ATL to West Houston -- Young, Single, Outdoors? (San Antonio, Austin: apartments, rent)

[OutdoorsInTX]

Hi everyone! It looks like I might be transferred to Houston. I'll be working in the Westchase area (Westheimer Rd / Beltway 8). I'm in my early 20s, mid/upper level income, and single. I'd rather be mountain biking, climbing, or hiking than doing the bar scene.

Atlanta has been amazing.
- 10 min to four diff. parks (biking / hiking)
- 15 min to the office (one road, easy drive)
- 20 min to downtown (theatre / museums)
- 1 hr to the mountains (climbing / backpacking)

Where can I find the same setup in Houston? Ok, ok... I know it won't be exactly the same (max elev is 125 ft). I'll deal. I don't care AT ALL about schools, politics, shopping, dining. It would be nice to be in an area with lots of single, young professionals -- but I really just want four things:

1. Close to the office (30 min max)
2. Easy access to after-work weekday biking / hiking (15 min max)
3. Possible day-trips on the weekends to exotic locales (90 min max)
4. Twice a month culture at the theatre / museums (45 min max)

Any suggestions? Thoughts? I was considering the area near George Bush Park, but I read another thread talking about high crime / poverty west of Beltway 8. True?

[anenglishinamerica]

Originally Posted by OutdoorsInTX

Hi everyone! It looks like I might be transferred to Houston. I'll be working in the Westchase area (Westheimer Rd / Beltway 8). I'm in my early 20s, mid/upper level income, and single. I'd rather be mountain biking, climbing, or hiking than doing the bar scene.

Atlanta has been amazing.
- 10 min to four diff. parks (biking / hiking)
- 15 min to the office (one road, easy drive)
- 20 min to downtown (theatre / museums)
- 1 hr to the mountains (climbing / backpacking)

Where can I find the same setup in Houston? Ok, ok... I know it won't be exactly the same (max elev is 125 ft). I'll deal. I don't care AT ALL about schools, politics, shopping, dining. It would be nice to be in an area with lots of single, young professionals -- but I really just want four things:

1. Close to the office (30 min max)
2. Easy access to after-work weekday biking / hiking (15 min max)
3. Possible day-trips on the weekends to exotic locales (90 min max)
4. Twice a month culture at the theatre / museums (45 min max)

Any suggestions? Thoughts? I was considering the area near George Bush Park, but I read another thread talking about high crime / poverty west of Beltway 8. True?

Hi!
Some areas of beltway 8 can be a bit unsavory if you go south of Westhiemer. Above this area is known as Memorial, and is quite nice- although expensive to live in.

Personally, I think Bear Creek Park is a nice park, theres biking & walking trails, and a small 'zoo' area (buffalos, emus, etc!)

http://houston.citysearch.com/profile/9940342/

Also, being on the West side of Houston, this gives you easier opportunities to get out to the hill country. From this area, Austin and San antonio will take about 2-3 hours...but theres lovely countryside in between. Theres also lots of nice park in and around the coastal areas on SE Texas...

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/

As for living, theres several nice apartments around I-10, which is not too far from the Park. Try www.rent.com

This area is about 30 mins to westchase. Its also near I-10, so you can head downtown from here. Note that there is building work on i-10 to make it wider, and has been going on for ages, but I dont think traffic is that bad. Theres lots of short cuts anyways.

[Premont]

Theres a waterway in Houston called Buffalo Bayou and along it on the west side of town is a hike and bike trail called Hershey Park. It runs from Highway 6 to Beltway 8. There's a spot underneath beltway 8 where you can park your car and use the trail. There's also Memorial Park, which has trails, but that's closer to downtown.

The area of George Bush Park you're talking about is at the far west edge of the city. That's where I live. It's near Highway 6, which is the west end of the city and west of that is the Katy area. It's by and large a nice area. It's becoming known as "the energy corridor" because there's a lot of oil businesses on the west side.

