Relocating to Houston from CA w/ fam. need advice (Pearland: apartment, lease)

[tms52479]

Hi all. My husband, 7month old and i are relocating to houston to follow our jobs. we would like to rent a house and spend up to 1200 for rent. i heard katy is a good area to look for the amount we want to spend. our office is near the intersection of Weslayan and Westheimer. how long would that commute be? also, any suggestions on safe neighborhoods that might be closer for us? thanks

[coog78]

Originally Posted by tms52479

Hi all. My husband, 7month old and i are relocating to houston to follow our jobs. we would like to rent a house and spend up to 1200 for rent. i heard katy is a good area to look for the amount we want to spend. our office is near the intersection of Weslayan and Westheimer. how long would that commute be? also, any suggestions on safe neighborhoods that might be closer for us? thanks

For that amount of rent and assuming you want a 2 bedroom, you will definitely need to commute to work from the suburbs. Katy is on I-10 and can be a heavy traffic commute. Think OC, perhaps Fullerton, to downtown LA for comparison. Give a look at Pearland. It is to the south and on a less congested freeway. Weslayan/Westheimer is inner loop, so you'll hit traffic. It is in a great area, but will be substantially more to rent near work. Can you ask future co-workers to do some research for you? I think if you do your homework, you could find something both close and affordable.

www.har.com

[CanTex]

Originally Posted by coog78

For that amount of rent and assuming you want a 2 bedroom, you will definitely need to commute to work from the suburbs. Katy is on I-10 and can be a heavy traffic commute. Think OC, perhaps Fullerton, to downtown LA for comparison. Give a look at Pearland. It is to the south and on a less congested freeway. Weslayan/Westheimer is inner loop, so you'll hit traffic. It is in a great area, but will be substantially more to rent near work. Can you ask future co-workers to do some research for you? I think if you do your homework, you could find something both close and affordable.

www.har.com

But keep in mind, in just a few months, the Katy Freeway re-construction is going to be mostly done and that will make a huge difference in the commuting time. That freeway is going to be massively wider for much of its length.

[jfitexas]

We live in Falcon Point in Katy and love the area. low crime, lots of fine food places and I 10 will be widen to 5 lanes both ways along with a toll lane that I dont think you will need, in October.

[FalconRanch1]

Originally Posted by jfitexas

We live in Falcon Point in Katy and love the area. low crime, lots of fine food places and I 10 will be widen to 5 lanes both ways along with a toll lane that I dont think you will need, in October.

I thought it was going to be 7 lanes both ways plus the additional toll lanes, but ok, it will get better this October. I live in Falcon Ranch, which is right next to Falcon Point, very nice areas, like it was mentioned low crime, and its growing! You know i was in the "same boat" three years ago, me and my entire family, teenagers and all, moved from california (Bay Area) to Texas, we were able to escape the housing bubble and we couldn't be happier with our decision!! Now, for 1200 you might find it hard to rent a "home" on the south side of I-10. In fact, i doubt thier are even homes for that price...We lease a home in Falcon Ranch and it goes for 1600 a month. Typicall 4 bedroom, 3 bath sort of deal. For 1200 you will probably be able to get a real nice apartment in Cinco Ranch, probably 2 bedroom, but very nice. Hope this helps, post something else if you need more info.

[CanTex]

Typical lane configurations are below.

Between I-610 and SH6 in each direction (12 miles) - 18 lanes typical:

3 frontage road lanes
4 main lanes
2 HOV3 lanes (HOV + managed toll)

Between SH6 and SH99 in each direction - 16 lanes typical:

3 frontage road lanes
4 main lanes
1 HOV lane

Between SH99 and Fort Bend County line - 14 lanes typical:

3 frontage road lanes
4 main lanes

[patmurphy]

Houston Speed and Travel Time Reports Travel times etc. Crime/safety: Apartment Crime Locator | Crime Mapping for Houston . Look up crime for schools, neighborhoods, apartment properties, or any other area within the city of Houston.

[Texas Mack]

My friends in South Florida tell me that they've tried to do the HOT lane thing on I-95 in Miami-Dade County as well but that it hasn't worked out very well, mainly because they didn't really reconfigure the expressway like TxDOT reconfigure the Katy Freeway. They just tried to slip in the HOT lanes among the existing lanes. As a result, they've had issues with violators as well as accidents from people getting confused and trying to merge back onto the mainlanes.

[EasilyAmused]

Can't you lease a little house in Meyerland, or those little subdivisions near it, for that amount these days?
You'd be much closer to work than Katy. And with a 7 mo. old you don't exactly need a rocking school district for a few years.

[tstone]

According to HAR.com, rents are a bit more than 1200 in Meyerland these days. They have one for 1300, but 2000+ seems to be the going rate out there.

The other subdivisions near it, maybe. It gets rough fast if you go in the wrong direction.