# Heading to The Woodlands, Texas



## sjrOz (Feb 17, 2015)

Hey fellow Expats,

First post in this forum... Long story short I am being sponsored to move from Australia to Texas for a job in The Woodlands, Texas. Out of curiosity has anyone else settled in The Woodlands or know much about the area? 


Really enjoying reading the forums, lots of good tips!


Cheers everyone!


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Lots of expats there, seems to be a not a bad place to live. Good schools,
That's what I've heard from other expats.


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## locky2807 (Feb 18, 2015)

Hi there
I relocated to The Woodlands from the UK in 2009 and lived there until 2013 when I moved to Atlanta. 
It’s a wonderful place to live but can be a bit too "Disney" in its look and feel for some people. A lot of people who live outside of TW call it "the bubble". It’s very clean and safe.
There is a lot of money in TW due to the large amount of people in the oil industry. But you also get a lot of medical professionals, pilots, wealthy Mexican expats, sports people, etc. 
The schools are great but the students mainly come from very wealthy households. The Woodlands high school parking lot looks like a showroom for Mercedes and BMW.
There is a lot of diversity in where people come from - US, Germany, Mexico, England, Scotland, Australia, Nigeria, etc. But not much in terms of economic diversity. 
Housing market is very buoyant at the moment with properties selling very quickly. 
In summary if this is your first international assignment then I couldn't think of a better place to be.
If you have any specific questions then feel free to send me a message.

Cheers!


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

locky2807 said:


> The Woodlands high school parking lot looks like a showroom for Mercedes and BMW.


Off topic, but it reminds me of our high school when we arrived here, in one of the most affluent towns of Canada. We temporarily rented one of the smaller houses in a predominantly multi-million dollar neighbourhood. I was soooo amazed while looking at the high school parking lot, me standing there with my Scion Xd. Often I couldn't find my car as is was hidden by all the big SUV's that surrounded my car. (I worked in the high school)
Luckily there were also some 'normal' income people. I believe the average family income was $280,000...


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## lovestravel (Apr 9, 2012)

We have lived in those types of suburbs when our kids were growing up. Lots of stepford wives. Everyone dresses the same, everyone's houses are decorated the same. There was lots of pressure to look a certain way and fit in. I was never compelled to tow the line so to speak. There was a lot of peer pressure on our teens. We ended up moving to the city to escape it and never looked back. Our kids went to private schools so they didn't have to change when we moved. For most people, the suburbs are the American Dream and love it. It was great when our kids were young as they could run around the neighbourhood and play with friends without worry. The woodlands and kingwood are lovely if you want that type of lifestyle. Be prepared for long hot and humid summers.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

The Woodlands is a planned community with its complete infrastructure of shopping, dining, education, employment, entertainment/sports. 

We moved from 160 acres to 1/4 acre into a similar set up with properties ranging from 250k to 5m. It was a diverse neighborhood with single professionals , expats (mainly Honda, Mercedes and several universities), families with children to retirees. Commutes were short, plenty of activities, community events, easy to meet pele with similar interests, extremely clean and safe. Our factor was commute.

The Woodlands are in a green belt. Living on the Praerie I do envy you! Yes, it gets hot in summer and somewhat humid. You will spend most of your daytime hours at work anyway.


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