Hello.
Here's my question really...I've been talking with a lot of people from Houston (not on Dave's yet)....who have told me old neighborhood or new I'd likely have an IMPOSSIBLE time finding a neighborhood without an HOA?! Is this the norm in Houston? And what kind of amenities can one expect?
I pay $125 a year in Converse for ours with NO amenities and no master community planned for kiddo's to have fun (pool, park, etc). I find the whole thought of it disheartening but I'll feel better if I know it is the norm and there's no way around it.
I should say...not looking to live IN Houston city limits but looking at N and W of there...Katy/Spring, etc.
This message was edited Nov 14, 2006 1:25 PM
Moving to Houston....(Hoa's?)
You already know what I think,Tir_Na_Nog. Katy is great!
Ann
=) Thanks Ann! I did hear thought that you'd want to stay S of I-10 or further west in Katy as the other parts are bad.
But I've heard you will have an HOA in ANY Houston neighborhood and I've heard this from about 5 Houstonians.
Can anyone recommend a link with neighborhood maps of Houston marked on there that's pretty easy to read. I keep looking up homes and then I'm not sure where the neighborhood is per say.
The Woodlands is north of Houston, it's really nice; paved bike paths, neighborhood parks, pools, great schools, HOA's that do a good job, I don't know if you want the commute.
fly_girl...you are a great commercial for The Woodlands! Isn't Spring sorta close to that? That's come highly recommended...and told it's quite a bit cheaper as well. I bet your area is gorgeous!
Lol....TNN, it really is beautiful here, you should just take a look before you buy, Spring is close too. The Woodlands is most definitely a planned community.
Oh we'll drive through the area for sure. Just "looking" for now....our house here to go on the market today and don't know how long it will be before it sells....don't want to get "set" on any particular replacement house until I close and have cash in hand. =)
You should be able to get a good map of Houston in SA at Barnes & Nobles or similar places. Don't know if those maps show what the neighborhoods on it are called, however. Do you HAVE to move (enquiring minds want to know)?
Housing costs are the same as here (not sure on the taxes) so it's well worth moving considering the job offer DH got. It's incredible and we can't pass it up. =)
We don't want to live in Houston city limits per say...we know all to well about the traffic! WOW!
Even north of Katy there are some very nice neighborhoods. Either the Woodlands and Spring would be a really nasty commute all the way out to Katy. You could look father west near Brookshire or Fulshear if you wanted to live more in the country.
This map is ok, but I'll keep looking for a better one. http://www.houstonareaweb.com/neighborhoods/
Here's a nice website about Houston. They'll mail you an info packet including maps (and probably coupons, which is always a good thing! :-D) for $3. http://www.hereishouston.com/
Hey - I thought you were moving to the Northeast ;)
ROFL bigcityal....if you'll remember I said it would be awhile before I could get up there to the mid-Atlantic (I stand corrected...NOT the NE). =) I still love MD area but DH has some schooling to do first...and a better job offer in the meantime sure helps out!
Thanks Marylyn...I'll check out that map.
Nice wikipedia article about Houston neighborhoods, with links at the bottom for different ones: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_and_communities_of_Houston
Here is a map of the school districts. That might help more than a lot of the other maps: http://www.hcad.org/maps/
Marylyn,
You are just the best. I look forward to meeting you at a Bryan/CS Roundup or something in the future. =)
I'm looking forward to meeting you, too. Maybe we (and any/all of the rest of the Houston DG family) can go nursery hopping for plants for your new place when you get here! :-)
oh sweet!!! looking forward to the increase of rain for my garden. do i need to worry about some areas flooding???
Flood maps of the area: http://www.efloodmap.com/
We like this stuff, can you tell? :-)
you are a wealth of info...thanks for all your searches!!!!
no floods in WI = frozen tundra
I knew it was one of those states around MD.
Hey Marylyn - my brother in Janesville is moving to Haiti - making you Houston's look soft ;)
I'm from the frozen tundra of Michigan. ROFL!
I think you are on the run or lost ;)
hehe...i much prefer the south.
Hi, Al!!! :-) Haiti, huh... That would be quite a change from Janesville! :-)
I've lived in Wisconsin and although it is VERY pretty, it's way too close to the frozen tundra for me. It does flood occasionally, though.. About 12 (??) years ago, my uncle took some videos of the aftermath of a nasty flood in the Clinton/Beloit area. Railroads were washed away and one HUGE(!!!) culvert was completely washed out from under a road in a big flash flood. Very nasty.
DDH is a native of Green Bay but came here in 53 in search of NO snow and found it so stayed for all these many years.
