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Old 09-22-2007, 10:20 AM
MxL MxL started this thread
 
Location: Michigan
92 posts, read 508,763 times
Reputation: 66

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Just curious, what do you think of these neighborhoods (I'm considering where to move and rent in the Houston area)...

- Greenway Plaza area (Richmond)
- Galleria area (Bering off Westheimer, just west of Chimney Rock)
- Old Braeswood
- Upper Kirby (near the Kirby & W.Alabama intersection)
- River Oaks

Feel free to make comments, even rank them best to worst.
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Old 09-22-2007, 12:34 PM
 
1,416 posts, read 4,416,539 times
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Cant really go wrong with any of them. I would suggest that you provide some details on your commute, amenities you are looking for, type of housing (single-family, duplex, mega-complex). These items will help people provide you with the pros and cons on each area.
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Old 09-22-2007, 01:30 PM
 
107 posts, read 567,417 times
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I agree, you can't go wrong. They're all excellent, vibrant neighborhoods.
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Old 09-22-2007, 02:15 PM
 
48 posts, read 178,345 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MxL View Post
Just curious, what do you think of these neighborhoods (I'm considering where to move and rent in the Houston area)...

- Greenway Plaza area (Richmond)
- Galleria area (Bering off Westheimer, just west of Chimney Rock)
- Old Braeswood
- Upper Kirby (near the Kirby & W.Alabama intersection)
- River Oaks

Feel free to make comments, even rank them best to worst.
Middle class neighborhoods dont exsist, its 1 or the other, it wont be with the cost 2 buy.
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Old 09-22-2007, 02:36 PM
 
Location: ✶✶✶✶
15,218 posts, read 30,401,995 times
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Greenway Plaza is pretty much a business district, but there are residential neighborhoods nearby that are nice and pricy. There is going to be Metro light rail/transit construction in the area in the coming years so that should be a consideration with traffic. However, with 59's construction wrapped up it seems to move a lot better than before, so getting around toward downtown or the southwest isn't really the most dreadful thing you could try to do in Houston (that is now solely the experience of the Katy Freeway). You do have plenty of roads that you can take to get anywhere in most any direction without using freeways at all, and the vicinity will be served by mass transit in the future.

The Galleria area has some of the worst traffic in Houston but this is where a lot of condos are going up. I figure eventually they will build too many and it will actually become affordable for the average Joe at least in comparison with much of the Inner Loop. They are tearing down some old apartments over there and building more condo units. I can see a glut of condos converging on *Uptown* (as the Galleria area is getting called as of late - I like that we at least no longer always label that area by the name of a shopping mall.)

Old Braeswood is, as its name suggests, about as old as the first development in that area, which with the Medical Center and the Astrodome/Reliant Park both a stone's throw away it's situated in a part of town that's seen massive change in the time this neighborhood first came to be. It should probably be a historic district, such as those are in this city. Almost like the Old Sixth Ward of Houston's south side.

Unless you make a lot of money, River Oaks is out of your league. River Oaks is where the shot-callers traditionally live, and although some of that *elite* crowd has spread out to the burbs it's still expensive to obtain any property there.

Upper Kirby is close to River Oaks and isn't as ritzy but it's close-in with good access to retail and anything else you need. It's still not cheap.

The crime factor in these areas are nothing like the worst of what you read about Houston - property crime mostly is the concern in these areas to varying degrees.
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Old 09-22-2007, 11:36 PM
 
2,628 posts, read 8,793,920 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MxL View Post
Just curious, what do you think of these neighborhoods (I'm considering where to move and rent in the Houston area)...

- Greenway Plaza area (Richmond)
- Galleria area (Bering off Westheimer, just west of Chimney Rock)
- Old Braeswood
- Upper Kirby (near the Kirby & W.Alabama intersection)
- River Oaks

Feel free to make comments, even rank them best to worst.
Greenway Plaza area - Afton Oaks, West Lane Place, Lynn Park, etc. Mostly a combination of 50's ranch houses starting in the mid $300's on up to McMansions in the 7 digits. Nice area, good access to the Galleria, obviously Greenway, Central Market and Highland Village.

Galleria area - the section you are referring to is Westhaven Estates. It is a mish-mash of townhome/patio homes and a few apartment complexes. It is a popular area with about a 30 year span of differing age housing stock. Very little green space. Good for people who want to be in the Galleria area but personally I find it a bit congested feeling.

Old Braeswood has some spectacular architecture. The section closest to Braeswood was developed first, with the sections closer to Holcombe more post-war houses. There are some incredible mid-century moderns in there.

Upper-Kirby also a mix of ranch houses to the west interspersed with McMansions. 30's era homes east towards Shepherd. nice area, close to Whole Foods. Prices similiar to the Greenway Plaza area

River Oaks - one of Houston's toniest addresses. Anything under 7 digits will pretty much be marketed as a tear down for the lot, or will be facing one of the very busy perimeter streets such as S. Shepherd or Westheimer. On those streets you will overlooking commercial development across the street and facing traffic like a highway. They start around $500k range I think, but I haven't looked in awhile.
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Old 09-23-2007, 12:26 PM
MxL MxL started this thread
 
Location: Michigan
92 posts, read 508,763 times
Reputation: 66
Great info so far, thanks. Some particulars about my situation:

Commute is not an issue from any of those areas. We're looking for an area that is clean, has good access to nice grocery and other retail stores, isn't overly congested with traffic (or it is, but there are ways out of and around it), and an area that is relatively safe with a good police presence and is not generally seen as a problem area.

We are planning to rent at an apartment complex for a few years. These are the ones we're looking at in each of those areas (at least I'm pretty sure those are linked with the correct areas):

- "36sixty" on Richmond across from Greenway.
- "Phoenician" on Bering near the Galleria.
- "Gables Upper Kirby" in of course Upper Kirby.
- "Left Banks River Oaks" in River Oaks.
- "Maroneal" in/near Old Braeswood.
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Old 11-05-2007, 03:19 PM
 
6 posts, read 28,155 times
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I currently live at the Left Bank River Oaks and I really enjoy it. It is located right between the galleria and downtown/midtown and is close to pretty much everything. The complex is really nice and safe...and the scene is a little bit older. So, not any college rowdiness going on. I had a friend who lived in 36sixty and she really liked it. It is kind of the trendy place to live right now. I also had friends who lived in the Gables Upper Kirby. It is pretty nice and a good location as far as shopping and restaurants...but traffic tends to get congested in that area. In my opinion, I avoid the Galleria area at all cost because the traffic is always bad...but some people really like that area. Hope this helps...good luck!
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