KatieDidIt

I may not be remember the location right, but isn't the new high rise loft on Post Oak/SanFelipe (where Eatzi's iswas) supposed to have a Whole Foods anchoring the corner? I remember being shocked because there is one right on Woodway. Maybe I have the location wrong.

You went for the pistol because some crazy woman was at the door? Sounds a bit extreme to me. I thought the only guns in the Woodlands were kids running around with NERF guns and water guns. What happened to the utopia? Seriously though, I wouldn't think you'd need one living around the Beltway (Jersey Village area) like I do, much less the Woodlands.

I don't think that crime would escalate as the population grows, as long as the demographics remain homogenous. There are three things that would keep crime in the Woodlands extremely low to almost non-existent, even considering population increases: those would be its remote location along I-45 North, the demographics (socio-economic), and the strong sense of community, both in the residents and inherent in the way the Woodlands was created.

Let me expound. I don't know why I feel the need to do so with you, but your posts in the past have been so off base about a place you have never lived. My husband was at the door. She was crazy, aggressive, not making any sense and edging into our threshold. Who knows who was waiting for her in a car down the street to help her. I went into the bedroom and unlocked the safe. I never came out of the room but something wasn't right. I had two boys upstairs and a really strange situation going on. Do I think, "Oh its the Woodlands, faddie la, nothing bad could happen in ShangraFakingLa?" No, I think to protect. After more than two year without police presence, why would I suddenly think the cavalry was going to come help? This is pretty much a candyland to those who want easy pickings, or for those who want to steal property or kids.

The Woodlands is NOT a utopia. NO place is. The demographics are no longer homogeneous (not that that really promotes safety).OUr little neighborhood has evolved into 60% Angleo 35% Latin and the rest is Asian and African American.

And one of the reason I look forward to moving back to Houston is for the pride and loyalty to the neighborhood. I'm sorry, but in general there is no sense of community here. How can there be? People stay here on average 5 years and move. I think I have met one native Woodlander, the rest are using this as a landing pad and pining away for home that is somewhere else.

REAL Community and the REAL small town feel comes from generations (or at least two) having grown up in an area. Pride and the desire to have a good community for their grandkids, to make a place better themselves not just write a check and assume it will be taking care of in a nice neat package, is what makes a place wonderful. And that place can be surrounded by "hoods" and function better than any "Developed Home Town."

The Woodlands isn't perfect, it isn't crime a crime ridden ghetto, its just a place. Weird things happen everywhere. It isn't a bubble, residents pretend there is one so they don't have to worry about anything. Seems to me you have bought the Big Brother Propaganda The Development Company spews.

Peace Out

You are a moderator at VFTW.com?

No the mod moved the picture portion of that thread from the old forum to the new. First pix has my name on the series.

Its a fun and jaded board. I love participating but I have never voted for the worst. After six years I still don't vote. I'm still haven'g gotten over Tamyra.

LOL, what content did you contribute to that?

shhh. They archived it. Don't leak this it will blow the whole personna i have developed here.

http://www.votefortheworst.com/forum/topic65.html

Like the forum, nope, are you?

I visit the site, but don't plan on being a member. Not really a safe for work site at times too.

Yes, but I don't participate much this year. Last year I did the Kellie Pickler Trailer Park Tips.

Pumapayam, are you over at VFTW also?

It's like how some people believe owning a gun makes them safer

I don't believe anymore, I know. This was the second time I had to get the gun since we have lived here. (My son tore down the stairs thinking it was his ride to a sleep over, and before I could stop him he opened the door to some crazy woman. NO, it wasn't a housewife off her Xanex. This one was cracked out and waving her hands everywhere not making any sense. Hubby was trying to get her to move on but she started getting agressive. I got the pistol out just in case. You never know what 'buddies" she had waiting down the street in a car. )

14 years in the Galleria area I NEVER had a problem. But we do keep it in a pistol safe next to the bed with a finger touch code. We have all the hunting weapons in a gun safe.

Ralo, nothing beats good dogs!

well, at least he didn't say stacked gods. They don't allowed places like that in the Woodlands.

are you serious? that scares me. i've never thought there were freaks about like that.

Yeah we Texans have been known to wave guns from time to time.