Tir etc, I don't know how you got the idea I was south of I-10. Definitely North of I-10 in mailing zone Houston, but considered Katy Area, if that makes any sense to anyone. Yes, we have a HOA and that's not bad here. The assoc. doesn't get into our lives too much and sometimes I wish they would get into others a little more. Actually, HOA's are a good thing in that they won't tolerate, let's say pink or green painted houses/trim but I surely do wish they would enforce the bit about the "statuary" that appears in some peoples' yards and the yards themselves - gross looking weeds, for instance: that really makes their next door neighbors angry. Our HOA really tries to keep up w/trends and if a variance is asked for and it is reasonable they will definitely reconsider the original no-no. There are several sections of our subdivision and the rules changed as the newer sections came into being so that everyone has benefited. We have lots of amenities here including shopping - tons of it along Fry Rd, Mason - both n & s of I-10 - and on the feeders both sides - good restaurants and an excellent school district plus the fact that altho we have a lot of traffic we are almost never congested. Also, we have several good nurseries, including some special ones and smaller ones plus some big ones not too far away so you can find anything including soil amendments, rocks and stones and the like and some really good plants. Add to that the fact that we have high speed internet - and dial-up if you are interested - so you are never out of touch w/the outside world. We here in Houston are blessed w/rain and our side of town is NOT prone to flooding. As a native Houstonian born way- back -then I love this city and missed it when we moved away for a short time. Come see us. Your fellow DGers will be happy to show you around and make you feel at home!
Ann
Ann,
Lovely message from you and helpful to. I didn't assume or know you lived in N Katy. Another chat forum online where I am talking to Houstonians recommended that for family living I stay in S Katy is all...that's what I was referring to. But we'll be coming there the Wed before Thanksgiving to sign paperwork at the job and to drive around. Won't officially be able to look at homes until ours sells. I am so excited about this change! I think Houston sounds great so long as you don't have to drive through all the traffic every day and we'll try to be close to DH's work but the hours are whenever he wants to work so long as he gets his 40 and he's an early person if needed so he'll love to get to work at like 5 am or 6 and then leave waaaay early, beating MOST of the traffic I'd assume.
I am glad to know you have several wonderful nursery's!
Off subject but are there any Kmarts in Houston? I see ads on TV for them all the time...have traveled all over Texas with former job and only seen a Kmart in the valley and one in El Paso.
Tir etc, No Kmarts. Wish we did but evidently they didn't do well here and to the south.
Back to traffic: I don't think there is a time when the traffic is light but other parts of Houston might have lt. traf. The only time I have not encountered traffic was early Sunday morning :>)) We can get to church easily because of that.
S Katy is fine I suppose. At Fry if you go south of I-10 you come to some really NICE homes w/really NICE prices - 300s and up. Kickarillo etc. North of I-10 are more in line w/what I would be willing to pay - around 130s up and that's about what we paid for 4br/2b/2c w/landscaping and St. Augustine, sprinkler system.
Forgot to mention that there are some nice parks in Katy - perfect for your little person when it gets big enuf. We have within 2 miles of us a Walmart, HEB, Kroger, Randall's, & Sam's and within 5 miles. Fiesta, and more of the previously mentioned. There are also Kohl's Penney's, Walgreen's, CVS, We are within 20 minutes of a good hospital and all kinds of drs., dentists, etc, etc.
No, I am not w/the Chamber of Commerce or anyway affiliated w/any real estate agency, etc. I just did my homework when we moved back here in April, '05. Oh, and if you are in the market for a new or used car this is the place to be.
Dmail me if you would like to talk w/me and I'll give you my phone # and address if you need it.
Ann
Ann,
Wonderful news AGAIN! I am glad to rely on your research along with my own! I am soooo glad to hear Katy has some nice parks...SA is sorely lacking for them. And the library in my small town outside SA could fit inside my house a couple times it's so small!!!!!
What you paid and what you got sounds just about what I'm looking for. Someone suggested I look at the neighborhood Copperfield that has been expanded on several times in N Katy...said it was nice and reasonable and good for families but about 30 mins drive to DH's work...which he is fine with.
Oh yes, DH said the same thing about cars!!! He always buys there.
This message was edited Nov 15, 2006 1:01 PM
Tir_Na_Nog
One of the most compelling features in Houston is the housing costs. Taxes (among the highest in the country) are another story. Our representative has aggressively pushed to have the widening of I-10 (Katy Freeway) expeditiously constructed and it will make a world of difference once that is completed.
Houston does not have many zoning restrictions per se, but many neighborhoods regulate acceptable usage rights through subdivision deed restrictions. For your protection, it is best to have a legal advisor guide you on your paperwork and be present at closing. There ARE neighborhoods without HOA’s – they are often the obvious ones that have an “anything-goes” ambience. The lawns are unkept, paint peeling, wild colors, mosquito traps (tires, etc.), toys and bicycles strewn from here to there, clutter, weeds, RVs, business signs (massage, tattoo, palm readers) you get the idea. It always kills me to see a palm reader’s sign in a small house as you approach the Galleria district.
