The Woodlands Named Best Master Planned Community of the Year
The Woodlands Civic Ballet Performs at Market Street
Woodlands Named Best Master Planned Community of the Year
The Greater Houston Builders Association has named The Woodlands, TX the Best Master Planned Community of the Year for 2010. Over five-thousand acres of protected greenspace combined with a vibrant urban center which includes the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, two movie theaters, Market Street, The Woodlands Mall, and numerous restaurants, makes The Woodlands one of the greenest communities in the United States without sacrificing close proximity to shops, restaurants, and cultural events. At last count, The Woodlands also boasted over one-hundred-and-fifty miles of bicycle paths and more than a hundred parks, along with numerous pools and golf courses.
Woodlands Ranked Number Two Best Selling Master Planned Community of the Year
In addition to being recognized as the best master planned community in Texas in 2010, The Woodlands also had the distinction of being ranked the Number Two Best Selling Master Planned Community in the United States by RCLCO. According to RCLCO, the best selling communities contain or are located in close proximity to job centers, offer a wide range of housing options, and have amenities and life-style elements which attract value-oriented buyers. Housing options in The Woodlands now include apartment-living in parklike settings, urban condos and townhomes, patio homes, traditional suburban houses, active seniors-only subdivisions, lakefront houses, homes overlooking golf courses, homes which back up to nature preserves, and a few estate homes on acreage.
The Woodlands is located within commuting distance of Houston which Forbes has named as one of the three best U.S. cities in which to earn a living. Some of the more recent construction in The Woodlands reflects new consumer trends which include downsizing living space and yards in exchange for greater amenities and more open areas, as well as forgoing traditional formal dining and formal living rooms for more multi-functional indoor spaces.
Tips for People Living In or Relocating to The Woodlands
Check It Out
The Montgomery County Memorial Library System has an extensive collection of books as well as audio-visual materials, but they are spread throughout seven branches across the county. The good news is that you can access the the library's catalog online and, using the number on the back of your library card, order a book from any branch in the system. The book will be delivered to whichever branch you select and you will be notified when it arrives. In addition to the books the county itself has acquired, the system allows you to order, borrow, and return books from the Lone Star College collection. These books will also be delivered to the branch of your choice.
Tap into the Airwaves
For the cost of an HD-TV antenna, you can pick up over three dozen stations from the public air waves and you won't have to worry about your the cable going out or about your kids stumbling across adult programs. Due to the many tall trees in our area, you will need to mount the antenna on the highest point on your roof or may even need to use a pole extension, to receive all the stations. Worried about violating some kind of deed restrictions? The FCC protects your right to mount an antenna that is designed to receive local television broadcasts up to twelve feet above the roofline if you own your home and it is a single-family dwelling. (If you live in a condo, townhome, or other housing with a shared rooftop or if you are renting your home from a landlord, you do not have this protection).
As a caveat, some homes in The Woodlands are able to pick up the free Wi-Fi service that is broadcast to many of the local parks. Beware that the service is not particularly fast and that it is completely unsecured, making it potentially risky to use it to shop, pay bills, or bank online. If your laptop is charged but your Internet receiver should go down during a power outage, you may be able to pick up a signal from the nearest park.
Take a Trip to the Not-So-Far East
While The Woodlands boasts a wide variety of twenty-first century sports and leisure activities, including water parks, dancing fountains, black light golf, FFPS sports, and dog parks, you can indulge in a bit of retro-fun on the east side of I-45. Skate to music on an old-fashioned wooden rink at Sk8town, just a couple of miles down Rayford Rd. Take the family bowling, play some pool, or empty your pockets in the arcade at Main Event, on the I-45 feeder road behind Red Robin, just south of Research-Forest - Tamina Rd. Catch a trail ride or learn to ride a horse on your own at Loveland Ranch, two miles east of I-45 off Rayford Rd.
Travel fifteen minutes north to downtown Conroe for the annual Cajun Catfish Festival with a stage featuring live entertainment, roped off streets filled with a vast variety of food vendors, and a parking area converted to a carnival with an old-fashioned fairway and rides that light up after dark. Feeling nostalgic? Drive fifteen minutes south to Old Town Spring, where historic buildings around the old railroad depot house quaint shops and restaurants. Dine at the haunted Wunsche Brothers Cafe, originally built as a saloon in 1902.
Think Twice Before Buying a Tankless Water Heater
Everyone who lived in The Woodlands when Hurricane Ike hit remembers being without electricity for a week or two. Fortunately, most Woodlands homes have gas stoves and gas water heaters, meaning that residents could cook indoors and take hot showers and hot baths even when the power failed. Since then, tankless water heaters have become increasingly popular. What the advertisements for these appliances don't mention is that they don't work without electricity.
Maintain Your Air Conditioner
While The Woodlands may be deemed a near-perfect community by some, its hot and humid Gulf Coast summers can be daunting. Residents of The Woodlands tend to hibernate in the summer, remaining inside their air conditioned homes and offices, The Woodlands Mall, local movie theaters, and indoor fitness centers. Outdoor summer activities are mostly limited to swimming in one of the many community pools or walking after dark. Here in The Woodlands, air conditioning is a necessity rather than a luxury. A central air conditioning system not only keeps residents comfortable but prevents mold and mildew from contaminating carpets and furnishings. If you live in or are relocating to The Woodlands, make sure you know how to maintain your air conditioning system. Proper care of your air conditioning system will not only reduce your electrical bills, reduce the risk of breakdowns, and increase your unit's lifespan, but will also reduce the risk of water damage.
Carry a Sweater - Especially in the Summer
This may sound crazy to newcomers, but long time residents can all recall at least one time they have shivered in a church service, in a class, at a conference, or at a movie when they arrived wearing light summer clothing only to find the air conditioner system cranked down so low the venue could have doubled as a meat locker.
Go Green in the Winter
If you have a heavily shaded backyard, as many Woodlands homes do, the odds are you have an extraordinarily muddy backyard during the often rainy winter months as even shade-tolerant grasses will not carpet the ground beneath a thick canopy of trees. Buy a bag of rye grass seed in October and throw it down in those areas where there is little or no grass. As the weather cools and the trees lose their leaves the rye grass will take off. You may wish to thinnly overseed your summer grass at the same time so that your backyard will be a nice, uniform color. You'll have to mow throughout the winter but children and pets will track in far less mud.
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The Woodlands Named Best Master Planned Community of the Year
