sevfiv Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hey all,I have a quick question about neighborhood recommendations for a friend from those that may be knowledgeable about areas in the south-ish (or nearby) areas of town.To shed some light on the subject, here's a rundown of the situation:-Two adults - one working near Alvin, the other in the medical center-The Alvin commute will also include drives to UHCL a couple times per week.-Looking to rent, ~$1,000-Type/amount of space is flexible (two bedroom or one with study/flex area is ideal though)The middle ground seems to land around Friendswood/Pearland, but since the medical center commute is with rush hour traffic, closer in is okay. That seems to be right around Sunnyside, though..TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 According to HAR, the Sunnyside area has some seemingly inexpensive properties. But I don't know much about the day to day life in the neighborhood. Maybe you could stop by the HPD Storefront on Reed Road and ask what living in Sunnyside is like in terms of personal safety, recreation, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 ^ I'm pretty sure living in Sunnyside is not an option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Sunnyside has always been compared to Acres Homes, Gulfton etc. They have my prayers. Just take a drive by get it, "drive by". Preferably day time, Just off 610 near MLK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 ^ I'm pretty sure living in Sunnyside is not an optionLOL vic stick to school threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I don't live in Sunnyside, so I can't speak directly to life there, but I'm about 10 blocks north (across the South Loop).As far as recreation and safety, it's been a great place to live. As far as my home price...I've got 2500 sf (totally renovated 5 years ago) for a mortgage under $1000 per month. 5 minutes from Downtown, 5 minutes from our alma maters (UH and TSU), 5 minutes from Museum District, 5 minutes from Hermann Park, 5 minutes from Gulfgate, 5 minutes from Meyerland, 10 minutes from New Pearland.It's as quiet and safe as any neighborhood I've ever lived.If Sunnyside's not an option, you might check across the freeway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolBuddy06 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Look into nabes in east Pearland and Friendswood. Rent may be higher than 1k, or you might get lucky with desperate landlords. Drive timewise, Friendswood is about the best compromise for all of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Sunnyside has always been compared to Acres Homes, Gulfton etc. They have my prayers. Just take a drive by get it, "drive by". Preferably day time, Just off 610 near MLK. I believe 610 @ MLK is more "South Park" - Sunnyside Proper is at Bellfort @ Scott. - South Park (around Jones HS) is certainly described in many publications as a rough area. What I was asking is about the area around Bellfort @ Scott. That's why I said ask the Police Storefront. What I meant was, what is the probability of random crime (what people fear)? What is the quality of life? Is recreational drug use obvious? - A lot of low-cost housing in Houston is in bad areas; I just don't know exactly whether Sunnyside is a "no-go" area or a "maybe" area for living. ^ I'm pretty sure living in Sunnyside is not an option To clarify, is this referring to South Park, or is this referring to the area around Bellfort @ Scott? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I believe 610 @ MLK is more "South Park" - Sunnyside Proper is at Bellfort @ Scott. - South Park (around Jones HS) is certainly described in many publications as a rough area. What I was asking is about the area around Bellfort @ Scott. That's why I said ask the Police Storefront. What I meant was, what is the probability of random crime (what people fear)? What is the quality of life? Is recreational drug use obvious? - A lot of low-cost housing in Houston is in bad areas; I just don't know exactly whether Sunnyside is a "no-go" area or a "maybe" area for living.I was ready to type up another diatribe in defense of my neighborhood and similar neighborhoods (Sunnyside and South Park)...but I'll avoid being a pompous ass today. In response to VicMan's questions: in my experience the probability of random crime in our neighborhood is less than in other neighborhoods I've lived (including the Heights). Quality of life is what you make it, in my opinion. There are miserable people on my street and then there are some of the happiest people you'll ever meet on my street. Some of the most miserable people you'll meet in your life live in River Oaks. Drugs do exist in our neighborhood...just like every other neighborhood in Houston. Ours is more in the open, with deals occuring at certain corners at certain hours. Of course, I think I just read about a bunch of students in Katy getting busted, and I recall something happening in Sugar Land recently as well. It happens everywhere...in our neighborhood I don't bother the dealers and they don't bother anyone else, for better or worse. In response to the original post from sevfiv, looking for ideas on places to live: I lived in Old Pearland in younger days, right close to the Pearland/Friendswood boundary...and from what I recalled, it's a 15-20 minute drive to get to any freeway from there. That's something to keep in mind if you consider Old Pearland or Friendswood. On the other hand, you'd be pretty close to Alvin. You might consider a rental in the Med Center area, like the condo city around