Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are a 30something gay couple who like outdoor activities (i.e. biking), funky shops, dining out, movies and do not have kids, so I'm pretty sure the burbs wouldn't be for us.
Aside from funky shops, I don't know if I'd rule that out so hard & fast based on that criteria. Out here we have neighbors: one gay white+black couple and one Asian lesbian couple who have been here longer than we have, and don't seem to be having any plans to leave. From some discussions, what I understand it seems this area is getting a little bit popular for more conservative gay couples. And growing up in Sugar Land we had a black+white gay couple that lived a few houses down for at least 12 years. It all depends on what kind of living setup you're looking for. Now staying with the ''Under 30 minute commute'' to U of H rule, then I might rule it out. You'd be cutting it close there.
Lease/rent, same thing in the sense that there is going to usually be a minimum term you are committing to. There is HAR.com for those who use MLS and Craigslist for the rest. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in apartment rating sites.
Question: Are you looking for an apartment complex, complete with amenities like pool, theater, etc. (typical of Camden, Post, and Alexan), or are you looking for something more unique, like a duplex/triplex, or smaller complex? Do you want to be in a neighborhood where you can meet and get to know your neighbors, or do you like the relative anonymity that comes from a large complex?
Many of the best older units in established neighborhoods are in high demand and can be difficult to find (the owners need to do very little advertising). So unfortunately you can end up spending lots of timing driving and looking for For Rent signs. if that isn't an option, then Craigslist and HAR.com are going to be your best bet.
Since UH is your target employment area, I recommend you focus anywhere from the west 610 loop on the western edge, south 610 loop on the southern edge, I-10 on the northern edge, and just east of downtown on the eastern edge. You'll hear general names like Galleria area, Highland Village/River Oaks area, Upper Kirby, Montrose (generally know as the gayest part of town), Midtown, EaDo, Eastwood, Medical Center, Museum District (Montrose adjacent), and Rice Village). Lots of areas to throw out there, but you are at least now starting to narrow your search.
Since you don't have kids, and nightlife, restaurants, etc., are going to be important to you, there is no reason to look at the suburbs at this point.
travelguy_73 - thank you for your reply! To answer some of your questions - we are actually most comfortable in a smaller apartment complex - 2 or 3 stories max and would like to be in a quiet setting, but CLOSE to activity. We don't need to be in the thick of things, just close to them. We also would prefer to be in a newer building vs. "vintage". I've had a lot of problems in the past living in older buildings. As far as amenities go, were pretty simple people (relocating from the Midwest for my partner's teaching job) and don't need a lot of bells and whistles like a pool and activity center, but we do like to work out, so if the facility had a workout room, that would be great. Additionally, we have 2 cats and love to grill, so pet friendly and a balcony or patio to grill on would be important. We would certainly entertain renting a house (which would be perfect) if we could find one for a reasonable cost. My partner had to move down very quickly (one week turn around) for her job, so she is currently staying in an extended stay hotel, but would like to find something for us by September 1st. I am still up north packing up. She has mentioned liking a lot of the "M" neighborhoods she's been to: Medical District, Museum District, Montrose, and The Heights. We both drive though and have been told parking could be an issue, so we'd definitely need guaranteed parking wherever we live as well. At least one garage or carport would be the only other "amenity" we'd probably be looking for. Summation: cars, cats, grill, and close to activities. Oh yes, and the original clean, safe, and quiet. Thanks for your input!
In the old parts of town, newer will usually mean more expensive and mega-complex, so you might find yourself compromising style to get in the area you want. $800 is also going to *usually* limit you to older places, and those places won't be in the thick of things, just near them.
How much flexibility do you have in what you can or are willing to pay? You might be able to find something from the 1980s in the Holly Hall/Old Spanish Trail part of the med center, but it isn't a very interesting area to live in (no offense to those that do ). I haven't rented in a long time, but from what I am seeing, you really need to get over $900 to open up your options.
Cheryjohns: Thanks for the link. I will definitely check it out!
tstone: I don't want you to think we are "anti"suburban, it's just that here in the Midwest, generally the burbs are not as friendly towards gay and lesbian couples as urban areas are. I would definitely consider my partner and myself "conservative" in that we are friendly and polite to neighbors, but are quiet and do keep to ourselves. We work long hours and enjoy the peace and quiet of home when we are there, so we would be open to more progressive suburbs if, again, we were within a half hour or so from our work. If you have specific suburbs you believe fit the bill for us, I am open to suggestions. If we can get more bang for our buck there, it's worth looking into!
We could probably push the monthly rent up a bit more, but we don't want to dumb all our money into a rental when we might be looking to buy in the near future.
Cheryjohns: Thanks for the link. I will definitely check it out!
tstone: I don't want you to think we are "anti"suburban, it's just that here in the Midwest, generally the burbs are not as friendly towards gay and lesbian couples as urban areas are. I would definitely consider my partner and myself "conservative" in that we are friendly and polite to neighbors, but are quiet and do keep to ourselves. We work long hours and enjoy the peace and quiet of home when we are there, so we would be open to more progressive suburbs if, again, we were within a half hour or so from our work. If you have specific suburbs you believe fit the bill for us, I am open to suggestions. If we can get more bang for our buck there, it's worth looking into!
