Looking for GOOD advise on Houston (Austin, Galveston: apartment complexes, rent, crime)

[tanersmom]

I went back to college again last year. I still have one more year of college, but would love to move out of my area. I currently live in Northeast, Pa. It is rather boring. I HATE the snow!! And fear driving in it. I am looking to move somewhere south. Preferable by the water . I was researching places where my job market is good. Houston happens to have a good job market, in my field anyway. And it seems that housing is pretty reasonable.
I do have a 5 year old daughter and would like to know more about the area before making a big leap.

Can anyone let me know about the area? I hear that Katy is the place to be. What about Galveston? Any beaches? NEPA's worst weather is blizzards . What is your "worst" weather.

Any information would be helpful

[rsxdrivr]

Um..growing up in Houston, we look forward to tornado/ hurricane so we dont' have to go to school! On a serious note, I think you have to be concern with the rain (heavy rain & thunderstorms) and flooding issues around Houston. I take that over the snow/ blizzard.

[Chris47]

Some people don't mind raising their children in the city, these are usually the young yuppies that have 300 to 500 thousand to spend on a house in the Heights or Memorial area. Rent on a nice little house there will run you about 1300 to 1500 hundred. But, if your looking for the burbs it would be Katy, Kingwood, The Woodlands, Sugarland or Cy-Fair. Your could also live close to Tomball. I lived in Cy-Fair and it was very nice. Just there a couple of weekends ago. All of Houston has a problem with crime, and not just the inner city. Even the burbs, unless you can afford to live in a gated community, which is always nice. Contact an apartment locator, that's what I did the first time that I lived there and they found me a great apartment in Cy-Fair. Houston is really hot from June till August, but the rest of the year is pleasant enough. And our winters are short, like two months, it's even warm in November sometimes. October is the best month. Houston is a great town to live in. Galveston is an hour drive from Houston, and almost anywhere that you have to travel to in Houston will take you 30 minutes, unless you live in the burbs and work in the city, then your looking at close to an hour. Galveston beaches are nice enough and the city has really become a tourist attraction in the last decade, so it's great for a day or a weekend visit.

[Scientist Mom]

Heavy rain that causes street flooding is probably the weather event you will have to deal with most often. Similar to dealing with snow, you figure out what the best rain routes are (streets with little to no flooding vs. those that always get high water).

I recommend looking into Clear Lake and greater Clear Lake area as a place to live. I lived there for 11 years before moving back to the northeast this year. CCISD is a good school district. You can buy a nice house for $150-200K. There are many apartment complexes. There are several employers in Clear Lake. The commutes to downtown and the medical center are not aweful (30 min- 1h depending on time of day) and it is easy to take the commuter buses to both. The commute always seemed better to me than coming from the west or North.

To me, Clear Lake never felt hyper-suburban (although League city and parts of Seabrook are) and it is definately not rural. There are lots of restaurants and lots of shopping. Some bars. Lots of things for kids.

Although no area is crime free (as stated in previous post), we never had a problem in the 11 years we lived there. Neither did most of our friends - I can only think of 1 incident in 11 years.

Regarding water (Clear Lake-not just a name also a body of water). There is housing available on Lake but it will be pricier and more costly to insure. Some water activites are available (boating, jet skiing). There is a nice park right on the water with huge playgrounds. Galveston in 30 min away.

As far as Galveston is concerned, not that good of a beach but close and some of the beaches are nicer than others. We usually went there 2-3 times a year for an afternoon or evening. Would not recommend living there. The tourist areas are decent and usually safe but large sections of the rest (middle) are run down and I think there is good bit of gang activity. Schools are not good.


Good luck with your decision

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by rsxdrivr

Um..growing up in Houston, we look forward to tornado/ hurricane so we dont' have to go to school! On a serious note, I think you have to be concern with the rain (heavy rain & thunderstorms) and flooding issues around Houston. I take that over the snow/ blizzard.

More on the weather for the potential new Houstonian:

During the summer, people forget that it's not always summer. During some winters, particularly when the El Nino is active in the Pacific, Houston (and all of Texas) can experience prolonged periods of rain, fog, and cool weather (sometimes 10 days at a time). When the El Nino is not active, winter weather can be the most perfect you can imagine, with overnight lows in the 30s and 40s, and highs in the 60s and 70s, with sunshine day after day. There's not much that's "average" about the weather there. It seems to be characterized by a lot of variety, except during the summer when it's consistently hot and humid, with a chance of thunderstorms most days. The thunderstorms can be really exciting to weather buffs like me.

I currently live in Austin but plan to move back to Houston after leaving there to go to college in the 70s. I can't wait to move back.

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by Scientist Mom

Heavy rain that causes street flooding is probably the weather event you will have to deal with most often. Similar to dealing with snow, you figure out what the best rain routes are (streets with little to no flooding vs. those that always get high water).

I recommend looking into Clear Lake and greater Clear Lake area as a place to live. I lived there for 11 years before moving back to the northeast this year. CCISD is a good school district. You can buy a nice house for $150-200K. There are many apartment complexes. There are several employers in Clear Lake. The commutes to downtown and the medical center are not aweful (30 min- 1h depending on time of day) and it is easy to take the commuter buses to both. The commute always seemed better to me than coming from the west or North.

To me, Clear Lake never felt hyper-suburban (although League city and parts of Seabrook are) and it is definately not rural. There are lots of restaurants and lots of shopping. Some bars. Lots of things for kids.

Although no area is crime free (as stated in previous post), we never had a problem in the 11 years we lived there. Neither did most of our friends - I can only think of 1 incident in 11 years.

Regarding water (Clear Lake-not just a name also a body of water). There is housing available on Lake but it will be pricier and more costly to insure. Some water activites are available (boating, jet skiing). There is a nice park right on the water with huge playgrounds. Galveston in 30 min away.

As far as Galveston is concerned, not that good of a beach but close and some of the beaches are nicer than others. We usually went there 2-3 times a year for an afternoon or evening. Would not recommend living there. The tourist areas are decent and usually safe but large sections of the rest (middle) are run down and I think there is good bit of gang activity. Schools are not good.

Good luck with your decision

Regarding crime, my sister lives in the Cy-Fair area and has never had a problem. My Dad lives in West University (for the last 30 years) and has never had a problem. There are definitely many areas to stay away from, though, just like in any city.

I live in Austin and car break-ins seem to be our big problem. Don't know how Houston fares in that respect.