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Old 08-27-2009, 05:33 PM
 
2,628 posts, read 8,834,115 times
Reputation: 2102

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As I have said before, if you don't have kids what is the point of living way far out, away from the sports venues, live music clubs, and potentially your jobs? The suburbs are great for people looking for a family oriented setting & good public schools or who just want a lot bigger house within their price range. A lot of people in the suburbs are focused on their kids, I'm not saying that as a put-down or anything, that is how it should be. If you don't have kids, however, you might find less in common with people there than in the city. Not that there aren't childless couples in the burbs or families in the city. Overall though, I still think the city is a little more geared to what you like.

I agree that renting first is probably a good option to get a feel for the city. There will be a significant difference in the type of house you can get in the burbs vs. inner/edge of loop 610. You probably have heard that houses are cheap in Houston but that is not so true close in. Under $250,000 will pretty much price you out of Montrose or the areas just south in 77005. You can still get in the Heights for that, but it will be small. You can get something in Timbergrove or Oak Forest. There are options, but close in it can be a lot more daunting to find anything that is architecturally interesting or in really good shape, etc.
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Old 08-27-2009, 05:54 PM
 
Location: West Houston
1,075 posts, read 2,917,049 times
Reputation: 1394
Actually, it really depends on what you want.

Houston is VERY suburban compared with Chicago (or NYC or San Fran or any of the big urban centers). There's downtown (skyscrapers) and then the rest is what the northeast, for example, would call "suburbs".

As a general rule, the further out you go, the cheaper per square foot, and the newer (until you start getting into the tear-down areas, where they are tearing down mid-century ranch houses and putting 3 story yuppieboxes/McMansions/whatever term you like on the lots.

Renting is DEFINITELY the way you want to go until you get a feel for the city. If you sign a year's lease and discover you've made a mistake, it's easy to fix.

Welcome to Houston!
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Old 08-27-2009, 07:10 PM
 
134 posts, read 326,296 times
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If you've lived in the city in Chicago, you will find that basically all of Houston feels "suburban." It just depends on what you want. Inside Loop 610 many neighborhoods what would be identified as older suburbs in normal cities. Smaller lots. More unique architecture; neighborhoods are somewhat walkable. As you get farther and farther out, you get bigger lots, less walkable neighborhoods, more mega-strip malls, almost complete reliance on highways, etc.

Also, Houston does not seem to have the recreational sports leagues you will find in other major cities. I think part of the reason is that in many cities, sports leagues revolved around major public parks (the mall in Washington, Central Park in NYC, the lake in Chicago, etc). Sadly, public parks here in Houston are not as nice. They are not terrible but they don't seem to be the social place like you see in other large cities. Probably part of the reason is that basically everyone lives in the burbs here and thus have their own "park" i.e. their backyard.
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Old 08-28-2009, 10:24 AM
 
Location: Katy, TX
1,288 posts, read 4,938,024 times
Reputation: 631
Just to reinforce what Karen said above, my friends studio in The Heights was just burglurized...smashed through the big storefront windows. Such a shame...
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Old 08-28-2009, 02:02 PM
 
Location: houston/sugarland
734 posts, read 1,080,892 times
Reputation: 174
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dtucker View Post
This is an area you must consider. You will not be sorry and thank me for the tip.

www.siennaplantation.com

www.siennanet.com

Houston new homes | Sugar Land new homes | Missouri City new homes

2008 top-rated community in Texas, Exemplary rated schools, great resale value, convenient location, amenities galore...
Convenient location... what are you smoking!?!?
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Old 08-28-2009, 09:04 PM
 
36 posts, read 118,875 times
Reputation: 57
Are you Bears fans? I'm in a similar boat to you guys (30 yo professional just moved from Chicago a few months ago) and looking for other Bears fans to watch games with. Have to watch Cutler, Forte and Co. Figure we should be able to get a group of 10 Bears fans to a sports bar once the regular season starts. A good way to watch the game and meet other Chicago to Houston transplants.
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