House budget $600,000: where should I live? (Houston, Austin: houses, neighborhood, schools)

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

When did paying a small fortune for a small old home become charming?

When did buying a sprawling new cookie-cutter house an hour from work become appealing?

To each his own.

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by DSL_PWR

Make sure you check the crime stats for those areas mentioned near 610, they are not good.

Fall Creek is good and Summerwood might be ok as well.

anywhere in houston, eh....

Check the crime around Fall Creek, not great either.

[jhawkinstx]

I would check out the vagrants and the crimes stats in all the neighborhoods mentioned..... their was actually talk of a class action lawsuit by the homeless community against developers pushing them out of their traditional areas........ not a good mix of new money and old vagrants......get a good security system...

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by houston-nomad

When did buying a sprawling new cookie-cutter house an hour from work become appealing?

To each his own.

I'd say a new house with plenty of room with a nice big yard at an affordable price has been appealing for quite a long time, even with a long commute.

Of course, I don't think anybody has acted like the long commute adds any appeal; therefore, it does strike me odd that a big price tag makes the old small house charming.

[KatieKennedy]

If you like the funky vibe of South Congress in Austin, you would be miserable in Fall Creek or Summerwood which are cookie cutter suburbs with chain restaurants. Try for the Heights or Garden Oaks. Harvard Elementary in the Heights is good but Field is getting better. There are many houses for sale in the Heights these days in the $600 range. You will have a short commute into downtown, and your spouse can reverse commute up 1-45 or the Hardy Toll Road to Spring. Garden Oaks Elementary was just awarded the Blue Ribbon school award. It is very close to the Heights and about the same time in terms of commute. This link appeared in another city data post about Garden Oaks Elementary http://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/201...-ribbon-award/

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by KatieKennedy

If you like the funky vibe of South Congress in Austin, you would be miserable in Fall Creek or Summerwood which are cookie cutter suburbs with chain restaurants. Try for the Heights or Garden Oaks. Harvard Elementary in the Heights is good but Field is getting better. There are many houses for sale in the Heights these days in the $600 range. You will have a short commute into downtown, and your spouse can reverse commute up 1-45 or the Hardy Toll Road to Spring. Garden Oaks Elementary was just awarded the Blue Ribbon school award. It is very close to the Heights and about the same time in terms of commute. This link appeared in another city data post about Garden Oaks Elementary HISD schools win National Blue Ribbon Award | News Blog

So, are you saying Rising Sun, which sits at the entrance to Fall Creek, is a chain restaurant?

When I spoke to the owner asking him if he might ever open a location close to me, he said he likes being able to put all his energy into his one restaurant.

[houstongal22]

If school is a deal breaker I will say start by that. You can check schools here This link includes public, charter and private schools . You can enter an address or zipcode and it gives you the schools with ratings and you can even do a comparison. There is also this one

For crime statistics in the Greater Houston Area visit Crime Statistics or SpotCrime

If commute is more important then narrow it to the general area you like. Your budget will allow you to have options, depending of what you are looking for in regards of house criteria and neighborhood amenities.

[Houston321]

Did you factor in about $18,000 per year for property tax or so on your 600K budget? I ask, because I deal with a lot of buyers who come from other states where property tax is about 1% or so, it's triple that here in many spots.

[lotophage]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

Of course, I don't think anybody has acted like the long commute adds any appeal; therefore, it does strike me odd that a big price tag makes the old small house charming.

I didn't mean the price tag made it charming. But the Heights has significantly older houses than most other places in Houston. Well-maintained houses from a hundred years ago have charm, I think, a little like New Orleans or San Francisco. The small lots make the neighborhood feel more tight-knit, lots of people outside walking and talking to one another. I don't live there, but I would. I think the prices are right for the desirability and lifestyle, but not everyone is going to agree obviously.

[jerbear30]

I was looking at prices in the Heights, and they are higher than I was thinking. That said, I do like the looks of those older bungalow style homes. People are paying a lot of money for them, which kind of proves their desirability at least to a certain set of the population. I like that they are in a "neighborhood" setting and that they are so close to the city. The heights also has an "artsy" vibe, although that is probably changing pretty rapidly with the rising prices.

Still, there are a lot of decent houses in the area for 600k or less and that's where I'd look if I were in the situation of the op.