Are there any cities in Houston with a Los Angeles vibe? (Pasadena: home, neighborhood)

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by curbur

Agreed; I don't think you'll find anything close to what you're describing, but Montrose, West u or the heights sound like they'd be the closest to what you're looking for if I had to pick. You'd probably want to put your kids in private for all of those scenarios.

A family house in those areas is $1Million+, maybe $700k+ for the heights. Your price range would get you in a townhouse. Of those 3, only West U has good public schools. Private schools are very expensive and I heard very competitive to get in with waitlists. No thanks.

Sugar Land or West Memorial are the best bets, with Sugar Land being better value and newer, Memorial being closer to Galleria and city but would be very top of your budget. Both safe with excellent schools and a great place to raise a family. Sugar Land is more diverse, it feels different from typical Houston suburbs to me. It reminds me more like California than the others, hard to say specifically why but it does.

[radiolibre99]

I'd say Sugar Land and the Woodlands remind me more of the SoCal burbs too.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

I'd say Sugar Land and the Woodlands remind me more of the SoCal burbs too.

Sugar Land reminds me of a bit of Fullerton and Irvine in SoCal and Concord and Walnut Creek in NoCal. It's different than those, but places like Katy, Cypress, Pearland scream 'Texas Burb'. There's nothing wrong with that, but Sugar Land has a different vibe.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by Htown2013

Sugar Land reminds me of a bit of Fullerton and Irvine in SoCal and Concord and Walnut Creek in NoCal. It's different than those, but places like Katy, Cypress, Pearland scream 'Texas Burb'. There's nothing wrong with that, but Sugar Land has a different vibe.

Agreed. I grew up in Katy Ft.Bend before Katy Mills. It was country. Yet even with all the master planned communities that sprung up its still distinctly Texan. Especially the further you get from Harris and the closer you get to Ft Bend county.

Yes, Sugar Land reminds me of the OC. But that's the gist of Houston vs LA, I've always felt that the nicest Houston has to offer is equivalent to the OC at best. There is no comparing Htown to Beverly Hills or the granduer of West LA. Not even River Oaks. Houston primarily caters to the middle to upper middle class. The uber wealthy zones are very very small and tucked away not out in the open for tourists to ride buses and snap photos at. I never truly felt priced out of anywhere or felt like I couldn't easily aspire to be upper middle class in Houston. Not something too out of reach.

[ndcairngorm]

I had one reputation comment (unsigned) that scolded me for saying that Houston's schools leave something to be desired. However, I will stick to my guns. With the OP's criteria in mind - nice town center with good walkability - he is not going to find good public schools paired with that. Yes, there are plenty of good schools in the suburbs, but that is not what the OP is asking for. He wants the whole pleasant California package, and there is just not that equivalent in Houston.

As someone who has lived many years in a few different areas of Houston (not now however), I would advise you to stay put in Calif. Surely there is some lovely smaller town (LaJolla? - probably too expensive) somewhere that will give you all the things you want. I, and I am sure others, can think of a few, maybe not in Calif., that might fit your bill if you decide to expand your search.

Good luck!

[eastontracks]

Sugar Land reminds me of Santa Clarita. Besides that, there's not much in Houston that reminds of the vibrant Los Angeles areas. Houston's just got it's own thing going.

[War Beagle]

Stay where you are. There are some similarities between the two, but mostly in the things that area bad, such as sprawl and traffic.

I always tell people if they generally like California except for the cost of living, they shouldn't come to Texas. The culture is completely different and the way things are done (or not done) will be completely different. The reason to leave CA for Texas is if you are tired of the California culture and way of life.

[KingLAmar]

Thanks for the great information! We really like the idea of getting out of LA for a little bit. It just sucks that being at my income level I still can not afford a decent house. I am just amazed at what you can get for your money in Houston even if we cant check off everything on the list. We realize we can always come back to L.A. whenever we want but seeing our daughter run around in a backyard is most important. I think we are going to give it a shot by this time next year. I plan on visiting my cousin in Austin and driving to Houston in the next month to check it out! The Woodlands actually looks like a pretty cool place to call home just as long as we are near the Town Center. It reminds me of Pasadena, CA from what I can tell. I also really like that a lot of corporations are located there so I'm pretty sure I could find a job and maybe a house near or on the lake.

One thing that is a bit confusing is how do you know you are in a bad neighborhood when the cost of housing is so low across the board? I'm sure there are visual signs but hard to tell online.

I was also surprised to see houses well into the millions of dollars in Houston!! It never crossed my mind that property can get so high there when you can get so much for $500,000! It must be all about location, location, location.

[KingLAmar]

Originally Posted by shortel

my suggestion. stay where you are. don't come here expecting LA. And don't expect people to bow down to your LA viewpoints.

I'm not expecting L.A. simply asking if there was anything similar to Los Angeles. I also have no idea what you mean by your last statement? Yikes!

[curbur]

Originally Posted by KingLAmar

I'm not expecting L.A. simply asking if there was anything similar to Los Angeles. I also have no idea what you mean by your last statement? Yikes!

We've had a large number of transplants come from California recently the past few years, (no seriously A LOT), so much so that it's starting to change the culture of the city some people feel. I think it's great, as no matter how many move here, it's not going to turn Houston overnight into some liberal bastion. Then again, some feel that way about being inside Houston proper right now. It is true that Houston leans left, but it's an extremely moderate left; I'm not convinced that a lot of the Democrats in Houston would be able to stay in the same party if they were running in NYC or Chicago, (Republicans in Chicago are also very moderate to give another example).

There almost seems to be some xenophobic-like sentiments against people moving here and wishing/attempting to move the culture further left than it is, but that's all it its, I don't think War Beagle meant anything mean by it or was trying to say "Stay Away" like some campy Scooby Doo villain. He's just saying the cultural climate will be different somewhat, and you should come with an open mind in that light, but with that being said, there's still definitely a two party system here and plenty of people that agree with either one.


To add to my comments earlier, I did not see your budget and factoring that in, I think you would be likely priced out of the areas I mentioned given the size of home you want. Those areas version of walkability and urbanism are still pretty poor compared to LA's versions, they're just priced high because they're really big, nice homes in a central location to the metro still. I think you're going to have to sacrifice some of the stuff off your list, and just decide what's more important. If the big house with the yard and low crime and good public schools trumps walkability and nightlife and an urban setting, well then there's nothing wrong with that. Go get your house in the Woodlands (or comparable other suburbs on the North and West sides) and drive 5-10 minutes to their town center when you want to go out, or perhaps more rarely come into town for special occasions. Just to add since I saw you mention it, you probably would get priced out of being on the Woodlands Lake, but perhaps you could find a deal I'm unaware of. You could definitely afford a home relatively close by though.