Anyway Bach, the Woodlands is a great place for many. I just prefer, as you say, more challenge and some buzz around me. I like the housewives around me to be busy in more than just school,sports and neighborhood gossip...not that there is anything wrong with that...........<crickets churp> Also, this "holing up" in the house thing is so foriegn to me. Hubby loves the house and enjoys many aspects of the place, but the lack of service and drive is not fun for him. It was 45 minutes when we moved here, now its up to 90. Last Friday it took him 2.5 hours to get home. I really enjoy him and want him to have more family time.

I am sad for us that this didn't work out, but life is a series of lessons and we just went for a detour for two and a half of them.

ahh bach. We are moving back to Houston. So I will have my local HPD Officer working for the Association patrol to complain to.

FYI. The man standing in our backyard at 11pm last month was not a local kiddo. But it was nothing two good dogs and some old fashion Texas Gun waving couldn't handle. Being that it would be a non priority call, since he wasn't trying to get into the house yet, we didn't really want to wait 20 minutes for back up. I don't think he'll be back.

But the officer who came later in the evening was really nice and took a description. But I'm glad you guys will have the coverage you should have had years ago.

I've heard they are turning that library branch into a new sub-station. Maybe that will help the area. I see tons of reports of auto vandalism and theft in the area. I guess if you have a garage, you must put your car in at night. OR at least in the driveway. Apparently the sentence is harder if they vandal a car park IN the driveway. So it deters them a little.

Wilchester got slammed all last summer on car vandal issues, so its not just the apartments.

We just applied to Second Baptist School. Any "SnootySnot" report on that one?

Agreed. Mitchell should have put in the well ignored bi-laws that palm trees are strictly forbidden in the Piney Woods.

Whole Foods is not the size of a "major" grocery. Its perhaps about 1/3 of the size and its a specialty store. I think the "special" part of it would make it fly if one had to stick to the "original concept" and the original restraints of the Woodlands. But this operating company doesn't seem overly concerned about the "original" concepts.

But I hope you all get it, fresh produce is always a plus.

ok.....because I tried calling WDC and the lady who dealt with this kind of thing was on vacation.

That seems about right.

Debra Staley?

well, it just gets worse. a little bird told me this evening (tues) that this project has, for the most part, completely fallen apart. the developer is blaming the construction company, the developer is trying to cover his a** and so on. the project will no longer be LEED certified, the fountain(s) will not be what was originally planned. one restaurant may be built along with a separate building for doctor's offices.

Bach, I don't think it will be a Rao restaurant either. He is a friend of a friend of ours and they told us a month or so ago that he was pulling out completely. My guess it that it will be another chainish resturant.

All this is sad for those who just bought in Lenox Hills (across the street) under the illusion that it was going to be a First Class Complex.

nobody can speed on woodlands parkway. it's too crowded.

maybe the officers will start nabbing those pesky soccer moms who think stop signs are a suggestion.

Bach I don't think they even realize they are at a stop or even pay attention to the order of those coming to the 4-way. They have a cell phone in one hand, a Starbucks in the other and how to finish their child's science project, with that collegiate look, on their mind.

I love Hunan on Post Oak, always have. When we lived in the Houstonian we had it delivered twice a week. YUM!

We went to Ocean Palace about two weeks ago, and even though I don't like Dim SUm it has been the best place to go. But this last trip the pork ribs were rancid. Fortunately we didn't ingest the stuff, hubby spit it out. The kids would have chowed if he didn't do that. Never going back.

We are just taking things real slow and are in no hurry. We know the general areas we like and will go from there. Last time we put a house on the market it sold the next day, for asking price, and we hadn't chosen a house yet. It was a security blanket nightmare. So we just want to make sure where we are going before we bail completely.

Hubby is set firm on the idea of Wilchester West. However, there are no listing in the interior and few listings overall. BUt since Houston doesn't really go on the market until close to the end of the school year, we hope listings will pick up in April. Maybe Memorial Pines/West Bunker Hill if the right lsituation comes along, but asking prices there are a little on the crazy side right now.

The on ramps FROM Allen Parkway is not for the faint of heart or those without the blessed lady of acceleration behind them. Many of times I've had to step on the gas and HOPE I can spot a place to merge before I run out of lane. I also pray that no idiot ahead of me thinks is a great merging technique to STOP to wait for a spot to open up for them.

