Moving to town from NE (Houston, Richmond: lofts, condos, utilities)

[oyeah1717]

Hi,

Moving into Houston for work as a single 22 y.o. white male. Lived in the surburbs of NJ my whole life. So this is a big step for me. Working in the West Energy Corridor making 65k+ and I want to live somewhere where I can
a) Live in relatively safety
b) Close to some sort of nightlife (bars/clubs/attractions)
c) Minimal commute (<30 mins)

In that order of importance. Any other advice Houston would be great!

[Rayedog]

I don't know about A or B but just have to say, that unless you get lucky, Houston commutes can sometimes be 30+ minutes. Houston is a large city with a lot of people. Texas drivers do a lot of driving.

[Rayedog]

And wanted to add that my mom and I used to live off of Richmond Avenue. That area is rich with bars, clubs and restaurants. And we never felt terribly unsafe, either. It doesn't look that far according to Google.

[Glossa]

You could have a 5 or 10-minute commute if you lived in City Centre. You didn't say what your budget was, though.

http://theloftscitycentre.com/FloorPlans

[jerbear30]

If you are very interested in having a short commute, then I would second the suggestion for living near city center/centre. But keep in mind that city center is not really a "downtown" type of area--its more like a newly-built suburban take on a real downtown space. Still, the nightlife is not supposed to be too bad there. If you're more into having lots to do, I would suggest that you might look into highrise condos downtown in the central business district. You could be blocks from Astros, Rockets and Dynamo games. I drive past this area every day and I can honestly say that I'd live there if I were 22 making 65 k per year.
Even though this is a bit of a commute, you would have the advantage of being an atypical commuter--going out of the city in the morning and into it toward the evening. Since I live along the I-10 not too far from the energy corridor, I can vouch that you'd be facing less traffic than those of us who drive into the city with the morning commute and out of it with the evening commute. Hope this helps.

[Beto]

I would recommend City Center as well, since this will give you a short commute to work and there are plenty of bars, restaurants and shopping within walking distance.

[oyeah1717]

Well I was hoping under 1k a month for all my utilities (TV,internet,electric) plus rent. City center looks good since its right near I-10 which will bring me right next to work.

[oyeah1717]

just looked at the prices for the lofts at city center hell no...