Almeda and Holly Hall. I had to head to Alvin recently for a morning meeting, and it was about a 30-minute drive from my house (288/610) to get just south of Alvin. I had expected a slow drive down Hwy 6 with all the lights, but I think it was about 15 minutes from SH 288 to SH 35. Add in 15 minutes from 610 down to Hwy 6, and it was a pretty reasonable 27-mile commute, averaging a mile a minute the whole way.Reverse commutes are nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amanda Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I was ready to type up another diatribe in defense of my neighborhood and similar neighborhoods (Sunnyside and South Park)...but I'll avoid being a pompous ass today. In response to VicMan's questions: in my experience the probability of random crime in our neighborhood is less than in other neighborhoods I've lived (including the Heights). Quality of life is what you make it, in my opinion. There are miserable people on my street and then there are some of the happiest people you'll ever meet on my street. Some of the most miserable people you'll meet in your life live in River Oaks. Drugs do exist in our neighborhood...just like every other neighborhood in Houston. Ours is more in the open, with deals occuring at certain corners at certain hours. Of course, I think I just read about a bunch of students in Katy getting busted, and I recall something happening in Sugar Land recently as well. It happens everywhere...in our neighborhood I don't bother the dealers and they don't bother anyone else, for better or worse. In response to the original post from sevfiv, looking for ideas on places to live: I lived in Old Pearland in younger days, right close to the Pearland/Friendswood boundary...and from what I recalled, it's a 15-20 minute drive to get to any freeway from there. That's something to keep in mind if you consider Old Pearland or Friendswood. On the other hand, you'd be pretty close to Alvin. You might consider a rental in the Med Center area, like the condo city around Almeda and Holly Hall. I had to head to Alvin recently for a morning meeting, and it was about a 30-minute drive from my house (288/610) to get just south of Alvin. I had expected a slow drive down Hwy 6 with all the lights, but I think it was about 15 minutes from SH 288 to SH 35. Add in 15 minutes from 610 down to Hwy 6, and it was a pretty reasonable 27-mile commute, averaging a mile a minute the whole way.Reverse commutes are nice.Reasonable? It takes me at LEAST 40 minutes to get to work from Holly Hall to Alvin (North Gordon at 528) and yes I am late to work frequently. It's roughly 30 miles each way from Holly Hall to Alvin (about 40 minutes) on top of about a 40 minute drive from Alvin to UH-Clear Lake (another 30 miles), then another 30-40 minute drive back to the medical center (yet another 30 miles) where I live now? I am sure it will be extremely reasonable when gas prices jump back to $3.50-$4.00 a gallon. It's only a matter of time. And actually, the Highway 6 lights suck on gas mileage. There's roughly 15 lights from where I work to 288. Which may be better than sitting in rush hour traffic, but same freaking concept. Accelerate to 55 mph for 3 minutes, slow to 15 mph then to a complete stop, repeat x 15, both ways. Way to get excellent gas mileage! I can't wait till my 2 fill ups a week jump from $18 to almost $40 bucks a fillup like it was in 2008. Nobody wants to freaking spend $80 a week on gas, especially driving an economical vehicle. Almost $400 in gas a month is ridiculous. Trust me, I drive it every week day. And I drive a '00 Mazda Protege that gets about 25-28 MPG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Reasonable? It takes me at LEAST 40 minutes to get to work from Holly Hall to Alvin (North Gordon at 528) and yes I am late to work frequently. It's roughly 30 miles each way from Holly Hall to Alvin (about 40 minutes) on top of about a 40 minute drive from Alvin to UH-Clear Lake (another 30 miles), then another 30-40 minute drive back to the medical center (yet another 30 miles) where I live now? I am sure it will be extremely reasonable when gas prices jump back to $3.50-$4.00 a gallon. It's only a matter of time. And actually, the Highway 6 lights suck on gas mileage. There's roughly 15 lights from where I work to 288. Which may be better than sitting in rush hour traffic, but same freaking concept. Accelerate to 55 mph for 3 minutes, slow to 15 mph then to a complete stop, repeat x 15, both ways. Way to get excellent gas mileage! I can't wait till my 2 fill ups a week jump from $18 to almost $40 bucks a fillup like it was in 2008. Nobody wants to freaking spend $80 a week on gas, especially driving an economical vehicle. Almost $400 in gas a month is ridiculous. Trust me, I drive it every week day. And I drive a '00 Mazda Protege that gets about 25-28 MPG.OK, maybe I should rephrase what I meant about the "reasonableness" of the drive to Alvin. I'm not judging the rationality of driving 90 miles a day, just the drive itself. Personally, I wouldn't choose to make those drives every day, but I understand that everyone's circumstances are different than mine.I thought that my drive to Alvin took a reasonable amount of time for the distance involved...27 miles in 30 minutes seemed pretty good to me. Of course, I hit all greens going down SH 6. I was surprised at that, and I can understand that hitting every light would cause you an extra 10 minutes of drive time. By comparison, there are much worse 27-mile commutes in Houston. Driving 27 miles into Houston from Cypress probably takes