We could probably push the monthly rent up a bit more, but we don't want to dumb all our money into a rental when we might be looking to buy in the near future.
Once you leave the inner loop - prices go down and you can get nicer for the money - on a buy or a rental.
Like mentioned by tstone, Houstonians are friendly but not very concerned about your religion, your politics, etc. We have a lot of everybody here and exist well together. As to being gay-friendly, remember we just elected the first openly lesbian mayor of a large city. It really wasn't a big deal until the outside media made it a big deal.
Hello! I am moving to Houston with my partner for work. She will be teaching close to The University of Houston. We do not need to live right in the area but would like to be within a half hour commute. We are looking to rent for now and have been doing quite a bit of research and it seems pretty overwhelming. A LOT of places in our price range (@$800 month - large 1 bedroom or small 2 bedroom) are coming up as red flags on apartmentratings.com and we are starting to worry. We are flexible with neighborhoods and our criteria are, in order of importance:
1. CLEAN (i.e. NO ROACHES)
2. SAFE
3. QUIET with neighbors who are similar
We are hoping to move in Sept. 1st. Thank you for any input you can provide.
I moved into a 1 BR in Montrose (artsy, bohemian, LGBT, and younger) and love it. There are lots of shops, bars, and restaurants nearby. Plus it centrally located and close to UH. My apartment complex is located on Richmond, which will hopefully (in the somewhat near future) will have a rail line constructed on it that will be able to drop you off at UH.
travelguy_73 - thank you for your reply! To answer some of your questions - we are actually most comfortable in a smaller apartment complex - 2 or 3 stories max and would like to be in a quiet setting, but CLOSE to activity. We don't need to be in the thick of things, just close to them. We also would prefer to be in a newer building vs. "vintage". I've had a lot of problems in the past living in older buildings. As far as amenities go, were pretty simple people (relocating from the Midwest for my partner's teaching job) and don't need a lot of bells and whistles like a pool and activity center, but we do like to work out, so if the facility had a workout room, that would be great. Additionally, we have 2 cats and love to grill, so pet friendly and a balcony or patio to grill on would be important. We would certainly entertain renting a house (which would be perfect) if we could find one for a reasonable cost. My partner had to move down very quickly (one week turn around) for her job, so she is currently staying in an extended stay hotel, but would like to find something for us by September 1st. I am still up north packing up. She has mentioned liking a lot of the "M" neighborhoods she's been to: Medical District, Museum District, Montrose, and The Heights. We both drive though and have been told parking could be an issue, so we'd definitely need guaranteed parking wherever we live as well. At least one garage or carport would be the only other "amenity" we'd probably be looking for. Summation: cars, cats, grill, and close to activities. Oh yes, and the original clean, safe, and quiet. Thanks for your input!
I am moving to Houston in late September and I have been plowing through HAR.com for two weeks. For your price range I would suggest TMC condo land area. Try zip code search 77054 and there will be around 20 listings for good sized 1br or 2br condos with covered parking under $850/m. The neighborhood is not great but bearable, according to my research and the responses to my thread here a week ago. I myself plan to start making phone calls next week and get a condo in that area.
Another apartment listing site that I go to is Rice U's off-campus housing database: Rice Student Center (http://offcampus.rice.edu/index.php?PHPSESSID=a17bb67ac5064521397bc85b2a92fc 44 - broken link). It's not as fancy as HAR.cm but I have occasionally seen good deals there. They were surely gone fast, sigh.
Last edited by Rogers1867; 08-20-2010 at 07:08 AM..
I moved into a 1 BR in Montrose (artsy, bohemian, LGBT, and younger) and love it. There are lots of shops, bars, and restaurants nearby. Plus it centrally located and close to UH. My apartment complex is located on Richmond, which will hopefully (in the somewhat near future) will have a rail line constructed on it that will be able to drop you off at UH.
Thanks dv1033! It sounds like an area we would enjoy and feel comfortable in as long as the building was clean and the area safe. Are there any openings in your building??? Worth asking since you have such great things to say about it!
I am moving to Houston in late September and I have been plowing through HAR.com for two weeks. For your price range I would suggest TMC condo land area. Try zip code search 77054 and there will be around 20 listings for good sized 1br or 2br condos with covered parking under $850/m. The neighborhood is not great but bearable, according to my research and the responses to my thread here a week ago. I myself plan to start making phone calls next week and get a condo in that area.
Another apartment listing site that I go to is Rice U's off-campus housing database: Rice Student Center (http://offcampus.rice.edu/index.php?PHPSESSID=a17bb67ac5064521397bc85b2a92fc 44 - broken link). It's not as fancy as HAR.cm but I have occasionally seen good deals there. They were surely gone fast, sigh.
Thank you Rogers1867! I am wondering what "TMC condo land area" means. Sorry about not understanding a lot of the verbiage being used here, but everything is happening REALLY QUICKLY for us and I am trying to ascertain as much info as possible in a really short time frame -- quite frankly, the amount of listings is overwhelming right now! I do wish HAR.com had a better filtering mechanism to pair down choices because it really feels like I'm sifting through a lot of units that match my price point, but don't fit in other ways -- it would also help to know who accepts cats too since that's a definite "have to" for us.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). I haven't rented in a long time, but from what I am seeing, you really need to get over $900 to open up your options.
Thanks tstone and Cheryjohns!
