MasonParkThree Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 My family recently purchased a FSBO home in the Mason Park neighboorhood. We moved from the Eastwood area and find Mason Park to be much quieter with significantly less foot traffic. Most of our new neighboors have lived in neighborhood for 20+ years. We feel very safe. We have just discoverd this forum and have enjoyed reading your posts regarding the East End area. I am already a bi-weekly patron of Cafe Flores. We have also discovered the Dinner Bell bake shop crossaints, though we haven't yet made it in for a meal. We are very excited about the Chinese/Tapioca shop after reading positive reviews in earlier posts. We intended to buy in the Spring Branch area due to the reputation of the schools, but we couldn't resist our gem of home. The only issue that has me second guessing our decision is the lack of child care in the area. We initally had a family member confirmed to care for our baby, but that didn't pan out. Countless hours have been spent searching for a solution to the problem to no avail. I suppose a nanny agency is our only option now, though I don't know if that is within our budget. To the East Enders with children, what do you do for child care? Can you provide any guidance for us? Any comments are appreciated. Also, on a different topic, I remember watching a film which (I think) was titled "Not In My Backyard" in a property class at school. It was a documentary about a Bayou neighborhood and it's cultural/ethnic evolution. Has anybody seen it? I imagine it would be of interest here although it isn't exactly "East End". I would love to see it again, but can't seem to locate it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 My family recently purchased a FSBO home in the Mason Park neighboorhood. We moved from the Eastwood area and find Mason Park to be much quieter with significantly less foot traffic. Most of our new neighboors have lived in neighborhood for 20+ years. We feel very safe.Great choice of neighborhood and welcome to the area, and forum. Mason Park doesn't get much publicity and the 1940s homes tend to get overlooked but the location is nice, as you've mentioned. Quiet, no freeways, trains are not too close, convenient to Gulfgate and Harrisburg/Metro BRT and to the park, of course, which is one of the nicest around town. It's still an intact nabe architecturally and I have hopes of seeing gentrifiers move in and restoring the storybook setting home by home, although it's really not bad right now. It could be a McMansion spot at some point in the distant future however, due to the same above-mentioned desirable qualities.As for child care, my children are older and don't live with me but I would imagine that there would be lots of available help considering how many spanish-speaking people live near by, although I don't have any suggestions as to how to network with them. I'll ask around and will PM you if I get any results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 My family recently purchased a FSBO home in the Mason Park neighboorhood.Was it that two story house on the corner with the enclosed garage? Seemed to be an attractive house, but there wasn't quite enough lot for my taste, and I didn't like the idea of the second story complicating plumbing/electrical repair/upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Also, on a different topic, I remember watching a film which (I think) was titled "Not In My Backyard" in a property class at school. It was a documentary about a Bayou neighborhood and it's cultural/ethnic evolution. Has anybody seen it? I imagine it would be of interest here although it isn't exactly "East End". I would love to see it again, but can't seem to locate it.congrats on your purchase! the documentary was/is probably "This is our home, it is not for sale" (1987) by Jon SchwartzIt focused on the Riverside Terrace subdivision on braes bayou, closer to UH and 288. The MFA has shown it a few times and it has been on Channel 8 before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 To the East Enders with children, what do you do for child care? Can you provide any guidance for us? Any comments are appreciated.No children either but there are plenty of nannies in the area. I'd probably begin by asking your immediate neighbors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonParkThree Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 Thanks to you all for the prompt responses. danax: The park is impressive and definitely one of the selling points of the neighborhood. I have noticed at least one McMansion down the the street already. I am grateful of your offer to ask around about child care options. Any information you can provide will be appreciated. jm1fd: That's us. The house is in great condition with beautiful moldings throughout. We could have done without the carpet over hardwoods, but that is a problem easily solved. We were unaware that the second story could cause potential upgrade problems. What was your concern? And as for the lot size, less lawn to mow is definitely not a problem for my husband, although my dogs may disagree. gnu: Thanks for the info. I really enjoyed the film and have been telling my husband about it for years. With the proper title I can keep an eye out for future showings. musicman: That thought has occured to me although we haven't met too many of them as of yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 the 2nd story makes running wiring plumbing just a little more difficult cause you might have to open up sheetrock on first floor to do work on 2nd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 the 2nd story makes running wiring plumbing just a little more difficult cause you might have to open up sheetrock on first floor to do work on 2nd.EXACTLY! Plus the attic for the second story is probably tiny or non-existant, making it a pain to do electrical work in the ceiling of the second story as well.So...has the house been re-plumbed and re-wired? It was built sometime in the 40s, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 (edited) (Be sure to enter your address at http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/abcx_tool/search.asp to see if the three listed are, in fact, your schools)By the way, here are the Mason Park area schools (All "Mason Park" addresses on HAR lead to these three schools):Elementary:* Briscoe - http://es.houstonisd.org/briscoeesMiddle* Edison - http://ms.houstonisd.org/edisonmsHigh* Milby - http://hs.houstonisd.org/milbyhsProfiles:* http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Briscoe_ES.pdf* http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Edison_MS.pdf* http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Milby_HS.pdfWhen selecting schools, check your home schools. If you are not satisfied, but you still want to send your kids to a public school, you may opt for the "magnet program" route. If your kids enter a magnet program, they qualify for school bus transportation (as long as the magnet school is 2 miles or more from your house) Edited January 2, 2007 by VicMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonParkThree Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 EXACTLY! Plus the attic for the second story is probably tiny or non-existant, making it a pain to do electrical work in the ceiling of the second story as well.So...has the house been re-plumbed and re-wired? It was built sometime in the 40s, no?Electric and plumbing have been updated. It isn't exactly a two-story. More like a 1 1/2. Upstairs master is converted attic, so that does leave a non-existant attic for that part of the house. House was built in 1939./[-(Be sure to enter your address at http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/abcx_tool/search.asp to see if the three listed are, in fact, your school\/s)By the way, here are the Mason Park area schools (All "Mason Park" addresses on HAR lead to these three schools):Elementary:* Briscoe - http://es.houstonisd.org/briscoeesMiddle* Edison - http://ms.houstonisd.org/edisonmsHigh* Milby - http://hs.houstonisd.org/milbyhsProfiles:* http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Briscoe_ES.pdf* http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Edison_MS.pdf* http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Milby_HS.pdfWhen selecting schools, check your home schools. If you are not satisfied, but you still want to send your kids to a public school, you may opt for the "magnet program" route. If your kids enter a magnet program, they qualify for school bus transportation (as long as the magnet school is 2 miles or more from your house)Thanks for your response. Luckily we won't have to deal with that issue for at least 4 years. I actually attended an HISD magnet school myself (Jones Vanguard), so we will definitely be considering the magnet school option for middle and high school at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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