Neighborhoods around University of Houston?

[vegankris]

Well, now I'm curious. University of Houston is the best fit for me to finish my engineering degree. It is also a good location as far as taking the bus from the areas that we are considering living. From what I have researched, even if we lived in a burb, I can take the park and ride to the city and then ride my bike a few miles to the campus. Should I be worried about riding my bike there? My husband is getting really worried from some of the posts. I have a tendency to just not worry about such things, but my husband is a bit more cautious than me.

Also, what about campus security? The university near me has their own police, the campus police. We have had a few instances of attacks on campus (all at night) but the police dealt with it quickly and made some arrests and then I never heard anymore about it. I have lived here nearly 10 years and have heard only about a handful of problems.

Thanks everyone for the very helpful responses!

Take care,
Kris

[Sunderpig2]

Why not consider U of H Clear Lake? It's still within Houston. There would be no worries about living around there. Nice (though small), with more of a rural/outdoor campus. Parks, Clear Lake, Galveston Bay, all nearby. Biking possible. I know they have engineering classes because I looked into that myself last year. The costs may be higher than the main campus though. Or maybe I was just shocked to see the costs of going to school these days. It's been about 15 years since I last went to school. Texas "leaders" (ha) have beating up on college students for years now with increasingly higher tuition and fee costs (with the profits probably going back to their pockets anyway).

I wouldn't worry about the whole "burb" vs. "non-burb" stuff. I never hear anyone (outside of this forum) using those words or worring about which category a place might fall under. Oftentimes the lines are blurred anyway.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by vegankris

Well, now I'm curious. University of Houston is the best fit for me to finish my engineering degree. It is also a good location as far as taking the bus from the areas that we are considering living. From what I have researched, even if we lived in a burb, I can take the park and ride to the city and then ride my bike a few miles to the campus. Should I be worried about riding my bike there? My husband is getting really worried from some of the posts. I have a tendency to just not worry about such things, but my husband is a bit more cautious than me.

Also, what about campus security? The university near me has their own police, the campus police. We have had a few instances of attacks on campus (all at night) but the police dealt with it quickly and made some arrests and then I never heard anymore about it. I have lived here nearly 10 years and have heard only about a handful of problems.

Thanks everyone for the very helpful responses!

Take care,
Kris

There are a number of buses that stop right outside the school.

There is campus police on campus and they do provide escort to the bus if you need it. The campus itself is safer than the neighborhood around it.

The thing is the neighborhood has a lot of poor people and poor people kinda need to take things to sell Although the levels have gone down the area is known for crackheads.

I know plenty of people who take the bus or a combination of bus and bike and they don't have a problem. I would not in good faith advise you to do it after dark.

If you are on campus late tell your husband his butt needs to come pick you up.

I know that I may be overreacting but people do get hurt in that area at night and it is better to err on the safe side.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

Why not consider U of H Clear Lake?

I think the problem is transportation.

She will be relying on the bus system (I wish the rail line to UH was already in)

to get to clearlake she would have to take a bus to downtown, catch that park and ride bus on Travis and then bike the rest of the way to school. Sounds like a two hour journey. Maybe not so convenient

[Sunderpig2]

Originally Posted by vegankris

Should I be worried about riding my bike there? .... I have a tendency to just not worry about such things...

Maybe you currently live in a safer and much different environment, and are not familiar with what we are talking about, and warning you of. The dangers are real. We're not saying you're guaranteed to get victimized, but the thought or riding a bike outside the confines of the U of H main campus sounds to me like either complete naiveity or an invitation for trouble (most likely robbery). A person on bike would be an easy target over there.

[Sunderpig2]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

I think the problem is transportation.

She will be relying on the bus system (I wish the rail line to UH was already in)

to get to clearlake she would have to take a bus to downtown, catch that park and ride bus on Travis and then bike the rest of the way to school. Sounds like a two hour journey. Maybe not so convenient

I thought she was the one going to go to school, and maybe riding her bike there, and her husband would be driving to work (wherever that is)? It sounded like all that mattered was living near a university.

[vegankris]

Thanks for even more info about the area! I'm starting to get a picture in my mind of the area.

I do have to rely on public trans and my bike. ( I really want to stay a one car family, although I am open to the possibility of getting a second car...I just hate the idea of it!) My husband will be working in the Galena Park area. I was thinking the area around the university would be a good place to live because in my limited experience, areas around big universities are generally great places to live and it would be close to where my husband would be working. I guess I know a bit better now.

We are looking at Meyerland and Kingwood as places to live. Meyerland is my preference as I've never lived in a suburb before and where I live now, suburbs have a terrible reputation. But, Meyerland doesn't have any good options for middle school and I don't want to do private school because my middle son is big into music and drama and typically private schools don't offer a very good music and drama program. Also, I'm just generally against the idea of private schools. I really believe in public ed. There is a good charter school, but I don't want to leave my kid's education up to a random lottery. Which is why we are thinking of Kingwood. Not too bad for my husband's commute and also the bike paths are a great draw there for me. I also like that the schools (elementary, middle and high school) are all within close proximity. My kids have always walked or biked to school and I really wanted to continue the trend. Not to mention how beautiful Kingwood is.

I think University of Houston will work great, I just need to be aware of my surroundings and try not to be too naive.

Thanks everyone!

Take care,
Kris

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by vegankris

Thanks for even more info about the area! I'm starting to get a picture in my mind of the area.

I do have to rely on public trans and my bike. ( I really want to stay a one car family, although I am open to the possibility of getting a second car...I just hate the idea of it!) My husband will be working in the Galena Park area. I was thinking the area around the university would be a good place to live because in my limited experience, areas around big universities are generally great places to live and it would be close to where my husband would be working. I guess I know a bit better now.

We are looking at Meyerland and Kingwood as places to live. Meyerland is my preference as I've never lived in a suburb before and where I live now, suburbs have a terrible reputation. But, Meyerland doesn't have any good options for middle school and I don't want to do private school because my middle son is big into music and drama and typically private schools don't offer a very good music and drama program. Also, I'm just generally against the idea of private schools. I really believe in public ed. There is a good charter school, but I don't want to leave my kid's education up to a random lottery. Which is why we are thinking of Kingwood. Not too bad for my husband's commute and also the bike paths are a great draw there for me. I also like that the schools (elementary, middle and high school) are all within close proximity. My kids have always walked or biked to school and I really wanted to continue the trend. Not to mention how beautiful Kingwood is.

I think University of Houston will work great, I just need to be aware of my surroundings and try not to be too naive.

Thanks everyone!

Take care,
Kris

there are a number of buses that run through Meyerland (the 4, 65, 68 etc) They head towards the med center.

The 68 after passing the Med Center heads to UH so that would be a great route for you.

[AK123]

Why am I feeling a reincarnation of "robertrulez" with the 'burb-bashing here recently...