BrickStamp

First off, this new google search is awesome. I'm glad it was added.

A question for ipod users. I found this transmitter that will play my ipod in the car. However, I already have one of those (although its an off brand) and it sucks. Is there another device that doesn't need a radio wave signal to play an ipod. I guess I can't really think of any other way it could work, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Someone told me there was but they didn't say how it worked.

I need quality for ipod playing. This way is just not working. Thanks

I think the one I have is a Kensington. it works really well. Key in a place like Houston is that you need one you can change the station on. Mine has three presets. It's that hard to find an unoccupied station in Houston. I have three that work in different areas of town. If you are too close on the "dial" to a station with a strong signal, you'll get static, which is what it sounds like you want to avoid. FYI, the best place on the dial I've found for the Montrose-Museum District area and surrounding is 92.5

I'm glad to hear so many people saying they feel safe walking around at night. I moved here five years from NYC, where it was always clear to me where it was safe to be at night and what areas weren't. Since moving here I've had no idea. BUT, I am quite certain that I should not be walking around Riverside Terrace alone at night.

Don't be scared off by all these wusses.

I truly believe that most crime happens to people that are looking for it. If you're not selling or buying drugs, you should be fine.

Don't worry about your dog getting stolen; keep a dog to keep from getting your possessions stolen! It helps if your dog is a barker.

By the way, I can walk my Inner Loop streets at night too...but having a dog doesn't hurt.

I think people are afraid of my mullet, too.

Hi,

I live in Riverside Terrace with my family. There is crime, but what I've found personally is that the crime happens around you, not to you... drug dealers shoot each others, prostitutes get beaten. I'm afraid this is what I've seen with my own eyes. I don't want my kids seeing this anymore, so we're moving. If it doesn't bother you to see an incident now and then, you might not mind. However, there's no way I'd go walking around at midnight, here or anywhere else inside the loop.

I agree that City Park might be worth looking into. One problem is that it is low-end, which of course is great in terms of affordability, but might attract some less stable people and less stable situations. That could impact on crime.

If I were you, I would look into a small condo in a good neighborhood inside the loop, rather than a house in a sketchy neighborhood. Of course, you have a dog, so that's a potential issue, but there are apartments and presumably condos that take dogs.

I have a friend in Sugarland (a nice suburb where people go to get away from Houston crime) whose house was broken into in the middle of the day and they stole her dog. So it does happen, and can happen in any neighborhood. Wherever you move, remember that while many parts of Houston appear like suburbs and might seem safe, this is a big city and there is crime everywhere. So be careful, have an alarm system and keep your wits about you and you'll be fine.

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My husband and I are moving to Houston this summer. We don't know much about Houston but will be transfering because he was accepted to a Ph.D program at Rice. U. (never visited, I'm from Boston, he's from S. Oregon) I will be teaching high school, probably HISD. We don't have any children yet but have an active dog and we're tired of apartment life so would like to buy a house at least a few months after we move to Houston.

It seems like most of the homes we could afford (we will have about 20k for a down payment) and are close to Rice (under 2 miles) are across 288 in Riverside terrace, Wilmoth subd., etc. Mostly zip codes 77004 or 77021. Just by looking at HAR.com and ziprealty (etc.) I've noticed that there seems to be (at least on paper) a huge increase in crime stats. For example, on ziprealty they show a graph that shows these areas to have crime rates that are near 400, with 100 being the national average. Is it possible that the SFR areas I'm looking at have a lower crime rate and the apt/town-home areas have higher rates? I'm living in Tokyo now where I feel safe walking my dog past midnight so safety is important. However, I know we will have to make some sacrifices by choosing to live inside the loop near rice and not being able to afford places west of Rice (like West U.)

Any opinions?

Are there any other safer neighborhoods that sometime sell for under 140k that are about 2m or less from Rice?

Also, if financing goes smoothly what is the avg time it takes to close a house deal?

Here are the MLS numbers of some homes I'm interested in so far (though I think they will be gone by August...)

• 8855715 3205 CHARLESTON
  
• 1913058 2605 ARBOR ST
  
• 6948117 3010 SOUTHMORE BLVD
  
• 4871043 2619 ROSEWOOD ST
  

{{{Also, from the other posts about these areas I've noticed that some people think race makes a difference in what kind of opinion they give soo... I'm half Japanese/half caucasian, my husband is caucasian. }}}

Thank you!

(((ps. If anyone knows anything about how prevalent dog stealing is in Houston (from backyards) can you tell me??)))

I hate the new site design. Its over done to say the least. Give me the old faster version. And I totally hate that stupid video with sound every time you go to the homepage. Makes surfing at work hard. I think they got sold a bill of goods by some web designers.

I don't like it either, mainly because you can't use it at all from Safari. All my bookmarks in Safari are now totally useless. I have to start from scratch on a new browser. Very annoying.