Check out Eldridge, 6 and Dairy Ashford just south of I-10. If you want to be closer to your work drive down Memorial and Brian Forrest which go west to east south of I-10. Memorial is all nice and Briar Forrest is a blend of good neighborhoods and low rent type apartments. Briar Forrest east of the Beltway is all good. If you go east of the beltway, you may want to check out Gessner between Westheimer and Memorial.

[OutdoorsInTX]

Originally Posted by anenglishinamerica

Hi!...

Great thoughts! I was thinking of the south side of George Bush, but it makes a lot of sense to be on the top. That would give me a choice between Bear Creek and George Bush -- depending on what turns out to be more fun.

It also looks like it gets rid of the crime problem. So, it's not area WEST of the Beltway that's sketchy, it's area SOUTH of Westheimer?

Also like the idea of using that to escape out I-10 to the hill country in the West. Definitely worthwhile. I like it! Any specific areas in that zone (midway between George Bush and Bear Creek around I-10) I should either avoid altogether or that you would recommend?

[OutdoorsInTX]

Originally Posted by Premont

Theres a waterway in Houston called Buffalo Bayou...

I like it! Thanks for the heads up about Buffallo Bayou / Hershey Park. I see the greenway on Google Maps now -- Looks perfect!

I think I'll stay West of the beltway -- somewhere on the North Side of 6 / Eldridge / Dairy Ashford. Any parts of that area you'd recommend? How long does it take you to get from 6 to Beltway 8? Thanks!

[anenglishinamerica]

Originally Posted by OutdoorsInTX

I like it! Thanks for the heads up about Buffallo Bayou / Hershey Park. I see the greenway on Google Maps now -- Looks perfect!

I think I'll stay West of the beltway -- somewhere on the North Side of 6 / Eldridge / Dairy Ashford. Any parts of that area you'd recommend? How long does it take you to get from 6 to Beltway 8? Thanks!

Its very quick to get from the 6 to Beltway 8, esp if theres no traffic...perhaps 10 minutes at most. With traffic, maybe 15.

If your looking for apartments, here are a couple of recommendations...Heritage on Park Row and San Montego on Elderidge.

Note, Houston is a very built up city, so to reach these parks you may need to cycle along busy roads....however this is going to be the same for any area of Houston so close to where you want to work. However, once your in the parks, you wouldn't know your in the middle of Houston! Because of the road issue, you may want to choose apartments that are very close to the parks...http://www.apartmentratings.com

This website is quite helpful, although some of the reviews can be a little concerning - I'm looking for apartments now, and even for ones that I had considered quite nice, the reviews totally slammed them!! So perhaps read them with a punch of salt and know that one persons bad review might not represent the whole complex.

[AK123]

You might also think about living around the Memorial Park area.

Yes, stay north of Westheimer for less crime.

Galveston can be a nice day trip, and some lakes further west (near San Antonio and Austin) are good weekend getaways. You can also jump on a plane and be in Cancun or Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in about 3 hours.

[OutdoorsInTX]

Originally Posted by JJP

You can also jump on a plane and be in Cancun or Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in about 3 hours.

That's a good consideration. If I lived out near 6 on the West side of town, how long do you think it would take to get to the airport (on average)? I've only been in and out of IAH. Does Hobby have International flights, too?

[AK123]

Originally Posted by OutdoorsInTX

That's a good consideration. If I lived out near 6 on the West side of town, how long do you think it would take to get to the airport (on average)? I've only been in and out of IAH. Does Hobby have International flights, too?

It would probably be about 30-40 minutes from the west side of town to IAH. IAH is the big airport with international flights, not sure how many of those flights the smaller Hobby airport has.

[Premont]

Drive down Memorial from Highway 6 to 8. On Memorial near Eldridge there's an area where you can access the Hershey Trail. There's actually some nice townhomes right on the trail, but they might be a bit pricey. You might also want to check out the roads that intersect Memorial like Eldridge and Dairy Ashford. I-10, Memorial and Briar Forest all parallel each other west to east. Any of those 3 roads will get you up to the Beltway.

By the way, not everything south of Westheimer is bad. You'd be talking about a vast area. I guess there's enough trouble spots that it would be tricky for a newcomer.