School me on Houston neighborhoods

[DDD Dad 14325]

So my youngest is going to be starting with a Big 6 firm this fall (hopefully).  We went down this week to check out a few apartments in the Midtown/4th Ward area, but I was hoping some of the local Surly mafia could offer some insights on those neighborhoods and other close in options.  I got a bit of a high crime/homeless vibe from Midtown as well as over by Minute Maid (E-Do). A quick drive up Sawyer from Memorial to I-10 looked interesting (Old 6th Ward and Sawyer Heights).  Seemed a bit quieter and possibly safer.

Thoughts, suggestions?  Pretty sure he wants to stay inside 610.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21873]

While I've been relegated to the burbs for most of recorded history, I thought Sawyer Heights was the First Ward.  It's known as the area for young professionals.  EDO is up and coming, but still seems a little rough for my tastes.  I've always like the Heights too, not as convenient as Sawyer Heights would be though.  Pricing will be a big factor.

[Hate 20106]

Midtown would be a great place. There are plenty of restaurants and bars to walk to or even more a short Uber ride away. If he works downtown, he can hop in the train and avoid driving altogether. If I were young, single, and worked downtown that is where I would live.

[UTPhil2006 3805]

I live in EaDo.  Not all that rough.  Homeless by the homeless feeding place, and under the bridge but very few problems with them.  Midtown is nice and also more of his taste if he's younger as mentioned above plenty of stuff to do.  Heights and Washington are nice too.  All just really depends on his price point and where he wants to live, it still is Houston at the end of the day, but none of the places you mentioned above would I consider even remotely dangerous.

[UTPhil2006 3805]

Also if he wants my sister to help him on an apartment search (she is a realtor and has lived in Midtown and the Heights) shoot me a PM.  It's of no cost to him (apartment complex pays)

[luke duke 6412]

So my youngest is going to be starting with a Big 6 firm this fall (hopefully).  We went down this week to check out a few apartments in the Midtown/4th Ward area, but I was hoping some of the local Surly mafia could offer some insights on those neighborhoods and other close in options.  I got a bit of a high crime/homeless vibe from Midtown as well as over by Minute Maid (E-Do). A quick drive up Sawyer from Memorial to I-10 looked interesting (Old 6th Ward and Sawyer Heights).  Seemed a bit quieter and possibly safer.
Thoughts, suggestions?  Pretty sure he wants to stay inside 610.

How about you let your college graduate, who is apparently smart enough to get a job with a Big 6 accounting firm, figure out where he wants to live?

Time to cut the cord. He can handle it. My parents haven’t had any input to my living situation since I left home for UT.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21873]

I'm old so it was the Big 8 when I started, but I thought it was down to the Big 4.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13508]

4 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I'm old so it was the Big 8 when I started, but I thought it was down to the Big 4.

It is but I'm sure there are a couple of accounting firms that are trying push themselves into the conversation and call themselves Big 6.

[DDD Dad 14325]

7 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It is but I'm sure there are a couple of accounting firms that are trying push themselves into the conversation and call themselves Big 6.

I guess it's Big 4.  It was Big 8 when I was in school too.  I can't keep up.

Edited June 11, 2020 by DDD Dad

[elfenix 34223]

nice thing about midtown is the rail line.   there's a whole foods that just opened so you don't have to go to the weird randall's anymore. 

anything up washington ave is an easy shot into the NW side of downtown.  traffic can get pretty bad if you're trying to get across downtown.  lots of big new texas donut apartment complexes either west or south of downtown. 

most crime in either midtown or 6th ward/washington corridor is car break-ins and bar related. 

[DDD Dad 14325]

19 minutes ago, luke duke said:

 

How about you let your college graduate, who is apparently smart enough to get a job with a Big 6 accounting firm, figure out where he wants to live?

Time to cut the cord. He can handle it. My parents haven’t had any input to my living situation since I left home for UT.

 

Thanks for the help.  Sometimes parents and their kids while both adults, like to work together to help each other.  There's a difference between failing to launch and being a part of your adult offsprings' lives.

[elfenix 34223]

also, he should get an apartment in the building at main and tuam and you need to train him to take bert style pics

[DDD Dad 14325]

1 hour ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

While I've been relegated to the burbs for most of recorded history, I thought Sawyer Heights was the First Ward.  It's known as the area for young professionals.  EDO is up and coming, but still seems a little rough for my tastes.  I've always like the Heights too, not as convenient as Sawyer Heights would be though.  Pricing will be a big factor.

