Young Mississippi family considering Houston, neighborhood suggestions?? (Dallas, Austin: crime, houses)

[Thatguy77777]

My wife and I are both 26 and are from Lafayette County, Mississippi (near Oxford/Ole Miss), after graduating we lived in Memphis for a year before I got a job in Northern Virginia, where we have been for just under 3 years now, and we don't really like it. The novelty of being near our nation's capital wore off really quick when we realized that beyond a few great museums, some tourist attractions and too many overpriced bars and restaurants there's not much to do in DC that separates it from any other big town or city, 3/4 of the city and many of the suburbs are just as bad as the worst parts of Memphis or even Jackson, and it's difficult for us to make friends our age because everyone is all about work and politics. There's also the fact that even though VA is technically the South the culture here, at least until you get past Richmond is 100% Northern by this time in history, and although I have no problem with Northerners, my grandfather was born in New England, we are definitely Southern people and really seem out of place at times.

Houston interests us because it seems to have big city amenities like theatres and museums, but it isn't packed so tightly like DC or other Northern cities, it's in the South (yes I know people from all over the nation and the world live there), Texas seems like a good place for me to make the transition to self employment, it seems family oriented which is important since we have a 3 year old and are expecting twins and it isn't so far from our families in MS and TN.

We are also open to Dallas and Austin but Houston seems much more appealing, and outside of TX we are considering going back to Memphis and living in East Memphis or Germantown, or even Nashville.

We don't really care about good public schools since we are going to home school, and we prefer older homes rather than 21st century cookie cutter "development" houses or 60s-70s-80s type tract homes. We need 3 bedrooms, a neighborhood that's down to earth and filled with families, safe enough for a woman to go for a walk at any time of night and not be at any significant risk and ideally want to stay below $750k. Thanks!

[michaeltx9412]

If you're familiar with the Gulf Coast South like lower Louisiana in terms of weather and culture, Houston will work for you. And yes, Houston is very international for a Southern city... Think of Atlanta, but more Hispanic/Asian and flatter. Both Dallas and Houston are indeed geographically in the South, but Houston is more aligned with Southeastern Dixie culture than Dallas. Dallas is about 50% Southern and Houston is about 70% if that makes sense. The real South technically ends around Liberty County, Texas, but the Houston metro is close enough... In the Dallas' perspective, the South ends around Canton, TX and it a little more far from Dallas.

Honestly, I'd suggest you move back to Memphis. Houston is very humid, traffic there is a nightmare, and our Texas weather usually hotter than the rest of the South... with crazy humidity due to its proximity to the Gulf. But despite all those flaws, Houston is considered to be a desirable city to move to. And Austin is one of the least Southern city... It's more of a Texas-style Southwestern city with a strong West Coast (Southern California) vibe.

[Raider Scott]

Safe for women to walk at any time of night?


...in Houston?


You really need to research smaller Texas towns or go totally rural, if this is a big worry.

[utche96]

If you want safety then you shouldnt move to Houston. Maybe consider some of the surrounding suburbs such as the Woodlands or Sugar Land.

[airdrawndagger]

Originally Posted by Thatguy77777

We don't really care about good public schools since we are going to home school, and we prefer older homes rather than 21st century cookie cutter "development" houses or 60s-70s-80s type tract homes. We need 3 bedrooms, a neighborhood that's down to earth and filled with families, safe enough for a woman to go for a walk at any time of night and not be at any significant risk and ideally want to stay below $750k. Thanks!

There are a number of early 20th-century bungalow-style SFH's in the Heights. I would suggest looking at zip code 77009, west of I-45. Generally speaking, the further south you go (again, west of 45), the more desirable the neighborhood. You will likely find a 3-2 toward the upper end of your price range or slightly higher, depending on the sqft of the house. I know you plan on home schooling, but you'd still want to consider elementary school zoning for resale purposes - houses zoned to Travis/Harvard will command a higher price than those zoned to other schools further to the north in the Heights.

ETA: Plenty of families in the area described above. Crime isn't too bad for ITL, but obviously not as safe as many suburban communities.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

Safe for women to walk at any time of night?


...in Houston?


You really need to research smaller Texas towns or go totally rural, if this is a big worry.

There are plenty of places anyone can walk around at night safely here.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by utche96

If you want safety then you shouldnt move to Houston. Maybe consider some of the surrounding suburbs such as the Woodlands or Sugar Land.

Best advice on this thread

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Y’all trippin

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Y’all trippin

Hard lol. There's plenty of areas that are just as safe to walk around at night as Sugar Land or the Woodlands, but of course that doesn't fit the narrative.

[tewest86]

We walked around safely in Clear Lake which is technically the city limits of Houston. We are also from MS ( Clinton-Madison). Why did you have to bring Jackson into this? You can technically walk around safely in any area if you have an ounce of street smarts. If you don't then please don't traverse the city at dark or during the day. Pay attention to your surroundings. I learned this from living in NOLA for 10 yrs. If a group of people are walking down a well lit street, don't go on your own to take a short cut through a dark alley. Be smart.