Another aspect of Houston you will love if you are a cook is the availability of an incredible variety of foods. There is the Asian market, Fiesta, Indian and Mediterranean specialty markets. I am from Southern California where I thought we had everything. My family would go wild when they used to visit. I used to spend three hours in Fiesta when they opened near Bunker Hill and Hedwig Village 15 years ago (an area in West Houston). Now Fiesta has much competition. The new HEB’s have impressed the socks off of me! The one on Fry Road, or Westheimer are HUGE!!! A new one farther out in Katy is reportedly their largest. They have nearly every imaginable food item I buy. Their tortillas are made on the spot, and are hot when you buy them! I have been buying their whole wheat flour ones and using them for other flat bread uses. (Gad, I love to cook!) Also we found HEB’s house brands are wonderful and too our liking which is wonderful, again because of their cost savings. (We shopped at Whole Foods for over 15 years)
If you decorate, love color, --- there is an enclave in town where you can buy cotton and silk saris (6 yards) for all prices. They are simply beautiful textiles! You just want to scoop them up by the armloads!
The medical and dental care here is some of the best in the country.
Negatives: traffic, mosquitoes, heat/humidity.
Comparable house in Carmel CA – less than 800 square feet. My Houston garage is bigger! LOL!
…..back to HOA’s, they are controlled by election. Most serve the greater good and if you drive through some raunchy areas without them, well…..I opt for HOA’s in close neighborhoods where you do not want a neighbor’s rooster defining your morning wake-up time, or their car blocking your entrance.
One last thing, I live South of I-10. Before my husband retired he rode the Park & Ride to downtown, he absolutely loved it. Many businesspersons (even attorneys and professionals) use the Park and Ride system to avoid the traffic. With laptops, they can accomplish extra work during a comfortable and relaxing trip that uses the center express lanes.
Best wishes to you and your family.
That was excellent, petit_potager! :-) :-) Just one addition.. My neighborhood has a civic association instead of an HOA. It is voluntary, costs just $35/yr, is run by elected (by anyone who cares to show up at the meetings) "officers" who actually live IN the neighborhood... and it works! We have a very nice, clean, friendly, well-kept neighborhood. So it is possible! :-)
You did such a good job petit_potager! I have a daughter who lives in an apt. on Park Row, I think, near Hwy 6 and if it wasn't for park & ride at Barker-Cypress she would never survive the ride from there to the Medical Center for her job (which is a good one - job that is). The other kids drive a lot in their jobs - investigator w/Harris Cty. DA, electrical designer. The other daughter works from home but when she has to go to the office she takes the park & ride on Kingsland. Our choice when we moved back was to live near that last daughter just to have one of the kids near us. Lucky for us that we did - I had major surgery a year ago and then again in March of this year and she was so much help to us even fixing Turkey Day dinner for her family and my husband because the surgery I had was done the day before Thanksgiving! (I really messed up the whole holiday season for everyone) But, what I wanted to say is that getting around Houston, once you know the ropes and freeways and toll roads, can be a cinch. Some of the commutes are really horrible and time consuming and if you have a family you might not see much of them during the week. We have the last daughter moving to Houston from SA and she is in the same fix as Tir_Na-Nong - where to live and how to get from place to place and not to have any hassle from HOA when she does get home. It's often a trial and error sort of thing and not a decision to be taken lightly.
Ann
WONDERFUL tips!!!! I hear you on the 3 major problems of Houston...I've suffered it's traffic but I've seen waaaay more mosquito infestations in Lake Jackson area...on 288....south of Houston on the gulf and I've felt worse humidity in Brownsville TX when I worked down there. So it's really just the traffic issue and HOA I suppose. I can agree that without your neighborhood can go to pot...but I grew up in Michigan without HOA's and we had an older neighborhood but it wasn't trash so I guess it's just the quality of people nowadays that have instituted requiring HOA's. I may just have to deal with them it sounds like. Not to terrible...and taxes can't be higher than what I pay here...though I've heard Tx does have one of the highest in the nation. That's how they get around income tax...which I'd rather have because it's based on what I actually make...not the house I could afford to get into 10 years ago let's say and now the city says WOAH that's worth a TON and then charge me.
Live in the unincorporated areas--we do not pay for I-10 with taxes.
Marylyn_TX – Thank you for the great links! Your civic association sounds like an ideal situation. All of these folks are volunteers, most are well intended and doing me a service that I would not care to do. More power to them. Those who need to overstep their authority I do not allow to define my life. Regarding your comment, “by anyone who cares to show up at the meetings” – LOL - we had to reduce our voting quorum requirements for that reason. Most of us could care less.
