Help...where Should I Live?????? (Houston, San Antonio: relocating, estate, apartment)

[pdlgarza]

I'm relocating from San Antonio and will want to rent before I decide on where I'll want to buy and set down roots.

I'm looking for the most reasonably priced, SAFEST, family friendliest, conveniently located subdivision/neighborhood/area to the Galleria where I will soon be working.

I don't want to pay more than $1500 a month in rent. I love neighborhoods with mature trees. Not these strip mined new big box retailer subdivisions that are taking over. Don't get me wrong...if the price and the square footage is right I'll consider a box as long as there are trees (at least in my yard) not Charlie Brown style either.

I dont want to live anywhere on the fringe of or skirting high crime areas...i'm a single mom of 3 little ones and don't need to add that to the list of stuff to worry about.

Any ideas?

[EasilyAmused]

You can easily rent a townhouse on Augusta or Bering, Potomac or Nantucket in zip 77057. It's an area wedged between Tanglewood and Briargrove termed Westhaven Estates. Try to stay North of San Felipe. Very nice complexes with trees, Tanglewood Park nearby. All zoned to Briargrove Elem, which is fantastic.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by pdlgarza

I'm relocating from San Antonio and will want to rent before I decide on where I'll want to buy and set down roots.

I'm looking for the most reasonably priced, SAFEST, family friendliest, conveniently located subdivision/neighborhood/area to the Galleria where I will soon be working.

I don't want to pay more than $1500 a month in rent. I love neighborhoods with mature trees. Not these strip mined new big box retailer subdivisions that are taking over. Don't get me wrong...if the price and the square footage is right I'll consider a box as long as there are trees (at least in my yard) not Charlie Brown style either.

I dont want to live anywhere on the fringe of or skirting high crime areas...i'm a single mom of 3 little ones and don't need to add that to the list of stuff to worry about.

Any ideas?

You might check the nicer areas of Westbury or Willowbend, maybe Maplewood (NOT Maplewood South).

[pdlgarza]

Thanks...I just want to make sure I'm not close to any high crime areas. I'll definitely check into these neighborhoods.

[brookeb1119]

I live off Augusta. It's the best apartment so far and I feel fairly safe. Though I walk my dog at night I still hold my house key between my knuckles. I check crime stats and things still do happen fairly often. This is just in comparison to all the other places I"ve been!

If you have kids though, there isn't any play space in any of these places that I know of on Augusta. It's very cramped.

The neighborhood I love is Tanglewilde. There, I see older couples walking their Goldens at night, and it's an older neighborhood with remodeled ranch homes from teh 60's. The rent I found is approx. 1500, because we looked into it. I lived down the street in an apt (if you live in that zip code, be in a house, not an apt!), and I have a friend that lives there. He says it's very quiet and friendly.
It's between Westheimer and Richmond, and east of Gessner.

[HTownNearNative]

I'm also in this area (Galleria). NORTH of San Felipe is FAR from cramped. I wholeheartedly second EasilyAmused's post. This area is zoned to the best HISD schools Briargrove Elementary and TH Rogers. The YMCA is on Augusta north of San Felipe. It is an GREAT, GREAT place for families to stay active. Tanglewood Park is in the corner of Bering and Woodway, a short walk away. They have a playground for children there.

Woodway Point is a fine condominium complex that comes to mind that might have townhomes for rent and is walking distance to the park as well as to the YMCA, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Starbucks and a few restaurants, all with a nice upscale neighborhood feel. Be sure whether it's Bering/Augusta/Nantucket/Potomac it's on the 500-1500 blocks. Above 1700 block would be south of San Felipe Rd. Other key streets that run perpendicular to the streets mentioned: Doliver/Valley Forge/Sugar Hill up to 6000 block is great here with Tanglegrove/Tanglewest townhomes which have playgrounds for children as well.

I used to live in the Tanglewilde area and although the home subdivision is as Brookeb described, it IS in a fringe area surrounded by bad and good-gone-bad apartment communities. It is also not zoned to the better HISD schools. I have witnesed the general area taking a turn for the worse in recent years.

[briargreen_sucks]

Don't move to the Briar Green Condos, we are having problems with management. It is a big headache and you will end up wasting a lot of money on maint fees...

[pdlgarza]

Thanks so much...I'm checking into all of the suggestions. I'm hesitant to live anywhere that I feel nervous walking at night without holding keys between my knuckles. It's probably the smart thing to do in any case, but I prefer not to feel as if it's a necessity. I'll be checking out some of these places this weekend, so if there's any other suggestions I welcome them.

[EasilyAmused]

I think any single woman walking at night, anywhere in America, feels like they need to hold keys in their knuckles.
That part of Houston is one of the safest in the urban area. Most crime is car break-ins, cars left on the street overnight. But that's everywhere.

Also, tons of people use the Briargrove school as the playground after hours and on the weekends. There is so much to do there for the kids.

[HTownNearNative]

PdlGarza - please note that the Briar Green condos community noted above is nowhere near the Galleria area. It is in the Medical Center area which is not the area you are inquiring about.