Ethnically diverse neighborhoods around 77079? (Houston, Spring: transplants, apartments, house)

[mingna]

Hi All. My husband will be working slightly north of IAH, but we were not impressed with any of the available housing options in NE Houston/Kingwood/Spring. We are willing to endure a 30-35min. commute in order to live in an area with good access to a wide range of shopping, restaurants, parks, mature trees in the neighborhoods and decent schools. We would especially like to live in an ethinically diverse and dynamic area, with good ethnic restaurants, and a diverse student body for my elementary school aged children. Our search led us to the West Memorial Area 77079.


A perusal of previous threads relating to 77079 area homes left me with the impression that these neighborhoods are comprised mainly of white, upper-middle class, college educated young families and retirees. Is this correct? Will an Asian person moving here feel somewhat isolated from the rest of the community? Do schools with a higher percentage of lower-income ethnic minorities negatively affect the quality of a childs' education? Are there any neighborhoods in the vicinity that meet these criteria? Some of these questions are somewhat touchy, I know, but I would appreciate feedback.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

[EasilyAmused]

Your estimation of a 30 minute commute to north of IAH is pretty optimistic. Even reverse commuting at rush hour, with no wrecks and rain, will likely exceed that.

Some of the Klien schools are very good, and the neighborhoods have good diversity numbers.The commute makes a lot more sense than going to the other side of the planet.the Woodlands actually has a growing Asian and Hispanic population, but sadly no real ethnic foods...but a drive to Chinatown on the weekend is certainly doable.

Bellaire/Southdale/meyerland,basically same price range and closer to IAH via 59, has a very large Asian/middle eastern demographic and known for its public schools and proximity to ethnic food.

[sxrckr]

Isn't there a Korean and Polish area of town east of there? Just north of I-10 a few miles inside the Beltway?

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Isn't there a Korean and Polish area of town east of there? Just north of I-10 a few miles inside the Beltway?

77055 and 77080.

[mingna]

Correction, his job is just south of IAH on Beltway 8. We did a simulated commute on a rainy Monday morning from the 77024 area and it was about 35 min, so I thought this would be doable from 77079, with its quick access to Beltway 8. Not familiar with Kilen; will look into it. Options using 59 are not an option for us due to heavy evening traffic, and with it the communitites further south like Bellaire, etc. I think 77079 is the farthest out we can go.

[colcat]

Originally Posted by mingna

Hi All. My husband will be working slightly north of IAH, but we were not impressed with any of the available housing options in NE Houston/Kingwood/Spring. We are willing to endure a 30-35min. commute in order to live in an area with good access to a wide range of shopping, restaurants, parks, mature trees in the neighborhoods and decent schools. We would especially like to live in an ethinically diverse and dynamic area, with good ethnic restaurants, and a diverse student body for my elementary school aged children. Our search led us to the West Memorial Area 77079.


A perusal of previous threads relating to 77079 area homes left me with the impression that these neighborhoods are comprised mainly of white, upper-middle class, college educated young families and retirees. Is this correct? Will an Asian person moving here feel somewhat isolated from the rest of the community? Do schools with a higher percentage of lower-income ethnic minorities negatively affect the quality of a childs' education? Are there any neighborhoods in the vicinity that meet these criteria? Some of these questions are somewhat touchy, I know, but I would appreciate feedback.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Yes, you must stay as far away as possible from those aweful " white, upper-middle class, college educated families and retirees. You would not be able to leave your house after dark!

[Johnhw2]

My former neighborhood in 77079 (KISD in the western end) Was diverse in my view. A good number of Asians, Indians and others from all over the globe. A good mediterrean restaurant we use to visit called Benedicts (on Memorial near West Lake) is partly owned and run by a great Iranian who has been successful in the Houston restaurant scene over the decades.. give it a look see. I agree it will be a longer rush hour commute to the work location from this neighborhood..more like 45 minutes on avg...some days slightly better, others worse

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

My former neighborhood in 77079 (KISD in the western end) Was diverse in my view. A good number of Asians, Indians and others from all over the globe. A good mediterrean restaurant we use to visit called Benedicts (on Memorial near West Lake) is partly owned and run by a great Iranian who has been successful in the Houston restaurant scene over the decades.. give it a look see. I agree it will be a longer rush hour commute to the work location from this neighborhood..more like 45 minutes on avg...some days slightly better, others worse

Yes, the west side, by highway 6, is where the "diversity" numbers pick up...

But looking at city-data demographics pie charts for 77380 (the woodlands) and 77079, they really aren't that far off from each other. Just the 77380 will have fewer apartments in the equation, and will be in the same hemisphere. kids get sick at the darnedest times, you really want live near where you work if possible in any large city.

[mingna]

Originally Posted by colcat

Yes, you must stay as far away as possible from those aweful " white, upper-middle class, college educated families and retirees. You would not be able to leave your house after dark!

Yeah, I thought I would get a reply like this. Let me clarify. I am an educated (Ph.D in science field), Asian who decided to be a stay at home mom. Due to my husbands' job, we have lived across the US, Shanghai, and London. In all these numerous moves, I have experienced a common phenomenom: in those neighborhoods that we haved lived in that were mainly white (whether native or transplants) I struggled to find any sense of community beyond the polite, distant acknowlegment every now and then. Dinner invitations were rarely reciprocated, plates of home-baked Christmas cookies cooly accepted, and efforts to make eye contact while out in the neighborhood in order to say "hi!" rarely returned.

I love to bike, hike, garden, read (tried joining neighborhood book clubs to no avail), travel, visit museums, am curious about others' life experiences and different cultures, moderate/independent politically. I believe that all these traits should lend itself to being a good neighbor and having some success in making new friends in these neighborhood, but this was not the case. In areas I lived that contained a higher proportion of minorities I had no such problem. Made long-standing friend from people from all over the world of many ethnicities: Afghan, Persians, Greek, Bulgarians, Mexicans, Indians, Chinese, Morroccan, Thais...

Although I would love to live in the 77079 area, with it's mature leafy neighborhoods, parks, and access to those amenities that would enhance my lifestyle, I am hesistant to put down so much money (we were looking at $750,000-900,000 homes) if I find myself in a neighborhood where I will have difficulty in forming a sense of community with my neighbors, playmates for my kids, and just new friends in general.

So I ask this question not to "be with my own" or in order to stay away from "white people" (my husband is a Yankee of English extraction), but to ensure that I will find a welcoming neighborhood community regardless of my skin color.

[ToyYot]

Originally Posted by mingna

Yeah, I thought I would get a reply like this. Let me clarify. I am an educated (Ph.D in science field), Asian who decided to be a stay at home mom. Due to my husbands' job, we have lived across the US, Shanghai, and London. In all these numerous moves, I have experienced a common phenomenom: in those neighborhoods that we haved lived in that were mainly white (whether native or transplants) I struggled to find any sense of community beyond the polite, distant acknowlegment every now and then. Dinner invitations were rarely reciprocated, plates of home-baked Christmas cookies cooly accepted, and efforts to make eye contact while out in the neighborhood in order to say "hi!" rarely returned.

You get this when you're white too! Unfortunetely it can be difficult to break into a new neighborhood socially, I think it's more a product of the times then a racial thing. The last street we were on was a bit like you described, our new street is fantastic (same neighborhood). Good neighorbors really help.

But I get what your'e saying.

The neighborhoods within this area tend to be quite segregated along ecomonic lines, thus ethnic lines. The end result is a mix in the schools that is not reflected in the neighborhoods.


If that's not what you're looking for this may help:


http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer