Detroiter (Royal Oak, MI) Moving to Houston (Dallas, San Antonio: apartments, for rent)

[crazygingi]

I may be accepting a position very near to the space center in Houston.

I am looking on some advice on where would be a good place for me to move for abt 6 months until I find something permanent. I have been living in Little Rock, AR for a year and a half so I am familar with the south and the heat. I can't wait to be in a big city again, and having places to shop! Yay! Little Rock totally sucks for shopping!

Here are my stats:
-32 y/o single female - boyfriend moving with me.
-can afford about 1000/month for rent.
-originally from Royal Oak, MI (near Detroit), and I loved it there. It was a little trendy city with it's own downtown, and not many national chains.
-job zip 77058

Any suggestions will be appreciated! Thanks!

[LostInHouston]

I'm originally from Michigan (Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti) and moved here about a year and a half ago. I also work in 77058 (clear lake area). You can find plenty of apartments for rent for 1000/month... too many to list. We lived in the Village on the Lake apartments and were happy with them. We just bought a house in the Seabrook area.

The setup here in Houston is quite different than in Michigan. Things are very spread out, traffic is 100 times worse than anywhere in Michigan. It's hard to describe but the cities down here just kind of blend together. In Michigan there's always a distinctive feel to each city. I haven't really found small city downtowns in the clear lake area similar to what you described for Royal Oak (or what I found in Ann Arbor). You have tons of large housing subdivisions, and then large shopping centers and malls. Your never more than 5-10 minutes from a target/wallmart/bestbuy etc... lots of national chains. For higher end shopping, they have everything you'd find at Somerset Mall in Michigan at the Houston Galleria. The Mueseum district in Houston is much better than Detroit. There are tons of great reasturants in the Clear Lake area. The schools are great in the Clear Creek ISD. There's the Kemah Boardwalk which is cool. Galveston is only 30 minutes down the road... and San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and New Orleans are all within driving distance. It's a nice place to live.

So really, I wouldn't venture far away from the Clear Lake area because of the driving issue.

[crazygingi]

Lost in Houston:

Thanks for the feedback. I had a feeling that I'd still be missing my small village feel like I had in Royal Oak, but I can deal with that (as long as there is a Whole Foods nearby). Having a job and having really good shopping nearby helps! There is nothing worse than not having a place to have some fun spending the money we're slaving after!

I'm happy to hear to hear that the museum district is good, and I'm glad to see that some of us Detroiters are making happy lives in the South. Although I do plan on returning home someday...

Take care!
crazygingi.

[LostInHouston]

Originally Posted by crazygingi

Lost in Houston:

Thanks for the feedback. I had a feeling that I'd still be missing my small village feel like I had in Royal Oak, but I can deal with that (as long as there is a Whole Foods nearby). Having a job and having really good shopping nearby helps! There is nothing worse than not having a place to have some fun spending the money we're slaving after!

I'm happy to hear to hear that the museum district is good, and I'm glad to see that some of us Detroiters are making happy lives in the South. Although I do plan on returning home someday...

Take care!
crazygingi.

Someone else is going to have to suggest a Whole Foods type store, because I don't know of any in the Clear Lake Area. All of the Whole Foods stores are at least 35-45mins away (depending on traffic). We end up going to either Target or Kroger. But honestly the produce isn't very good and tends to spoil quickly.

[darrylbaird]

You're not going to find a "Royal Oak" unless you live inside the loop of Houston. That kind of neighborhood rarely exists in Texas' smaller towns. I used to live in a similar neighborhood in Dallas and knew a few people in Houston that lived near Rice or in the Heights that hung out and lived in cool, older neighborhoods.

We now live up the road on Fenton, MI near Flint and have spent some time in Royal Oak. It felt pretty homey. I think you'll find that there is a lot to offer in most of the cities... Galveston, Houston, Austin, Corpus Christi, etc. Clear Lake is a pretty area, lots of water fun, and a bit suburban, but the overall area is really fine. Find some Mexican markets or the docks for good (sea)food, like the Eastern Market in Detroit. Learn to appreciate excellent Mexican food!

[MalteseJane]

I think the closest Whole Foods Market to the Clear Lake area would be the one in Sugarland.