C130Loadm

Well it is official, due to a realignment within my wifes company, she has lost her position here in Cincinnati but has been given the option to take a position in Houston. She has accepted it to maintain continuity and knowing that we will return to Ohio in a year or so. Sooooo..here are some question:

1.) Her territory will be the Woodlands area so we would like to stay near there. Since we will not be in Houston permantly, we do not want to spend a ton on a house (not over 200K) but also dont want to live in the ghetto. I want the place to be safe for her and my daughter and close to stuff. A nice neighborhood with quality people is what we are looking for. I would like to stay within an hour of the airport so anything that meets that requirement is cool with me. North Houston preferrable.

2.) Daycare! The most important thing for us. In home would be better as my daughter is a preemie (no medical or special needs but Dr. recommended to remain out of a daycare environment for a year if at all possible).

3.) Property taxes..anywhere cheaper than the next? Do the charge property taxes on vehicles? (We may leave my car registered in Ohio).

4.) Airports (hangar) for my airplane (see other post).

5.) Get a Hardy Toll road pass and cost?

I am sure I will think of some more but thats it for now. It only became official this afternoon.

Thanks in advance!

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http://www.worldwidewarbirds.com

Avpilot

1. In your search, check out my neighborhood "Gleannloch Farms." So far I'm very pleased. There's a couple of us pilots who live here that I know of. 25 or 30 minutes to the airport and 25 or so to the Woodlands. It's very safe...it's the type of place where do wouldn't have to lock the door if you didn't want to. There's anything from $140s to over a couple million in the neighborhood with a golf course, recreation centers, etc. No car property taxes that I know of...just sales tax and registration tax as far as I know.
2. Don't know anything about daycare, sorry.
3. Taxes here are comparable with the rest of north houston....to get lower taxes you might have to look farther out like Magnolia or past Conroe.
4. Check out my other reply about KDWH that is right beside the neighborhood here.
5. Definitely use the toll roads in Houston...I use it for the beltway on the northwest side and by the time you factor 7 or 8 miles of frontage roads with stop and go driving in a truck vs. the same distance at a steady speed, I probably don't lose much money in the gas/toll equation.

Let me know if I didn't answer something you asked...good luck.

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Tim Mitchell
G4687
Verified FORMER XJT Pilot

Spooge

My wife and I live in the woodlands in the Gosling/Shadowbend area. Typical woodlands with lots of trails/parks/etc. I have good neighbors. Our house is nice, but it's probably not something an executive here would buy...most of the folks in our neighborhood are working-class folks. Not necessarily blue collar, though some are, I'm sure. We do have several CAL/XJT pilots in the area. In any event, I haven't seen anyone with a porsche in the driveway. Still, it's a good place to live, excellent schools, and convenient to EVERYTHING.

$150K got us a 2500sqft 4br/2.5ba/2car garage house on 7500sqft lot. Annual property taxes are about 2.75% of appriased value right now, and that includes the county/hospital/MUD/school taxes. Throw on another $500 or so for HOA fees per year.

Cars cost I think about $65-70/year to register, however you have to get an inspection each year unless your car is less than 2 years old. That's about $40. I think the initial registration fees when I moved into the state (for tags and stuff) were a little over $100. Registration is NOT based on car's value.

EZ Tag is about $25 for the tag, and I think it runs $1.50 or $1.75 each way to the airport. Your car does not have to be registered in TX to get a tag...I used my out of state plates when I first moved here.

A few websites:
http://www.thewoodlandsassociations.org/
http://www.woodlandsonline.com/
https://eztagstore.com/default.html

Send me a PM if you have any other questions.

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Freedom isn't free, no there's a hefty fuckin' fee; and if you don't throw in your buck-oh-five, who will?

Red Swingline

1. Many folks live in the Woodlands and surrounding areas so you will be in good shape just about anywhere up there. If you're only staying for a year, I'd think a nice apartment would work just as well - but you could probably find some houses to rent if you wanted.

2. Sorry- no help on daycare - but again, the Woodlands is a well-to-do part of town, so I'm sure there's plenty of options.

3. If you rent you don't have to worry about property taxes. For your car, TX is like OH, in that it's a flat rate for everyone from a Yugo to a Ferrari. They have their own version of the e-check here with the exception that it can be done almost anywhere. You don't have to wait in line at a state facility.

4. Wish I had a plane so I could help you out here.

5. Definitely get an EZ tag. You can order one online at The EZ Tag Store or pick one up when you get here. They pre-charge your credit card 35 bucks at a time, and then it just sits there and you slowly use it up. Once you get down to around a 5 dollar balance, it will re-charge your card. There is no monthly fee or anything else - and when you move away you just turn in your tag and they refund whatever you have left. It also saves you a quarter every time you go through most of the plazas. It's of course good on all IAH toll-roads, not just the Hardy.

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Sean Curry, IAH

Aviator27J

Congrats on the baby if I haven't said so in another thread.

Who Dey!

Bring that big screen TV and we can catch some Bengals games next season...with much luck, this season too. And come visit SOCC!

I think the previous posts will help you so I can't offer much more advice. I'm in Tomball, which is about 20 mins from the Woodlands I hear but I've been here for about 6 months and haven't tried the drive myself. I lived downtown prior to this and obviously I drive to SOCC (30-35 mins w/o much traffic) and IAH every other week or so (30-60 mins w/o and w/ traffic)--don't ask me how I can get to IAH in the same amount of time I can get to work though...maybe less traffic sometimes enroute to IAH. Anyway, feel free to PM me or something if you want to come to SOCC and/or if you want help moving in or watching your little girl as you do so. (Remember, I have one boy who's almost 21 months and another boy due mid Feb.)

Good luck with the move/transfer!

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Clark W. Griswold, Ernest P. Worrell (the importance of being Ernest)...sometimes life can be better if we get hilariously pissed off or depressed.

crewlover

A good place to hanger you airplane is at Hooks Airport. It's not too far from the Woodlands area.