Ann: Sorry about your surgery. I do hope you are on the solid road to recovery at this time. It is nice that your family could fill in for your Thanksgiving festivities. It is just the two of us and we are very casual about the “holidays.” This year I think I am going to brine a turkey for two days before roasting it. I have brined chickens, game hens, pork roasts with success. Unfortunately my sage and thyme decided they were annuals and I will need to purchase fresh herbs, grrrrr! I hate that! – I live East of Barker-Cypress. We have been going to HEB off Fry to avoid the traffic. My husband and I spend hours shopping.
Be blessed and in health!
This message was edited Nov 19, 2006 2:02 PM
petit:
I love reading your posts! I do love to cook and miss having grocery variety. I've said before we only have 2 grocery stores that dominate SA: HEB and Super Wal-Mart. We had a FANTASTIC new HEB go up in College Station when I was there but here in SA there aren't any as nice as that one (they had bulk spices for CHEAP and a larger natural foods section!)
I do love scrapbooking but am sorely lacking in the crafts department. Grandma tried to teach me to crochet once but I never did get the hang of it.
That story about your HOA was hilarious! At least I can look forward to an older HOA that has learned not to step on toes so much! I guess the newer ones are worse.
We are similar...I like simplier holidays. I don't even put up a tree when it's just been the 2 of us. I enjoy the holidays and like others decorations but I'm just not into it for myself. I'll have to do it now that I have a kiddo. And we can't get out of huge Thanksgiving what with all the family near on both sides. But I'd prefer things smaller scale sometimes. I know some folks who do Thanksgiving at Golden Corral...they say it's cheaper and then there's no mess or endless leftovers of turkey--LOL!
Tir_Na_Nog - “I don't even put up a tree when it's just been the 2 of us. I enjoy the holidays and like others decorations but I'm just not into it for myself.”
You are a girl after my own hort. We do not put up a tree either, and pretty much disappear off the radar after Thanksgiving. We leave the shopping malls and crazy roads to others. I have various neighbors that put up multiple trees (some have one for each kid) which underscores the reason my husband and I have moved away from full participation in the holidays. We are blessed with each other and enjoy a stress-less season together away from the hustle and bustle. I guess that makes us wierd by today's measure.
There does seem to be a big difference in the HEB’s. I am chagrined to say I never went to HEB until recently. We have always shopped several places to get all the ingredients we like; still do to some extent. The Oriental Market in Bellaire is a real experience! - Or, the larger Fiesta Markets with expansive International sections. It is a blast looking at all these unusual food items and purchasing some to try. All of these places have good bulk items from India and the Middle East, South America, and Central Asia. The Central Market (HEB) in River Oaks has….20 (?) kinds of potatoes! I planted a turmeric tuber from Fiesta that sprouted. It looks a lot like a canna leaf so far. Also planted some of Fiesta Market’s Italian melon seeds with mixed result.
You will LOVE cooking here! There must be 40 or more types of rice, and darned if I had to order my Bomba rice for Paella over the internet. If any of you cooks out there know of a local source for bomba rice, I am in your gratitude. House and Garden magazine had an attractive blurb about paella a month ago that put a rattle in my castanets to experiment with the Spanish national dish. There is TexMex. Would this be TexMadrid? Ole!
I heard today that 50% of the current inventory of re-sale homes on the Houston market is not owner occupied. Meaning they are investor/speculator purchases which can bode well for a buyer. Some of the new home sales are offering discounts as well. I wish you and your family every fortunate twist in the housing market cycle to secure your ideal dream home! Take care.
I've been watching this thread since it started, but until now had nothing to add to the advice from the Houston DG'ers.
There is one thing that San Antonio has that DW and I think is better than Houston - TexMex restaurants. The prices are higher here, and the flavors are not the same.
There is one other big difference - in SA corn tortillas are the norm, it's flour in Houston.
There was a news article on HOA Bullies on channel 2 (NBC) last night. Seems some older neighboorhoods have some "Do-Gooders" that have formed HOA's where none existed before - very threatening. But there was some good advise to determine if the HOA was "real" or just a scam. Ask for meeting minutes, state incorporation certificate, published rules, etc.
thanks bubba for following this thread!!!
we'll still come back to the area to visit my folks and canyon lake....it is so crystal clear and warm we love it...are any of the lakes in houston clear enough to swim in? i fear brown water.
petit...you must be my sister i never had!!!! i am totally like you on the holidays. i love love love christmas but don't need it for the tree or presents at all. i love the baking/cooking/music. i could listen to neil diamond crone his holiday tunes in the summer!!!!!!! you sound like a wonderful cook!!!!!!
new question: has anyone heard of the copperfield neighborhood in nw houston? it came recommended and looks great when i seard har.com for homes there.
www.copperfield.org
This message was edited Dec 24, 2006 12:17 PM