TexasCE

Were they open for White Linen Night? How was the food?

Count me as another person in favor of alleys. As has been pointed out, alleys increase the amount of usable space on a lot and thus, in the long term in a denser neighborhood, increase the property value.

My garage faces our alley allowing us to utilize more of the property. It was one of the considerations I had when I purchased the property. If you look at some of the nicer neighborhoods in town, many have allesy for the exact same reasons. Land is very expensive and so the more access points you can creat to a property, the better.

I built my own. If you're a DIYer, its really not that hard if you don't get too fancy or carried away. I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Memorial is an excellent academic school. But I think it you are really concerned about the "snotty" factor, then I would recommend looking at other options. The reputation of Memorial by some is that it is the public "private" school. That is of course to say (and more or less rightly so) that most kids there have a lot of money, and for lack of a better way of putting it, many are not afraid to let you know that. Now, part of that is just the mere fact that Memorial is a very nice area and as such, most of the people that live there with kids are rather well-to-do by most people's standards. Thus, while it might seem overly "snobby" to some one without a significant amount of disposable income, it's probably less so for kids that grow up there and that is more or less their world and it seems relatively "normal" for them (i.e. their peer group).

As far as other schools in Spring Branch, Stratford is significantly less "snotty" using those standards. The school population and the zoned area are less pricy than those zoned to Memorial and as such, kids there (on average) tend to exhibit less characteristics most people would associate as rich or uppity. There aren't as many kids with nice cars, most don't get to go to Europe every summer, etc. Additionally, Stratford is more ethically diverse, although it is still a predominantly "white" school, whereas Memorial is pretty much an exclusively white school. Stratford, like Memorial, also has an excellent academic reputation.

I would say that both of the schools have strong school pride and high levels of parental involvement which is a definitely plus.

Outside of those schools, the only other in-the-city public schools most people consider are Lamar, Bellaire, and Westside, as several have mentioned here. Both Lamar and Bellaire are similar in some ways and different in others. Both have strong academic reputations, although Bellaire is considered the stronger of the two. Unless your child is extremely academically motivated (in addition to being intelligent to begin with), it will be harder for him or her to excel at Bellaire than it would be at Lamar. Lamar tends to be a little more well rounded in terms of diversity and school experience. Lamar has the overall stronger sports program. While Bellaire is know for their great baseball teams, Lamar has a very strong (although less than Bellaire's) baseball program as well. However, Lamar tends to run circles around Bellaire in just about every other sport. Most notably football where Lamar regularly sends kids to NCAA D-1 football teams (and even the NFL), the school also very good basketball, track, swimming, lacrosse, tennis, and other teams most of which tend to be significantly better than Bellaire's teams in those respective sports. Several people mentioned that kids from Lamar don't want to drive all the way over to Butler for football games. Yes and no, I've been to Butler to see Lamar play a number of times and their games are generally slightly better attended than most schools they play (although not all schools they play) which are mostly other HISD schools. Lamar and Bellaire also play several games a year at Delmar stadium (290 and 6-10) and the attendances at those games are more or less comparable. Regarding the "snotty factor", both schools can have some kids like that, but by and large they tend to be less so than Memorial tends to be. I would put them more or less on par with Stratford in terms of comparison to perceived levels of student arrogance or humility. I don't know a great deal about Westside, but I think the school makeup is similar to that of Stratford as well, as it is close to the same area of town, although south of where Stratford draws students, but still in what is a nice and rising Westchase area.

Hope this as of some help to you.

I aw that house for the first time a year or so ago. Not my cup of tea, but to each his own. When we drove by it the first time, I think I reacall looking into the windows and noticing that the wallss, floors, ceilings, etc. were also all white. I wonder if that ever gets old to the owner. I think it backs up to a park if I remember, and so with it also being on a corner, it's kinda off by itself a little bit. At any rate, I too am glad to see a little variety.

the prospect of an HEB at Northline

What? This is the first I've heard of that...

I work just up the street from the Post Oak YMCA (which also has a nice pool) and very much like that location. However, having a new YMCA by the house will be great as my wife and I have a city membership.

A few months ago I asked several of teh employees there about the Masterson location. They told me that there was no word on it, but that several people had inquired about that location. The email someone above recieved seemed to indicate that enough people have shown interest afterall.

I couldn

does she run it before they go outside or while she is outside - as an "attractor"?

just wondering if it okay to constantly breath it.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that, if they are going to be having people over or planning to be outside later in the week, they turn it on and let it run for a couple days. Then, I think the shut it off when they are actually outside. At least that's how I remember him explaining it.

A buddy of mine's girlfriend uses one of those mosquito gas traps that run on propane. She doesn't live here, but does have a pool and would otherwise have a problem with mosquitos. Anyway, she swears by the thing, says it makes a huge difference. But, not only does she have one, but the neighbors next to, behind, and catty corner to her all have one as well. That may have something to do with it as well.

I had a great time and the turnout was incredible, IMO. Spent most of my time on 19th but also visited a few other places. I would think this thing only has a great future with even more people and more places participating.

I live just a few streets over from where you mentioned on the east side of N. Main. Overall, my wife and I feel safe, although we did have a latter and a weed whacker grow legs several weeks ago. However, that was probably due to several factors: 1) We were out of town for almost two weeks 2) There are several brand new homes being constructed behind me and I wonder if any of the workers decided they needed a parting gift (or someone who was driving by looking for stuff at construction sites noticed my house was quiet) and 3) My shed didn't really have a lock on it. It had a latch that shuts from the inside but a good tug and it opened right up.

I've now put a new padlock and hinge that should hopefully deter any unwanted visitors. I also previously had a low chain-link fence with a gate that had no lock that backed up to the alley. I just finished a new privacy fence that will also add some security.

All in all, I really like living where I do (the area is actually called Sunset Heights but you may already know that). The location is great (especially for the price, IMO). My neighbors on all sides are nice folks and pretty attentive. I don't really think I would worry about crime in the area. Everyone I've spoken with about this has said they've never had anything that has really worried them occur in the area that they know of. Lastly, from an investment perspective, I think this is a great area to be in. Anyway, I hope this helps assuage some of your concerns. Let me know if I can be of any more help

Does anyone else think of that tune you might have sang when you were a kid, "This is the song that never ends..." when Studewood comes to mind?

I posted this replay on the other thread, but in case anyone missed it, the old Westbury Square sign is still up, but no one has bothered to change the marquee since 1994

FYI, I went by Westbury Square last night. The old sign is still up, complete with the "Go Rocket" marquee...

I can

Yes, I used to eat at the Los Tios on Bissonnet and Fondren. Good Food! Good Nachos! I knew that particular store closed, but I did not know there was still one open in Houston. My favorite is Felix's on Westheimer. Casa Ole is pretty good too.

My family used to eat at that same one over on Fondren all the time. Then (I think) they moved that store over to the location across from Meyerland. In my opinion, it just was never the same. I don't know what they did different, but the food just never quite sat the same with me. I haven't been back there in probably 7 or 8 years.

As far as being owned by Skeeters, I'm pretty sure it wasn't always that way. However, when they moved from the Fondren location that may have been brought about by being bought by Skeeters, but I don't know foir sure.

Anyone else seen this property go up for sale?

http://search.har.com/engine/indexdetail.c...=0&backButton=Y

Eight lots (.56 AC) along 610 frontage road just past N. Main heading East on the south side of the freeway, being billed at high-end residential or commercial property. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this and whether its more homes or some sort of business.

I figured that since the bloom is almost off the rose on the Target, we'll have to focus on wondering what's next for Sawyer Heights. With the warehouses coming down fast and furious, there should be alot of room for development. I notiice that the new Property Commerce site plan doesn't have the apartments shown anymore so I'd like it to be more retail space.

Figured we could have a new thread just for the next phases of development there. I had a coworker today say he "heard" that La Madeleine was coming to a "new shopping center inside the loop" but that could be anywhere I suppose...

Just FYI, there was a rather large billboard for La Madeleine just past where Sawyer Heights Village is located heading outbound on I-10, on the left (or south) side of the road there. I noticed it maybe a month ago and though, "that's odd, there aren't any La Madeline's around here." But maybe that is becuase they knew something I didn't: That they are soon to be adding one and are subtly trying to advertise to their future market. Intersting, we shall see....

Ahh yes, Westbury Square. I grew up in Westbury, my parents moved there in the early 70

While there are a number of factors that contributed to what Sharpstown has become today, one biggest ones no one has mentioned was the oil bust. That was the event that reshaped (and lay the groundwork for) much of the city (not just Sharpstown) for many years to come.