nkob44
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Posts posted by nkob44
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Anyways if I moved inside the loop I could probably axe $110 in tolls and another $50 in gas.
Ditto!
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Congratulations! We're still looking... I'm more up for buying a mod than is my spouse but, then again, I'm the architecture buff in the family. Best of luck on the restoration.
knob44
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Not to argue with you, but if they had done that for FM1960 25 years ago, then it wouldn't be the mess it is now... I say better late than never - right?
Yes - what's "no traffic" today is tomorrow's "mess..."
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I love the Westpark Tollway!
I currently live in West Houston (not at the Grand Parkway though) and take it often to get into the Loop. It's worth the toll AND I don't have to slow down through a toll booth. I-10 is jammed it seems no matter what time of day it is - used to be when I first got here back in the mid-90s that you could pick times to travel it. Not any more... If there was a reliable heavy rail system here in Houston that connected the far-out areas to the Inner Loop/Downtown, I'd take it BUT we all know there isn't such a thing here. Probably never will be if things keep evolving as they are. So if you don't have rail - you drive from out here. And as long as I can afford it, I'll drive the Westpark Tollway over I-10 any day.
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I grew up in a Midwestern suburb and there, "inner city" was not a desirable address... Let's just say that I wouldn't tell folks outside of Houston that I live in "inner city Houston."
The Midwest and Northeast major cities typically have a clear distinction between their urban areas vs. suburbs. For example, when you drive east toward downtown St. Louis, you clearly see the point when you enter what's known there as "the inner city..." A very visual distinction IMO. And it gets worse when you cross over the Mississippi into East St. Louis. Of course, St. Louis (city and county) have something called zoning
. Only thing I can liken it to here in Houston is driving on I-10 East around the ship channel or parts of I-45 on the east side in the loop. There is no commute into St. Louis City (from any direction) that is like the beautiful Memorial Drive commute into downtown Houston. Clayton Road maybe but not with the beautiful trees... I just continue to view Houston as a series of wheels - sprawling, sprawling, sprawling. Inner Loop will always be Inner Loop to me, with lots of variety depending upon the "quadrant" you're in. Uptown is urban, very urban to me, but is Uptown. Not a bad thing. That said, I don't have a hangup though about living "exactly in the Loop..." I would take living "near" the Loop given the right location for our circumstances.
Just my two cents worth --
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Why everyone is ashamed of Houston blows my mind. The last time I checked, all my friends that work downtown love the tunnels. The workout perfect for Houston weather. Sure, everyone wants their own little version of Chicago or Manhattan in our downtown - but again. that's them, this is us.
Hows that saying go? "If you can't be with the one you love, then at least love the one you're with". That sums up the attitude we as Houstonians need to adopt if we want to see any improvement. Continually comparing us to everyone else just reminds us what we don't have, compared to what we think we need.
Houston is Houston. Learn to LOVE it
I know I do 
I many be jumping into this late but... I like your attitude! I came here from Chicago some ten years ago to work for a major consulting firm downtown, and I loved the tunnel. I also loved Chicago (still do) and actually thought I would end up living there after graduating with a couple of masters degrees but didn't. Houston will never be "a Chicago" because this is Texas. Dallas ain't Chicago either IMO. Texas is a whole different culture than the upper Midwest and especially the Northeast, and I thank my lucky stars that I'm here not there (especially NY).
We had a saying around our office - which was a kind of "revolving door" being a consulting firm - people coming and going often - that if you don't like Houston, I-10 runs both east and west... (so shut up
). Yes - I would love to see more high-quality public transportation here, be it rail above or below ground. I would use it - I rode both the El and Metra (best long commute in the US IMO) in Chicago and hate dealing with traffic no matter the city. But what I don't want to see is some half-cocked, wimpy "light" transportation solutions in Houston that prove to be unreliable. When you take either the Metra or the El (in Chicago), you know you are going to get to your destination. How many times have I seen a Metro bus broke down in the HOV lane along the Katy Fwy? Too many times to get me to take the bus here...
That said, I don't ever expect or even desire Houston to be like Chicago (or God forbid, Manhattan). If what's right for Houston is light rail (instead of Chicago's Metra) then that's ok - just make sure it's RELIABLE.
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As 27 said, Bellaire isn't the only decent school available for HISD kids.
In fact, the nation's top 783 out of 14,000 total were ranked according to graduation rates, AP scores, and the likelihood of going on to a 4 year college. Here's how Houston area schools fared...
80. Bellaire (HISD)
243. Memorial (Houston kids who live in 77024 go here)
260. DeBakey for Health Professions (HISD)
356. Katy Taylor
357. Clear Lake
373. Sugar Land Clements
481. Stratford
604. Lamar (HISD)
624. The Woodlands
681. Cypress Creek
Where is DeBakey located? Thanks --
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Larchmont only has a couple of houses for sale right now.
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Ever though about building/buying a home in the northwest corner of the Loop 610. In this area east of TC Jester and around Ella, many homes are being built that have a Victorian look and are in the low 300's.
