Young Couple: Buying Near Downtown? Close to 45, between Downtown & Belt?

[texas7]

Lived on Glenbrae - hearing shots was frequent - not inside the neighborhood but on those bordering major streets.

[modster]

Originally Posted by texas7

Lived on Glenbrae - hearing shots was frequent - not inside the neighborhood but on those bordering major streets.

I'm north of Bellfort and there hasn't been anything like that near me. I have a friend on Cayton in the SW section and I know he hasn't experienced that issue. You must have been near Crescent City apartments which are the most problematic ones. The only ones near us are the Vietnamese condos, which look the worst of any of them, but the city leaves them alone despite our protest because there is basically zero crime issues with them.

Houston - News - Thai Xuan Village

A management district for Hobby has passed and is in the final stages so they will have more patrols, landscaping, etc that will help with the surrounding areas too.

[recuerdeme]

Eastwood is a great place to live. Pretty safe as long as you don't get too close to Magnolia.

[Toulouse]

I've lived in Glenbrook north of Bellfort for 1 year and have had no issues with crime and have never heard a gunshot. The neighborhood did experience a downswing for several years but it is clearly back and an awesome place to live. With the Hobby Area Management District and the resurgence in popularity of Mid-Century Moderns and Sprawling Ranches it can only continue to increase in popularity. It has a great social life too with so many former innerloopers (like myself) moving in.

[Trace]

[FONT=Times New Roman]My wife and I live in Glenbrook Valley now, and lived in Eastwood before.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]"Safe" is relative, so find what you're comfortable with by spending time in an area you're interested in (that means tooling around early in the morning and late at night, on the weekends too). We've never been shot--and cars backfire and firecrackers pop (it's not all guns). Plus, this is Texas, what’s a few gunshots in the distance?[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Before you buy a townhouse in the warehouse area just east of downtown, make sure you're cool with living 3 feet or less from your neighbor and make sure you’re cool with spending a lot of money for a tiny, tiny piece of land.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]While all of the East side is gentrifying, even if the transition moves exponentially, it ain't gonna be gentrified in 5 years or 10 even. This area is still a viable commercial business area and that will not go away in for a long time.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Modster’s photos capture the region well. I recommend you guys drive around more and explore the area. Drive around the area at McKinney & Lockwood (ex. Leeland, Rusk, Walker, McKinney, Park, Woodside, Eastwood, Clay, Bell, Polk and Pease). Take Lawndale off of Telephone Rd: that will take you past an active convent, Villa de Matel. Across Lawndale from Villa de Matel is a neat small neighborhood. Across Wayside from Villa de Matel is Idylwood. Take Lawndale past Wayside (the golf course is Gus Wortham, oldest in the city) and across the bayou, then take a right into that neighborhood. See if you can find the antebellum mansion or the Hacienda back there. Take Wayside West under I-45 and go right on Telephone Rd. Drive outside 610 and continue on until you get to Bellfort, go straight through Bellfort, then take your second or third right (Ashburn or Brace Street). Wander around Garden Villas a bit. Come back to Bellfort in between Bellfort and Airline and go east on Grahamcrest or Drouet. Wander around. Get back to Bellfort and Telephone and go east on Bellfort. After the second light, take your first left onto Colgate (easy to miss). Wander around there. Take Bellfort to Broadway. Go past Broadway and wander around the neighborhoods to the left and the right (Glen Valley Drive or Glencrest, both ways). Get back to Bellfort and continue east past I-45. Go right at old Galveston rd (at the raised railroad tracks). At the next light, veer left. Go left on cripple creek and then go right on cripple creek off of Allendale. Explore. Get back to Allendale, go east and cross the waterway. At Forest Oaks (stop sign), go right, straight or left. Explore.[/FONT]

[stolitx]

As a single female living in Glenbrook since 2001 I feel very safe. Even, gasp, when I go to the Kroger at night or walk home from friend's homes after dinner. But it's all relative I suppose. It's not Sugar Land.

I also looked in Idylwood and Eastwood before moving here. I think they are all great areas depending on what you are looking for in architecture, home size, features and lot size. There are still great values too until more discover these areas.

[redstripe]

Thanks for the replies, all---very informative. We took a look at the modern home in the warehouse district near downtown & you guys were right: too much money for not much home. We'll start checking out the neighborhoods soon.