Moving to Houston. - Dallas,TX

My brother lives in Katy he loves it. they have 3 kids, 6, 8 and 10 and all three love the schools there.

I'm from Houston although no where near the 610 loop. All I can tell you is be prepared for traffic. Lots of it. I can tell you of the areas that I lived in that were really nice, safe and in good school districts. Although it will be a bit of a drive for your husband but it might be worth it. I used to live in the Cy-Fair School District area (northwest Houston - near Katy) for over 20 years. Lived in the Katy area and worked in the Sugarland area. Katy ISD and Cy-Fair are excellent school districts. Everything you mentioned are close to you in either of those areas. Like I said, it'll be a distance for your husband but if you're looking for excellent school districts, I would recommend either of these two. Good luck! Oh and prepare for the humidity!

Katy and Sugar Land are good areas... though will be more of a commute for your husband. We've been here for a couple of months now, also from Fort Worth... listen to what Stephenie B said... Houston is great, but lots of ghetto areas too. I went to a middle school in Spring many years ago and there were constant gang fights even then. Just read up on the school districts.

Katy is good. Now that will be quite a commute for your husband, but would accommodate what you are looking for. Sugarland is also right outside Houston and really nice, with lots of stuff, but again a long commute. I think Katy would be your best bet, the schools are great and it has a relaxed pace. There is lots of shopping etc. Check it out and welcome:)

go to the katy area. you can stay on the feeder and stay off I 10. that is what I am having my son do till he gets more driving experience. takes a little longer but its worth it. the schools are great and most of the crime is on the south side. you can hit anything you need in katy with the feeder. the mall is off of i 10 but i 10 isnt to bad unless you are going east between 7-8 and west between 430-530. you also wont be to far from the 610 loop. mail me privately if you need more info.

if your looking for an apartment I can give you the name of mine very centrally located and close to everything. allstores are within 6 blocks so is the post office etc.

We live in the Sugar Land area and, as some of the other posters have said, it will be a commute for your husband, but I rarely have to get on the highway living out here unless I'm going into town for some reason. We have everything out here (Target, WalMart, grocery stores, doctors offices...good ones, movie theater, etc.) without having to get on a highway to get to them. The area is great and schools are good. I live in a master planned community called Sienna Plantation, but there are lots of great communities in this area. Katy is also a great area, from what I've heard, but I feel like it's a bit more congested than where we live, but since I don't actually live there, I couldn't tell you for sure. I don't know much about Houston proper, so do your research if you want to stay "in town", but you likely won't be able to live in Houston without dealing with the highways and the traffic is outrageous! No place is perfectly safe, but do your homework if you want to stay in Houston because there are lots of not so great places, like any big city I would imagine. Good luck with your move and welcome to Houston!

We live almost inside the 610 loop and other than commuting for our jobs, we rarely get on the freeways. We wouldn't change where we live for anything. It surprises us how often we forget how in town we are for the most part yet we love being close to all the amentities. For example we are 10 minutes from the zoo/natural science museum and about 20 minutes from the theater district and a major mall using entirely local streets. Depending on the neighborhood the schools can be hit or miss but there are other options in the form of magnet and private schools. Depending on your budget there is Meyerland, Bellaire, West U, and Rice University which are all considered absolutely solid neighborhoods with plenty of nearby amentities and typically good to great schools. You need to contact a local realtor to help you sift through the many factors associated with selecting an area to live in a major city and its surrounding suburbs. Good luck and welcome.

We moved to Cypress (NW Houston) from out of state 3 years ago and it's been a great place to live. Our kids attend Cypress-Fairbanks ISD schools and are receiving an excellent education. The teachers and administrators have been outstanding. I have friends who live in Katy and their kids attend Katy ISD schools and have expressed how pleased they are about the school system there as well. Both Cypress and Katy will be close to a 1 hour (maybe more) commute for your husband.

I rarely have to get on an expressway to go to the dentist, grocery store, etc.

Good luck househunting! And, welcome to the Houston area!

Katy is really far west of where your husband will be working. That means a long commute for him, a lot of time out of the house. I spent more time than I care to driving from Katy to Memorial Parkway. That's why I moved out of Houston. The traffic in Houston is bad. Much worse than Dallas. That's just how it is. But, as a result, communities have been built so that you rarely need to leave them. Everything you need will be right in your area. There are nice neighborhoods in many areas. Once you have been there a while, you may get more comfortable and decide you want to venture out a bit more, like to see the Woodlands Mall at Christmas - fabulous by the way! My point is, go visit Houston. Go to his job. Then check the area around it. Have him ask coworkers or future bosses what area is convenient but well contained. Then go to www.greatschools.net or .com and research the school districts in the area.

I have to disagree with many of the respondents. If you want to avoid the freeways, you'll want to live closer in to town. The closer in you live, the less you have to use the freeways.

Sugar Land, Katy, Cy-Fair are all excellent areas with good schools, but they're far, far, far away from downtown (which I'm guessing is what you mean by the middle of 610 Loop). Your husband will have a good 45 minute commute, each way, every day. Now, if you and your husband don't mind the commute and you want a more suburban feel, I agree that both Sugar Land and Katy have everything you need - shopping, hospitals, doctor's offices, etc. - within a very short drive. They really do have everything you need if you're not interested in the culture of the city. If you plan to go to the Medical Center, museums, theatre district, etc, you'll want to be closer in. Spring Branch, Uptown/Galleria, Memorial, West U, Bellaire, Meyerland are all areas with good schools, but you really have to be careful and study the individual schools in these areas, and not just the district itself, because they can vary greatly from one area to another. And, except for Spring Branch, they're all very expensive to live in.

Also, I completely disagree about the traffic. I've driven in Sugar Land, Katy, Richmond, etc. and the traffic in those areas is not any better than inside the Loop. The roads are newer, but I think I sit at more traffic lights, for a longer period of time in those suburbs than I do on Westheimer.

I know I'm a little late with my post, but I hope this helped some.