You mean Shady Acres? Could also consider Garden Oaks just outside the loop... I worked with somebody who bought a home there years ago and now it's worth alot (the lot is huge!).
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"Westside wasn't built for the "wealthy kids", it was built for all the residents in that area. Coincidentally, they are the children of successful parents. No matter, if this were ghetto, a school still would have been built."
I have to agree with you on this - the area is just well-to-do and needed some schools. Building here is on the upswing. Some of the homes nearby we could afford but it isn't as close in as we'd like to be. And I wouldn't call Lakes of Parkway a "ghetto..." Million dollar plus homes - even the "Villas" will cost you a minimum of 500K to build. Neighborhood off Briar Forest next door to Westside.
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As 27 said, Bellaire isn't the only decent school available for HISD kids.
In fact, the nation's top 783 out of 14,000 total were ranked according to graduation rates, AP scores, and the likelihood of going on to a 4 year college. Here's how Houston area schools fared...
80. Bellaire (HISD)
243. Memorial (Houston kids who live in 77024 go here)
260. DeBakey for Health Professions (HISD)
356. Katy Taylor
357. Clear Lake
373. Sugar Land Clements
481. Stratford
604. Lamar (HISD)
624. The Woodlands
681. Cypress Creek
Yes, Memorial is in Spring Branch, and one big reason why we are considering this area. Stratford is now under a total remodeling and closed I believe - the kids are moved into the other schools and it's disruptive but ours wouldn't go to Memorial for a while yet. T&C is still not as close in as we would love to be BUT with children you go with the schools, don't you?
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hisd is broken up by area districts i.e. southwest, west etc. the west district fares a little better on the decent scale and another thing most parents do not take into consideration, the area ofice which is on tanglewilde just off westheimer is very responsive to all issues. pilgrim and piney point are both disasters, although both my kids went to briargrove in the early 90's and it was fine.
the best kept secrets in the west district are the school at post oak, which is moving out of the post oak ymca and the briarmeadow charter school. my younger son attended both of these schools and they are both quite parent driven. in some cases this could be construed as a minus but in this case both schools were facilitated by parents who were creative and innovative. the charter school loses points for location (they built on to and rennovated the old hisd tech center on dunlavy off richmond/before westpark) but makes up for it with full length paintable art walls and casio keyboard labs, as well as a tv/weather station. its kind of like children's museum meets school, but it does fill up and keep a wait list.
school at post oak will be located behind the galleria where hisd has been keeping some prime real estate and were supposed to build a middle school for the past 10 years. it is only k-5th but maybe that will change. the school has a real international flair and the principal drue mcclure knows every child by name.
forget middle and high school in hisd, period, unless you happen to build a mcmansion next door to bellaire high school which is the only way your child will get in the front door there. even if your child has chosen a magnet field of study or gets accepted into the health careers program they should hire a bodyguard or wear a bullet proof vest. some of my friends tell me grady is getting ghetto, and revere is still like a 70's prison movie. westbriar middle and westside high were built for the wealthy kids across the beltway but since these neighborhoods are going down so are the schools. westside does have a water polo team and compared to lee, well there is no comparison. lee is scheduled to become a charter for illegal immigrant students up to age 21. my son plays hockey with a few emo kids who go to lamar and play chess and do oddysy of the mind, mensa type stuff. for personal reasons i took my son out of public school and he attends a local private academy.
hisd has an open door policy which means kids can go anywhere in the district, as long as there is an opening and they get their own transportation. they also have virtual school which my older son signed up for which is kinda cool for kids on the go and they log on and do the work online. kids from all over the us are on virtual school as well as a few from other countries. its not cheap but less than some private schools.
deb martin
Interesting... probably why my doctor is building one of those McMansions in Bellaire now! Thanks for the info --
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For the low 300's I have to recommend Briargrove. They start around 300k, but you'll get a prime public education. That neighborhood also dumps out onto Westheimer just west fountainview, so you'll be on target for staying close to the uptown area.
The elementary school is Briargrove elementary, which is verrry nice for HISD. I went by there to visit a friend and as I stepped into the main hallway, it was like walking through a time machine to my childhood. It really felt like a traditional, well ran, and well kept school.
You'll have Grady for the middle which only serves the Uptown/Woodway/Tanglewood/Briargrove/Larchmont area from I-10 down US59 and I-610 to around where the Villages start. All good areas, and no slums, so I would think the bad element would be lower than average there.
As for the high school, no matter where you live uptown, you're slated for Robert E. Lee. All the kids from Gulton, Harwin, & Tanglewilde go there as stated above, so I'm sure it's quite a mix. I would recommend private school for high school if in HISD and NOT going to Westside, Lamar, Bellaire, Waltrip, Westbury, and maybe Lee (I've never been told anything good or bad about this one). This is simply based on the neighborhood makeup and what people have told me that went various schools in Houston.
I would use these maps: HISD Maps
And overlay them on this map: Super Neighborhoods Map (You can click on each neighborhood to learn more about it.)
Again, good luck with the move back into town.
Sounds good and thanks for the links!
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No problem!
