East End improvements

[Keyan]

Originally Posted by geolvl

So, what does everyone think about Houston spending so much money on improving the East End? Houston has put in rails, but most of the houses are too far gone to redo (they are tear downs) and you couldn't use the running/bike trails because the area is too dangerous and there are pit bulls Everywhere (in yards and loose). Does it have a chance of being like the Heights? I'm assuming this is what the city was thinking...

Like the heights? Nope. Like Midtown? Yes. But even then it won't be another 10 - 15 years til we see a model close to midtown. East downtown is too much of an industrial area to have a city-suburban feel like the heights. Houston has to keep growing rapidly for it to take off faster, but even then it'd be a lot more like today's midtown.

[Trae713]

I really don't like how that Walmart closes at midnight. Tried walking in there at 11:45 and they told me they are closed and not taking in anymore customers.

[ComeAtMe]

Originally Posted by philopower

Nothing about the East End interests me. Too industrial, the huge coffee factor is an eyesore, and no good grocery stores. I suppose if you want to live the townhome life then it's a cheap way to do it, but for regular homes, I'd rather live in the ghettos of the southwest side. At least it's close to shopping in Bellaire and the Galleria.

The townhomes in that area climbed over the $300k mark half a year ago. Far from cheap anymore. I know because I just sold mine there for 314 after buying it for 100k less 2 years earlier. I just checked what they are going for now and they have are starting around 340 now.

The feral dog population is huge in the area. Latino's just aren't very fond of neutering their animals (even though there are organizations that will practically do it for free!) or keeping them confined to their property unfortunately.

Bully mutts and Chihuahuas everywhere however I still stayed active and was constantly jogging/biking/skateboarding/dog walking through 2nd ward. Kept my head on a swivel and was able to avoid any confrontations with the feral dogs but getting into standoffs & stare downs with them wasn't infrequent.

Had two incidents with ferals of the two legged sort. First time I was riding my longboard down Sampson on a Saturday morning. Sun was just rising so it was pretty early. Anyways I'm cruising along when 3 dudes jumped out from behind a fence and tried to block my path. Then actually tried to chase my ass down for a few seconds yelling YO mayne lemme holla at yo fo a minute. I didn't stick around to find out what they wanted. Started pumping as fast as I could. Took the right on Harrisburg, tucked in and bombed the hill going under the overpass by shelter.

Second time I was running with one of my dogs down the Harrisburg hike & bike trail & was crossing an intersection when some jackass ran the stop sign and almost took out me and the dog. I got pissed and shot the guy the double birds then continued on my way. As the trail comes up the the next street intersection I hear screeching tires coming around the corner and sure enough here comes the same car gunning back down the street at me.

I stay a good 10ft from the road thinking great what the hell does he want now and before I have enough time to get much farther in the thought process than that he whips the car over to the right. Straight into the grass coming at me like a missle. I bolt back farther up the trail the way I came from dragging the dog behind me as I'm sprinting.

As we run through the next intersection here comes asshat again. Tires screaming as he fishtails his primer grey civic around the corner. This time as he passes he has his whole torso hanging out his car window flashing gang signs at me & as he brakes for the next turn he holds a pistol out the window for me to see. At this point I'm just thinking this is that fiing bull****. I survived multiple vacations humping the mountains in Afghanistan literally playing the part of bait trying to invite the enemy fighters out to play and I'm going to get offed back home in Houston because I flicked off some gangbanger that almost ran me over!? Couldn't go forward or backwards because he would easily beat me to the next intersection. Fck it time to improvise. Grabbed the dog & threw it over the closest fence, went over behind him into someones backyard then rinsed and repeated until I was ended up hoping into a church playground, hid there for half an hour then went home.

Even with those two incidents I still loved living in 2nd ward/"eado" but at the same time if I had a wife/kids I wouldn't want them to be outside in the area.

