Beaumont TX (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: apartments, rentals, crime)

[Serena123]

I'm not sure if I picked the right spot for this message, but I know Houston is about 90 miles from Beaumont.

Any advice would be appreciated regarding a possible move to Beaumont, TX.

Best parts of town (would that be the West side of town?) meaning less crime.

What is the town like? Things to do? Hurricane dangers? Anything you can think of would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Serena

[Metro Matt]

Beaumont/Port Aurthur have both proven to be at higher risk for hurricanes than the Houston area.

Beaumont is kinda like Houston in a way...flat, sprawling, hot, humid, polluted, & not planned very well. The town does not seem to be kept up that much aesthetically & it shows. There are some nice areas of Beaumont, but the city as a whole looks dumpy. On the plus side you get a relatively cheap small-big city to live in. It has more Cajun influence than Houston because its closer to the TX/LA border.

Word of advice. Steer clear of Port Aurthur...that place is bad, very bad for crime & drugs.

[Serena123]

Thanks Metro Matt.

Good advice. ~ serena

[scarmig]

I know a little about Beaumont. Enough to stay a day's drive away from the place. Every few years I'll go visit family and then hightail it out.

[Oildog]

The Golden Triangle is a blend of oil towns. There are nice areas and some not so much. Economy is roughly based on petrochemicals and prisons...so it will stay afloat in recessionary times. Its close enogh to Houston to get big city stuff if you want it, but maintains a semblance of smaller town ambience. The abundance of jobs and resources gives it some political pull in the state...but there is a Louisiana feel to some of the politics.

Lots of construction in recent years has driven up prices of rentals in the area. The people tend to be a little more on "the conservative side" of things. I lived there for a decade and made some good friends, also met several who Id throw in the canal.

[crazytexan]

I live in Beaumont, I'll be happy to answer any specific questions you have.

First of all, hurricane is a dirty word around here. Truth be told, they're not really dangerous. Just respect the power of the storm and get out of town when they tell you to. There's no reason to stay to "ride it out" other than stubborn rednecks not wanting to look weak by evacuating.

If you stay in Beaumont city limits, avoid the south end and generally anything east of I-10 / Highway 69. I'd suggest living in Nederland / Port Neches area (known as mid-county to the locals) or Lumberton area. Both maybe a tad more expensive but the areas are nicer. The west end of Beaumont is mostly nice, but there are some bad neighborhoods even on that side.

Avoid Port Arthur. Do not visit, do not live there. That city is a crime infested dump.

Texas is a beautiful state with a lot of culture. I consider Beaumont to be a part of Louisiana, which is a dirty state. Good thing is it's close to Austin / Houston / Dallas / San Antonio which are all great cities.

[Mdlx]

Port Arthur: strange people and even stranger accents.

[centexguy]

Originally Posted by Mdlx

Port Arthur: strange people and even stranger accents.

Port Arthur is probably one of the most diverse cities (for it's size) in Texas. From Wikipedia:

The racial makeup of the city was 43.70% African American, 20.02% White, 0.45% Native American, 5.89% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 8.88% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.45% of the population.

There's a strong cajun influence there and their Mardi Gras festival seems to draw good crowds without any incidents. But Port Arthur does suffer from chronic high unemployment. It was over 13% last month and usually has at least 10% unemployment and it's been that way for a while.

If you stay north of highway 73 you'll be fine because that part of Port Arthur is growing with new hotels, restaurants, apartments and shopping centers springing up along highway 69 in the mid-county area.

Beaumont is slowly catching up with the rest of the state but it still has a ways to go. They are slowly revitalizing downtown and some housing developments are beginning to spring up around the area. The area is still too dependent on refineries but it's not as blue collar (or as smelly) as it was 30 years ago when I was growing up in the area.

[txsizzler]

Personally, I have always kind of liked Beaumont. Although I have not lived there, I have been through there a couple times. If you worry about the hurricanes, stay north of I-10. There are smaller suburbs north and east of Beaumont that are nice too that you should consider (like Vidor and Lumberton). I don't think Beaumont is nearly as polluted as it used to be, and it seems like the chemical companies there have been working hard to improve their effluents (smoke/drainage).


Ian

[Serena123]

Thanks to everyone who responded. Very informative responses. Thanks, again ~ serena