Alvin, Texas Review from a now native! (Houston, Friendswood: hardwood floors, sales)

[texaslife]

I have lived in Alvin on and off for the last 4 years after moving from Chicago (suburbs). I have seen a lot of posts that give mixed vibes on it.

Alvin IS a growing town:

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

The population is increasing also as outlined on the City of Alvin's website.

Alvin generally speaking is business friendly.

In the last 5 years, some of the things that have com into town are
Office Depot
Petsmart
Olive Garden (currently being built
La Quinta
Holiday Inn Express.

Some of the things we have already had before I came here are
Starbucks (local Kroger)
Chilis
Wal Mart
Home Depot
Sonic
Subway
Pizza Hutt
Dominos
Little Caesaers

Im not sure where they are in the stages or the current status but there was to be a Hospital to be built in Alvin (that was to be the largest in Brazoria county) as well as a convention center being planned.

I have also seen comments about mobile homes not looking nice in spots. The city over the last few years have gotten strict on the rules and fines on having certain standards.

Downtown , they made the depot look nice , the city invested a lot of money in the brick sidewalks, custom metal work on the bridge among other things.

They even offer (not sure when they expire) tax credits for investing in the downtown area.

The people are extremely friendly here ( I think that that maybe surrounding areas as well in the Houston Suburbs ) as a general statement.

Now, the most important things about Alvin!! The hidden treasures you may not find unless you hear about them!

Normas Cake Balls (most amazing little treats in the whole world)
Norma's Cakes and Cookies - Home

Joes Barbecue (best barbecue joint, very well reviewed)
Joe's Barbeque Company - Alvin, TX

Stantons (Local home brand with a store that has
many delicious creations at their grocery store like Chicken stuffed with Boudain as an example )
Stanton Meats - Home

Froberg Farms (awesome little smoke house next door, vegetable farms, home made pies, strawberry picking, they have added a picnic area to make it very fun for the whole family as a trip)
Home

I would also say that the cost of living is less wether you are looking to buy or rent. The units here are newly remodeled. As an example the 1 beds are 709-800 sq ft and rent from 635-745 and the 2 beds are 1052-1069 sq ft with rents from 845-895. The complex can be found here:

Home

There are cheaper places in town as well more expensive (new complex was built two years ago which is very nice but a little more pricey ).

There are some nice new home subdivisions that have gone up in the last years. I know one of them was even having a school built into the division (Kendall Lakes).

We also have ACC (alvin community college) It is a great school from what I hear and sounds like enrollment is constantly increasing.

There area also a lot of great community events too.

Hope this helps anyone considering Alvin. After reading some iffy posts , I thought it was great to show how many great things are here.

[DanielWayne]

Joes is bad a**! The bbq potato will wipe you out so I only recommend it if you get a to-go box or if you are going straight home haha! I just went to Froberg last week to get some veggies. It's always a fun visit.

I grew up in a town the size of Alvin with several similarities. Even the interior of Stanton's reminds me of the local Food mart in my childhood neighborhood. Although my hometown has gone downhill after getting smacked by hurricanes, I am glad to see Alvin is still in good shape.

I heard the Barbed Rose has closed. I wanted to try it after reading so many positive reviews.

[texaslife]

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

Joes is bad a**! The bbq potato will wipe you out so I only recommend it if you get a to-go box or if you are going straight home haha! I just went to Froberg last week to get some veggies. It's always a fun visit.

I grew up in a town the size of Alvin with several similarities. Even the interior of Stanton's reminds me of the local Food mart in my childhood neighborhood. Although my hometown has gone downhill after getting smacked by hurricanes, I am glad to see Alvin is still in good shape.

I heard the Barbed Rose has closed. I wanted to try it after reading so many positive reviews.

Barbed rose did close. I had a chance to go to their and it is still open. There is a newer nice little stop by the barbed rose called the gordon street tavern. I would recommend the baja chicken sandwich

And I agree on the bbq potato. You also need to ask about the jalapeño bread. That is very good to dip in the barbecue sauce !

[Lucillle]

I moved to Alvin from Friendswood, I wanted a smaller house to take care of now that I'm older and retired. Alvin reminds me of the Houston Heights way back when you could afford to buy there. Nice little older homes that are slowly being fixed up and in some areas new home built. A city staff that goes out of its way to be friendly and helpful (I needed some advice on placing my picket fence in reference to the right of way, they didn't just answer my email, they came out, visited, and answered my questions.)
A nice police force, again when I had just moved in, an officer stopped by and visited with me and answered questions.
There are incredible deals to be had on older homes that just need some sprucing up to be cute and cozy. The town is nice and clean. Parts of it are older, but just as in the Heights, there is a positive snowball effect once people start buying and fixing up these houses- then people put in cute gardens and little businesses pop up and before you know it, people start seriously looking to get in the neighborhood. If you can see past a house that needs a dab of paint, and do some repairs on your own, you can find yourself a real treasure, often those older homes have hardwood floors and nice big windows too. From what I hear, home sales are beginning to heat up again all over the U.S. after years of flat sales, so now is the time to grab one of those little gems and fix it up.
Adding to the review above about food, I love Village Pizza, comfort food at its best and very reasonable too. I regularly order to take out the Italian sausage pizza.
For those who love critters (I do) a wonderful animal control staffed by knowledgeable officers, who keep both the critters and the city safe. You can adopt from there too.
Most of all the people are nice and friendly. I go walking with my dogs and meet all sorts of interesting people and they take the time to stop and talk.

[Acntx]

Originally Posted by Lucillle

I moved to Alvin from Friendswood, I wanted a smaller house to take care of now that I'm older and retired. Alvin reminds me of the Houston Heights way back when you could afford to buy there. Nice little older homes that are slowly being fixed up and in some areas new home built. A city staff that goes out of its way to be friendly and helpful (I needed some advice on placing my picket fence in reference to the right of way, they didn't just answer my email, they came out, visited, and answered my questions.)
A nice police force, again when I had just moved in, an officer stopped by and visited with me and answered questions.
There are incredible deals to be had on older homes that just need some sprucing up to be cute and cozy. The town is nice and clean. Parts of it are older, but just as in the Heights, there is a positive snowball effect once people start buying and fixing up these houses- then people put in cute gardens and little businesses pop up and before you know it, people start seriously looking to get in the neighborhood. If you can see past a house that needs a dab of paint, and do some repairs on your own, you can find yourself a real treasure, often those older homes have hardwood floors and nice big windows too. From what I hear, home sales are beginning to heat up again all over the U.S. after years of flat sales, so now is the time to grab one of those little gems and fix it up.
Adding to the review above about food, I love Village Pizza, comfort food at its best and very reasonable too. I regularly order to take out the Italian sausage pizza.
For those who love critters (I do) a wonderful animal control staffed by knowledgeable officers, who keep both the critters and the city safe. You can adopt from there too.
Most of all the people are nice and friendly. I go walking with my dogs and meet all sorts of interesting people and they take the time to stop and talk.

Nice to read a good post like this every once and awhile. Glad you found a place you enjoy calling home.