Single, 35 Male Relocating To Houston Help (Dallas, Galveston: extended stay, apartment complexes, rent)

[Hudlander]

Hi, I will try and give as brief but thorough description of myself, needs as possible.

• 35 year old male, single, on the mild autism spectrum (relevant as I have my needs/sensistivities accordingly).
• Previously lived the past 2 years in Manhattan.
• Spent most of my life in the suburbs of DC, northern VA.
• Also lived in Boston, and CT (originally from CT).
  
  
• New job with a new organization in Houston begins in less than 2 weeks.
• Job will be located right by the Astrodome.
• Job pays between $45-50,000.
  
• The only person I know in metro Houston happens to be my best friend.
• He just moved there 6 months ago and has bought a place near Tomball.
• He's a native Texan, but from Dallas. *Just married this fall.
  
  
• Given my disposition (mild autism), difficulty with transitions, and in making new social connections, I feel it is imperative that at least until I get my bearings, that I start off living as close to my friend as possible.
• Not next door, but 10 minutes or so away, this way it will be convenient to grab a bite to eat or meet at the same gym.
• I HAVE visited Houston, for a few weeks, this summer, but my time was primarily spent in the Spring area where my friend lived at the time; otherwise aside from a trip to Galveston the area is all unfamiliar.

My thoughts were to do the following:

1. Initially just move down with clothes, settle at either an AirBnB or extended stay type place in Tomball area for a few weeks as I look for a more permanent setting.
2. Find a furnished place with a shorter term less in the Tomball area (6 months?), this way if the commute is that bad/I have branched out I can move or I can stay put if I am comfortable here

My questions:

1. Is this a wise and rational thing to do for a newbie, single, young adult (working by the astrodome; commuting from Tomball area)?

   -I mean is the commute THAT much worse/bad relative to any place closer?

   -Or for what I would save in time with a slightly closer commute, is it rather marginal the benefit given I would be out of my comfort zone from the one person I know?

2. In the Tomball area:What extended stay type places (kitchen, full, preferred) could you recommend?
3. Given my position (newbie, signal, job location, budget), longer term is there a really 'good' spot I should shoot for locating to in Metro Houston?

Thanks.

[BurgersUnlimited]

https://imgur.com/a/1I2mLqi

You will be making a huge mistake commuting in the from Tomball. Expect a 1-1.5 hour commute each way. I would recommend that you get an apartment in area 1 (East Pearland), and as a 2nd choice, the Montrose/Midtown area. Each area will give you a roughly 30 mins or less commute. 1 is the more suburban area, and 2 is the white-ish, gentrified (but also expensive) part of the downtown core. I'd get an airbnb near your friend for a few weeks BEFORE you start your job if it means a lot to you, then I'd start apartment hunting. There are large, large areas of Houston to avoid, so making a good residence choice near your workplace is essential.

Your 2nd choice might be OK, but that commute will still be long, and you should leave early each day until you learn the route and the intricacies of H-town traffic. I'd also advise you spend a few days just driving around in your car learning the entire Houston area. PM me if you want to hang out sometime, I'm near to Tomball. I was in your same shoes a few years ago.

[chris_ut]

Tomball to NRG would be a horrible commute. Go see your friend on the weekends as you wouldn't have time on weekdays anyhow after your commute.

[Ghost Town]

Rent by NRG, hang out in Tomball on weekends.
Apartments close to NRG (primarily on Holly Hall St.) used to be cheap.
Probably still the best deal inside 610 loop.

[westsidewolf1989]

I would do a long term Air BnB (say a month or so), which should give you a good impression as to whether you can handle the commute. I just checked and, at 6:30 at night on a Tuesday, the commute from the Astrodome area to Tomball is one hour. Would obviously be longer if you are leaving right at 5 PM. So, even if you leave at 5 on the dot, you won’t be getting home until sometime in the mid 6 o’clock hour - like chris_ut said, not sure how much time that allows you to hang out with your friend on weekdays.

Outside of the friend aspect, Tomball is not great for single people (at least relative to inner loop Houston). I’m sure there are a decent amount of single people to meet in Tomball, you just aren’t going to have the bar, restaurant, museum, park, theatre/fine arts scene that you’d have if you lived in inner loop Houston. Not sure how important that is to you or not.

[Hudlander]

Originally Posted by BurgersUnlimited

https://imgur.com/a/1I2mLqi

You will be making a huge mistake commuting in the from Tomball. Expect a 1-1.5 hour commute each way. I would recommend that you get an apartment in area 1 (East Pearland), and as a 2nd choice, the Montrose/Midtown area. Each area will give you a roughly 30 mins or less commute. 1 is the more suburban area, and 2 is the white-ish, gentrified (but also expensive) part of the downtown core. I'd get an airbnb near your friend for a few weeks BEFORE you start your job if it means a lot to you, then I'd start apartment hunting. There are large, large areas of Houston to avoid, so making a good residence choice near your workplace is essential.

