Kellebelle Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 My family is moving to Houston next year to work with a ministry who helps refugees and immigrants. We've been looking online at places in SW Houston, but have seen a few forum topics that says SW Houston is full of criminal activity. We want to live in a diverse area near refugees, but we also want a safe place to live in for our children. We know about Sugarland, but are there other good places in the area? Does anyone know a good neighborhood to look in or what area to totally avoid? Also, do you know anything about zipcode 77099 - is it safe or even what the area is called? Any help would be greatly appreciated. We are coming to Houston in a few weeks to scout things out, but we would love an idea as to where to look. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 SW Houston encompasses a huge area depending on who's talking (from Bellaire to Sugar Land and everything in between for the less descriptive).Most places here you'll hear bad things about would be greater Fondren Southwest, Alief, and Westwood areas which take up a pretty big zone around Beltway 8 near US 59. 77099 seems statistically pretty diverse, but its center is around S. Kirkwood and Bissonnet, an area I'm not too familiar with.I'm sure if you provide a few more details such as price, square footage, and maximum drive time needs/wants, folks here will be able to help out.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Check out Houston Crime Maps. They break down areas by neighborhood and/or zip code. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 All of Houston is pretty diverse especially the 77099 area. Kind of comes down to what you can afford. There's little "pockets" everywhere in Houston that vary greatly on safety. Do you have kids that will be attending a public school? That can also make a difference on where your willing to locate. Also depends on if you have the "intestinal fortitude" to live in a diverse area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellebelle Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 How about Mission Bend - do you know if that is a good area to live in? I saw the crime statistics and they were low, but it is a good place to live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheLoop Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 KB-I admittedly have a bias toward areas that are closer to Loop 610 (our "inner loop") than Beltway 8 (or "Sam Houston Tollway", our "outer loop").Mission Bend boomed in the late 1970s/early 80s. Shell Oil had it on their "suggested" list for new hires. I went a couple of parties out there and knew many Shell folks who lived there. I also discovered that many left as soon as they could afford it. I guess it was considered "entry-level" for young professionals. I was last out there about 5 years ago, and was pleasantly surprised. It did not suffer the fate of much of Alief, etc.. In fact, it looked quite well-tended. I'm sure it is quite diverse. I would carefully evaluate and inspect any indiv. home because MB's growth came during a huge boomwhen a lot of hastily built homes were thrown up. That's about all I have on Mission Bend. I'd be a bit cautious because MB is IMO, a bit of an "island" of tranquility. Judge for yourself, and check memebag's suggestion above.If it were me, I'd live closer to town. Consider the better parts of Westbury (5000! homes), Willowbend, or Braeburn Valley (also adjacent 'hoods). There is a renaissance going on w/young families, gays, single professionals, etc. moving into to avoid commutes. I believe there is a neighborhood called "Westwood" adjacent to Willowbend that features smaller, less expensive homes. Bear in mind that these homes are vintage 1950s-60s...Some zips: 77035, 77096...Best of luck, and thanks for helping with our refugee issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucesw Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 77099 looks like it surrounds the City of Meadows Place which shares a Zip with Stafford to the south. North of the area would be the western edges of Houston's huge China Town, which is really about half Viet, half Chinese. I'm not sure if the area around there would have any other name. There were stories in the past year or so about crime in China Town involving Asian gangs targeting businesses and customers in the area but I'm not sure how it affected residential areas or for that matter whether it's been brought under control.Follow the suggestions above to check out crime in the area but beware of painting broad strokes. SW Houston encompasses a huge area and the idiots on the Chron forums (and some here who live to provoke others) love to trash it but there are undoubtedly more safe neighborhoods than unsafe. Parts of Fondren Southwest, for instance, are notorious, but not all. I live in Greater Fondren Southwest (a Super Neighborhood - group of neighborhood associations working together) and I don't know the last time there was an emergency police call in my neighborhood. A half mile to the west of me is a huge area of apartment complexes that has a lot more crime, though.As a general rule beware of living near huge apartment complexes or groups of them; likewise, older condo and townhouses that are probably mostly rental property.Stay away from Forum Park, a notoriously bad area these days.77099 would be very convenient to Stafford, Missouri City, Alief, Westwood, eastern Sugar Land.You don't say what kind of refugees you're going to be working with. Some areas I'm aware of: a large concentration of Indo/Pak businesses around 59/W. Bellfort/S. Wilcrest; a concentration of African businesses along Bissonnet from just E. of 59 out to BW 8. Presumably there are lots of immigrants of those nationalities in the area to patronize the businesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 How about Mission Bend - do you know if that is a good area to live in? I saw the crime statistics and they were low, but it is a good place to live?Myself, I would stay clear of the Mission Bend area and pretty much all of Alief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellebelle Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 KB-I admittedly have a bias toward areas that are closer to Loop 610 (our "inner loop") than Beltway 8 (or "Sam Houston Tollway", our "outer loop").Mission Bend boomed in the late 1970s/early 80s. Shell Oil had it on their "suggested" list for new hires. I went a couple of parties out there and knew many Shell folks who lived there. I also discovered that many left as soon as they could afford it. I guess it was considered "entry-level" for young professionals. I was last out there about 5 years ago, and was pleasantly surprised. It did not suffer the fate of much of Alief, etc.. In fact, it looked quite well-tended. I'm sure it is quite diverse. I would carefully evaluate and inspect any indiv. home because MB's growth came during a huge boomwhen a lot of hastily built homes were thrown up. That's about all I have on Mission Bend. I'd be a bit cautious because MB is IMO, a bit of an "island" of tranquility. Judge for yourself, and check memebag's suggestion above.If it were me, I'd live closer to town. Consider the better parts of Westbury (5000! homes), Willowbend, or Braeburn Valley (also adjacent 'hoods). There is a renaissance going on w/young families, gays, single professionals, etc. moving into to avoid commutes. I believe there is a neighborhood called "Westwood" adjacent to Willowbend that features smaller, less expensive homes. Bear in mind that these homes are vintage 1950s-60s...Some zips: 77035, 77096...Best of luck, and thanks for helping with our refugee issues.Thanks for all of the information everyone has provided! We have a lot to think about and consider, especially because we have been thinking about renting an apartment for the first year or so to make sure we are in an area that we will want to stay in. Does anyone know any decent apartments in the 77036 or 77096 areas? Someone made the comment to stay away from apartment buildings... so now I don't know what to think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Need more information for specific places to recommend like maximum price, definition of "decent," nearby amenities, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellebelle Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Need more information for specific places to recommend like maximum price, definition of "decent," nearby amenities, etc...Let's see... maximum price would probably be around $1000 for a 3 bedroom (is that possible?), and our definition of "decent" is pretty loose as we've lived in a village in Mexico the past few years. I am also not too picky about nearby amenities except it would be good to have good schools nearby if we chose to put our kids in public school. Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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