lane_change

iTrader: (20)

The Z06 is my friends car...he sold his 400whp FD and bought the 600whp Z06...I am still working on my FD, I haven't given up just yet. But if I do, I will be buying either a Z06 or an Atom.

Why are you in Japan man? Tired of Mexican food?

dclin

iTrader: (4)

Haha, in Houston, that means anything that has 'interstate', 'loop' or 'highway' in it's name!

Sugar Land is nice, and probably has the best school district in the area. Lived in First Colony for 7-8 years, but now live in Mid-town/Heights. I would recommend Mid-town for the younger crowd, or those that work in up/downtown and with a serious phobia of traffic. Most people with kids in my area send their kids to private schools.

'Expensive' is relative. I felt a lot better about my mortgage after I saw the prices in SF and NY. That's expensive.

http://www.sugarlandrelocation.com/

Sugar Land is/was one the top ten growing cities in the US recently, IIRC. If you do decide on Sugar Land, I feel sorry for your wife's commute. A possible compromise is Pearland (also heavy development, nice schools, etc), but that would probably only make the commute only marginally better for her. You would be going against traffic, Pearland to Sugarland, depending on what route you take, so it wouldn't be too bad of a commute.

lane_change

iTrader: (20)

yea, I am from San Diego originally, I know sticker shock....Houston is cheap imo.

I truly have no idea where to look for a house, I saw that Sugar Land was ranked as the 3rd best small city to live in in the US, and it's close to my work. My wife would likely end up at Rice or at the TMC, so whatever a happy medium would be for travel as well as safety, school districts, etc...Where is Midtown/Heights? I looked on a map, no luck. I also have a list of the worst places to live in Houston...tell me if you agree with this list.

Those are ranked as the worst parts of Houston from some website I saw...

1. Sunnyside/Southpark/South Union
2. South Fondren/Westwood/Gulfton
3. 5th Ward/Kashmere Gardens/Denver Harbor
4. Acres Homes/Independence Heights/Inwood
5. Southeast/Magnolia/Second Ward

and the upper 3rd ward and greenspoint were also rated up there. I have no idea where these places are...but I am looking for a boring suburbia to raise my family, no need for the hustle and atmosphere of downtown or nightlife. When I need excitement, or when I am bored, I eiter go to the track or go street race. Sorry, I do not have a car for the corners. If I move there, I may build one just because there is a road course so near there, but where I live, there are no close road courses...not close enough for me to have a dedicated car for that. We'll see though.

twokrx7

iTrader: (1)

Sugarland and Pearland are awesome for both living and schools, and it's probably your wife's best commute options for living somewhere outside of the city. If you don't mind living inside the "llop" in Houston there are some nice neighborhoods but it can get expensive.

Pearland is the most central being close to most everything including the city, road course south of houston, and of course Houston Raceway Park's 1/4 mile strip on the East side. There are one or two 1/8th mile strips but I've never been to either.

cewrx7r1

iTrader: (2)

Old highway 90 (south Main) is being changed into a muti-lane contolled access freeway. Might take another year to complete. It goes from south west 59 in Sugar Land up to the 610 loop into the medical center.

I use to work in the medical center for 13 years, and I live just north of Sugar Land. 90 is being widened to help Missouri City, Staffford, and Sugar Land workers to get to southern Houston faster than using 59.

There are a few routes to drive that are quicker than staying on the major roads.

lane_change

iTrader: (20)

We are driving down I45 right now.....wonmdering if we are going to hit this nasty ice storm that I am reading about on the internet. The week I choose to come to Texas, and you guys decide to have an ice storm to celebrate my arrival. Thanks alot.

cewrx7r1

iTrader: (2)

We thought you could use some ice water before eating our hot and spicey
Tex-Mex food.

dclin

iTrader: (4)

^^^^

Yup, the 'Houston's best of the worst' list sounds about right, hahahaha! I totally agree with Sunnyside being right at the top, as well.

Midtown is more of a generic term for most of the area covering the Heights, Memorial Heights, and the parts leading to downtown - mostly along I-10 between downtown and Memorial park.

Technically, the area south of I-10 is Memorial Heights. The area north of I-10 is The Heights. The Heights is interesting as that they are making great efforts to preserve the historical look (the new homes are built 30-40's style, but with modern conveniences of course)

Memorial Heights is more for the younger set. It's in transition from ghetto to yuppie-ville. Funny to see modern/contemporary townhomes mixed with 1920's era shacks. There is a really nice gated community off of Studemont and Allen Parkway that starts in the $500ks, but most townhomes are in the $300k range here.

The real reason why I choose this area? I live right off the only twisty place in Houston:

<center>
<img src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mp/gr/mplogo.gif" width="99" height="13" border=0 align=middle alt="[ Yahoo! Maps ]"><br>
<a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/maps/extmap;_ylt=AstqNw1H8d_ixT458TYxH79kDLMF/*-http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?addr=Allen&csz=Houston%2C+TX+77019&sta te=TX&uzip=77019&ds=n&name=&desc=&lat=29.76132&lon =-95.3949&mlt=29.76132&mln=-95.3949&zoomin=yes&BFKey=&mag=2">
Map of
Allen<br>Houston, TX 77019<br></a></center>

This is also where an Enzo crashed and burned a few years back. Allen Parkway can be treacherous; seen more than a couple flipped vehicles in the last couple of years.

Another possibility? Bellaire City (off of 610 Loop West, just south of the Galleria). Median home prices are probably $400k+. They have a top rated high school, not so sure about lower grades.

You'll like Sugar Land or Pearland; sounds ideal for what you are looking for. Best mix of low crime, nice communities, excellent schools, space, and relative quiet.

If you need rates on a mortgage or financial services, feel free to PM me (shameless plug ).

lane_change

iTrader: (20)

pm's sent to a few people

lane_change

iTrader: (20)

Decided on Pearland.

See you guys in a few weeks.

twokrx7

iTrader: (1)

Congrats! Pearland is awesome.

Check out the stickies for our local Rx7 club meets in Houston, next one is Feb 6?

FormerPorscheGuy

Welcome to town Scott.

Hope to see you around sometime. Look me up when you get settled.

Jason

lane_change

iTrader: (20)

So you live down this way as well...I knew you went to Texas, just was not sure where. I will give you a shout once we are in town and settled.