Jeez you aren't kidding. I did that once not knowing it was like that and now avoid it at all costs. Its made entering the Old Dallas Central expressway look like a cakewalk.

X-Lapse.

Y'all are bringing me back. Loved NRG, Homage/Red Square, Numbers, Power Tools, and Rich's.

Never got too into EMOS/SOME but that might have had to do with the fact my boyfriend, sister, and I had a knife pulled on us on the dance floor. Not a good high!

Now, to tell you a story that you can make fun of me forever with, one night we went out to NRG. We were all buggin' and feelin' no pain but half our crowd didn't get in (bad fakes). We were desperate to find somewhere to go dance and ended up at some 18 plus club called Club Soda out on Westheimer. Anyone remember that cheese ball factory?

The old record rack on Shepherd/Alabama used to have great cds from the clubs. They had some original NRG music. I miss that place. If you like that music, check out www.razormaid.com

Gosh, I remember all those clubs very well. But first we would stop at La Carafe and have Purple Woo Woos. I was 16/17 and have no clue why I was served them or how I got into those clubs. I might even seen Parrot there!

I did X once and got the massive shivers.......ick. That was enough for me to never do a drug ever again.

Ah the days of Depeche Mode and "Taking a Ride" with my "Own Personal Jesus"

Good luck Katie! I know you want to get back to Houston pretty bad. I hope you can find what you want!

Thanks Parrot! At least we really learned this year what a home Houston truely is and how much we dislike being away from "that big bad city" as Woodlanders term it, and fear it. After two years, when we exited onto Woodway, hubby and I sighed in relief........at that point we knew life in Pleasantville wasn't going to be for long.

We tried to do the right thing and find the "perfect" situation (schools house "enviroment" ), but we learned that there is no perfect so you may as well love the place you live and make do with the rest. We are slow learners! But the bulb is finally glowing.

Wow, have to say I am very impressed with your HOA. The Woodlands was/is horrible about that. The Woodlands is owned, and run by paid employees, the homeowners don't have any final say. Its been a real shock over what people can get away with if they have "the right friends" in the Development company or association. They are able to strip there backyard of foliage, but up lights at the tops of trees, outdoor TVs and massively high pool decks. People really aren't too concerned about being good neighbors that's for sure. No patrol, once a week pickup on the trash... the place smells great in the summer. Kinda miss having a mailbox at my house too. (ok , through bitching once again about the place. Deep breath. I'm moving! yeah)

The patrol and twice a week trash pickupat BL is BEAUTIFUL also. We miss those elements greatly. Tanglewood was equally awesome about such things.

I would assume that your friends did rent an apartment to go to Stratford, I can't see how one can pay taxes for one ISD yet attend another. But I would think Taylor and certainly Memorial Prkwy middle to be better. Spring Forest middle school would not be my pick.

Yes, I too was surprised by the crime around and floating into NF. I think its all the apartments around Tully. That's one of the reasons my husband won't live west of Kirkwood. He grew up in Wilchester and went to Westchester, so he remembers the area well. Seems it hasn't gotten any better.

May I ask where you are moving?

We noticed that Barkers and Fleetwood have few to no crime problems. Nottingham Forest area has a real mess going on, so I guess that's out now <sigh>.I was kind of shocked, but I guess all the Tully apartment spills over. Now Hubby has filed us back to east of Kirkwood excluding Fleetwood and Barkers after viewing the crime map.

Wilchester, south of Memorial still remains solid. But finding an interior home proves difficult.

Barkers/Fleetwood must have a private patrol, I find that deters a lot. But its still that distance to the upper schools that presents a major problem. I think that's what keep the prices low, because other than the lots sizes it doesn't seem to have any other drawbacks.

Thanks we have looked at several of those and passed over several just due to location or condition. The one on Kellywood needed to be leveled and its already pending. I was excited about the one on W. Forest but a flipper had hijacked it and did a cheapo job. Hubby won't live in that area just west of Dairy Ashford but eat of Eldridge.

We may look at the one on Fairport due to the lot size and maybe on on Rockcove , but the seperation from the middle and high school concern me for when the boys want to drive.

So far the right one hasn't come along.

Thanks though!!! If you get inside scoop on something before market let me know.