Moving to Houston from Philadelphia

[texas7]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

Whatever you do stay away from this particular dog park: Grand Jury No-Bills Man Who Shot Dog at Park | Houston Press

Yes, because this is an everyday occurrence. Right. This was one weirdo who could have shown up at any dog park. In general I don't like dog parks because there are too many irresponsible dog owners.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by lberg31

I am looking to lease right now and can swing 1300-1400 for a one bedroom but there seem to be some really nice 2 bedrooms for a couple hundred more. Ideally I'd like to go less or find a roommate to share a really nice 2 bedroom 2 bath or larger. What type area is the heights? I have heard Midtown is pretentious 22-25 year olds running wild.

I wouldn't say that regarding Midtown. There are boucou clubs and restaurants so it seems that way on weekend nights especially. I find it entertaining when I have to drive down Bagby and get to look at all of the people, valets, and bouncers and I'm 65 with little interest in stopping except to go into Spec's. There are certainly older adults living in some of the older condos around especially in the southern part of Midtown. It's worth considering with amazing convenience to downtown, the Museum District, Montrose, Rice U, and the Med Center and a rail line going through. It's the only midrise midtown I know of in all the large cities that have a district called 'midtown'.

The Heights is a great area with houses built in the early 20th century almost all having front porches. There are new block apartments coming online directly north of Katy Fwy there. It was originally a suburb called the Houston Heights. There are a couple of other neighborhoods adjacent to the east which get called 'the Heights' but are actually Sunset Heights and Woodland Heights which are very similar to the original Heights proper. The Heights proper is adjacent to the north end of Montrose (Washington Ave being the boundary roughly) which is itself a pretty classic Houston district full of diverse diversions. Montrose is directly east of Midtown, and has block apartments and a few newish highrise apartments. Montrose is a part of Neartown. Neartown also includes the Museum District and Southhampton and I think the old 5th and 6th wards. There is a Neartown Association which is why these districts get lumped together although it is not a homeowners association but more of a lobby to the city council and a business/property owner alliance working with city departments.

I lived in Montrose for 12 years after moving here from Austin at age 39. It was the only part of town I would consider at that time having come from there. I now live about 1/2 mile west of the Heights in Timbergrove.

[oNe GirlP]

Why not in downtown? The Buffalo Bayou has a very nice dog park. Lots of professionals live here, all ages.
Houston House Apartments, Lofts at the Ballpark Apartments, The Rice Lofts, City View Lofts...

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by texas7

Yes, because this is an everyday occurrence. Right. This was one weirdo who could have shown up at any dog park. In general I don't like dog parks because there are too many irresponsible dog owners.

The shooting itself I can dismiss as a freak occurrence, but the way the officers on the scene handled it and the grand jury's decision to not press charges do reflect poorly on that municipality. If I were a dog lover who uses dog parks then this kind of news would definitely make me want to look elsewhere.

[OwlAndSparrow]

If you must rent an apartment, don't waste your money on one inside the Inner Loop.

Live on the edge of town (down I-45, for example, if you want a nice area with cheap rent) while you save up the money for a down payment on a house. The dirty secret a lot of people don't know about is that traffic on I-45 isn't that bad if you leave early enough in the day, so you can just adjust your sleeping schedule accordingly and get to work before everyone else. If you can work it out so that you can leave early, too, then that's even better.

One-bedroom arpartments in the Clear Lake area can be had for under $600 per month, and that area is safe and clean and has all of the amenities you could want. You can still go into the city for fun on weekends.