something longer than 30 minutes.Also...in reference to the original dilemma of where to live for a couple who have separate commutes to Alvin and the Med Center, somebody's going to have to do some driving. My suggestion is that the person with the longest distance to drive at least do the drive as a reverse commute, rather than doing the longest distance in rush hour traffic. In other words, say the couple moves to Alvin...the person who works in Alvin has a short drive. The person who works in the Med Center gets the 30-mile drive in rush hour traffic, which ain't gonna be a 30-40 minute drive with traffic. On the other hand, say the couple moves to the Med Center. The person who works in Alvin has a 30-40 minute drive, going against traffic. The person who works in the Med Center hops on the MetroRail and doesn't worry about driving, parking, etc. Just my humble opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 Thanks for the replies so far - currently residing south of the medical center, I think it's safe to say areas south of the loop (and even the beltway) are better - I don't know much about Pearland or Friendswood or commute times either way, though.Vic - Sunnyside, Southpark, South Acres, and Crestmont Park areas are probably out of the question.Are there any other areas to suggest/recommend? Anyone know much about the Minnetex area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Thanks for the replies so far - currently residing south of the medical center, I think it's safe to say areas south of the loop (and even the beltway) are better - I don't know much about Pearland or Friendswood or commute times either way, though.Vic - Sunnyside, Southpark, South Acres, and Crestmont Park areas are probably out of the question.Are there any other areas to suggest/recommend? Anyone know much about the Minnetex area?Is there anything to actually rent in Minnetex?It seems like mostly large rural farm type homes.If Minnetex is on the table, why not Garden Villas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amanda Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 OK, maybe I should rephrase what I meant about the "reasonableness" of the drive to Alvin. I'm not judging the rationality of driving 90 miles a day, just the drive itself. Personally, I wouldn't choose to make those drives every day, but I understand that everyone's circumstances are different than mine.I thought that my drive to Alvin took a reasonable amount of time for the distance involved...27 miles in 30 minutes seemed pretty good to me. Of course, I hit all greens going down SH 6. I was surprised at that, and I can understand that hitting every light would cause you an extra 10 minutes of drive time. By comparison, there are much worse 27-mile commutes in Houston. Driving 27 miles into Houston from Cypress probably takes something longer than 30 minutes.Also...in reference to the original dilemma of where to live for a couple who have separate commutes to Alvin and the Med Center, somebody's going to have to do some driving. My suggestion is that the person with the longest distance to drive at least do the drive as a reverse commute, rather than doing the longest distance in rush hour traffic. In other words, say the couple moves to Alvin...the person who works in Alvin has a short drive. The person who works in the Med Center gets the 30-mile drive in rush hour traffic, which ain't gonna be a 30-40 minute drive with traffic. On the other hand, say the couple moves to the Med Center. The person who works in Alvin has a 30-40 minute drive, going against traffic. The person who works in the Med Center hops on the MetroRail and doesn't worry about driving, parking, etc. Just my humble opinion.Moving to Alvin is not a remote possibility, maybe closer to Pearland-ish, maybe 35, closer to the Beltway. I do agree with the above, EXCEPT....what about the one who works in Alvin, and their 2-3 drives/week from Alvin (work) to UHCL (school) that take 45minutes to Clear Lake (yay the 45 bridge demo) and the 40 minute drive back to the med center (home)? Sounds like the person should not have never moved to Houston, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 Is there anything to actually rent in Minnetex?It seems like mostly large rural farm type homes.If Minnetex is on the table, why not Garden Villas?Yeah, I doubt Minnetex proper would have anything - pretty rural.Garden Villas/Glenbrook would be good, but finding rent in that range may not be in the cards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 Westridge? That area is still inner loop, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashman Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Yes, Westridge.You are right, it is inside the loop. It is an interesting area, though. And may meet the OP's requirements... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 ^After a brief discussion, this seems to be too far in/west and probably not going to meet the $ range.Thanks, though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashman Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Out of curiosity, have you settle on a neighborhood yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 Oh no, they're not moving for some time. Just trying to get ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 I guess the main thing now is to explore areas out of the loop/beltway. I (and about zero people I know) are familiar with Pearland, Friendswood, or anything near/in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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