I asked a similar question almost 2 years ago when I moved to Houston. Now, I'm hoping to buy a house and I'm scouting locations and I was hoping perhaps people had some recommendations for neighborhoods. I've found a number of good internet resources and -- don't worry -- other sources of info besides this BBS, but more suggestions are always welcome. So, if you know of any neighborhoods that might meet the following criteria, I'd love to hear about it and what's worthwhile about it: Important Criteria: Inside the loop or right outside No deed restrictions (thanks Jeff for that thread on HOAs, though that's not why it's important) Older neighborhood Is not an utter ghetto Ignore: Price Race Crime And remember, the wisdom of my decisions with the largest single investment of my whole life is resting squarely on your shoulders! Don't let me down!
The Historic Sixth Ward. Lot's of old homes in the shadow of downtown. Very nice but yet, inner city. The Heights. Although it's as spotty as a dalmation, you can have $500,000 new construction right next door to run-down, cars on blocks, bass thumping, outdoor beer drinking, littering neighbors.... The Montrose. The West End. check out http://www.har.com http://www.peopleloveporches.com http://www.erealty.com good luck
First off, check out www.har.com. It's the website for the Houston Association of Realtors. You can search by zip code, price range, type of dwelling, map quadrant, etc. etc. It's a great resource. As far as neighborhoods go, I bought my house a year ago. It's right on the borderline of Meyerland and Westbury, about a half mile outside the Loop. I'm about as close to inside the Loop as someone outside the Loop can get. It's convenient for getting to the Med Center, West U., Montrose, etc., especially since South Main was widened. The neighborhood is nice and quiet. All of my neighbors are retired people. The houses and yards are all kept up very nicely. Houses in the area are pretty affordable unless they are in Meyerland proper. Anything zoned to Bellaire High School will cost more. My house is zoned to Westbury, but since I'm single and have no kids it doesn't matter to me. Stay on the north side of Westbury becuase it does seem to get worse the further south in the neighborhood you go. I would recommend it, especially for first time homebuyers.
My wife and I have lived in the Heights now for 6 years and love it. There are spots that are bordering on opulent (Harvard between 10th and 20th comes to mind as well as Heights Blvd. itself) and others in disrepair (areas in the extreme southwest corner below 11th for example). You just have to look at the house and the street it is on. We have great neighbors. We also have some noise from 11th, but that's life. Just make sure to check the block (and block behind you) for decent houses and nice neighbors but, generally, gentrification has set in and it is hard to find an area that isn't worth living in. Check http://www.houstonheights.org/ for more info.
Thanks to all so far. Tex: I've been looking at Westbury. My impression is that it is deed restricted. Is that true? It's a very important point for me. Thanks for the link. Also, I know you're just looking out for me, but I'll go ahead and post a couple of the other great resources I know of (besdies HAR), so others aren't tempted to. http://www.hcad.org/ http://www.ci.houston.tx.us/pd/superNeigh.htm Jeff: Don't worry, your neighborhood will get plenty of consideration. My agent specializes in the area. Thanks for the link though. rH: Thanks for the links as well. Sixth Ward and West End I had not considered.
JV, My house is basically in the West End and I enjoyed living there. It is undergoing a lot of change and the property value alone is shooting up fast, so it is a good investment if you want to turn it around fast. I worked at Richmond and Kirby and it was terribly convenient. If you are considering the Heights, you should consider there as well - close and prices are similar to lower, depending on what you buy.
I'm looking too so this advice has been helpful. My hopes of winning the lottery and moving into Royal Oaks are starting to fade. I'd like to move to a neighborhood on the SW side of town...anywhere between downtown and Sugarland. I just want a place where me and my neighbors DON'T have to put bars on the doors and windows. OS
Yes, Westbury is deed restricted. Why are you trying to avoid a deed-restricted neighborhood? Just curious....
My wife is a cake-designer (see sig) and we'd ideally like the flexibility of being able to operate a business open to the public from home. The business is not currently open to the public in that manner and may continue in that mode but we would like the option to go either way. So, heavily deed-restricted areas would be too burdensome for a home business, lightly-restricted areas would be ok but would not allow a sign, and unrestricted areas would allow a sign. We'll explore unrestricted areas first and, if we can't get we need in a home, will probably settle for something lightly-restricted. Plus, I want to paint my house a florescent violet.
I gotcha. I believe Westbury is on the light deed-restricted side of the fence. You probably could do the home business but not be able to put up the sign. The florescent violet thing, wellllll....... Actually, I have a neighbor who has a home business, but it's stock-market related and he doesn't have the need to put up a sign. For what it's worth....
Cakes and purple -- you could be our neighbor any day! Honestly, you're smart to start looking in the older non-restricted communities. People are just a little more laid back about that stuff inside the loop. Jeff runs a recording studio out of our back office. Our home's previous owners had a woodshop back there with some pretty serious equipment. People just seem to look at that stuff as part of the charm of this neigborhood. I think you were joking about the purple house, but one drive through the Heights will tell you that no one would look twice if you did decide to go violet. There's some pretty wild color combinations around here.
I agree with Mrs. JB. Go with the heights or the adjacent areas. I was going to suggest Woodshire and other neighborhoods adjacent Meyerland and Bellaaire if you're inerested in schools. Heights would seem ideal for what you are interested in but with purple and cake decorating business signs....
Ever type in the names of famous people, athletes, etc on the HCAD site? It shows exactly where they live and how much their house is worth. Scary. os
