Moving to Houston (Young Single Professional with a dog) (Howe: apartments, rental)

[MMurphyxxl32]

My company has asked me to move to Houston ASAP. I will be working downtown. I have also heard how bad traffic is in Houston and am dreading that. I am coming from a small town atmosphere where the cost of living is cheap and there isn't any traffic. Where would you recommend a single young professional with an English Bulldog to live? I have heard Galleria, Midtown, or City Centre so far. I wouldn't want to spend more than $2K a month on living. I would like to have a yard for my dog and am not a fan of apartments.

[Mr. Krinkle]

Rent a house/townhome in the Heights, Montrose, or Midtown area (maybe Oak Forest). It won't be cheap as the suburbs, but you will live not dealing with the traffic. There are also a lot of dog friendly bars in the area along with a few dog parks.

[Svensk08]

Like all short-nosed dog breeds, your English Bulldog won't enjoy being outdoors in Houston's heat at all!

[Schumacher713]

Montrose, Heights, Museum District, and Oak Forest/Garden Oaks. Renting a house narrows it down. There are no houses in Midtown. I don't understand why anyone would want to live in CityCentre for any reason other than they don't know the town well. You might have to go the apartment route though. In that case I would concentrate my efforts on Midtown and Montrose. A place like 2121 Amli that sits right on Buffalo Bayou Park.

[Cabot]

Originally Posted by Svensk08

Like all short-nosed dog breeds, your English Bulldog won't enjoy being outdoors in Houston's heat at all!

This. ^^^ Your dog will overheat in no time at all outdoors. Ours loves to sunbathe but we can't let him stay outside for more than a few minutes at a time as he will start panting up a storm. Even in the shade, it is still to hot for him.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

Montrose, Heights, Museum District, and Oak Forest/Garden Oaks. Renting a house narrows it down. There are no houses in Midtown. I don't understand why anyone would want to live in CityCentre for any reason other than they don't know the town well. You might have to go the apartment route though. In that case I would concentrate my efforts on Midtown and Montrose. A place like 2121 Amli that sits right on Buffalo Bayou Park.

WRONG. The east half of Midtown is mostly single family, either townhomes or still some detached homes as well.

I would recommend looking for a rental townhome, or, for more yard and a detached home, the Brooke Smith area, the Near Northside, the East End, or south 3rd Ward / Riverside Terrace area.

[imback]

You don't say where you are moving from (except "small town"), but the interest in a "yard" for your dog makes me wonder if you coming from a radically different climate than Houston.

You cannot leave a breed as severely brachycephalic English bulldogs outside in a yard in Houston even with shade and water, during the months of May - September, at a minimum. Really,
these breeds are best indoor dogs (all the time air-conditioning) imn modt climates, and certainly so in Houston.

This is not a matter of the heat/humidity being unpleasant or uncomfortable for your dog, but potentially fatal. The ability of these breeds to thermoregulate is quite compromised, and your dog may already suffer from clinically manifested Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome (BAS) - which is of course exacerbated by heat. (or has your dog had surgical correction? even so that is not enough to allow him/her to be outside all day in a Houston summer)

You have an interesting challenge in finding housing because you need a situation in which your dog can be inside in the air-conditioning most of the daylight hours for much or most of the year.

(Maybe some situation where you can install a doggie door ??)

Perhaps you already understand this, but I am not sure since you did not spell this out as a special need in your original post.

[Cabot]

I would be hesitant to use a doggie door for an EB in Houston. I have heard of other bulldogs that like to sunbathe like mine. My daft dog lays on the pool deck belly down (another reason he is never left alone outside) and it is so hot, I can barely walk on it barefoot! I would NEVER, ever leave a bulldog outside unsupervised in this climate, ever.

[MMurphyxxl32]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I guess I should have stated that my dog will be an inside dog. I am moving from Tulsa, OK and although it gets hot up here, it isn't as hot as Houston. However, I believe I will treat my dog the same. I will always keep him in the A/C and avoid the risk of overheating. A yard is important for me just for the fact that I currently own a home on a half acre and I am not sure how to help the dog adjust without a yard.

[PedroMartinez]

My next door neighbor's English bulldog died a few years ago due to the August heat. They let her out into their fenced backyard before going to the store. The other neighbor started mowing his yard. The mower would always get her worked up and she'd run back in forth along the fence. They were only gone about half an hour. When my neighbor got home, heard the mower and went into the backyard to bring her in, she was laying there barely breathing. He rushed her to the emergency vet, but it was too late.