So a house I was going to buy in Spring fell through. I've expanded my search again and thought it would be cool to live in a little closer. Inside the loop was considered but maybe even better is where it's close enough to where my wife works (towards Katy) and to where I do (Greenspoint). So I was looking at maybe Memorial (but so expensive!) or north of I-10, like Spring Valley (a little less so). I really like the schools and the location. But do you think they are overpriced now or is it going to continue up as gentrification pushes northward etc. I do have concerns that just a little north of Spring Valley (north of Longpoint etc) it's a totally different scene. Also, can anyone tell me why the houses immediately south of Town & Country (east of Beltway, west of Gessner, north of Briar Forest) is considerably cheaper? It's still considered Memorial and goes to nearly the same schools, no?
Dont you live in my area (290 and Beltway)? Why would you move in town if you work in Greenspoint and wifey works in Katie?
I live near there. I am just a little south of Lakeside Country Club. I think you will find a lot of variety in that area. You do get good schools. I think Rummel Creek is considered an excellent elementary school. If the house is older, it will probably be relatively small. There are also some newer, larger, and more expensive houses in there.
Yeah, on Beltway between 249 and 290. I figure from Memorial it would be a straight shot west on I-10 for her and a straight shot north on Beltway for me. 13 miles for her and 20 miles for me. Sounds pretty central enough.
So what's the main difference between the left side and right side of Beltway? I was looking on the east side but looks like you live on the west side.
if you're talking about immediately north of T&C...and east of the beltway...but south of briar forest...i think you're talking about a neighborhood called Fonn Villas. that feeds in to frostwood elementary..but pretty much all the elementary schools on the south side of I-10 in Spring Branch are excellent schools. i grew up on this side of town and live here now...closer to kirkwood @ i-10, though...so maybe further west than you're thinking. homes on this side of the beltway are usually less expensive, simply because they're an exit or so further west.
I'm pretty sure the area you are talking about is cheaper because it's actually in the city of Houston and not in one of the "villages," like Bunker Hill, Piney Point, etc.
Yeah, looks like Gessner is the delineation point. Funny how just a few hundred yards makes a host of difference.
I was thinking of the area just west of the beltway. Fonn Villas is the largest neighborhood just east of the beltway. We looked for a house there and in some of the areas to the east. The houses were a little small for us. There are a few real nice neighborhoods that are only a block or so long. They can be pretty expensive.
none of them are cheap relative to what they were when i was growing up out here. i think i have a much harder time with it...because i played in these houses as a kid, and when someone tells me what they're selling for now i'm stunned. if you're looking just west, then whoever said rummel creek is right...depending on how far west you want to go, you're still talking about great schools.
I grew up right across Lakeside Country Club in that Lakeside Estates neighborhood. It was a pretty great place up till Hurrican Katrina then alot of those trouble makers suddenly moved to the apartments near Westside Tennis Club and Wilcrest/Briar Forest area. There had been a big increase in crime, and there even was a murder right by the Food Town grocery store parking lot. The city called a Town Hall meeting to address this growing crime in this area, and the town hall meeting area had so many people show up people were turned away. The police presence has stepped up quite a bit to the city's credit. I don't know what the situation there is now, as I haven't been back to the area in some time. If you are going to live in this area, I would suggest living near Memorial Drive and Wilcrest. It gets much better closer toward I-10 and along Memorial Drive. Otherwise the area is really good. Just stay away from that troubled intersection of Wilcrest and Briar Forest. If you have high school age kids both Stratford and Memorial are good schools. Memorial H.S is one of the top ranked in the city and country as well.
Good advice. I'll see ya around, if you take it! Both Stratford and Memorial are ranked high in US News & World Report's list of high schools in America. And as I said...the elementary schools are great all down the Memorial Drive corridor. One more thing...not to say it could never happen...but even when Houston's economy sucked, home values out here didn't drop much...in fact, they typically plateaued. They've kept their value and then some...and over the past 5 years the values have risen a ton. Of course, that's all been mediated by the fact that few are willing to make major life changes right now and throw a bunch of money around.
Yeah, the schools were one of the biggest draws. I was looking at mainly on the east side of the Beltway but thought about the other side too. But I had also heard of the Katrina issues further south and do want to stay away from that. The prices are high and I am hoping to sneak in there with a good deal, given the state of the market. However, I'm don't think the people in that area are really that affected by it. *crosses fingers* If I make the move, we'll have to find a good sports bar near by and scream for our Rockets.
also many of the homes in bunker hill, etc., have been torn down a huge houses have been built on top and then sold for 2 million plus.
I used to live on the north side of I-10 near Wirt (Wirt is the same as Chimney Rock but just on the north side), but south of Westview. That is the area to live in. I have since moved and my house is on the market. If you email through the board I can direct you to the har.com link, but my guess is that it is not what you are looking for, as you wouldn't be swooping in for a good deal. I bought at an okay price and did a lot of renovation. I'm not trying to be a flipper, it was just time to move, but I do hope to get my money out. As for the neighborhood and prices, I think the north side of I-10 but south of Longpoint (and today, even better, south of Westview so you are in between I-10 and Westview) is some of the best value in the city. The house I have on the market has solid sq. footage, a quarter acre lot and is zoned to Memorial High School. It is way cheaper than on the south side of I-10 with many of the same benefits. It wasn't horrible before since you could hop over to Memorial to avoid traffic, but with I-10 now open, traffic is a breeze. You're 10 minutes to downtown and everything that direction (Washington Ave, Heights, etc.), 10 minutes or less to Town & Country and everything that direction, and depending on traffic (though you can still go back ways), 10 minutes to Uptown and the Galleria. Getting out to Midtown or Rice U./West U. area can take a little more time....BUT, you can't get a quarter acre, 3,000+ sq. foot house in West U. - and in the rare event that you do find that much acreage, it is even more expensive than south of I-10 Memorial area. That said, you do have to be aware of Longpoint, Hammerly and areas further north. If that's not your cup of tea, you may not like it (again, though, that's why the I-10 north to Westview section is better, but there are plenty of nice places in between Westview and Longpoint, too...and in those case even cheaper - there are actually more tear-downs and rebuilds on that side because land value is cheaper north of Westview....which in turn is because school zoning is different - my guess is people buying those houses that do have school age children probably are sending them to private school anyway, so if they can get in the house cheaper, maybe be closer to Westview than Longpoint, etc. than it makes sense for them. Those are my thoughts. I'd be happy to share more info if you have any questions. Here's a map of the area I'm describing. MAP you can zoom out and look further west a bit, too, but wouldn't go as far as Gessner, imo.
I live in Spring Valley and it is a great place to live. You are close to everything and the schools are great. And it is no where near the insane prices on the other side of the freeway.
Spring Valley is pretty nice. We live in one of the newer constructions. I never really venture north of Long Point.
JayZ/Tree, That area is definitely on my radar too as well as the south side of I-10. I was concerned about north of Longpoint though and how close it is. What's the word on the street re: crime etc? From what I hear it's still family-types living there, just lower income. In which case that doesn't bother me. Where does the zoning for the schools stop and start? Are you saying south of Westview is the way to go? Also, JayZ... PM your listing. I've likely already seen it in HAR.
How much of the neighborhoods are new and how much are the older houses? And of the older ones, how much are the really run down ones that you wish would be torn down and how many just happen to be old but would still be nice to live in.