I think it is, but just south of Washington is called Old Sixth Ward (on the street signs and such too).  I don't know much about Houston Ward history; I only lived there for a short time back in the early 90's (in West U).

[Nice Guy Eddie 13508]

Any of the areas within a mile or two of downtown would be desirable especially west or towards midtown. I know some people that live in Eado and love it. 

The Heights offers a different vibe if he doesn't want to live in a bar district but be nearby.  

there are problems of homelessness in some areas but isn't that standard for most downtowns now.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Nice Guy Eddie

[Hank Scorpio 17729]

If he’s working downtown I would say live in midtown. Tons of bars and restaurants and apartments and lots of kids just out of school. 

[conVINCEd 21469]

Tell the kid to go apartment hunting on a a nice, sunny Saturday.  Go to a bunch of apartments, check out the pool scene, and pick the one with the best selection of talent.  This isn’t rocket science.

[mapplewhite132 309]

Is he in audit? If so, living close to downtown won't matter. He will be traveling to a client in some bumblefuck suburb everyday. If he's in the office I'd say live in midtown for a year and then reassess. 

[DDD Dad 14325]

12 minutes ago, mapplewhite132 said:

Is he in audit? If so, living close to downtown won't matter. He will be traveling to a client in some bumblefuck suburb everyday. If he's in the office I'd say live in midtown for a year and then reassess. 

Yes audit (and yeah, he was expecting he'd be traveling far and wide quite a bit).  He's pretty sure he wants to do midtown, but he wanted to make sure we had considered as many options as possible.  

[mapplewhite132 309]

15 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Yes audit (and yeah, he was expecting he'd be traveling far and wide quite a bit).  He's pretty sure he wants to do midtown, but he wanted to make sure we had considered as many options as possible.  

Any chance he can find out which client he is going to be staffed on before he finds a place to live? Downtown may still be a good option since it's central, but his commute is probably going to suck if he's going to the woodlands or something every day. 

[DDD Dad 14325]

Just now, mapplewhite132 said:

Any chance he can find out which client he is going to be staffed on before he finds a place to live? Downtown may still be a good option since it's central, but his commute is probably going to suck if he's going to the woodlands or something every day. 

Probably not.  He still hasn't gotten a start date confirmation (we're keeping fingers crossed they don't back out).  I think he did work mostly for Hines last summer, but not sure if that's where he'll get assigned.

[mycox 582]

Definitely Midtown if he is in 20's. Downtown is also good, but more expensive.

Stay away from Edo - UTPhil2006 lives out there.

[elfenix 34223]

2 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

Tell the kid to go apartment hunting on a a nice, sunny Saturday.  Go to a bunch of apartments, check out the pool scene, and pick the one with the best selection of talent.  This isn’t rocket science.

we already know which building he should move into:

https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/index.php?/topic/5125-whatever-happened-to-demi/page/73/&tab=comments#comment-2305905

[elfenix 34223]

2 hours ago, DDD Dad said:

I thought Sawyer Heights was the First Ward.

sawyer heights development sits astride the ward boundary. the banks and the apartment are in first ward, target and petsmart are in sixth ward, best i can tell.

 

 

forgot that west end is the more historical name for the washington corridor

Edited June 11, 2020 by elfenix

[HouTex 1866]

Where did he go to college? UT? If he went to school in state he should have friends who will be moving here too. I’d want to be close to my friends. Otherwise, midtown, Rice Military, Washington Ave., Memorial/Westcott would all be great for a young professional.

[UTPhil2006 3805]

1 hour ago, mycox said:

Definitely Midtown if he is in 20's. Downtown is also good, but more expensive.

Stay away from Edo - UTPhil2006 lives out there.

All the more reason.

[Js1 85275]

36 minutes ago, HouTex said:

Where did he go to college? UT? If he went to school in state he should have friends who will be moving here too. I’d want to be close to my friends. Otherwise, midtown, Rice Military, Washington Ave., Memorial/Westcott would all be great for a young professional.

All of those are the correct neighborhoods for the age group.  RM/Washington or Midtown are great for bar hopping.  Midtown now has that Whole Foods. Washington Ave now has that HEB. 

