Considering move to Houston - tips for newcomer

[Willmove4qol]

I'm not in Houston but can share some insight from the POV of a soon-to-be transplant
- 30s Black professional woman (also 100% remote). Have owned/not lived in a rental for several years but will be renting in Houston to start off.
- I was also considering PHX and DFW metros (among other places). I've spent a bit of time getting a feel and apt hunting in PHX (incl Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert) and HTX (City Centre/Memorial City, Westchase, and throughout the loop).
-ditto your #2 criteria. a little less strongly your #1 (I don't mind driving/ubering to nightlife), so some of these neighborhoods might seem off on that vector. One of my top criteria is being walking distance to a good gym and near park/bike trails.

My list:
City Centre (not in the loop, so that's a drawback but plenty of restaurants, some bars and feels lively. The planned urbanity reminds me of some of what i liked about AZ.)
Washington Corridor (seemed to be lively with bars and restaurants)/parts of Rice Military
Uptown near post oak (uptown plaza reminds me a bit of Scottsdale & Biltmore)
Greenway
Less so-
The Heights
Museum District

I ruled out midtown because it seemed to skew more towards 20s professionals/bros & there were too many visible street homeless (trying to get away from that in NYC). Like any area, there might be better pockets here. I'll defer to people actually living in Houston on the nuances of the neighborhoods I listed.

One of my parameters for cities is a solid presence of diverse - particularly Black - professionals who socialize with eachother and aren't excessively insular to transplants. Houston has this covered well for singles. Loved Gilbert and Chandler; liked Biltmore and Scottsdale. Liked some of what I heard about DFW. But ultimately, these places didn't meet that criteria or had other drawbacks.

From what I've seen, your budget is fine for a 1 bedroom in a nice mid-rise with amenities or a studio or small 1 bdrm in a nicer/luxe midrise or high rise, depending on the area. There's a seasonality component to rent pricing, of course (higher in summer/lower in fall/winter). You might want to look into apartment locators.

Have you been in PHX or a similar 110+ dry heat climate during the summer? I like heat and was able to tolerate it but when I thought long and hard about day-to-day life (especially walking & outdoors stuff), the summers gave me pause. Not trying to scare you! Happy to answer any q's.

[Burnley]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

The OP is in his late 30s, so when you're talking about social / nightlife hotspots, keep in mind that may not be the same as what many folks think of as popular nightlife areas, because often those areas are more oriented to post-college and younger adults.

For example, CityCentre may not come to mind immediately for a person in their mid-20s, but I've seen lots of folks in their late 20s to 40s (including lots of AAs) out enjoying themselves there. Uptown also, plus places in Downtown. Midtown - not so much.

CityCentre is more geared towards the 35+ crowd. There are way more families with children hanging out at CityCentre than single professionals. That little outdoor area in the middle of CityCentre is always full of kids running around.

[HeadedWest2020]

Originally Posted by Willmove4qol

I'm not in Houston but can share some insight from the POV of a soon-to-be transplant
- 30s Black professional woman (also 100% remote). Have owned/not lived in a rental for several years but will be renting in Houston to start off.
- I was also considering PHX and DFW metros (among other places). I've spent a bit of time getting a feel and apt hunting in PHX (incl Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert) and HTX (City Centre/Memorial City, Westchase, and throughout the loop).
-ditto your #2 criteria. a little less strongly your #1 (I don't mind driving/ubering to nightlife), so some of these neighborhoods might seem off on that vector. One of my top criteria is being walking distance to a good gym and near park/bike trails.

My list:
City Centre (not in the loop, so that's a drawback but plenty of restaurants, some bars and feels lively. The planned urbanity reminds me of some of what i liked about AZ.)
Washington Corridor (seemed to be lively with bars and restaurants)/parts of Rice Military
Uptown near post oak (uptown plaza reminds me a bit of Scottsdale & Biltmore)
Greenway
Less so-
The Heights
Museum District

I ruled out midtown because it seemed to skew more towards 20s professionals/bros & there were too many visible street homeless (trying to get away from that in NYC). Like any area, there might be better pockets here. I'll defer to people actually living in Houston on the nuances of the neighborhoods I listed.

One of my parameters for cities is a solid presence of diverse - particularly Black - professionals who socialize with eachother and aren't excessively insular to transplants. Houston has this covered well for singles. Loved Gilbert and Chandler; liked Biltmore and Scottsdale. Liked some of what I heard about DFW. But ultimately, these places didn't meet that criteria or had other drawbacks.

From what I've seen, your budget is fine for a 1 bedroom in a nice mid-rise with amenities or a studio or small 1 bdrm in a nicer/luxe midrise or high rise, depending on the area. There's a seasonality component to rent pricing, of course (higher in summer/lower in fall/winter). You might want to look into apartment locators.

Have you been in PHX or a similar 110+ dry heat climate during the summer? I like heat and was able to tolerate it but when I thought long and hard about day-to-day life (especially walking & outdoors stuff), the summers gave me pause. Not trying to scare you! Happy to answer any q's.

Thank you for the detailed feedback. City Centre was also suggested by a family member. Any *bad* areas to avoid that you know of?

[Willmove4qol]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest2020

Thank you for the detailed feedback. City Centre was also suggested by a family member. Any *bad* areas to avoid that you know of?

You know, I've read about "bad" areas (https://housely.com/10-dangerous-neighborhoods-houston/) and parts of nicer areas (downtown, midtown, museum District, med center) that are sketchy at night.

What stands out most to me is that Houston has a property crime issue and understaffed police force. The stats and anecdotal info show the issue is more than typical "big city crime". I call this type of crime "retro" in NYC because it hasnt been a pervasive issue since the 80s/90s crack era.

You can have your car broken into while it's parked in:
- your "controlled access" apartment garage in a "nice" neighborhood (often dozens of cars broken into in one incident)
- nice strip mall parking lot while you're making a CVS run or eating at a sushi restaurant or at the gym
- hospital lot while you're visiting someone
- The lots near Buffalo Bayou
You get the picture.

And leaving nothing at all in your car doesn't guarantee it won't happen. A few have accepted it as the norm to the point that they leave their car doors unlocked so that they don't have to deal with broken windows.

I've also seen apartment reviews mentioning impeccably-timed home break-ins.

Good luck getting the police to thoroughly investigate and track down; there's not enough manpower. Having said all that, for the average person, I think it works out to a 1 in 25 chance that you'll suffer a property crime. Not good, but could be worse, I guess.

This, the flooding and the driving culture are the 3 main drawbacks compared to the other places that you're looking at (from my POV). Even as a New Yorker with lots of situational awareness, the crime stuff in Houston is bothersome to me as a single woman. Ultimately, Houston has enough going for it other areas (for me) to make up for that.

[houston-nomad]

One thing to look for is a neighborhood with an active constable patrol. Their response time is much faster than HPD.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

'Sorry, I did not read all of the posts before posting myself...

For our new transplants, please know that it is perfectly legal, and okay to turn right on a RED stop light in Texas, unless otherwise noted by signage. Thanks, and welcome to Houston!