Where to live? Working in Sugar Land and downtown

[ilikeme]

Check out Glenshire. It's a nice neighborhood right near 59 and Beltway 8. Easy access to Sugar Land (less than 10 min) and downtown. I live in the area and commute downtown daily.

[Mr. Krinkle]

Originally Posted by aero100

If you want to get into midtown or montrose you probably won't find freestanding homes with yards renting at that price point, would be townhomes and duplexes.

There are a few bungalows for rent in Montrose in the $2k range. There are some townhomes that aren't connected in Midtown as well, although a little harder to find.

[aero100]

Originally Posted by Mr. Krinkle

There are a few bungalows for rent in Montrose in the $2k range. There are some townhomes that aren't connected in Midtown as well, although a little harder to find.

I stand corrected, there's a few Montrose bungalows on HAR at ~$2300-$2500 or so. That is the best place for just 2 people in their 20s to live.

Also a lot of those houses never hit HAR. A decade ago I rented a couple of places in Montrose at below market rate for owners that were out of town long term for work. I'm handy and was able to keep those old places in shape and deal with problems, which was really valuable to the "accidental landlords" thousands of miles away I was renting from. I loved managing those old houses and they loved having someone reliable watching over their property.

[Mr. Krinkle]

Yeah, I was walking around the other day and saw some signs for rent and they weren't listed on HAR. Most of them pretty small ~ 1300sq ft, but plenty big enough for two people.

If you look, around you can find some. I found a great deal on Craigslist a couple of years ago.

Rental prices are going down.
This is a nice size townhouse in a great location with a back patio
623 Hawthorne St #5, HOUSTON, TX 77006 - HAR.com

Great looking bungalow
802 Bomar St, Houston, TX 77006 - HAR.com

And a duplex you were talking about. You need to be carefull of duplexes becuase some have thin walls. The price has dropped on this one.
113 Pacific #2, Houston, TX 77006 - HAR.com

[jasonbo]

Kinda in the same boat I work Westpark area wife works downtown. We chose to live downtown (block 334) Midtown just still seemed very sketchy in places. Though Gray and Bagby area is really nice. We looked at Skyhouse but wanted two bedrooms. There top floor corner apt is really nice though. At Block 334 we pay 2200 a month for a 2 bedroom 13 month lease. she walks the tunnel to work I drive takes me about 15 mins to and 20 to 30 back. There is a big homeless population they leave you alone for the most part. Lucky we have nice security at our building so when she needs to walk the dog they will usually walk with her.

[Mr. Krinkle]

The south part of downtown still pretty much sucks. Hopefully that changes with the new residental towers and hotels. I'm not sure how long it will take with the Greyhound station so close by.

[flysurfer]

Thank you all for your great contributions. We're still undecided on where to live. We have no trouble with a 30 min commute. We have been looking in various area's you suggested and thinks that we will end up in W University or upper Kirby. We prefer to have a little yard instead of a balcony so that gives us a bit more options within our budget.

However, are there some bars / terraces we would be able to walk/cycle to or do we need to take the car anywhere if we decide to live in these area's? Still not sure how walk-able this city will be. Not looking for wild nightlife, but a relaxed terrace with some cocktails and some restaurants in walking / cycling distance would be great. According to google maps Montrose would be the closest spot with some decent bars and restaurants, but that would definitely be out of walking range.

[RedOrDead_YNWA]

Originally Posted by flysurfer

Thank you all for your great contributions. We're still undecided on where to live. We have no trouble with a 30 min commute. We have been looking in various area's you suggested and thinks that we will end up in W University or upper Kirby. We prefer to have a little yard instead of a balcony so that gives us a bit more options within our budget.

However, are there some bars / terraces we would be able to walk/cycle to or do we need to take the car anywhere if we decide to live in these area's? Still not sure how walk-able this city will be. Not looking for wild nightlife, but a relaxed terrace with some cocktails and some restaurants in walking / cycling distance would be great. According to google maps Montrose would be the closest spot with some decent bars and restaurants, but that would definitely be out of walking range.

Houston is not very walkable. The walkability will be confined to the restaurants and bars in your immediate neighborhood, wherever you decide to end up, you can't really walk from neighborhood to neighborhood. If you lived in upper Kirby, you'd have to drive/Uber to Montrose, and vice versa.

That said Montrose is your best bet, it has the most dense collection of bars and restaurants within walking range of residential.

West University also has Rice Village nearby, depending on where you are it may be a walk to get to Rice Village, but once you're it's a nice area with bars, restaurants, shops, very walkable.

Upper Kirby isn't very dense, so it would be a bit more a walk to go from place to place.

If you have no trouble with a 30 minute commute, then also look at the Washington corridor and also the Heights area, it's a bit more driving to get to/from Sugarland because you'd have to cut across the city every time, but it would be right about 30 minutes, and those areas also meet your criteria for freestanding homes near to bars/restaurants/shops. I lived off the Washington corridor for a couple years while still heading to Sugarland for work every day, it was fine, not as quick in and out as Midtown was, but still fine.

[wi-to-tx3]

EaDo/Montrose/Galleria would all be decent options. Midtown too, but the northern part is kind of party central. I'm not sure if you'll find within your budget though. Here's a little more on neighborhoods for young professionals: https://themovein.com/houston-neighborhoods/