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

2 hours ago, mapplewhite132 said:

Any chance he can find out which client he is going to be staffed on before he finds a place to live? Downtown may still be a good option since it's central, but his commute is probably going to suck if he's going to the woodlands or something every day. 

At least he'd be opposite of traffic with going to the suburbs in the morning and back to downtown in the evenings.

[TexasCPA 102]

As a “big 6” cpa living in Houston, you can’t go wrong with Upper Kirby.

Also my place always has a ton of hot Asian chicks that wear thongs at the pool, if he is into that sort of thing.

[DDD Dad 14325]

As a “big 6” cpa living in Houston, you can’t go wrong with Upper Kirby.
Also my place always has a ton of hot Asian chicks that wear thongs at the pool, if he is into that sort of thing.

Username checks out.

[DDD Dad 14325]

Where did he go to college? UT? If he went to school in state he should have friends who will be moving here too. I’d want to be close to my friends. Otherwise, midtown, Rice Military, Washington Ave., Memorial/Westcott would all be great for a young professional.

Yeah he went to UT for undergrad and his MPA.

He does have friends there; most (from Houston) are living at home to start out; others (not from Houston) have places in midtown and other places near downtown. Was really looking for another perspective.

Thanks for all of the input. He’s probably gonna get a place at Camden City Center. He seemed to like it the best of the places we looked.

[HouTex 1866]

46 minutes ago, TexasCPA said:

As a “big 6” cpa living in Houston, you can’t go wrong with Upper Kirby.

Also my place always has a ton of hot Asian chicks that wear thongs at the pool, if he is into that sort of thing.

I was going add Upper Kirby to my list, but, depending on the specific area, it could be much more expensive than the other areas that have more 20 somethings living there.  I have some friends who have daughters living in Upper Kirby and it's great.  They feel like it's safer, but in Houston, like any big city, a few blocks either way and it can become less safe.  

[Nice Guy Eddie 13508]

Another recommendation is to not sign a 12+ month lease. Go with 6-9 months so he can quickly move once he better understands where he wants to live. Sure its more expensive for a short term lease but it adds options.

 

[tx 3 putt 76870]

where's his office ?

 

Midtown - much much more homeless than East End. they like to break into cars 

East End (EADO) - i've lived here five years (knock on wood) zero issues.  they're building  3 new apt complexes, they'll be nice, in good spots. 

highly recommend, lived here a year before i bought in the neighborhood. pay for a private parking spot : https://www.cwsapartments.com/marquis-downtown-lofts-houston-tx/?utm_source=googlemybusiness&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=website_link

Edited June 12, 2020 by tx 3 putt

[tx 3 putt 76870]

7 hours ago, DDD Dad said:

Thanks for all of the input. He’s probably gonna get a place at Camden City Center. He seemed to like it the best of the places we looked.

that's a huge hub for the homeless, under 45 and that whole area. make double sure about parking and security.

a friend has an office right by there. he's on a video conference one morning and a homeless guy decides to take shit right outside the conference room window. his back is to the window and people start freaking out on the call. it's a hilarious story. their office entrance has homeless almost daily and it's covered in piss

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by tx 3 putt

[mycox 582]

The Camden across Randalls? That is not a bad location at all. The homeless problem must have recently got bad then because I don't remember seeing many issues like above.

Heights is ok, but I wouldn't live there in my 20's. Midtown in more walkable and easy to get to downtown/Montrose. 

[UTPhil2006 3805]

1 hour ago, mycox said:

The Camden across Randalls? That is not a bad location at all. The homeless problem must have recently got bad then because I don't remember seeing many issues like above.

Heights is ok, but I wouldn't live there in my 20's. Midtown in more walkable and easy to get to downtown/Montrose. 

That one is Camden Midtown

[elfenix 34223]

 

9 hours ago, HouTex said:

I was going add Upper Kirby to my list, but, depending on the specific area, it could be much more expensive than the other areas that have more 20 somethings living there.  I have some friends who have daughters living in Upper Kirby and it's great.  They feel like it's safer, but in Houston, like any big city, a few blocks either way and it can become less safe.  

i don't think you can go a few blocks east or west from upper kirby and be noticeably less safe.  and that's true for the entire stretch of kirby from braes bayou on north. 

the last little few bits of sketchy neighborhoods inside the 59/45/610 area to the west of downtown were the S/SE end of midtown and the NE heights-adjacent area above north main. 

that's probably true if you extend the area to north of braes bayou

Edited June 12, 2020 by elfenix

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

Every young professional who works in downtown Houston should live in Midtown if they can afford it. It's walkable and as close as you can get in Houston to some other urban place like Chicago or New York, which I know still isn't close at all, but more young + single oriented than anywhere else in Houston.

