dharper6

I agree completely. Most people who haven't been to Houston would never believe it if you tried to tell them there are such nice areas in the city.

What's frustrating is the beating Houston takes in forums like skyscraper.com. It's as if there are forumers that lurk in forums like that for the sole purpose of bashing Houston. Thank goodness for HAIF, which is much more fair for the most part.

Correction...I meant skyscraperpage.com.

one could argue that the Herman park area of Houston could rival any public park space in the country. Its very nice and the trees are wonderful as well as all of the amenities nearby like the rail and the museums and restaurants. Not many cities have great park areas like this.

I agree completely. Most people who haven't been to Houston would never believe it if you tried to tell them there are such nice areas in the city.

What's frustrating is the beating Houston takes in forums like skyscraper.com. It's as if there are forumers that lurk in forums like that for the sole purpose of bashing Houston. Thank goodness for HAIF, which is much more fair for the most part.

The Christie's on Westheimer is still there, still serving trout sandwiches. All the others you mentioned are gone (and all discussed in this thread) except Phil's which is now 59 Diner and has several locations around town.

Amazing that Christie's is still there. Sorry about mentioning restaurants that had already been mentioned. Hope you all enjoyed my stories, though. It was fun telling them.

this thread is so weird to me, althought I am straight, I dont understand what defines being gay to the point you wouldnt be accepted in any neighborhood? My wife and I recently purchased a home and have not had one person say hi to us yet. So I think it just depends on your disposition. You cripple yourself by acknowledging your someone different...your really not. Move anywhere you want and just get along (well maybe not Highlands Tx).

I think that in an ideal world, this could work. No one would even give it a second thought. It's already that way all over Europe. Unfortunately, we're not quite there yet. Many people still are predudiced against those who are born differently from them. My observation is that tremendous progress has been made for gay people. There are even religious conservatives who are coming around and understanding that gay people are born that way and it just doesn't make sense to discriminate. But back to your point. After reading it, it occurred to me that the ladies who wrote the original post are not the ones with a problem; it's some of their neighbors. So if their neighborhood is great otherwise, I would hate to see them leave. The longer they stay, the better it should get as younger, more knowledgeable residents move in. If it's really a bad situation, though, I wouldn't blame them for wanting to find a more accepting neighborhood. I may have missed it, but to the original posters: in which area are you currently living?

I reread your post...I see that you live in Tanglewilde. Where is that? I've heard of Tanglewood near the Galleria, but not Tanglewilde.

Have I missed One's-A-Meal in this thread? They were dine-ins with counters and booths, specializing in breakfast and sandwich fare. They were mostly downtown and south to southwest of downtown in the 50's. Ones I remember were one next to the River Oaks theater, one in the Village, one at Richmond and Shepherd, and one near the old Delman theater. Any still around?

OMG...I forgot about One's-A-Meal. We ate at the one at River Oaks center when I was a kid. One time, during the 80s, I was visiting family in Houston and it was snowing and sleeting like crazy, and about 25 degrees. Since that happens maybe every 10-15 years in that part of the state, I was really excited about it. I walked into One's-A-Meal and everyone was bundled up and eating the spiciest food they could order. The windows were completely fogged over, and the outside world was white and cold. Like the lyrics from that song from Yentl, "there are moments that you will remember all your life, and this is one of those moments".

No its called "Top Notch Hamburgers"

Top Notch is on Burnet Rd. a couple of blocks from where I live. I've yet so see the movie!!

I haven't read all the posts, but here are some I'm wondering about. I haven't lived in Houston in 35 years and when I visit, I usually eat at my Dad's house, so I'm not up on the restaurant scene.

Christie's on S. Main, Med Center - we ate there every Friday night on the way over to my Grandparents' house. This would have been in the late 50s and early 60s. I would eat their incredible trout sandwich and chase it down with chocolate milk. Invariably, I would get sick and be in agony the rest of the evening. But it was SO good. I think this place burned down in the 70s. Not sure.

