Moving from Philly to Houston (Spring, Briar: apartments, houses, neighborhoods)

[PhillyBeach]

I'm looking to move to Houston. I am a 24 M who is engaged. Due to our job situations we are looking to move to Houston in the next few months. The most important things for us are having some kind of yard, diversity of the neighborhood and staying between 350-450k in terms of cost for the house. We also definitely would like to stay in the city and not be in the suburbs (seems to be too much change to go from Philly to a Texas suburb). Any suggestions?

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by PhillyBeach

I'm looking to move to Houston. I am a 24 M who is engaged. Due to our job situations we are looking to move to Houston in the next few months. The most important things for us are having some kind of yard, diversity of the neighborhood and staying between 350-450k in terms of cost for the house. We also definitely would like to stay in the city and not be in the suburbs (seems to be too much change to go from Philly to a Texas suburb). Any suggestions?

Everything you wrote has Willowbend, Westbury, and Willow Meadows written all over it.

Diverse neighborhoods, close to everything, 1/4 acre lot sizes, and in your budget.

[PhillyBeach]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

Everything you wrote has Willowbend, Westbury, and Willow Meadows written all over it.

Diverse neighborhoods, close to everything, 1/4 acre lot sizes, and in your budget.

I have actually been looking a decent amount in that area and I have found multiple places! The other places I have come across are the Briarforest and Spring Branch areas. How do they fit what I may be looking for other than finding a few houses I've liked in those areas?

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by PhillyBeach

I have actually been looking a decent amount in that area and I have found multiple places! The other places I have come across are the Briarforest and Spring Branch areas. How do they fit what I may be looking for other than finding a few houses I've liked in those areas?

All of the areas being brought up could be good, but their appeal will vary based on where your job will be, assuming you'll be commuting. A couple things to understand:

• While people from our area consider these neighborhoods to be "in the city", their location in relation to downtown would put them well out into the Philly suburban equivalents. You can be "in the city", but your commute to a job "in the city" can still be terrible.
• These areas are 1950s-1970s suburbia in character. Expect strip malls and parking lots, not much of anything resembling "city" as you would be used to in Philly. Even our urban core will feel mostly suburban to you.

[PhillyBeach]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

All of the areas being brought up could be good, but their appeal will vary based on where your job will be, assuming you'll be commuting. A couple things to understand:

• While people from our area consider these neighborhoods to be "in the city", their location in relation to downtown would put them well out into the Philly suburban equivalents. You can be "in the city", but your commute to a job "in the city" can still be terrible.
• These areas are 1950s-1970s suburbia in character. Expect strip malls and parking lots, not much of anything resembling "city" as you would be used to in Philly. Even our urban core will feel mostly suburban to you.

One thing I have gotten from this whole process was almost exactly what you said. I live in an extremely urban area and have learned that it would be more of that suburban feel. My biggest fear was getting to a place that was closer to rural than anything. But going from a row home to a house with a yard in a "suburban" feel is something I'm looking forward to.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by PhillyBeach

I have actually been looking a decent amount in that area and I have found multiple places! The other places I have come across are the Briarforest and Spring Branch areas. How do they fit what I may be looking for other than finding a few houses I've liked in those areas?

Briarforest is a but further away from things but still a nice area.

Spring Branch is comparable to places like Westbury or Willowbend. It is more patchy in terms of nice areas and not so nice areas. The north and west parts of Spring Branch are iffy, but the areas not far from I-10 and east of Blalock are great.

[airdrawndagger]

Agree with the Willowbend, Westbury, and Willow Meadows as good options given your criteria. I would also suggest consulting a flood map prior to buying property in these neighborhoods (or anywhere in Houston for that matter) - the closer you get to Brays Bayou, the greater your flood risk. You'll see in the link below that the northern half of these neighborhoods sit within the 100-year floodplain.

https://www.harriscountyfemt.org/

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by PhillyBeach

I have actually been looking a decent amount in that area and I have found multiple places! The other places I have come across are the Briarforest and Spring Branch areas. How do they fit what I may be looking for other than finding a few houses I've liked in those areas?

Parts of Spring Branch might feel more urban to you, but the nicer parts are probably beyond your budget.
If by Briar Forest you mean the part that is west of Beltway 8 then it isn't a bad area. The schools tend to be low performing but the houses and yards are pretty nice. You're also close to the major freeways and to nice parks and trails. If schools are important to you then you might as well move to the suburbs now.

[PhillyBeach]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

Parts of Spring Branch might feel more urban to you, but the nicer parts are probably beyond your budget.
If by Briar Forest you mean the part that is west of Beltway 8 then it isn't a bad area. The schools tend to be low performing but the houses and yards are pretty nice. You're also close to the major freeways and to nice parks and trails. If schools are important to you then you might as well move to the suburbs now.

Schools arent at the top of my priorities at the moment as we have no children and have no plans to have any, any time soon. Posters have also mentioned Spring Branch having "nicer" or "iffy" parts. What do you mean by that? Is it just more run down? More crime?

[Ghost Town]

Spring Branch is kind of trashy, but getting better pretty fast. Expect to have car shops or warehouses next to the residential areas. And lots of rundown apartments from 1960s that definitely should have been demolished already, but I don't see that happening any time soon. However after Philadelphia there's nothing to fear. Especially downtown Philadelphia. I see a lot of new construction happening in Spring Branch, so it is improving.