My wife and I both started in Midtown when we were single and have progressively moved further and further out over the years as jobs and family have progressed. 

Midtown is nowhere to raise a family, but it's great for young people. 

 

[Poolflood 845]

On 6/12/2020 at 7:16 AM, TexasCPA said:

As a “big 6” cpa living in Houston, you can’t go wrong with Upper Kirby.

Also my place always has a ton of hot Asian chicks that wear thongs at the pool, if he is into that sort of thing.

And yet I see no pictures.  You have failed us.

[RiceOwl 74]

On 6/12/2020 at 6:11 PM, elfenix said:

 

i don't think you can go a few blocks east or west from upper kirby and be noticeably less safe.  and that's true for the entire stretch of kirby from braes bayou on north. 

the last little few bits of sketchy neighborhoods inside the 59/45/610 area to the west of downtown were the S/SE end of midtown and the NE heights-adjacent area above north main. 

that's probably true if you extend the area to north of braes bayou

Yeah, I lived at the corner of Hermann and Alameda in 2016-17 and in a large apartment complex and though it wasn’t really dangerous, I did get robbed at the gas station on that corner. Close enough to the 3rd Ward that there’s some spillover. 
 

Nice apartment though and good for a bunch of college kids.

[tokamak 6391]

On 6/11/2020 at 3:41 PM, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

At least he'd be opposite of traffic with going to the suburbs in the morning and back to downtown in the evenings.

Midtown to Energy Corridor or something like that is still going to be pretty ugly, because the West Loop between 59 and I-10 is such a clusterfuck. If he's going to be going west every day, somewhere up closer to 10 might be better.

Regarding car break-ins, he'll either remember or learn quickly that you simply can't leave anything valuable-looking in your car under any circumstance. Hell, my window got smashed at like 7:00 PM on a Friday night in Rice Village one time. Remember that one simple rule and he'll be fine.

FWIW, I've lived in Houston for 10 years and I still have no idea which ward is which.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21873]

It looks like Ward Cleaver might actually be the most famous Ward.

First Name Ward

• Ward Bond (1903-1960)
• Ward Horton, 44.
• Ward Strootman, 23.
• Ward Burton, 58. Race Car Driver.
• Ward Kimball (1914-2002) Cartoonist.
• Ward Dijk, 25.
• Ward Hunt (1810-1886) Supreme Court Justice.
• Ward Just (1935-2019) Novelist.

[HouTex 1866]

In the 70’s it was a common report by Dave Ward on Channel 13 news of some murder or violent crime in one of the wards. Dave Ward loved to say ward. I’ve lived in the greater Houston area my entire life except for my four years at UT and I don’t know which wards are which. I know a few people who are moving to some of them. Location, location, location.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13508]

29 minutes ago, tokamak said:

Midtown to Energy Corridor or something like that is still going to be pretty ugly, because the West Loop between 59 and I-10 is such a clusterfuck. If he's going to be going west every day, somewhere up closer to 10 might be better.

Regarding car break-ins, he'll either remember or learn quickly that you simply can't leave anything valuable-looking in your car under any circumstance. Hell, my window got smashed at like 7:00 PM on a Friday night in Rice Village one time. Remember that one simple rule and he'll be fine.

FWIW, I've lived in Houston for 10 years and I still have no idea which ward is which.

I'm going on 30 years and they still confuse me most likely because I rarely travel to several of them. I've googled houston ward more than a few times.

[Hate 20106]

I’ve been here 13 years and I have no idea where the wards are, how many there are, or why they are even called wards.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13508]

1920 map of the wards with downtown being dead center. I think ward is just another name for political district and doesn't NOLA still have them. According to wikipedia, the ward system was abolished by 1915 but still used as reference points even to this day but gentrification has reduced its usage as developers love to rename areas.

[tx 3 putt 76870]

2nd Ware for life !

[conVINCEd 21469]

5th Ward

 

[Texas St. Armadillos 1381]

BTW, if he's MPA graduate, tell him to start studying and sitting for the CPA.  Strike while the knowledge is fresh.

[woohorn 1131]

Cool map, but does the numbering system make sense to anyone?