Apartment for rent (Houston: apartment complex, car insurance, credit)

[shivaprakash]

Hi, I am from India. Planning to move to Houston (workplace likely around ZIP 77002). Have 1 kid and his age is 5 year. Wife is home-maker/house-wife.

1. What is a good area to rent an apartment - peaceful neighborhood with good school options?

2. Budget constraint, 1 Bhk apartment is fine.

3. Best place to buy used car with minimum budget.

Please suggest if anyone knows about it.

[elnina]

What's your budget for the apartment?
Make sure where you will work - traffic matters.
Used car on minimum budget (what's the budget? What kind of car? ) could be a money pit.

[shivaprakash]

Hi Enina

What's your budget for the apartment? - It's between 800 - 1000
Make sure where you will work - traffic matters. - Works in downtown center
Used car on minimum budget (what's the budget? What kind of car? ) - below 10k.

[elnina]

You probably should put into consideration utility costs and deposits for apartment, and cost of car insurance for a new driver. (it's very expensive)
Used car under $10K is doable - cash price, I assume, without established bank credit.
A decent, one bedroom apartment Downtown for under $1K will be hard to find, though.

Is this a job transfer?

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by elnina

cost of car insurance for a new driver. (it's very expensive)

Not really.
Liability only can be easily $100/month or even less.

[airdrawndagger]

Living in downtown on that budget is challenging. If you could up your apt budget to between 1-1.5k, there are some decent apartment complexes in the Heights. Zoned to solid public elementary schools (e.g. Travis, Sinclair), relatively safe, and a 15 min drive to downtown.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by shivaprakash

Hi, I am from India. Planning to move to Houston (workplace likely around ZIP 77002). Have 1 kid and his age is 5 year. Wife is home-maker/house-wife.

1. What is a good area to rent an apartment - peaceful neighborhood with good school options?

2. Budget constraint, 1 Bhk apartment is fine.

3. Best place to buy used car with minimum budget.

Please suggest if anyone knows about it.

Most apartments in Houston that are decent will not rent a 1BR to a family of 3.

Instead of driving Downtown, consider living near a bus stop. Parking is expensive Downtown.

Here's an apartment complex that's on a bus line and is within walking distance of a grocery store. It also is old enough that the rent includes utilities, which is unusual in Houston. I drive by this frequently, which is why I mentioned it. https://www.colonial-apartments.com/floor-plans 2BR is $1100 per month.

[elnina]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

Not really.
Liability only can be easily $100/month or even less.

That's $1200 a year. OP is from India, used to drive on the left. No driving history in the US. Mistakes, till he adjusts his driving style, can cause costly accidents. I would increase the liability insurance a bit, in his case. The Houston traffic is crazy sometimes.
Shopping around helps to get best rate.

[shivaprakash]

I don't need house exact at down center. Even it is far from that place is fine. I am need of near by school area, safest and easily accessible to groceries.

[elnina]

You probably should come here first, rent a weekly hotel, find out where you will work, assess the traffic and commute time. Probably your coworkers will be the best source of all info.