SilverJK

I couldn't justify having to heat and cool all that extra space. Plus, it's not like I walk around the house looking up

High Ceilings can be benefical to heating and cooling houses... that is why the old houses have high ceilings in the first place...  

Not to mention 8' ceilings make it hard to have adequate ceiling fans... they become hazards for anyone over 5 feet tall. 

I walk around the house looking everywhere, and I even have a good reason to not look up... my beautiful 1920s longleaf pine floors.

Yeah when i was looking in Timbergrove it seemed almost all the houses that would have had 8' ceilings had used their attic space for cathedral ceilings, traces, raised coffers, etc.

It makes a world of difference.  8' flat ceilings are a deal breaker for me.   (heck mine are over 9' and i wish they were taller)

Are we talking all against all, or particular sections of Westheimer?  = ]

I plan to send my kids to Travis (I only have one so far and he's still a baby), I'm really hoping that by the time they get to middle school Hogg will have turned around a good bit.  I have had a few conversations with the principal there and like the direction they are trying to go, but it is going to take something big to get the local residents to send their kids there.  I work with a group that is trying to establish an cultural program at Hogg, and for the most of the past 7 years Hogg wasn't receptive.. the newer principal however is interested.  The more local community groups that get involved with Hogg the better.

How about Airline from Main to 610...

Actually, the few I picked from other areas are in very prime locations.  For the scant 100 sq ft you lose, you more than make up in being in a very in demand neighborhood. 

 

1200-1300 cannot easily be had inside the loop for 600 sq feet, unless you get the unit by the dumpster, HVAC or garage entrance.  $1500 is the entry point for most of the decent complexes.  And if "newer" to you means Memorial Archstone, that is old by Houston standards as the complex has plans to be demoed.  $1,500 is not cheap. 

Yeah if you went to "availalbe options" you would see that the ones you picked were also likely the unit by the dumpster/hvac/garage entrence.  One of my coworkers just signed a lease (he hasn't even moved in yet) for a nice 1 bedroom that is 750sq. ft in midtown in a newer building... It was $1300 but with a year lease they dropped it to $1200. 

Not quite the picture your painting. 

You can get a nice 800 sq. ft. apartment in Kingwood close to 59 for like $700 bucks.  Commute is very easy (30 minutes even in rush hour).  That is CHEAP. 

$1500 for a one bedroom in an urban core is cheap. 

Super elistist uber expensive One Park Place is only $2400 for a one bedroom. 

Houston is cheap. 

i also said if you did it wouldn't come close to comparing to the $1500 houston one... which is exactly what you tried to do.

1200-1300 can easily be had in a 600 sq. ft not next to the highway and in a newer complex.  (but if you had your way wouldn't all these midrises be along the highway?)

 http://www.apartments.com/District-of-Columbia/Washington/Camden-Grand-Parc/22270?searchCriteria=Dy2hfU5rAXd7IxFaKtBPNxOFXed7T2UEI9u0CA0EAfydBPAxPAPXFwuIsmuQ1rK8805FxLecCevKChEhnqUGVTr2LViBHliOJNzo73e9wN6Z/j6u/cQQpyjjgAGcYo/OBa6JsfExlWu7HDlo7XnhtceYQaD7ydHsGiAWjl5rtfrFiD8ngfPAeJO/RYTGvabiAXr270fGQMqxG1759vYIcqN-|-|HVDa9cY&sid=f2132308-f67f-4825-910b-3040ce6ed9fe&stype=cityseo&match=4

 

http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/California/Los-Angeles/Hikari/75268/

 

http://www.columbusplaza.com/chicago-chicago/columbus-plaza-columbus-plaza/floorplans/

 

Yes, Houston is cheaper, but not cheap.  That is my point.  You are doing a nice job of trying to change the subject, but the fact is that Houston is not cheap. 

 

And $500 a month is significant except that in places like DC, San Fran, Chicago, and NY, you can get by without a car, especially now with the option of Zipcars and similar services.  When you factor that in, Houston's price advantage becomes much less significant.

LOL  even your own links prove my point.  There are only a few apartments from those list that are under 2,000 and they are less than 600 sq. ft. 

$1500 is getting you an 800 sq. ft. apt in Houston.

Apples to apples a 600 sq. ft apt in Houston is around 1200-1300.  

My old apartment (camden heights) over 5 years ago was 682 sq. ft and cost $975,  it is now $1229-1329  for the same unit.  Yep, still cheap.

And Houston isn't that much cheaper than comparable big cities anymore.  $2,000 a month will get you an apartment in most of the comparable cities' urban core, save and except Manhattan.  $1,500 a month in Houston is cheaper, but not that much.  If trends continue, Houston will start to bump up against the other major metros and won't even be that much cheaper.

Ok... first thing, $2,000 a month will not get you an apartment in the city core of the other cities (at least one that is anything close to the $1,500 houston one). 

Second... not that much cheaper?  2,000 a month would be 33% more expensive... what would be too much then?  Here on earth 33% is a massive difference.