Your 2nd choice might be OK, but that commute will still be long, and you should leave early each day until you learn the route and the intricacies of H-town traffic. I'd also advise you spend a few days just driving around in your car learning the entire Houston area. PM me if you want to hang out sometime, I'm near to Tomball. I was in your same shoes a few years ago.

Really? It's THAT bad a commute?

-My friend commutes from Tomball to Bush Airport; his wife commutes to just off exit 15 on loop 610.
Is it Really that much worse a commute?
-They live just beyond 99 by the cemetery.

-My thinking was, if I live 10 minutes 'closer' in, (like Kohrville), I'd still be proximate to him/able to see him at the gym/stores with a comparable commute to them; ergo if they can handle the commute it can't be that bad.

Keep in mind, my commute door to door in Manhattan was 40-45; my commute in Northern VA was a half hour, so 10-15 minutes can't be that bad, can it?

-I have no idea the exact hours, but at my most recent full time job, I'd work 9-5:30; the prior job I was 7:30-4; if that makes a difference.

-I usually hit the gym either before or after work, so in a sense the commute is really time from there to work.

Originally Posted by chris_ut

Tomball to NRG would be a horrible commute. Go see your friend on the weekends as you wouldn't have time on weekdays anyhow after your commute.

Originally Posted by westsidewolf1989

Outside of the friend aspect, Tomball is not great for single people (at least relative to inner loop Houston). I’m sure there are a decent amount of single people to meet in Tomball, you just aren’t going to have the bar, restaurant, museum, park, theatre/fine arts scene that you’d have if you lived in inner loop Houston. Not sure how important that is to you or not.

At this stage, yes, it is very important to me.
Put it to you this way, if my friend was not in Houston, I never would have looked in Houston.
I don't want to feel isolated and all alone, having that comfort zone in the proximate neighborhood is very important as a newbie.

Just curious, would this have been any better a commute from the Spring area (just east of I-45)?

[AcresHomes44]

Why do newcomers insist on living WAY out of the way in Houston, then ask how bad the commute is? Coming from NW Houston, your commute to NRG is going to be ridiculous, and that's not counting peak traffic time. You're better off staying in Midtown, as you'll be close to your job, nightlife, shopping, etc. I think you can take the rail to NRG, which would be good since you won't have to drive. I could see if you lived in Tomball and your job was in Greenspoint, then the commute would be doable, but you're talking a lengthy commute from NW Houston to NRG.

[Hudlander]

That bad huh?
That much worse than Tomball to exit 15 on 610, Tomball to Bush, or Spring to NRG?

What about Kohrville to NRG?
I just wanna be by my friend if possible/reasonable.
I consider reasonable if my commute isn’t much worse than theirs.

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by Hudlander

At this stage, yes, it is very important to me.
Put it to you this way, if my friend was not in Houston, I never would have looked in Houston.
I don't want to feel isolated and all alone, having that comfort zone in the proximate neighborhood is very important as a newbie.

Just curious, would this have been any better a commute from the Spring area (just east of I-45)?

Are you sure your friend wants you to follow him all the time? You mentioned that he got married recently.
Maybe he wants to have his private life, didn't you think about it?
I made two international moves without any friends whatsoever, and what?
At some point I lived few years totally by myself.
Maybe you should start dating someone and start own life?

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by Hudlander

That bad huh?
That much worse than Tomball to exit 15 on 610, Tomball to Bush, or Spring to NRG?

What about Kohrville to NRG?
I just wanna be by my friend if possible/reasonable.
I consider reasonable if my commute isn’t much worse than theirs.

Ok. It will be a long commute to NRG from Tomball “proper.” Depending on the hours you work you could potentially shorten your commute if you leave for work before 7:00 a.m. and return before 4:00 p.m.

I wouldn’t move all the way to Tomball. Why don’t you check out the area around Louetta and Hwy 249. That’s probably 10 minutes from where your friend lives. It’s about 35 mins to NRG (in light traffic). You would take Hwy 249 to the Sam Houston Tollway West, to Hwy 290 East, and finally to 610 which takes you to NRG.

There are numerous apartment complexes in that area. If memory serves there are quite a few places on Cypresswood. There is an outdoor mall on Louetta called Vintage Park which has a lot of good restaurants. It is a safe area.

This to me would be the best compromise. You could still hook up with your friend on short notice.

Good luck!