'Some College, non-degreed' category, the respective figures go to 15.6% versus 45.8%. Factor out the 'High School Diploma' category, and they go to 4.25% versus 22.98%. In order for The Woodlands to be considered equally as sociologically diverse as the region in terms of educational attainment, they'd need 5.4 times as many high school dropouts.

In terms of household income, the median annual income in The Woodlands is nearly TWO TIMES that of the median household income throughout the MSA, at $101k vs. $52k! This is socioeconomic diversity!? :blink: 27% of Woodlands households earn in excess of $150k per year whereas only 8% of households throughout the region earn $150k per year. That's 3.35 times as many households above that income threshold as would be expected if The Woodlands were indeed "a model for socioeconomic diversity!" :mellow:

Sadly, I could go on. ...and on. I could spend all day telling you how different Woodlanders are from non-Woodlanders, but I just don't have that luxury. I'll leave you with this bit of trivia: Woodlands residents that are employees of a firm are twice as likely to work from home as other employees throughout the region. Stuck behind the pine curtain. Insulated from the world.

this proves that anecdotal evidence is moot. my circle of woodlanders are from every background and economic strata; not as racially diverse as being in the city, but varying degrees of education, income and differing religious backgrounds. i stand corrected........again.

also, your original comment compared the woodlands with cinco ranch and sugarland, yet you used regional figures when pointing out the differences in the woodlands socioeconomic and cultural division.

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also, your original comment compared the woodlands with cinco ranch and sugarland, yet you used regional figures when pointing out the differences in the woodlands socioeconomic and cultural division.

True. If I have time, I'll do that later tonight.

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my point being that Houston is quick to annex. STAY OUT!

I tend to disagree with this statement, in fact I think Houston has been extremely patient regarding annexation.

There are huge areas of upper middle class residential development in Northwest Harris County (FM 1960/Hwy 6 area) that must be very appealing, but the city has left it alone. Aside from Kingwood, the city also seems to have left many of the outlying master planned communities alone (for now)

All annexation is for is to gain more tax money. Why do I want to be annexed, have less than sufficient police, fire, water, and garbage pick up? Not to mention that the tax money will probably be used on funding rediculous projects that benefit nobody all the while my taxes go up. Oh yes, Houston annex us now! What a joke.

That is the exact point - in many cases Houston could gain more from increased tax revenue than the cost of providing services to these areas (at whatever level of quality). An appealing opportunity for the city!

I have always wondered why the unincorporated areas don't/haven't/can't organize into their own cities where they have local control. Is it due to the ETJ of Houston? Do these areas have any choice? If anyone knows, please let me know!

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I have always wondered why the unincorporated areas don't/haven't/can't organize into their own cities where they have local control. Is it due to the ETJ of Houston? Do these areas have any choice? If anyone knows, please let me know!

In order for an area within the ETJ of Houston to incorporate, it must get Houston's permission. Attempts at municipal incorporation certainly don't happen with frequency, so it is not a foregone conclusion that Houston would necessarily be against them. The only one I can think of is The Woodlands, where Houston recently demanded and will receive a $40 million payment for The Woodlands' right to incorporate.

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Patient? Ok, they've tried every chance they get. The Woodlands paid off The Woodlands back when Kingwood was annexed and pushed the threat off until the moratorium expires in 2011.

For the record, Houston didn't "Demand" anything. It was an agreement between the two to fund projects that benefit both. Nobody likes a bully which is why The Woodlands is trying desperately to incorporate before the moratorium expires.

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Patient? Ok, they've tried every chance they get. The Woodlands paid off The Woodlands back when Kingwood was annexed and pushed the threat off until the moratorium expires in 2011.

For the record, Houston didn't "Demand" anything. It was an agreement between the two to fund projects that benefit both. Nobody likes a bully which is why The Woodlands is trying desperately to incorporate before the moratorium expires.

It's actually $61 million. I suppose you could say Houston did not "demand" $61 million, but instead "agreed" to receive $61 million. Personally, I think Houston played it brilliantly. Extending the city limits to over 40 miles from downtown would be a logistical nightmare. Woodlands residents would be a constant obstruction to good city government. To use Woodlands vanity over the name of their neighborhood to pry $61 million out of their wallets, while Houston does nothing more than let the Woodlands become the overtaxed city that they claim to despise is nothing short of genius.

Let's face it. If Houston really wanted to annex the Woodlands, they would not have agreed to be bought off. But, by leaving the threat of annexation out there, they pocketed a nice chunk of change. If Woodlanders think that paying $800 per resident to not be called "Houston" is worth it, I got no problem with that. And, I can't wait till you guys figure out what it REALLY costs to run a city.

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when the tcid expands its taxation authority over the majority of the woodlands, many activities of the hoa's will be funded by this tax (a 1% and 2% sales & use tax, 7% hotel tax) and hoa fees will decrease. so, the people who spend more will pay more. i have not read or heard of any other tax.

from the houston chronicle:

Sales tax issues

One of the first orders of business will be identifying new sales tax revenues that will be generated. In addition to collecting sales taxes from village shopping centers and outlying strip centers, TCID will increase sales tax collections to two percent by creating of a community-wide economic development zone. The TCID now collects a one cent sales tax in Town Center, the Texas 242 business corridor and along parts of Research Forest. It collects two cents in the Market Street entertainment and retail complex, the Woodlands Mall outdoor expansion area, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and along the Texas 242 business corridor to fund public improvements.

The Town Center Improvement District will tackle that study by defining the new area of the expanded district, canvassing business in the new areas and verifying sales tax collection through the State Comptroller office, said Don Norrell, general manager of the Community Associations of The Woodlands.

Preliminary data is expected by spring, but final figures probably will not be available until August or September.

full story

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Don't worry wxman, Houston is not going to annex the woodlands. Woodlands residents don't think like Houstonians. They would be a drag on resources. We would regret it for the rest of our lives. The City merely wants to get paid for releasing its ETJ.

I think Houston should release its ETJ out here in Katy (both north and south of I-10).

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You see, people from Katy don't even want to be a part. It sounds like to me people in Houston are jealous of what we have up here.

And everybody on here makes The Woodlands seem so far away. 40 miles?? Way off. I drive to 59 (SW Frwy and the Belt) four days a week. From my driveway to DT (pierce elevated) is 28.6 miles. Distance is usually measured from town center to town center, the court house in particular.

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