HELP!! Best Place to stay in Houston??
 

My wife and I are moving from UK to Houston in February, and are looking at accomodation rental options.

There is only two of us, the choice (as usual) seems to be an apartment in the city or a house in the suburb. Any thoughts, recommendations for nice areas to live?

I will be working on Post Oak Blvd, near the Galleria. We were thinking of a budget of 850 to 1,300/month rent.

Thanks!

Re: HELP!! Best Place to stay in Houston??
 

I used to live in the 77024 zip code, one of the most affluent zip codes to live in. I was suprised, however, by the low quality of living. For instance, there are no good public parks or places to walk your dog for many miles. You are boxed in by the surrounding city communities with heavy traffic making it impossible to take a quick trip anywhere. You would think if you are paying a heavy price to live somewhere that the the quality of life will at least be better than average. You WILL have access to the best public schools for your kids and be close to the mall. This is what you are really paying for. I recommend you look at the places in the suburbs, if you don't have school-aged kids. Many of Houston's workers have escaped into the suburbs and outlying communities and commute. Start with The Woodlands and Clear Lake. and also keep foremost in mind the commute times/traffic conditions during the rush hours. The traffic headache during peak hours makes all the difference in quality of life. Commute by the toll-road (Hardy Toll Road) is great, the I-10 jam-up is worse than terrible. It can take 45 minutes+ just to go several miles down the road. I almost pity you moving into that mess. The weather is ghastly (extremely humid, day and night) and combined the extremely poor air quality (pollution), it gives people respiratory problems. Do consider living out of the city. Now be forewarned, I know of at least 2 arrival cases where the wife packed her belongings and took the next flight home without the husband.

Some links:

CLEAR LAKE, TEXAS

http://www.searchclearlake.com/

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS

http://www.thewoodlands.com/welcome/about.html

http://www.thewoodlands.com/

Hi Bob,
We reloacted to Houston a month or so ago - we're out along I-10 in Katy because a) we don't work in the city and b) my wifes family are all close by. My brother in law commutes into the city on a daily basis, and it can take anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on timing, and whether he can use the HOV lane (special lane for more than 2 or 3 people in the car, again depending on time).
I've got no idea about rental as we bought - property prices here are very cheap compared to say London. But I noticed a free book in the supermarket yesterday giving a rundown on the apartment complexes in Houston, and the likely rental prices - it has a website, apartmentguide.com which I haven't looked at, but if its a reprint of the book, may be a worthwhile starter for 10.
Good luck!
Mike

Museum District in Houston
 

Hi there,

We recently visited friends of ours who live in Houston and they lived in an area called the Museum District, which was pretty nice. I would recommed looking at the following sites for apt info - most give u pics and rental prices. Good luck!!


http://www.apartments.com
http://www.apartmentguide.com
http://www.rent.com

Houston
 

Cities4rent is also good for apartments.

When you come, are you using a removal firm? If so could you tell us which company, if you got a good deal, and if you liked the service?

Thanks

Re: HELP!! Best Place to stay in Houston??
 

The BEST places to live in Houston are inside the loop, especially if you are working in the Galleria area. A bit more pricey, but worth it, if you'd rather not spend time fighting the traffic. Most surveys cite traffic as the #1 headache to living in Houston.

Look for small rental homes in cities of West University or Bellaire. Prices will fall in the upper end of your range. But security will be better, as these small cities have their own police forces, and there is a small neighborhood feel. Apartments in the area are also a good option, as many have amenities such as weight rooms, pools, etc...

Other pluses - living centrally, you will almost always be against traffic, wherever you're headed. You will also be close to the museum district, theater district, shopping, lots of great restaurants. . .

Personally, my bias against suburbanites is suburbanites. . . generally less well-travelled, more conservative (American style) mentality. . .

Winter and Spring in Houston is fairly wonderful. Fall is tolerable. Summers? Go on vacation! Good luck with your move!

Thanks for your advice. We have gone for a short lease apartment near the Galleria, until we get a better idea of things.

Cheers!

Bob.

You and your wife made the right choice. Houston is a very large spread out city with a lot of traffic. You will get a taste for what feels right - just make sure you time the commute to work.

You could certainly live out in West Houston / Spring Branch and ride Briar Forest / San Felipe in avoiding the freeways.

I've heard the tollway is also not bad as long as you get on early. I have a friend who works in the Galleria area, commutes from The Woodlands. As long as he gets on I-45 by 8:00 he can hit the tollway and be into work by 8:45.

Where you live will ultimately depend on your lifestyle. If you have kids, the burbs would be better schools...HISD is not bad, but some schools are not great.

Regarding Houston weather / culture: Be prepared for hot humid summers. If you can take the heat, the people in Houston are very friendly. Hunting and fishing are big pastimes for men, as is golf. Houston has great Mexican food...and is also known for it's international cuisine / restaurants.

A good guide to restaurants and things to do is citysearch: http://houston.citysearch.com