Need to Find an Apartment Soon (Houston, Katy: apartment complex, for rent, crime)

[E Bennett]

I will be relocating to Houston this summer and need to find a safe apartment within commuting distance (25-45 minutes) of the Greenspoint area (but far enough away so as to avoid the crime associated with Greenspoint). By safe I mean a place that sees very little property crime/break-ins and residents aren't eager to leave in droves. I have to choose a place sight unseen so I am pretty nervous.

[AlexTx]

There's some new luxury apartments going up near where I live in the Willowbrook Area. I don't know anything about them but they look nice. And there are near bars, resturants, and Willowbrook mall.
And if you took Sam Houston tollroad, you'd be at Greenspoint in about 10-20 minutes, I'd say. Though I don't know how traffic is in the morning / evening.
It's called the Lighthouse at Willowbrook. It's on Gessner near Mills Road. And a new complex was just built accross the street from it. It looks like it's owned by the same people because it's the same style as the Lighthouse.

There's a bunch of nice looking complexes along the Beltway near West Road.

You can go to Apartment Ratings - Apartments for Rent with Ratings and Reviews from Actual Renters to read reviews of different complexes.

I agree that you probably don't want to live in Greenspoint aka Gunspoint.

[carolineb]

How much money can you pay in rent? What else is important to you regarding where you live??

Regarding safe areas, I think this is all relative -- I lived in an apartment complex that had a garage gate but car break ins still occurred. I rented site unseen too by just using the internet and if there is anyway for you to fly in even for a weekend, I would recommend that. There's also a web site that rates apartments and has comments by current and former tenants and you might want to check that out.

[E Bennett]

Thanks for the replies - I appreciate your feedback.

I can afford a decent amount (would prefer to keep it under $1200) but since I am looking to buy within a year, I don't mind foregoing the luxuries of a high end complex. What I want is something safe so I don't have to constantly freak out that apartments/cars are getting broken into and that there are hoodlums hanging out in the parking lot or pool area doing lord knows what. Proximity to grocery stores and major highways is a plus but the safety issue is foremost.

I have found the online apartment ratings to not be so reliable since it seems many stellar reviews are crafted by management. I have been reading them for weeks now and I don't know who they think they are fooling. If anyone has a firsthand account of a great complex in my target area, I would appreciate the info.

[rasta empress]

You can live in Midtown, the Heights or Montrose and get to Greenspoint in 20-30 mins. The commute is against the heavy traffic and its only a little bit longer in the mornings. If you are younger there is more to do inside the loop and in those areas you can actually walk to supermarkets and restaurants and the like.

[SkyeAnjel]

There are very nice apartments in the Champions area that are not too far from Greenspoint, take hwy 249 to the beltway and it will take you straight to Greenspoint in about 30 minutes. Ravenaux and The Vintage are some apartments I know of off hand in this area.

[xiabelle]

We just moved from Lakebridge Apartments in Cypresswood. They're older, inexpensive, come with washer/dryer/microwave and are very friendly. We really enjoyed them, never felt unsafe, and only left because we were moving to Katy. We paid 860/month for a huge 2-2 (although we also had a teacher discount, but I suspect there are always move in specials.) There are a lot of families, and some very long-term residents there.

It's a straight shot down Kuykendahl from them to Greenspoint, you don't even have to get on the freeway to get there. The only sucky part is the construction a 1960 and Kuykendahl is pretty nasty.

[E Bennett]

Xiabelle, thank you so much for the personal recommendation. You are awesome! And thanks to everyone for their tips. I am really looking forward to moving to my new hometown!