Houston is cheap.  FACT. (even if the heights is more expensive than it was)

Yeah houston doesn't exactly end once you go outside of 610 (despite what we all think/feel).  Still plenty of cheap apartments and houses outside of the beltway.

I have family in Omaha... its similar pricing there to the burbs here... whats your point? 

You can't compare Houston's inner city to lesser metro's inner city, that wouldn't make any sense. 

Houston is Cheap.  Some pockets of houston have greatly increased in value lately (mostly in the loop) but overall for houston the increase hasn't been nearly as drastic plus the starting point was insanely low.  Compare the innerloop to similar area of any other similar metro and it is obviously still a bargain.  (AKA CHEAP)

Nice.  I like World Market, they have pretty great sales on random decorating stuffs, but I never go because the only one near is over by the galleria.  I will go to 3 out of the 4 businesses going end to this shopping center so far (I already have a gym). 

Fact of the matter is that Houston is no longer cheap.

You may be the only person to think that in the entire world.

It would be amusing if the "anyone but anise" group lined the trial to cheer/jeer them on. 

8,580 SF lot.    price per sq. ft. doesn't really mean that much at that point...

yay BEER!   Maybe they can capture the feel that Onion Creek used to have before they started serving liqour.  Lack of RedBull and Vodka keeps a certain type of d-bag away.   Shortly after OC started serving liqour you saw an increase of those types of people (dude bros), in large groups always standing/blocking the doors to get in to the bar, being overly loud and obnoxious. 

I still like going to OC and they probably made the right financial move, I just personally like beer joints more  (like D&T)

The developer was assesed 300k in fines and already paid it.  I wish they'd have given the developer community service as well.   Can we get that pile of debris cleaned up now?

I just choose not to go out for Mexican food when its a night out.  I can get good Mexican anywhere...I don't need to goto "upscale" Mexican food.  Its like "upscale" BBQ...its not better, it just costs more.

To each their own I suppose... but comparing Teotihuican (which I like) to Hugo's (upscale) as being anything close to similar is completely wrong. 

upscale can = more than just costing more.

3 years?  Did you even live here 3 years ago.  It was about 2.5 years ago when they first started breaking ground on this project.  While I agree that it has taken a very long time, I find your slant on the property hilarious.  You say "small multifamily condo" to exaggerate the timeline, when you've previously said something along the lines of huge, out of scale, will shade the neighbors, etc.  Union Kitched bailed for many reasons (one of them reportedly due to the delay in finishing out the building which makes a lot of sense).  This post is a great example of s3mh being s3mh.

Like I said... if they couldn't handle the parking, they deserved to close.  I'm going to guess that maybe Coltivare had a little to do with their closing as well.   I liked D'amicos, but rarely went because Nundini's Chef's table is about the same price and way better, so I only went tno D'amicos if I wanted Italian and wanted to ride bikes or longboards to eat.  Coltivare would likely take that slot from them, and D'amicos would become useless to me.

This thread has really got me thinking...   I could cut and redesign one of the 17-18fters and use superlightweight materials and probably come in under 2,000 lbs which would be light enough to tow with my Wrangler.  Hrm....  I have some really slick ideas for this.

I do find it funny that people want to live in a "walkable" neighborhood, but hate parking a few blocks away from an eatery.  Is there a parking issue on white oak... sorta.  Sometimes when an event is going on you have to park in the neighborhood and walk a few blocks.  Onion Creek is almost exactly 2 miles from my house.  I often ride my longboard there   (my record is 8 minutes) but I've driven a lot as well... mostly on Friday nights and I've never had to park more than a few blocks away.  Would it be easier if they would have built a parking garage across from Taco's a gogo,  surely, but the complaints about parking are more of faux outrage than a real problem.  Try parking near Boondocks/Anvil on a friday/saturday night.  Almost all the surrounding area is tow-away zone so i've had to park a good 5-6 blocks away before.  I have a friend who lives in Hyde Park, I often opt to park at her house and walk up to westheimer. 

Parking management being too difficult to manage for a restaurant reminds me of that quote... "that place is too crowded, nobody goes there anymore"  If you can't figure it out your business deserves to shut down.

just put it in your front yard, scatter some car parts around, and use tires as flower beds.

jk

I have thought about renovating a mid century Airstream.  I would use it as office/guest space for sure... I don't think i'd bother to have water/sewer hookup so it might be inconveinent for someone to sleep there. 

I consider the neighborhood "somewhat" walkable (which is the same score I believe most areas get from walkscore.com).  The great thing to me is with range extending bicycles/longboards/skates you really ramp up the amount of places you can reasonably go to.  It is very easy to make a Angela's Oven/Caninos/houston dairy maids trip to pick up essentials on bicycle.

If anyone thinks walking is to far and parking is too difficult, you should buy my Vespa.

did anyone else notice the cost of rent to household cost ratio was higher in the Heights than almost any other neighborhood on the list?   I really need to buy some more realestate.

It was a mistake, but nobody is taking claim of it.  It seems as if the mortgage company got an invoice from the MGMT district, but my address isn't even in the MGMT districts system.  Oh well I'll just refuse to pay it until they figure it out.