Really, really miss being able to hop on the bicycle or skateboard on a whim and head over to events @ Discovery Green (less than 2 miles), anywhere downtown, Montrose (4.3 miles via bike path), Heights (5.5 miles via bike path), Herman Park (4.4 miles via bike path) etc.

I also miss smelling the coffee plant in the morning =[

[Svensk08]

Eado and Second Ward are only parts of the Greater East End. There are also old, established residential neighborhoods with increasing popularity and property values: Eastwood, Broadmoor, Idylwood, Country Club Place, Glenbrook Valley, etc.. It isn't unusual to have visitors at Eastwood Civic Ass'n. monthly meetings who are seriously looking to buy a home in the general area, so there's obviously some interest in living there.

[ComeAtMe]

Originally Posted by Svensk08

Eado and Second Ward are only parts of the Greater East End. There are also old, established residential neighborhoods with increasing popularity and property values: Eastwood, Broadmoor, Idylwood, Country Club Place, Glenbrook Valley, etc.. It isn't unusual to have visitors at Eastwood Civic Ass'n. monthly meetings who are seriously looking to buy a home in the general area, so there's obviously some interest in living there.

Yep, all those neighborhoods are nice and father along in their improvement. I wanted to stay in the same area and was looking in all of them but I couldn't find any with yards large enough that were priced within my reach.

Ended up buying a place 8 miles north of downtown in another barrio (Northside/Northline) with a giant yard. Can't take off on a bike/skateboard and do cool **** on a whim anymore but the commute into the office is still cake

[geolvl]

Funny you mentioned the coffee plant. I was driving around there this weekend and talked to a guy that had just bought a house and he loved the smell every morning even though he said the hum is 24/7 white noise. More like ear drum damage. He was really close.

I like the area really close to downtown too, since it's close. A helpful member told me about the other neighborhoods, but I think I didn't go to the right place. I really need to map it and then go and explore. And with everything going on right now, I'd like to see what happens to the prices on these houses that need all cash capital to fix up so you can actually live in them. Someone is selling this super cool warehouse that could be changed to residential, but it needs a whole bunch of cash after down payment to change it. Anyhow...

[hokieone]

I have lived in Broadmoor for one year after selling my previous townhome that was in "Eado" (hate that name). I now consider myself full on East End and love living in the area. Broadmoor is a mix of homes, but is quiet and the neighbors all are actually quite friendly and while maybe I'm biased because I live here, it has a somewhat throwback sense of a neighborhood, as you often see people getting together, kids playing in the front yard, and the proximity of the high school plays into all this as well. Christmas Evening, people were out grilling and it just felt very "neighborhoody" if that word makes sense.

All the above being said, its not for everyone. You can hear the train (I don't even notice now), the sidewalks are crap, the drainage on some of the streets is terrible and some homes are closer to facing a wrecking ball than appearing on the next East End home tour. The nearby Kroger is garbage, and as much as I like Fiesta, it doesn't carry some of the more high end foods, so you're faced with going to Phoenecia for some things or HEB Montrose/ Whole Foods/ Central Market for the rest. Are there bars and restaurants opening on every block? Nope - although there are some places that have opened in the last few years to give enough options in a 10 minute range for those nights you don't feel like going elsewhere. An uber to Midtown/ Montrose runs me less than $10. I love my snow cones in the summer at that place on Harrisburg too, Ninfas is close by, and I happen to love Salvadorean food and that is in the area as well. Mason Park is a potential gem one day, but I even like a lot about it right now.

The East End has a lot of potential, the character of the area appeals to me, and I love that I can drive down Polk and be in downtown in about 10 minutes each morning with no fuss. Again, not for everyone, but find the right home and I think the area will continue to change and develop around you.

[Lucillle]

Sorta kinda considering 77011. But various sites have the robbery rate extremely high, what's up with that?

[BlkGuyBlkGT]

Take a look at Navigation Village right off Navigation Street (77011). Hidden Gem.