PJScot

Hello all,

We are a family from Aberdeen looking into moving to the Houston area next summer.My husband works for Schlumberger and is looking to be transferred to either Rosharon or Sugar Land for 3 years.

We are looking at it as a positive family and work experience. Our children will be 6 and 9 next year. We enjoy the outdoors and would be seeking new opportunities. Currently I enjoy endurance horse riding and my husband is a keen off-road rally driver. Our children would love meeting new children and spending time outdoors around a pool!

I have done a little research and there are lots of questions buzzing around my head and wonder if anyone can help? A reasonable work commute ie less than 45 minutes and good schools (probably private as work will pay) are also a priority.

1. I think Rosharon will be the better work experience but we would prefer to live in a reasonable sized community, where would you suggest?? We are wondering if Rosharon is a complete no-no as too far out...

2. Would I be able to ride within 30 minute drive of Sugar Land? I'm talking distance/western riding something outside the schooling dressage/showjumping environment probably readily available in the city?

3. What type of school would be the best option if we were to return to the UK after 3 years and rejoin the British school system?

4. Anybody know about off-road clubs in the area?


Many thanks for reading, I know I've posted quite a lot of questions so feel free to let me know your thoughts on any.

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE.

As your post contains quite a lot of details I will move it over to our US Forums. We have many members who have moved from Aberdeen to Houston...they will probably be able to help you with your questions.

Good luck with the move.

bakedbean

Hi PJScot and welcome to the forum. Do check out the US section of this forum. There are loads of folks to help you out with any questions you may have. I think you should be able to find it OK from the main index page but, if you get stuck on anything, just shout.

Weeze

Lots of people have done to move from Aberdeen to Houston. We arrived 2 1/2 years ago from Kingswells.
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Houston,_TX

This is you basic guide to Houston. Riding wise, there are lots of riding schools everywhere. Western riding and specialized riding was avaliable west of Houston as I researched it for my sister.
Unfortunately I can't help with those areas, but we have people living in Sugarland who should be able to help.
School wise, it's going to depend on area. I use private pre-schools and then will be using an American elementary as my school is excellently rated.

ChocolateBabz

Hi, we moved from Stonehaven to Pearland (South of Houston) almost 5 years ago. Can't help with a lot of your questions as you have different interests to us but I would imagine being a bit further out of Houston you would be more likely to find horse riding, off roading and outdoorsy stuff. Have you been to Houston before? it get's mega hot and humid in the summer months but if you don't mind that (or are used to it) it won't bother you. I don't like to be too far from my a/c June - October .

The only time we went to Rosharon it was for my husband to skydive and it was definitely more 'rural' than where we are, it just depends what you are looking for. Would you be able to come for a visit before relocating then you could have a scout about.

There are several private schools including The British School of Houston but Sugarland/Rosharon would be quite a drive to drop off/collect the kids in Houston traffic unless they have a bus from the area. We moved when my son was 9 but he went to the local elementary.

Have a look at city-data.com on their Houston forum for more info, you can search for private school threads and maybe even post for info on riding/off roading.

Good luck with the move

PJScot

Many thanks for replies so far.
We would be moving from Milltimber in Aberdeen , we like the semi-rural location here but appreciate the size of Houston and traffic problems. Having lived in Manchester I'm very aware Aberdeen doesn't have any traffic problems in comparison!
My husband has worked in Houston before so I am aware of how oppressive the weather can be, but see it as an experience... I have family in Canada and have visited several times so have a bit of experience of what life may be like in Texas, just bigger, hotter and no snow!?
Thanks for the info about the website for city data and rentals.

Bob

Aberdeen to Houston, there's a thread on this from last week, should be a bit down, worth a poke.

scrubbedexpat097

Rosharon is as non- community as you can get, a couple of gas stations, a bar or two and 3 Texas State Prisons and of course the parachute jumping club! Alvin, Angleton and Pearland are the closest towns to Rosharon. Angleton (where I work) is still a fairly country type town with a good school district, the only private school is either the Christian school or the nearby catholic school. Plenty of horses/horse riding in the area.

fallingwater

Quite a few children from Schlumberger families attended the Honor Roll School in Sugar Land when we arrived here some years ago now. It still has a good reputation I think. Other popular school choices are Awty and the British School. Sugar Land is an easy place to live with lots of housing choices. Sienna Plantation is really pretty, and has Sienna Stables where we used to go riding.