A good place in Houston to live?

Travel Info
I am thinking of moving to houston, but don't know the area well. Is there a good place to live that isn't too expensive?

Travel Tips

Depending on your interests, where you will be working or attending school, and if you are planning to buy or rent Houston can be a big city or it can be small cow town.

Montrose is young, trendy, alternative-lifestyle friendly, is chopped full of small shops, great coffee houses and yummy places to grab a bite. Montrose is also home to the Menil Museum, St. Thomas University and is very close the museum district, downtown, and the medical center. Renting is affordable, and home prices range from 200K on up.

The Galleria area boasts apartments, highrises, and expensive homes. It is just "outside the loop" (an imaginary demarkation line for Houston City Limits - now it has become a status symbol to live inside the loop). This area becomes more strip center-esque but still has great eateries, good bakeries, the 5th largest mall in the US (the Galleria - a simon mall).

If you want to live further out with more affordable homes and good school districts, you can look into Cypress (northwest of the city), Kingwood (annexed by Houston) is approximately 32 miles north of Houston), Atasocita is also north, Katy (it's too far for my taste. It is west of Houston - like heading towards San Antonio). And SugarLand is southwest of Houston.

For more information, to compare crime stats (very important) and to request brochures - try www.houstontx.gov.

To search for housing (rentals and/or purchase): www.har.com

Good luck with your move.
Others

I live in a city east of Houston (about 20 miles away), so I am partial to living near the water. We have several cities in this area that are nice to live in: Baytown; Clear Lake; La Porte; Seabrook; and Kemah. Renting a 2 bedroom apartment can cost from about $650.00 to $800.00 in this area. A nice 2 bedroom rent house will start off around $750.00 a month. Utility bills in an apartment are going to be the most affordable! An average electric bill for a 2 bedroom apartment runs about $200.00+ a month, and in most apartments in this area water is included in the price of rent (so electricity is the only utility bill you have).

We are close to some of the restaurants and shops you are looking for.

I hope I have been of some help. Best of luck on your move!
Try to live close to your workplace (30 min. or less). Don't depend on a realtor or apt. leasing agent to give you an estimate. Try driving the route during rush hour yourself. River Oaks is a nice neighborhood. Houses are expensive, but you can find a reasonable apt. The museum district is a nice central location.West University Place is nice, but almost exclusively expensive houses (expensive by Houston standards, but not by NY or LA prices).
If you want to live on the outskirts of the city Spring is a really good area, Missouri City can be pretty cost affordable if you are in the right neighborhood.
You'd have to define "expensive." Are you looking for a house, townhome, condo to buy, or an apartment to rent?

I live in the Memorial area, where houses are enormously expensive by Houston standards, but condominiums and townhouses are a lot more affordable.

Try this site:

http://www.har.com
I prefer to live in/near Houston than in the suburbs. The Westhchase District in West Houston is pretty nice - lot of shopping, restaurants. There's a lot of decent priced apartments too. There's a lot of corporate offices. 15 minutes drive local to the Galleria Area. 5 minutes to Chinatown. Easy access to IAH Airport off of the Beltway 8. Westpark takes you to Rice Village in 25 minutes.
http://www.westchasedistrict.com/...