I don't want to live near apartment complexes (Houston, San Antonio: low income, real estate)

[honeyinhouston]

I don't want to offend anyone, but I'm looking to move within the next year and I don't want to live near any apartment complexes. I've noticed in the city of Houston and some surrounding suburbs that within 5 to 10 years of a new subdivision being built with apartments near it, the apartments tend to go downhill. This will eventually lower the property values of that subdivision. Are there any nice subdivisions (new or old) in the Houston area without apartments in it?

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by honeyinhouston

I don't want to offend anyone, but I'm looking to move within the next year and I don't want to live near any apartment complexes. I've noticed in the city of Houston and some surrounding suburbs that within 5 to 10 years of a new subdivision being built with apartments near it, the apartments tend to go downhill. This will eventually lower the property values of that subdivision. Are there any nice subdivisions (new or old) in the Houston area without apartments in it?

true only if the level of education (atleast) of the tenants are going downhill.

[Mr. Football]

Houston has no zoning and a plethora of people on public assistance. It'd blow your mind if you knew how many apartments out there were filled with people taking advantage of the various low-income housing programs. Houston is a Candyland for Slumlords.

[Sarasota_Blues]

I'd be interested in knowing if anyone can actually answer the OP's question. I believe I understand what is her major concern. I will not be as politically correct as she was though. The truth is folks, that anywhere where there are major apartment complexes, major crime is not far behind. Another thread here had many responses from someone asking where the major crime in Houston was. There were links given to Houston police statistics showing where the major crime areas in the city are. The top 3 areas in Houston for crime were listed as the following:

1. North Houston east of I-45 near the Greenspoint Mall. (This area is noted mostly for property crimes (auto and burglary).

2. Southwest Houston bordered by Highway 59 and Bissonnet (Crimes are more violent here, ranking the highest in rape, robbery and assault.)

3. Northwest Houston along Highway 290 from the West Loop to Tidwell. Property crimes are the problem here -- burglaries, car break-ins and car theft.

An excerpt from an online story:
"In a three-mile radius there's about 28,000 apartments, a lot of these people don't know each other. There's no sense of community, they have no ownership of anything that's around them. And many of these apartments house low-income families, which means no money for on-site security. No security means these families are easier targets."

That statement almost sounds as if the people who live in these apartments are the victims. I guarantee you, that most of the criminals operating in these areas live in those same apartment complexes. Many of the people living in these complexes are the same low income, drug infested, welfare scamming people out perpetrating these very crimes. I feel for the few unfortunate law-abiding souls that must live in these complexes. However, many people that live there choose their own lifestyle.

Now, there IS a difference between these large inner-city project complexes, and better maintained, mostly owner occupied condos and townhouses, which may or may not have security.

Disclaimer: I've been researching Houston on this site, and others, and am trying to get a feel for the city. Despite the areas I listed above, I know almost nothing about Houston, and actually haven't even BEEN to Houston since 1981. I have a short visit planned in August.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by honeyinhouston

I don't want to offend anyone, but I'm looking to move within the next year and I don't want to live near any apartment complexes. I've noticed in the city of Houston and some surrounding suburbs that within 5 to 10 years of a new subdivision being built with apartments near it, the apartments tend to go downhill. This will eventually lower the property values of that subdivision. Are there any nice subdivisions (new or old) in the Houston area without apartments in it?

Check out Mo. City

[jfre81]

Houston is nothing like it was in '81...mostly for the better. Most of the worst parts of town were either there by '81 or well on its way there, and then crack and the oil bust came and delivered the KO punch. These are where the worst apartment complexes are.

The city's making well-meaning efforts, even if it's hit-or-miss results, to reclaim these areas. Unfortunately it needs to do more to step up against these slumlords. There is a difference between a landlord and a slumlord. A landlord is someone who makes an effort to be a decent neighbor and keeps their property kept up and as safe as they can reasonably make it. A slumlord is someone who will sit on any piece of property that they might possibly be able to profit from either in the present or future and let it rot in the meantime. This is true for those crappy, crime-ridden apartments off Bissonnet and it's true for the cats who own the abandoned high-rise buildings in lower Downtown and Midtown. All the city needs to do is tax that lot as if it's prime real estate (which it is, no matter what else is around it - it's square in the middle of the fourth-largest city ferchrissakes) and not as if it was a slum on the edge of town. All of these people should be forced out of business and there are plenty of over-the-table, legal options to do it. But Bill White is more concerned with the strip clubs...

[OutOfMyWay]

what part of town will you be working in?

What is the farthest your are willing to drive to work?

Any other requirements besides NO APARTMENTS?

[jfre81]

There are no apartments in Waelder, Texas that I know of and it's a straight shot down I-10 to and from downtown. (Downtown Houston and San Antonio!) Leave at 3:30 am, stop at Shipley's and get some fresh glazed to bring to the office and you'll get to work on time. You'll eat all the donuts sitting in traffic on the Katy Freeway, though, and you'll get fat and your wallet will get getting thin (because of gas, and I mean the kind you put in your car) if you make a habit of it.

The point is, this a sprawled out city that just happens to be the fourth largest in the United States, that has with no zoning. Most people who buy property here make some compromises.

[love roses]

Yeah, I can't think of anywhere in Houston that apartments are not at least close to a neighborhood. I hate the fact that Houston doesn't have any zoning rules. I understand what you mean. But I have to say that not all the apartments are bad, or have bad tenants. Mainly the ones already stated above would be areas to stay away from.

[modster]

About the best bet on that would be either the large master planned communites, where a major swath of land is under the control of one developer and the volume of apartments are limited. Places like Kingwood, Woodlands, Clear Lake City. They will still have them, but it won't be overwhelming.

The other option is well established inner-loop type areas.