Houston Neighborhoods

[oilman]

This neighborhood is close in has a good HOA and some areas can be had in your price range.
http://www.maplewoodsn.org/maplewoodsn/page.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mctowalot]

Hello and welcome to Houston, the Forum, and Merry Christmas as well.
Check out the area due south of Greenway, just south of Braeswood and between the loop and Kirby has some very nice homes in your range. If there was no traffic you could get to Greenway in 5 - 10 mins.
Twenty in rush hour.
IMHO this sure beats 1 - 2 hours to the "suburbs".
You mentioned having children, and as a new dad myself I can tell you time becomes precious when it comes to kids.
Theres several new parks in the area as well as a large YMCA.
Please understand I'm not saying the further out subdivisions aren't nice, I'm just sharing what I know from my experiance.
I will be upfront and tell you that while I'm not aware of any ornamental deer being accosted, like anywhere close to Houston there is a "normal" amount of crime, and some rough areas in the mix. It's up to the individual to keep the family safe, but i suppose your well aware of that or you wouldn't be on this particular forum .
HPD's website allows you to check out crime stats. by beat so you might want to check that out too.
Welcome and good luck!

[aaronlalonde]

I live in pearland near the beltway and inbetween 288 and 45, and work in greenway plaza. In normal rush hour traffic it takes me between 40 and 50 mins to get to work. I also have a friend that lives in the braeswood area that spends almost 30 mins daily. If i go to the office outside of rush hour i.e. leave my house at 845, I am parked and at my desk by 915

anywhere inside the beltway is going to have gangs, we watch them come across the perimiter when they are looking for new tv's!

Pearland or Manvel will be in your budget, easy to work and close to psc!

[hheremtp]

Missouri City and Meadows Place on the SW side of town has some nice areas.

[WildBill]

Merry Christmas Hoosier Daddy and welcome to the TexasCHLforum!

Sorry, I can't recommend any neighborhoods. When I moved to Houston about five years ago, I got some good advice from my boss about which areas to consider and which areas to avoid. I am glad that I listened. I don't know your particular situation, but I rented for a year until I finally decided where to buy.

Prior to making a decision, I suggest talking to your new boss and as many co-workers as you can about the pros and cons of any of the areas that you might consider. Not only from the commuting aspect, but neighborhood demographics, schools, taxes, etc.

Once I narrowed my choices I found that http://www.har.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; was a great resource for searching for houses and around the Houston area. You can search by city, zip code, age of house, price, subdivision, etc. I used to it to find my home!

[tarkus]

Rent near work or buy in the suburbs and look for a job near home.

Unless you're really lucky, you won't find a house in a "good" neighborhood inside the loop under half a million. You might have better luck inside the beltway but single family homes in "good" neighborhoods are rare under $200,000 in Houston. You don't have to live in a "bad" neighborhood but $200-250,000 inside Houston usually means a marginal or "transitional" neighborhood. So your block might be safe (nor now) but there's gang activity a few blocks away. Because of local government policies, gangs have grown in Houston but haven't got as big a foothold in the suburbs outside Harris County. Nor in the island cities (West U, Memorial Villages, etc.) so it's not just geography.

Renting near work will keep your commute down. You can also rent a place for $1000 in areas where it would cost at least twice that to own. (If you invest the difference, there's a good chance you can beat the slow growth rate of Houston real estate.) If I understand right, you don't have kids yet so why pay for a big house until you need it? Finally, the big advantage of renting is you can move when that "transitional" neighborhood transitions in the wrong direction, or if you get a new job outside the beltway.

[MechAg94]

I don't live in Houston anymore, but I agree with others in recommending the suburbs like Pearland. You might find a decent place inside the city, but I think you would need more information than what you are going to get on a forum. If you must be in the city, I like the recommendation to rent for a time before buying.

Also, HW288 to Pearland is a parking lot at 7:30 or 8 AM, but it moves decently at 6:30 or earlier. Also, there is not a lot of distance between Beltway 8 and downtown compared to HW59 South or I-45 North. Even at stop and go, once you get past the 610 loop it doesn't take long. Pearland also has a lot of new home construction as well as homes that are only a few years old.

Thinking about this, I am glad I don't work in Houston anymore.

