Young person looking for good place to rent near New Chinatown (Houston: section 8, apartment complex)

[JReyn]

I like fancy, modern, fusion cuisine and bars and clubs as much as the next guy, but 4/5 times I'd choose to skip the flashy, yuppie nightlife and just eat a bowl of noodles and some dumplings.

In terms of safety, I'm not too concerned with somewhat unsafe areas, and I come and go from my apartment at all hours of the day. I'm 26, I have a CHL, and am in good shape. I drive a 10 year-old coupe, and I don't mind if it gets scratched. At the same time, I understand that an environment that doesn't intimidate me might be scary enough to keep a friend from coming over if she wouldn't even feel safe enough to get out of the car to walk 100 feet.

Anyway, after reading about Alief and Sharpstown, and reading reviews of various apartment complexes in Westchase just east of Beltway 8, I'm a bit discouraged.

Where can I get a $750/mo tiny but clean apartment near Chinatown (say, within 2-3 miles) where my more paranoid friends won't feel like sprinting to my apartment after parking their car at 11pm? Something with a gate would probably help.

[bamba_boy]

This info is about 5 years old but I used to live just several blocks south of Bellaire in ChinaTown for years before that. I'll give you two possibilities. I have an older friend who got divorced and went to live with his grown daughter in a townhouse alongside Sharpstown Golf Course. He likes it there even though the place has gone downhill over the last 20 years when it was a real swingin' singles high-quality place. Stay away from the big hi% Section 8 apartments on N-S running Gessner and Fondren on either side. Some black gangs (Crips & Bloods) as well as Hispanic (mainly SW Cholos and LP), and they don't like each other. Makes for interesting evenings. They do stay pretty much to themselves in the big complexes taking each others dope and money. The residential subdivisions have little crime. I never had a break-in in over 15 years except for one of those pissed-off former acquaintance things that had nothing to do with the neighborhood. Another decent (I think still) apartment complex is in the middle of a residential neighborhood CCT-2 next to Sharpstown Middle School and Landsdale Park (now Bishop Something park).

I think that you'd be fine if you stick to yourself at those places and don't make any drug or tail orders from the local thugs.

[diggity101]

do you work over there? I can't imagine why anyone would want to lease an apartment in that area otherwise.

[glorplaxy]

Some areas are worse than others. You should have no problem finding a moderately priced apartment in the area, though. Further down Bellaire (especially past the Beltway) things look nicer and nicer, but you should be able to find something comfortable by just looking around.

[glorplaxy]

Originally Posted by diggity101

do you work over there? I can't imagine why anyone would want to lease an apartment in that area otherwise.

If you read the OP I think you'd gather that he likes the food. After all, it is without a doubt the best place to eat in Houston.

[JReyn]

Originally Posted by glorplaxy

If you read the OP I think you'd gather that he likes the food. After all, it is without a doubt the best place to eat in Houston.

Yeah, pretty much. Generally, I want to figure out what's the closest neighborhood I can live in where a girl wouldn't feel scared to get out of her car at 11pm to knock on my door.

Is Westheimer an option?

[DJboutit]

Check out Meadows Place which is like 3 to 4 miles south of China Town pertty good neighborhood

[JReyn]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

Check out Meadows Place which is like 3 to 4 miles south of China Town pertty good neighborhood

Thanks. I'll do that.

Tomorrow, I'm taking my brother back to Bellaire for some late night Korean food (the other day we pigged out at Xiong's cafe on some dumplings and noodles), so I'll drive down to Meadows Place and see what the trip is like.

There's also a neighborhood south of Bellaire on Turtleswood, which intersects Bellaire a little West of the beltway. I've seen a few one-bedroom townhouses and duplexes on Craigslist around there, and it looks like a safe area. Plus, I'd rather deal with a landlord than a management bureaucracy at a high rise or apartment complex anyway.