What's the story with Alief? (Sugar Land, Missouri City: section 8, cheap apartment, leases)

[Htown2013]

I heard this used to be a nice place and that it went downhill. What happened to it? Was it the schools or something else? Crossing Westheimer along Alief, it's a whole different world just one block north vs one block south of Westheimer. I'm curious about this phenomenon. Is it the schools or something else? What happened? Will the same phenomenon affect places like Mission Bend and further out into places like Lakes of Bella Terra, Aliana, and Woodbridge, or do you think the decline will be contained?

[crbcrbrgv]

It's in an awful location, and that's the main issue. The best hope for Alief is for it to become a Sugar Land suburb, so to speak.

With that said, it isn't nearly as bad as everyone says. Alief is huge, about 45 square miles. The worst parts are along Bissonnet and Beechnut between Synott and Boone in my opinion.

Also, you completely discount the part of Alief between Westpark, Westheimer, 6 and eastward. Why?

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

It's in an awful location, and that's the main issue. The best hope for Alief is for it to become a Sugar Land suburb, so to speak.

With that said, it isn't nearly as bad as everyone says. Alief is huge, about 45 square miles. The worst parts are along Bissonnet and Beechnut between Synott and Boone in my opinion.

Also, you completely discount the part of Alief between Westpark, Westheimer, 6 and eastward. Why?

I didn't discount anything. The eastern part of Alief IMO is not in a bad location. That part of Alief should be an easy commute to the EC - much better than anything in western Katy. I've driven through that part of Alief along Westpark, and it didn't seem that nice.

[TFW46]

I've lived in an area east of Alief for 30+ years and have watched the decline. I can tell you the entire area was ruined by all the cheap apartment construction in the 1990's and also by the Katrina influx. Drug dealing, baby mommas having more children to get higher welfare benefits, baby daddies living off those welfare benefits -- I dont see any way to resolve the problems unless all those Section 8 apartments are torn down ... and it's doubtful that will ever happen.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Alief was a hot place back in the late 70's, early 80's. So hot that developers began to construct new apartments all over the place. Back then, especially in the very early 80's, the designs of apartments were changing dramatically and the newest, hottest, apartments were in Alief.

Ah, but then the bust of the 80's. A lot of people lost their jobs and many people just ran on their leases. Desperate to fill them up, the owners began to lower their rates drastically and you can guess what happened. A wave of minorities began to pour in, and blacks from the Missouri City area began to move in. The day laborers were able to afford nice places, and I'm not sure where the Asians came from, but they came en masse. This was a powder keg of crime that was waiting to be unleashed, and it was, and then many of the original homeowners left the area.

BTW, there is nothing wrong with ethnicity at all, what I mean is that having all these particular cultures mix, with young adolescent boys, "things" were/are bound to happen. They tend to socialize amongst their own kind and when they've been parting, and then meet on the streets, well you know what I mean.

Bash me if you will, I lived in it, I saw it happen, and it is what it is. I used to live on Club Creek, or something like that by Westwood Mall, and almost overnight, it became a dangerous place. I also lived off of Cook Road, and that place also when to, well you know what.

That said, they have been trying hard to get the schools better, and there are some very smart kids that go to school in Alief. They graduate and move on to better things. The problem is that you still have too many parents that just don't care about their kids as they should, and those are the ones who cause the problems for everyone else. Children who don't learn English, kids without fathers, the usual.

Also, all those apartments, and many of the "new" old houses are just garbage, the were built quick and cheap, and it is showing now. Just look at all those homes along Harwin. Just trash, but they were very sought after when new as I recall.

[14Bricks]

There are a few ok parts here and there in Alief aka "The SWAT", but for the most part is a sh*t hole, and I'm saying this as somebody who grew up there. It was already pretty much the hood when I was in middle school and high school, it's even worse now. I think what lead to demise of alief was when the City annexed it and metro started running through there, also he overbuilding of apartments in the early 80's. These apartments pretty much become like project housing like you would find up north.

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

Alief was a hot place back in the late 70's, early 80's. So hot that developers began to construct new apartments all over the place. Back then, especially in the very early 80's, the designs of apartments were changing dramatically and the newest, hottest, apartments were in Alief.

Ah, but then the bust of the 80's. A lot of people lost their jobs and many people just ran on their leases. Desperate to fill them up, the owners began to lower their rates drastically and you can guess what happened. A wave of minorities began to pour in, and blacks from the Missouri City area began to move in. The day laborers were able to afford nice places, and I'm not sure where the Asians came from, but they came in mass. This was a powder keg of crime that was waiting to be unleashed, and it was, and then many of the original homeowners left the area.

Bash me if you will, I lived in it, I saw it happen, and it is what it is. I used to live on Club Creek, or something like that by Westwood Mall, and almost overnight, it became a dangerous place. I also lived off of Cook Road, and that place also when to, well you know what.

That said, they have been trying hard to get the schools better, and there are some very smart kids that go to school in Alief. They graduate and move on to better things. The problem is that you still have too many parents that just don't care about their kids as they should, and those are the ones who cause the problems for everyone else. Children who don't learn English, kids without fathers, the usual.

Also, all those apartments, and many of the "new" old houses are just garbage, the were built quick and cheap, and it is showing now. Just look at all those homes along Harwin. Just trash, but they were very sought after when new as I recall.

Lol, you couldn't pay me to live on club creek now.

[F2BBS]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

Ah, but then the bust of the 80's. A lot of people lost their jobs and many people just ran on their leases. Desperate to fill them up, the owners began to lower their rates drastically and you can guess what happened. A wave of minorities began to pour in, and blacks from the Missouri City area began to move in. The day laborers were able to afford nice places, and I'm not sure where the Asians came from, but they came en masse. This was a powder keg of crime that was waiting to be unleashed, and it was, and then many of the original homeowners left the area.

BTW, there is nothing wrong with ethnicity at all, what I mean is that having all these particular cultures mix, with young adolescent boys, "things" were/are bound to happen. They tend to socialize amongst their own kind and when they've been parting, and then meet on the streets, well you know what I mean.

[TFW46]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

Lol, you couldn't pay me to live on club creek now.

You couldnt pay me to drive on Club Creek in the daylight.

And, yes, most of the homeowners in my area did leave when the trash moved into those apartments 20+ years ago. I chose not to leave and so did my next-door neighbors. We're the only two homeowners in a 3-4 block radius who didnt join the exodus back then. But I've been lucky -- after most of the houses on my block were bought by investors, those investors sold out and the entire block is now owned by hard-working, honest Mexican families. Most of them dont speak English -- but they're legal and they own, not rent, the homes. And they're all as good neighbors as the ones who fled years ago.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

There are a few ok parts here and there in Alief aka "The SWAT", but for the most part is a sh*t hole, and I'm saying this as somebody who grew up there. It was already pretty much the hood when I was in middle school and high school, it's even worse now. I think what lead to demise of alief was when the City annexed it and metro started running through there, also he overbuilding of apartments in the early 80's. These apartments pretty much become like project housing like you would find up north.

I'm pretty sure most of Alief is still unincorporated. Alief isn't really a good place. they have some okay areas, west pf highway 6 and in mission bend. It is being squeezed in my nicer areas on three sides though, so we will see what happens.