[juggernaut]

I don't know what taxes are like where you're from but you might be surprised how high Texas taxes are. The mortgage payments on a $200k house might be $12k to $15k per year, with property taxes adding another $4k to $6k per year, especially in the suburbs. Half that is usually ISD taxes in the suburbs and you said you don't have children yet, so you could be paying $20k in school taxes before your first child starts school.

Make sure you budget for that and don't be afraid to ask about taxes when a real estate agent shows you houses.

[TLynnHughes]

I don't know what taxes are like where you're from but you might be surprised how high Texas taxes are. The mortgage payments on a $200k house might be $12k to $15k per year, with property taxes adding another $4k to $6k per year, especially in the suburbs. Half that is usually ISD taxes in the suburbs and you said you don't have children yet, so you could be paying $20k in school taxes before your first child starts school.

I'm born and raised Texan but spent a few years in California. When all is said and done, what I saved in property taxes in California vs. Texas, I spent in State income tax. It was pretty much a wash....taxes are taxes and I either spent $4,000 in state income tax in CA or I now pay about the same in property taxes here.

T.

[WildBill]

I don't know what taxes are like where you're from but you might be surprised how high Texas taxes are. The mortgage payments on a $200k house might be $12k to $15k per year, with property taxes adding another $4k to $6k per year, especially in the suburbs. Half that is usually ISD taxes in the suburbs and you said you don't have children yet, so you could be paying $20k in school taxes before your first child starts school.

I'm born and raised Texan but spent a few years in California. When all is said and done, what I saved in property taxes in California vs. Texas, I spent in State income tax. It was pretty much a wash....taxes are taxes and I either spent $4,000 in state income tax in CA or I now pay about the same in property taxes here.

T.

It seems that no matter where you live they get you coming and going.

[juggernaut]

and a wise person will include property taxes when comparing the costs and benefits of renting vs buying. I have friends who were surprised when the tax bill came and it was a lot higher than the 1% or so they paid in another state. Better for our Hoosier friend to know in advance.

[TLynnHughes]

and a wise person will include property taxes when comparing the costs and benefits of renting vs buying. I have friends who were surprised when the tax bill came and it was a lot higher than the 1% or so they paid in another state. Better for our Hoosier friend to know in advance.

Oh, I wasn't disagreeing with you at all. Preparanoid is the new word of the week in the forum. And you should absolutely have that information ahead of time. In fact, those figures were always disclosed to us in advance as part of the deal every time we bought a house. We have never been surprised.

T.

[edmart001]

In addition to location relative to work, you should consider school opportunities for future kids if you think you'll be here that long. Houston Independent School District has some good schools, but frankly, it also has the same sorts of challenges that any large city School District faces. This is another reason to strongly consider the suburbs and the commute.

Another issue is the lack of zoning laws. Without them, some areas have resorted to "master planned communities" in order to prevent the opening of a strip club across the street from the church. The master planned communities have the entire development planned out and memorialized in deed restrictions before the first lot is sold. They often have golf courses, parks, green-belts and such.

The choice we made when we moved to the Houston area years ago was to live in Katy, in a place called Cinco Ranch and we've enjoyed living here. To be honest, I really don't enjoy the traffic, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make to afford the wife and kids the opportunity to spend the majority of their time in a nicer place with better schools. Now, many years later, the fact is that two of my four kids have gone to college on academic scholarship - which may have happened anyway, but I'm convinced that the schools were a big factor - I'm pretty sure it's ain't just the depth of the gene pool...

Good luck with whatever you decide - in my experience, it's always a trade-off and really depends on priorities.

[WildBill]

Another issue is the lack of zoning laws. Without them, some areas have resorted to "master planned communities" in order to prevent the opening of a strip club across the street from the church. The master planned communities have the entire development planned out and memorialized in deed restrictions before the first lot is sold. They often have golf courses, parks, green-belts and such.

I had almost forgot about the lack of zoning laws. This was quite a shock to me when I moved to Houston and found that you could, literally, have a company build a chemical plant across the street from your house.

[gregthehand]

Another vote for the Sugar Land area. One of the guys I went to the police academy with works for their PD and they are a top notch department by all standards. Also Meadows Place is a good town and close to 59. They have something like 15-20 police officers for a city that is two square miles. Very low crime there.