Need neighborhood ideas; $250k budget (Houston, Briar: top neighborhoods, 2013, renting)

[HoustonLL]

Can someone help me with neighborhood ideas?

I'm an upper-20s single woman currently renting in the Greenway Plaza area and working downtown. I love everything about my neighborhood, except the fact that I'm throwing away mountains of cash every month by renting. So I've decided to buy. Realistically, my budget is probably around $250k, although I could stretch to $300k if I found something I really liked.

Obviously I'm not going to be able to afford much inside the loop, but I still want to live somewhere with a reasonable commute into downtown... ideally an hour or less in bad traffic. If there's easy Metro access to downtown, that's a plus (although definitely not a deal breaker either way). I prefer letting someone else drive while I read a book on the way to work.

I don't have kids, and I'd actually prefer a smaller yard. Neighbor noise is a huge pet peeve, unfortunately, so I'd rather avoid shared walls. Style isn't a deal-breaker by any means, but I do prefer contemporary or mid-century modern rather than traditional. I also want somewhere I can feel reasonably safe walking around at night, since I often get home from work late. Proximity to good restaurants, grocery stores, etc. is a plus, although again not necessarily a deal breaker.

Thoughts?

[DJboutit]

You could buy a decent home in Sharpstown the part that is west of 69 or also Meadows Place 69 @ Beltway is another good choice

[dd1153]

Fall Creek

[979Texan]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

You could buy a decent home in Sharpstown the part that is west of 69 or also Meadows Place 69 @ Beltway is another good choice

Yes she could if she wants to live in the highest crime-ridden area in the city.

[Oildog]

Noise not bad in townhouse, or condo. Look at highrise or lofts. You will hate living out in the burbs.

[DJboutit]

Originally Posted by 979Texan

Yes she could if she wants to live in the highest crime-ridden area in the city.

Sharpstown is not the highest crime area in town If you include parts of Gulfton and Fondren Southwest it is the highest crime area in town but overall it is not and the part west of 69 is better than the part east of 69

[979Texan]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

Sharpstown is not the highest crime area in town If you include parts of Gulfton and Fondren Southwest it is the highest crime area in town but overall it is not and the part west of 69 is better than the part east of 69

Unless this report is wrong, the crime stats from 2013 do indeed indicate Sharpstown is the highest crime area in the city. Sharpstown leads all other areas in robberies and burglaries. It is second in terms of auto theft.

Top neighborhoods for crime in Houston | News - Home

It's not as bad in terms of aggravated assaults though. That honor would go to the Third Ward.

[Oildog]

Look along the north line train.

[HoustonLL]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I honestly haven't even considered townhomes/lofts yet because I'm so concerned about noise, especially in some of the older buildings (e.g., the old townhomes in the uptown/galleria area). Is the noise really manageable? Earlier today I had a friend recommend Oak Forest or the Energy Corridor, so I guess I'll need to look into those areas as well.

[jerbear30]

I was going to suggest the energy corridor, too. Look in the area bounded by the beltway 8 to the east, Dairy-Ashford to the west, Briar Forest to the south and the I-10 to the north. You'll have the Terry Hershey park nearby for walking and plenty of shopping off of the I-10 too. Another option would be to get a real-estate agent familiar with the Heights. I've seen lots of very small, very cool places in the Heights on HAR that sell at around the top of your budget. The advantage that you have with these places is that you don't require a second (or third) bedroom so there is not necessarily as much competition as there is for bigger places.