One important thing you may want to look into is that I think Larchmont maybe has had some problems with flooding in the past??
I think that Tanglewilde and Briarmeadow aren't so bad except for the area right along Richmond. You should be able to find something pretty nice in the northern sections of those neighborhoods closer to Westheimer. But then again I'm not too sure about the schools.
I'd also agree with Glen above that Westbury or Maplewood might be worth looking into. That's a very nice area... (well, parts of Westbury are nicer than others) It's close to Bellaire and Meyerland.
Thanks Astro! We'll keep it all in mind. Meyerland is a little further south than we were thinking about - and you're right about the flooding issues. I know that Braeswood is well-known for it's flooding too. In the end, you just gotta "pick" somewhere... So much of Houston is "one big flood plain..." isn't it? All in all, I think it's an attractive place to live, and so affordable compared to other parts of the country. One of the reasons I decided to move here back in the mid-90's. Many good things have come into place since I got here - many improvements to downtown and other areas as far as I can tell. We'll be here for the long haul as my spouse is a native. Can't see him moving to either Dallas or Austin, that's for sure!
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Property values will surely continue to rise in Larchmont since a lot of very expensive homes are being built on the North side of Richmond from it.
Hmmm... I'm sure you're right about that given the location. Something to consider. Thanks --
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Yes, or else a little closer in is Briar Meadow (bounded by Hillcroft, Westheimer, Dunvale and Westpark). There are a few good mods there as well.
That's what I was thinking that it would put them at Lee High School. I dont know anything about teh school but it is in sort of a rough looking area. That whole area bounded by Hillcroft, Westheimer, Chimney Rock, and Westpark isn't too wonderful but I think maybe it's been slowly improving over the past 10 years or so??
Ok - now I know where y'all are talking about too. No - Hillcroft/Westheimer/CR/Westpark is not desirable for us. Nor is Fondren (Westbury, et. al.) I'd rather pay the premium for closer in than that, like Braeswood, and get the better/best HISD schools inside loop.
But it sounds like Larchmont is closer in and not "run down" - the thing that bothered me was being "off Richmond" but if it is that close in, that puts it around Sage/Post Oak it sounds like. Not too bad from a commuting and shopping standpoint but again, not sure about the schools there. Probably would do private as several good ones are not that far.
Houston is so interesting - you can drive along streets like Richmond and things look nice, then all of a sudden, you know you're in a run down area. Like when you're on Richmond and you pass Gessner (Tanglewilde there I think?). Not good to me past that point for a while...
I also have to remember that the Westpark Tollway is now open and that probably would be a better commute than the Katy Frwy to get inside the loop...
Anyway, thanks for the info!
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I'm somewhat new to Houston myself, and have never heard of Larchmont. Tell me what you already know.
Not much other than it's an older neighborhood located near the Galleria (off Richmond I think?) with ranch-style homes in our price range... cannot afford W. Univ/Bellaire or probably even Braeswood at this point but want to live closer in. Hopefully some of the knowledgeable real estate members here can provide more input. BTW: I'm not in real estate nor development. Just an average home owner who is tired of the Katy Freeway commute and misses living closer in. Trying to decide where to move to shorten our commute and get closer to all the ameneties we like inside the loop.
Another "older" neighborhood we like is Memorial Bend (near Town & Country around Memorial) but that would be a longer commute into town. Shorter than we have now but still somewhat dependent upon the Katy. The cool thing about Memorial Bend is that alot of the homes were designed by some of those famous '50s Houston architects, having things like butterfly roofs, etc.. Some of the houses in there are run down a bit, others are well kept. A few have been "remodeled" so they no longer resemble the original architecture - awful! The good thing is that the schools are in Spring Branch. Depending on the location inside the loop, we might have to consider sending our child to private school which adds to our expenses of relocating...
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New to the forum - great discussions here that definately bring this transplant more up to speed on Houston neighborhoods. Have lived here for 10 yrs (first inner loop as a single then to "near Katy surburbia" after married) and still don't know all the neighborhoods! We've decided to move back either near or inner loop - not a condo or apt but want a single-fam house for no more than low 300s. Have yet to read anything here about the Larchmont neighborhood near the Galleria.
This has been suggested to us but know nothing about it except the favorable location (in terms of commute for us). I'm wondering about the crime level though??? Please advise -- thanks!
Kbhomesucks.com
in Houston Real Estate
Posted
This is a late reply but I want to put in my "two cents worth..."
You hit the nail on the head Deb - but "shoddy construction" isn't limited to these 90K+ homes. I'm sure that high-end builders, like Kickerillo for example, also cut corners. I'm not terribly impressed with his homes as I've seen first-hand one constructed in Lakes of Parkway. 500K+ Villa and they didn't put an electrical outlet in the kitchen for the fridge, among numerous other problems. No telling what trash is in between the walls of this home, too, as the construction site was outrageously dirty and trashy the whole time. Believe me, Mr. Kickerillo uses "day labor" (off Gessner) just as much as KB does... The excess profit funded his new home in Malibu. I'd much rather update an older home that is more likely to have been better built.
nkob44