Question for Houstonians

[Fountain79]

Hello, I am strongly considering moving to Houston. I just had a couple of questions. The first one is obvious, Do you enjoy living there? What do you think of the public schools there. I am deciding between Aldine and Katy.(big difference I know!) Any input would be greatly appreciated. I apologize if this is the wrong forum to put this, if it is feel free to move it.

[Rockholm]

1. It is Houstonians.

[Fountain79]

2. I stand corrected

[Fountain79]

4. Happy?

[Rockholm]

19. Yes, I am happy.

Now, to give you my suggestions.
I went to college in Houston. Stay away from the suburbs. West University Place, Bellaire and the Heights are probably the bluest parts of town.

[efhmc]

3. Well, first it is Houstonians. I would choose Katy. It is surburban and

pretty rw. I think it has the better school but that is probably because I have friends who are teachers there.

[TomInTib]

5. Go north

Aldine is pretty rough. If you want truly great schools go a little farther north to Klein. Keep in mind that both Katy and Klein are pretty conservative.

[Fountain79]

7. Actually

I kinda like the diversity and low-income aspects of it. I've heard that they have had problems but it appears that they are trying to do something about it.

[merci_me]

6. If those are the only two choices

I'd go with Katy. Are you thinking of teaching? My son did some substitute teaching there, right out of college.

To answer your question, we moved here 21 years ago and I love the city. I'm not that happy with the more conservative suburbs (Katy being one) but you can always live in Houston and commute out. Commuting OUT is definitely preferable to commuting IN. We have a couple of Katy school teachers in our neighborhood, who commute out there to work. It's against traffic and coming and going, the sun is always at your back and in Houston, that's a good thing!

Mary

[Fountain79]

8. Yes I am looking at teaching jobs

Perhaps I should have made that a little more clear I am looking at teaching jobs both districts. I am single, no kids, and no girlfriend, which is partly why I am looking to move in the first place.

[Catherine Vincent]

11. No girlfriend....Really?

Are you looking?:-)

[Fountain79]

14. interesting

I didn't realize DU doubled as a dating service....

[Loki]

9. Holy smokes, your from my neck of the woods!

I've been in Houston 8 years now and I'm still getting use to it. Summers here are hot, just as hot and humid as in KC, but they last a whole lot longer. Aldine and Katy are quite different, so it really depends what you are looking for. Katy has the minus of having to come into the city on I-10 which is log jammed most of the time, plus they are expanding the lanes to something like 10 lanes each way. Aldine is certainly closer in, but not many new home developments. Public schools are suffering because of the poor way that Texas funds their schools almost exclusively from property taxes and we are suffering under the burden of NCLB. I've got two in school down here and I see how the tight funding even in the higher income areas has added to the burden. We have been pushing for another high school in our area, and just had the bond issue passed last month. Our one senior high school serves an area with a population of over 70,000 people and we had to institute a lottery system for participation in some school activities like band and orchestra because too many students and not enough spaces. I can really say though, I miss home, but some people love it down here - leave your winter clothes in Kansas City! Hope this helps. :hi:
Adding a post script about Aldine teaching jobs. I have a friend who teaches in the area I live in which is North Houston, Humble/Kingwood. She would have a significant increase in her salary if she would teach in Aldine which means it's a harder area to teach in and keep teachers there.

[Fountain79]

13. Question....

If you could do it over again, would you have stayed in KC?

[Loki]

16. It wasn't so much a choice as a move because of my husband's job.

we plan to come back to KC after the kids graduate from high school and stay there.

[Catherine Vincent]

10. If you are considering Aldine, you should go further northwest

to Spring. That is a better school district if that's what you're wondering. Plus it's not as far out as Katy. And may I ask what did you have before you corrected it to Houstonians? Tell me, please.:-)

[Fountain79]

12. can't remember...

I think I had a shortened Houtonians, something like that.

[TxGran]

15. Schools

There are choices other than Aldine in nearby districts: Humble,Klein and Spring. All of the districts have websites with salary schedules and benefits listed. I have taught in the Humble district for 24 years. It has a variety of schools with different populations.

[CitySky]

17. I live in the middle of Houston, near the Montrose area

and I like my life here - which suprised me more than anyone else, considering I grew up in ultra-liberal Northern California and lived 5 years in Boston. Houston is a good place to make a life, less stressful IMO than living in those other places, where housing costs are so high.

If you move out to those 'burbs though, you'll be something of a haul from any single people. Just a consideration.

[PDittie]

18. Welcome to DU, Fountain

(and Tom, and TxGran.)

The Aldine ISD has a reputation for being a tough one. It sounds like you might be up for the challenge.

My wife and I have lived in Houston since '93 (but before that, for a couple of years in the mid-'80's). We don't have children so my knowledge of school districts would be second-hand. I echo the comments of the other posters regarding Katy.

I'm from SE Texas nearly all of my life (we lived in Florida for a year) but my wife was born in Cuba and has lived in New York and Virginia, spending her formative years in New Jersey. We think Houston is one of the greatest cities in the country, from all of the quality of life aspects. The closer in to the central city you can afford to live (as well as close to your job, cutting down the commute) the happier you will be.

We've got a great group of DUers here also, and we get together frequently for fun stuff.

Let us know here if you are coming down.

[merci_me]

20. A bit of info on Katy Democrats

If you go to www.hcdp.org and check on the events calendar, you will see there are two Katy Dem groups. One of them, KANDO, also has a blog.

Here are links to the event calendar for April and a link to the KANDO blog. As you can see Texas Dems are doing all we can, wherever we are.

Mary

http://calendar.yahoo.com/YYY,245bd9/srt,0/hcdp_2000?v=4&t=1115751600&i=4359&pv=2

http://kando.blogware.com/blog

http://calendar.yahoo.com/YYY,245bd9/srt,0/hcdp_2000?v=4&t=1116356400&i=4287&pv=2

[Simonster]

21. I live in the Spring Branch area...

I really like it here. Big yard, lots of trees and it is pretty quiet. Most of my neighbors are red, but I have some blue friends here rite down the street. I wouldn't live anywhere else. Lots of different cultures around here (that is driving a lot of the RW necks outta here). As far as teaching, my wife has taught in Spring Branch and hated it, no backup from the administration (she taught kids with behavior probs). She now teaches in Houston ISD and wouldn't change ever again. Admin is great, she gets a lot of bonuses for tutoring and doing other things for the school. I volunteer at the school where she works (a large elementary school in a poor neighborhood), and the kids are great. They really appreciate everything one does for them. HISD gets a bad rap, but I think it is a pretty good district. Pay isn't the best, but hey, we're in Texas rite.

[PDittie]

22. Welcome to DU, Simonster!

[WestHoustonDem]

23. Welcome to DU Simonster!

Where are you in Spring Branch? I'm near Memorial/Kirkwood. My daughter is at Stratford. She also went to Thornwood and Spring Forest. What school(s) did your wife teach at?

[Texas_Kat]

24. Just east of Fry Road (intersects IH 10) in Katy (or is it Houston there?)

is represented by Democrat Hubert Vo. The first Vietnamese to serve in the Texas House. On the west side of Fry Road (in Katy) begins the ultra conservative Katy Surburbanville.

Hubert Vo just won an extremely close election against the proverbial fat Texas republican, Talmadge Heflin.

If the school districts don't seem appealing east of Fry, you can always live in the burbs and volunteer for Vo across the street.

[PDittie]

25. Welcome to DU, TK