Christie's on Westheimer - just as good as the S. Main location but cheaper. This is where my 5 year old nephew walked over to another family's table and helped himself to their jello. We still laugh about it, 25 years later.

Youngbloods Fried Chicken on S. Main - very good chicken, nice restaurant. It probably closed in the 60s.

Valian's Italian - across the street from the Shamrock Hotel. Probably closed in the 60s. I've never experienced better Italian food.

Felix on Kirby - we were eating there when I was 5 years old. The hostess was Mrs. Harper, which happens to be my name. I ended up seeing her at the DFW airport sometime in the 80s. She remembered our family!

Bill Bennet's downtown: It was popular as a late night coffee shop. My high school buddies and I would go there after partying.

Phil's Diner (on Richmond?): great plate lunches in the early 70s.

We're a lesbian couple currently in Tanglewilde with our 16 month old. Lately, it has become clear that many parents in the neighborhood are never really going to get comfortable with us. We both grew up in neighborhoods with lots of interaction, and we really want that for our child(ren.) We don't want our daughter to be punished for the fact that we're on the homo team.

Since for some reason HAR doesn't list voting patterns or predominant sexual preferences on their site, can someone point us toward a neighborhood with:

a) lots of gay or liberal families

b) near Medical Center/Bellaire/West U area (partner is in nursing school in med center and I work at 45 and Fuqua.)

c) good public elementary and junior high schools (realistically we'll most likely move before high school)

d) houses in the $200-300 range

e) a little style wouldn't hurt - we like midcentury modern but we're not the types to live in a "perfect" home with all vintage furniture

We're thinking Westbury, but which sections are most likely to fit all of the above? And are there neighborhoods other than Westbury?

I grew up in Willowbrook, just east of Post Oak and across from Westbury. It has made quite a comeback and is a beautiful community. I understand that it is popular area with gay families; maybe others can comment.

Do you mean Timbergrove Manor? I'm not aware of a Timbergrove Estates. Parts of Timbergrove flood...check ANYTHING you're thinking about buying at maps.tsarp.org

The neighborhood had an entry sign saying Timbergrove Estates. I saw Timbergrove Manor as well. Timbergrove Estates is a small neighborhood of fairly old, but nice houses, just east of T.C. Jester and north of 11th.

You're right. The links to HAR below show pretty steady growth since 1994, with the exception of a slight downturn for Shepherd Forest the last couple years. Perhaps a lot of factors are now combining to make it appear a lot more activity is taking place (i.e. people wanting to live closer in due to gas prices, the older homes in the area are nearing the end of their life cycle, etc.)?

Garden Oaks

Oak Forest

Shepherd Forest

Hello,

I'm new to the forum today. Over the weekend, I drove all over Houston in anticipation of moving there when I retire in 2-3 years. I want to be near my Dad and quite frankly, I'm bored with Austin (please don't tell any Austinites!!). Houston is a real city and has so much going on that I want to be part of the excitement of that city.

Anyway, I drove through the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest area, and really liked it. Question, though...some of the commercial districts look a bit rough, like W. 34th. Has that been a problem? The neighborhoods look great, though.

Another question: does anyone know the Timbergrove Estates neighborhood off of 11th? It's an older area (40's or 50's) and I was really taken with it. It's immediately west of the Heights. I didn't see any tear downs, which surprised me for such a beautiful neighborhood (the trees are amazing).

Thanks!

Dave

If you are looking for good Christian schools and nice gated communities, come to Houstons NW side. We have nice gated communities here and great Christian schools. Im not sure about finding something in your price range though. If you dont mind living around a ton of republicans and people that shout and support family values every minute, come on out this way

My sister lives in the northwest area and it's actually becoming more diverse politically and religiously, like the Houston area in general. As far as I can tell, 100 percent of the residents shout and support family values every minute, regardless of political party or church affiliation. That makes it a great area.

The northwest area is still affordable, very nice, and more and more has all the conveniences of the city proper. It's one of my favorite areas, and I hope to move there in a couple of years after retirement.