The Official Seattle Area Chat Thread (Yakima, Kennewick: to live in, safer, bars)

[SeattleSideWalk98177]

I'm looking at a neighborhood called River Oaks. Do you have any info on it? It's off of old West Heimer

[pw72]

Westheimer is the main east-west arterial from downtown to the far west suburbs. Old Westhiemer? Not sure what that is.

River Oaks is a wealthy area near Westheimer.

Houston is a great big city much different from Seattle. It sprawls every which-way, and zoning is pretty much non-existent, that is why you will see skyscarpers dotted across the metro with no rhyme or reason.

Don't get me wrong, I like Houston.

It is just the complete opposite of Seattle in almost every way. Be prepared for a different world.

[BB_206]

I am so sorry to hear that you are leaving Seattle...I am even more sorry it is Houston. Good luck!

[SeattleSideWalk98177]

The change is motivated by work, and I grew up and lived in Seattle all my life. Houston is great for work and such, so it's probably the right move. I will miss Seattle, though. May even get a place up here for summers.. Nothing beats a Seattle summer.

[rmkiefer07]

River Oaks..."Old Money" area. It's a very nice upscale neighborhood. It's between Westheimer Road and Allen Parkway near Memorial Park. I lived in Greenway Plaza (just south of River Oaks) and I also lived in Montrose, which is to the east off Westheimer. It may (or may not) be a bit pricey. The area off Westheimer & Shepherd used to be (again, I'm a bit dated) very nice but a little more modest. I lived off Dunlavy & Westheimer and loved the convenience. Downtown and Uptown (aka Galleria) were both convenient by car or bus. The area around Kirby down to the Southwest Freeway was good. Also along West Alabama and Richmond. The Museum District off Alabama and Montrose was also a nice area and convenient to everything. All of this is within a stones throw of Downtown, River Oaks, Uptown, and the Texas Medical Center.

Houston is a huge city, and nothing like Seattle. It's also very automobile oriented. Zoning was (and I think still is) virtuallu non-existent. I would get a kick out of 30 floor skyscrapers within a block of single family homes and strip clubs fairly close to churches. It's definately a city geared towards business. Summers are very hot, humid and LONG. The city has a very tropical feel to it. Galveston and the beaches are an hour away. I liked living there, but could not take the heat any more. Good luck and give the "Big H" my regards! If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask or you can DM me.

[exseattlite]

rmkiefer07's observations still hold - i moved down here about 10 years ago and it's .. er.. different from seattle, that's for sure .. definitely auto oriented - if you're hoping for any kind of useful public transit whatsoever, don't.. but that being said, we have some of the best freeways around.. depending on where you live (having a family, we opted for the larger yards and smaller prices of the outlying areas - now in the northeast quadrant, and when i still commuted into work it would take me about 30-40 minutes to drive a distance about equivalent as seattle to tacoma.. previously we lived in the northwest quadrant and that same commute was about 2 hours if i wasn't out the door by 6:15am)

if you're not working with a real estate agent down here, i'd recommend it, because of our complete lack of any zoning whatsoever, you can quite literally have million dollar homes on one block, and a ghetto stripclub and active train track on the next depending on what's been built in the area .. i found that when i moved down here half the places i had initially considered were really unsafe and/or undesirable areas, but luckily had family familiar with the area already..

oh, and be prepared for about triple the property taxes + HOA dues on a yearly basis too .. a lot of everything else is fairly similar to up there - high sales tax, no income tax, gas can be about 30-40 cents cheaper a gallon - depending where you get it, electricity and natural gas are both a little higher down here (go figure,) and it's flat. really really flat.

[Gravelroads]

Washington state will not allow me to sell my truck which I so desperately need to do in order to save my dogs life. He has cancer. I had one last payment to make, then the title is free and clear which would allow me to sell my only asset to generate funds to save my best friend. WA state requires that the title be delivered to them from the lienholder, and then they will in turn send me the title, which is currently running 8-10 weeks, NO EXCEPTIONS. That's right folks, 8-10 weeks. That's what we're paying for. I am not allowed to sell my vehicle until I have that title. So, in the meantime, my dog dies, and Washington state wins. Thank you, government, for ending my dogs life, and ruining mine. I did nothing wrong. I only wanted to sell my truck to save my best friend. Oh, and a special thanks to that horribly rude woman on the phone who cared more about the food in her mouth than the plight of my dog and myself. Fail.

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by fy10fyr

Actually it was a 17 story building that exceeded, by 100' or so, the height restriction for the neighborhood it was proposed in, and was denied a variance. It would have been the equivalent of a 17 story condo on the hillside on Magnolia.

Happened in 2006.

The developer was local guy, not an outsider.

You wanna bash, feel free, but at least know what you're talking about.

The building that I am referring to was called the "Vox", and it was located downtown, and in one sense you are correct, because I was wrong. The building was supposed to be 33 STORIES Vox Tower - by Conover Bond Development

I read several different articles regarding its' potential construction, including the link I just posted. So, do some research yourself before you go blasting.

[LarrySea]

Does anyone know a good place to go in Mexico that is not to expensive and safe.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by LarrySea

Does anyone know a good place to go in Mexico that is not to expensive and safe.

Sunnyside isn't that safe, but I think Grandview and Yakima are all right. Pasco is much safer than its reputation, as is northeast Kennewick. Not sure about Mattawa and Connell.