Houston neighborhoods

T

texasdoc_2002

25+ Posts
Please discuss the positives and negatives of the following neighborhood in Houston. My good friends are wanting to buy a house closer to town - budget is ~ $1.2 mil max.

West U/Southside place
Bellaire
Southamptom
River Oaks

Important things: Diversity of thought/ethnicity, good schools, not too snooty (some to be expected), property which will hold value, relatively "lively" place to live (meaning not like dull suburbia).

Thanks.
 
I grew up in Bellaire and the Meyerland area so I don't know too much about the last two places.

Bellaire and West U are both great places to live. Very safe and responsive fire and police system. Bellaire feels like it has a little more room than West U because the streets are a little larger. I guess what would probably sell me on Bellaire over West U these days would be access to Loop 610 and the ease of access to the rest of the city quickly.

But regardless both areas are great and worth the price to live there.
 
We lived just to the west of Bellaire and West U for 4 years. I really like that area. West U is more likely to be what your friends seek but Bellaire would be a great alternative.
 
I grew up in the Southampton area and now live near Bellaire and West U. Southampton is a little bit funkier; West U/Bellaire is better if you've got kids.

The schools are about the same. Poe, River Oaks and Roberts are all good elementary schools, as are Twain and West U. Pershing, Lanier and Pin Oak are the junior highs in the area and all are as good as HISD gets. Lanier is a little better than Pershing, but Pershing is catching up fast.

There's just a little more breathing room the further out you go.
 
I would go Southapton. The area is sightly more diverse and has a really good feel about it. You won't loose anywhere you go, but if diversity is a key issue I feel Southapton has just a bit more than the others
 
If I had a $1.2 million dollar budget, I would not go to Bellaire. Memorial area is great... you might even be able to get a nice patch of land in the process with in a safe, green and quiet area that is accessible to everything.
 
You get an old piece of crap in River Oaks for 1.2 mil. Nice place to hang out in, though.

We just moved about 2 blocks in from River Oaks, between W. Gray and Allen Parkway. Very mixed residential modes, but scads of great restaurants within a 3 block walking radius. And the trip to downtown is 5 minutes.

We didn't choose Bellaire or West U. because they are too far from downtown (another 5 or 10 minutes). Actually, they are subject to afternoon 59 traffic. Plus, they just looked too Ozzie and Harrriet for us, now that we don't give a **** about local school districts.

Anyway, for under 1 mil you can get a palace in the area just inside Shepherd. There are many newbuilds in there. Small yards, but, that's life in the city. Or did your friends really want a suburban lifestyle?

Cue Talking Heads tune...
 
$1.2 mill can get you a 4,000+ sq. ft. house on a wooded acre of land in the Memorial Villages. No-brainer to me.
 
it will get you a 45 year old ranch style on an acre...then it will require about $200k to build a 2007 style kitchen and replace all the light fixtures, hardware, paint, get rid of the shag carpet, etc.

Memorial Villages are nice, but $1.2 and an acre minimum gets you not much in the way of house.
 
Southampton! Hell, for LESS than 1.2, you can get brand new.HAR
1831868-12.jpg
 
Bunker Hill
4600 sq. ft. home
20,000 sq. ft. wooded lot (don't have people right on your *** like Bellaire)
Remodeled in '03 and '06
$1.185 M
The Link
 
That link shows the Bunker Hill house was built in 1960 (!). There aren't many homes in the Memorial Villages that are that old. It has a new kitchen, bath and hardwoods, but there are bound to be extra hidden expenses with a 47 year old house.
 
TXHookem, good find. things are quite as costly there.

Sweetwater, which I am much more familiar with (due to proximity, I don't live there) runs the gammut. should be several options under 1.2 that are quite nice.
 
Sweetwater? On a good day you're looking at a minimum of 45-60 minutes worth of driving to downtown. On a bad day, the commute could run 90+ minutes. Plus, while Sugarland has some color, it's really just another faceless suburb.
 
How is tanglewood?

Sugarland to me anyway seems to have more character then your average suburb. But, I am just trying to provide info to them so they can figure out where to buy.
 
msn had a link listing the neighborhoods that had their property values drop the most in a one year period. Tanglewood was listed as dropping something absurd like 30% in one year. I was shocked because it seems like a nice area.

If they are going to look in Sugarland, they should probably consider The Woodlands area. Lots of nice houses with tall trees.
 
Sweetwater to downtown Houston is rarely going to be more than 50 minutes, even with terrible traffic. 35 minutes on a normal time.

Macanudo, you're behind the times in your H-town travel.
 
If you're willing to move to the suburbs than I can't recommend the Clear Lake/Clear Lake Shores/Kemah/Seabrook area enough. I was looking (more dreaming) about a house on the water in Clear Lake Shores that was about 3000 sqft for $900k. The Clear Creek School district is awesome and there are a ton of very good restaurants and funky little bars down there to keep you entertained. It does take about 45 minutes to and hour to get to and from downtown during rush hour, but from my experience, Sugar Land is much worse.

The thing that bugs me about Sugar Land is that it seems very plastic. The Town Center has a few decent restaurants and whatnot, but all in all, it seems very manufactured. I suppose the Bay Area has some of that too (as does any suburb) but there is enough funkiness down there to keep it cool and interesting.
 
I live in first colony in sugar land, about 8-10 minutes further from freeway access than SweetWater. I drive to downtown everyday. Rarely does it take me more than 50 minutes, door to door. I would bet SW would be 8-10 minutes faster than that.

driving in 59 is much preferred over 45.

I'm not gonna deny some of the plastic feel of SL.

even better freeway access, but without the great schools is Arkyle Lakes (sp) area of Sugar Land off of 90. Large lots and some cool older homes and some really big nice places.
 
SL seems relatively conservative to me - a new money 'burb of Houston geared towards families - thus the lack of funkiness.

However, it seems to me to have its own character - incredibly diverse with large asian and Indian populaitons and all the interesting places/restaurants/cultural centers that brings about. Some very nice neighborhoods, great golf courses, plenty of parks for the kiddos etc. Good restaurants and easy access to west Houston, which is where the excitement is.

Yes, there is a cookie cutter element to many of the areas, but Sweetwater and Avalon are not those kind of areas.
 
Man, I just don't know how you can pass up an opportunity to live on the water. If I could afford it, I would be there in a heartbeat.

Also, I don't understand how 59 is in anyway superior to 45. The 59/610 and 59/8 interchanges are the worst traffic in Houston.
 
rtc, those interchanges are only bad if you're getting off/on 59.

If you're staying on 59 just stay to the far left and, yes, you'll slow up a bit, but it isn't bad.
 
I cannot fathom spending over $1M on a house in a suburb, but that's me.

then again, there are probably $1M redos where i grew up (memorial and wilcrest)
 
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