Houston and bikes, kids, dogs. (Howe, Waller: best city, transplants, HOA)

[famlife]

What do you guys think are some great things Houston has going for it, when it comes to raising children there? ( I realize different people will have different opinions, and that's what I'm going for.

Is Houston very Bike-able? Are there plenty of bike lanes? Do many people ride bikes around?

Are there any dog breed restrictions?

How far out of the city would you have to go to be able to have some backyard chickens and a food garden in the yard?

What is the locals take on the weather? I've read the stats, but for those actually experiencing it, is it plain nasty or pleasant once you are used to it? I realize that everyone will be different, but I have lived in places where even the long term locals have a true hate on for the weather. ;-/

Does Houston have a community feel, or is it a cold shoulder town where it's hard to make friends and no one talks to strangers?

Thanks for any info.. I'm town scouting

[Cajf32902]

Hello. So I'm not in Houston.. But will next week. When I went to visit Houstonians we're very very nice. :-)

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by famlife

What do you guys think are some great things Houston has going for it, when it comes to raising children there? ( I realize different people will have different opinions, and that's what I'm going for.

Is Houston very Bike-able? Are there plenty of bike lanes? Do many people ride bikes around? Unfortunately, we are not (on the streets). The bike lanes look like an after-thought (which they were). However, several subdivisions have bike trails.

Are there any dog breed restrictions? Aggressive breeds are hard to place. Several HOAs prohibit them.

How far out of the city would you have to go to be able to have some backyard chickens and a food garden in the yard? Garden - anywhere. Chickens - more rural, outside of town. Distance depends on the direction - which depends on your job location.

What is the locals take on the weather? I've read the stats, but for those actually experiencing it, is it plain nasty or pleasant once you are used to it? I realize that everyone will be different, but I have lived in places where even the long term locals have a true hate on for the weather. ;-/ I personally only hate July and August because of the combined heat and humidity. I like our mild winters. I have noticed that some never get used to the summer - and others don't mind it. We are a heavily air-conditioned city.

Does Houston have a community feel, or is it a cold shoulder town where it's hard to make friends and no one talks to strangers? It's a huge town but people are friendly. It's a city of transplants.

Thanks for any info.. I'm town scouting

Job location is important. You want to keep your commute to a reasonable time, unless you want to feel that your life is in your car.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

If you are coming from California, the traffic here can/will be heavy at times, will be short compared to what you have in LA for example. If you miss your exit on the freeways in Houston, you just have to drive maybe a mile, or two, or sometimes less, to turn around, unlike sometimes several miles, or more, in some states, especially California.

Biking? Let's just say Houston is not Amsterdam.

Chickens? Actually, as long as you have a "show" chicken, you can keep it as a pet. White chickens (leghorn's) don't count. Roosters are not allowed, period.

Weather? It sucks for half the year. 'Still, much better than snow, sleet and ice. Also, humidity keeps your skin well hydrated. 'Ever compare an older old man/woman from a desert climate to a humid one? The desert climate sometimes adds about 20 years to the appearance, leathery and wrinkled skin. 'Just saying.

I'd say Houston is very friendly, the more suburban you go, the friendlier it gets.

[lhafer]

I've lived here since 2001, but been in Texas my whole life.

Houston as a city is not very bike-able. But the suburbs are better (at least where I am in the NE). Kingwood has greenbelts that a lot of people use to bike on. Kingwood Map of the Greenbelt Map My neighborhood has lots of sidewalks and trails that you see people biking everywhere. But say, to bike to work? Not as easy.

See Cheryjohns answer for the gardening and chickens. Lots of people have their own little gardens in my neighborhood, but the HOA restricts "farm animals", so chickens are out.

I'm one that has never gotten used to the summers here. Even having grown up in the DFW area - I can't stand the humidity here. July and August just suck. I'm a sweater, and so summer is just a reason for my water bill to be even higher because I always feel the need for a shower due to being sticky and damp the moment I step outside. Some people get used to it. I haven't in the 13+ years I've been here. The weather and the bugs are the 2 main downfalls of Houston.

I've made plenty of friends here. Lots of friendly people, and people from all walks of life. It's a melting pot of a city. While that's a good thing, it also kind of sucks. The oil industry is huge here, and many of our friends are in it (including us). And while that's a great thing for living, twice I've had to say goodbye to our best friends due to relocations (once over seas, and now they are moving to another state), another good friend just put her house on the market to move across town (which means an hour away), etc. Due to the nature of a lot of the job opportunities here, you make friends, but they won't necessarily be around forever.

I tell people that Houston is a great city to live in, raise a family in, have a career in, but not the best city to visit as a tourist.

[txdemo]

Re biking - there seems to be conflicting opinions about that. See this thread:

//www.city-data.com/forum/houst...violating.html

[Neo45]

I know people with chickens and food gardens in their backyards less than 15 minutes from downtown but they're in the "scary parts" of the city as some would say on this website

[famlife]

Thanks guys

We own an internet business and homeschool, so we don't really have a 'commute' nor care about what schools are nearby...

Are these 'scary' parts of town actually scary, or just blue collar? Although we could probably afford to live in a gated community with HOA's, we prefer blue collar areas, for the sake of lower mortgage and guests being able to park in the street sometimes, etc. mainly, we don't like paying extra just to be restrictive to ourselves and neighbors. We'd like to find a relaxed neighborhood that is safe.

Thanks for all the great info. maybe we'll plan our vacations for July/August, so we don't have to wear a snorkel around town

[cheryjohns]

Then I would say look in the Waller school district - as it tends to be more rural and less HOA-bound - opening it up for chickens, any dog breed, biking, etc. I understand you homeschool - but identifying that district makes it easier to find the more rural areas, when you don't know the city.

Go onto www.HAR.com. Plug in that school district and any other criteria (price, # of bedrooms, etc.).

[famlife]

Very cool, thanks