Move to MD Anderson, Houston for a year. Need your advice.

[wstaffor]

Originally Posted by TDAlmighty

Finding a house with that budget that allows dog that big on a 1 year lease is going to be tough unless you go out to Pearland. I do not understand why you would 4X your commute and increase your expensives significantly for your pet -- especially if your wife can take it out occasionally. Even for a brand-new well insulated house, you are virtually guaranteed an electricity bill of $100 per 1000 sq/ft and the commuting cost (fuel/wear-tear) will be high as well.

Good luck to you and let us know how it turns out because I would be very happy for you if you were able to prove me wrong. We could use the info for other people here that have similar situations in the future.

My electric bill has never, not even once, been $100/1000sqft. Just saying.

[TDAlmighty]

Originally Posted by wstaffor

My electric bill has never, not even once, been $100/1000sqft. Just saying.

If you live in a single family detached in Houston and your electric bill has never been more than $100 per 1000 sq. ft. then you are definitely in a very small minority. Check out any of the past threads on this topic such as this one: Electric bill in houston

[Indecision2011]

My husband is doing a one year fellowship and we live in The Maroneal apartments with 3 little ones, no dog though, but I see dogs and I almost stepped on some dog sh*t the other day

pros: it's so close, I feel relatively safe but I wouldn't go out at night alone and walk the streets or anything. in the 7 months we've been here there was one or maybe two nights where cars were broken into. My husband's bike was stolen a couple months after we moved in...he used to ride it to work when the weather was nice. there's a park 2-3 blocks away which is nice for the kids. the apartment is nestled in a neighborhood. we are really close to Rice Village and Wholefoods isn't too far away and Super Target is pretty close by. Hermann Park, Houston Zoo, and all the museums are really close by and that is nice. We take the kids often. I recommend getting the one year family membership. It's also nice having my kids' pediatrician office like 5 minutes away in the med center.

cons: it's kind of expensive. for the townhouse units (2 br 2 bath, some with a study) plus attached garage you'd have to pay $1800-$2100 I think. I almost wish I had gotten one of those units because not having a garage and dragging 3 kids to the parking lot is a big pain. also the unit I have seems dark, I don't really like the layout that much. I think the townhome units they had were more inviting. i have to also mention the new tile floors they have here are hideous. they are like concrete. i hate them.

We were out of town when looking so didn't have a lot of time but now I wished we would have checked out what houses they had for rent. I think I didn't bother to look because I didn't want to live in something pre-1978 because I have lead paint phobia and didn't want to deal with yard maintenance.

We also looked at Kirby Place which seemed okay also but they didn't have 3 bedrooms which was what i needed but I did like the layout of the 2 bedroom plus loft that they had. I don't remember if they had garages attached to any of the units. I know a couple people who lived in Camden Vanderbilt and said it was okay too.

Anyway sorry for rambling but major pro about living here is the commute...it's so much better esp if you get called in and stuff you can just hop on over. (when we used to live in a house during my hubby's residency and he had a 20-25 minute drive to the hospital I could tell he would get really annoyed when he got a call to go in, now when he gets called in he says "oh I gotta go in real quick, see ya")..but anyway overall I don't really like being in an apt esp with kids. it feels cramped (but maybe there are other apts or units that feel more open and inviting), i miss not having the garage. ( i miss yard too but I don't have to have that, we can take kids to the park and they went to the pool during the summer and early fall) but I just think we are only here for a year so I am gonna tough it out.

[ILTRAD]

I lived in an apartment with 2 small children and a big dog for 3 months and it was really difficult. Dogs need to be taken out at least 3-4 times per day. I would load the kids in wagon, head down the hall being pulled by the dog to the elevator, do the walk, carry my bag of poop way around the building to the trash area, and then head back upstairs. I had to plan the trips around naps and bedtime too because I couldn't leave the kids by themselves. And the days that it rained all day were really fun. I would take the wagon to my car instead, drive about a mile to the park, get the dog out in the rain, poop trip then back up. Consumed massive parts of my day and really limited what we could do. And our downstairs neighbors constantly complained about my kids jumping and running. I guess what I'm trying to say is if you decide to go the apartment route, make sure the outside is easily accessible.

We are in the southgate area now in a 2/1 duplex which is about a mile from the med center (zip 77030)-wonderful neighborhood, safe, close to parks, the museums, several preschools, very family oriented. Small single family houses probably start around $1800 but there are several 2/1 duplexes that will rent for $1100-1500 (ours rents for $1375 including water, cable and Internet). Our half of the electric/gas bill has never been more than $150. And your commute would absolutely be a bike ride away or a 5 min drive. I would check craigslist and more should come on the market in may after the rice kids give notice.
Good luck!

[Houston Native]

If you're getting to work before 630 you'll probably make good time after that traffic is pretty heavy on 288. Coming home at 5? That will be busy. The $800 price you mentioned most likely will get you a dump that you wouldn't like for your family. From your other comments, I don't think living along the light rail will meet your criteria.

[TDAlmighty]

Iltrad -- both Greenbriar and Maroneal have walk-out first floor apartments. Were you in a high rise?

[ILTRAD]

Originally Posted by TDAlmighty

Iltrad -- both Greenbriar and Maroneal have walk-out first floor apartments. Were you in a high rise?

Not a high rise - second floor with interior hallways. Even on first floor, walk out would definitely be key. And either attached or parking directly in front of the unit.