Where to live near Downtown ? Memorial, River Oaks, West university, Galleria or Midtown ? (Houston: appointed, for sale)

[nynaeva]

Hello everybody

Me and my husband we are moving from the north of the country to Houston, and we know nothing about the city ( even if we a doing research on the internet, it s always better to heard locals talk about )
He will be working in the loop, and we are looking for a good neightbourhood at 15 min driving from there
We are looking for restaurants, good public school, good facilities ...

We were thinking about Galleria, or river oaks .. maybe upper Kirby, Memorial heights ? West university ?

We have a 5 years old daughter and since we are not religious we want her to go to a public school, which area have a good public school ?
Which one is more village feeling ( like some NY or SF streets ) with walking distance shops and boutiques ? Maybe West university since Gallerie or Memorial heights are pretty new neighbourhood ?

Thanks a lot for your help

[modster]

There is nothing here like NY or SF, Houston just isn't laid out like that, so don't look for that or you will only be disappointed. Houston is not particularly pedestrian friendly either, and that would probably be an understatement. Don't count on walking to things, just put those concepts out of your mind. There are a couple of islands of walkability, but for the most part, no. Just no.

No one can give you any sort of relevant advice or comments without more information, especially price range. Size, type of home, etc. would be helpful.

[Houston_2010]

the Heights, West U and Bellaire have their small strip malls that you may be able to walk to or perhaps ride your bicycle. For the most part everybody uses/needs a car here. The nice thing about these areas is that they are very family friendly and there are numerous green areas/parks at close distance. I can say that you can walk - to the parks.

What is your timeframe for moving? I'm putting my old house for sale pretty soon and it's in the Bellaire area (inside the loop - walking distance to Paul Horn elementary). If you send me a private message I can give you more details...but surely I will be announcing to the CD group when it's up for sale.

[carryyourbooks]

all are very nice areas. memorial would be my suggestion based on schools.

[houston-nomad]

There is a nice neighborhood within walking distance to Roberts Elementary (one of the best) and also Rice Village. Just south of Rice Village, between Greenbriar and Kirby. Beautiful homes, and about as walkable as anywhere in Houston... walk your kids to school, walk to restaurants and shops in Rice Village, jog around the trail at Rice Univ. Homes are about a million bucks, I'd guess.

[emirate25]

If you want NY or San Francisco, move to NY or San Francisco.

[Premont]

River Oaks is nice if you can afford it. West Gray St has a lot of shopping nearby.

[DJboutit]

Check out 77025 77096 & 77023 all great areas

[Randy2931]

Memorial has the best schools IMO. West U (77005) sounds like it is more what you are looking for and has solid schools. Many choose not to send their children to Lamar but plenty do.

Memorial has larger, more private lots. It is somewhat insulated as people aren't usually driving through unless they live there. I'm talking about 77024 from 610 west to Beltway 8 and from I-10 south to Buffalo Bayou. West U is more crowded with the smaller lots but is a very nice neighborhood. West U and close in Memorial are both close to the Galleria and will be near your husband's work.

Tanglewood (77056) and River Oaks (77019) are also very nice. Everyone I knew who grew up in Tanglewood went to private schools. River Oaks is the same high school as West U I believe.

You really won't be walking to much from any of the neighborhoods I listed above. But all have great houses and are convenient to the Galleria and downtown. I think it comes down to price range and schools.

[modster]

Did we scare off the OP or is this just another one of those annoying threads where people post and ask for advice while giving no meaningful criteria, (other than asking for something they aren't going to find), and then disappear?