High Walkscore Communities (Houston, Galveston, Katy: real estate, apartments, rent)

[rockinar]

Originally Posted by aneev

Thanks for all the information. No, I don't want to walk for exercise but to run errands in a safe neighborhood without getting robbed or mugged..

Houston is spread out, so you can't really walk anywhere to run errands. Its not like NYC and there's no mass transit. People drive everywhere. Walking only for exercise.

Owner of Steward Cadillac just got robbed in his drive in Montrose last week. This week he got murdered in his driveway.

Walk fast and exchange your Liberal views for handgun.....welcome to Houston.


http://www.click2houston.com/news/hp.../32883426]HPD: Stewart Cadillac owner found dead on garage floor in Montrose area | News -

[kaelti12]

Houston isn't very walkable, not for everyday things anyway. Also more often then not its either very humid and hot, or raining. Not the most pleasant to walk around in.

There are plenty of areas that have a very nice walkable entertainment scene. Midtown, The Heights, Downtown and Montrose. But its a restaurant/bar/club scene not a Target/Kroger/Auto Zone scene lol

Houston isn't the safest place in US, but if you stay smart and don't walk around super late by yourself the chances of something happening are probably no worse then other large city. Especially in the more popular going out areas(more people around).
I would not walk around with just one or two people late at night though, not worth the risk.

[aneev]

Originally Posted by rockinar

Houston is spread out, so you can't really walk anywhere to run errands. Its not like NYC and there's no mass transit. People drive everywhere. Walking only for exercise.

Owner of Steward Cadillac just got robbed in his drive in Montrose last week. This week he got murdered in his driveway.

Walk fast and exchange your Liberal views for handgun.....welcome to Houston.


http://www.click2houston.com/news/hp.../32883426]HPD: Stewart Cadillac owner found dead on garage floor in Montrose area | News -

I get it now...there are differing views about safe neighborhoods in Houston. I'll have to reconsider my decision and explore Austin or Dallas instead, need to live driving distance to Houston anyways.

At the same time if a person can only be free by gun ownership is it really being free? I don't believe so hailing from the land of Gandhi...

[Oildog]

Those who do a lot of walking here, have usually lost their drivers license.

[aneev]

BTW, I do have my car and my license perfect! Somehow I feel it's unnatural for me to be driving my whole life around. Makes sense driving to get to a far away place or to my workplace (though public transport if available best) but if I should drive to a place for my daily needs like to take a walk or to just to buy a loaf of bread, butter and salt, doesn't make much sense for me. We were born two legged not four wheeled...

[KatieKennedy]

I live in the Heights near Heights Blvd., and it is a vary walkable neighborhood. If I want I can walk to a grocery store, bank, drug store, restaurants, etc. I take my car most of the time. Last night my husband and I walked from our house to 19th street to get frozen yogurt. Lots of other folks were walking as well. Look for a townhouse in the Heights.

[aneev]

Thanks, I'll explore the area.

[Bike4Life]

Originally Posted by rockinar

Might be tough to get a townhome with a yard in the city for $2,500 a month. Not in a safe area at least. On top of that, this is Houston. Nobody walks anywhere unless you really love to exercise or like to get robbed. All you will see in the city is endless cars. You would see more people out in the suburbs walking than the city. In the city the sidewalks are bad, the smog is bad, etc. It does not make a good place for exercise. Most in the city go to Memorial Park to do their walking.

You would get more for you money out in the sleepy suburbs of The Woodlands, Sugarland, Katy, etc.

Montrose and The Woodlands are polar opposites of each other. Also note that Montrose is a large gay community. So if seeing two guys hugging on each other at the grocery store or a restaurant offends you, you might want to find another area.

Anywhere in the city is going to be more expensive. I'm guessing by you name, you may be Indian? If so, there's large indian comminuties around Houston. Montrose is not one of them.

I must respectfully disagree with this exaggerated statement.

People do walk and ride bicycles around here. There are more and more mixed development that makes it more walkable in urban areas like Rice Village, Midtown, and even Sugar Land Town Center. His/Her monthly budget, desirability, and acceptance of diversity is well acceptable within the urban area. The individual already pointed out that is not interested in the suburbs. Prior postings coming from NY & NJ tend like urban areas.

[Dirt McGirt]

IMO the right areas of Houston are a lot more walkable and safe then some on this thread are indicating. I live in blvd oaks bordering Montrose, Rice U, and the museums. There are a dozen or so restaurants and bars we'll walk to, walk to get coffee, walk to the zoo, hermann park, or museums, etc. The area is safe. Not immune to crime, but you're very unlikely to have an altercation while outside. Most of the crime is car or home break-ins when no one is around. And there are areas more walkable than where I am at.

I have also lived in Manhattan and parts of NJ directly across the river from Manhattan. Houston is neither of those areas for walkability. The biggest difference is with non-existent mass transit in Houston, everyone still needs a car, hence you can't develop a large area of walkability since cars will always get used for anything beyond equiv 1 subway stop in nyc transit terms.

For walkability, IMO only certain inner-loop areas are really relevant. Sugar land or the Woodlands are less walkable then living in Edison or Whiteplains for comparison - it's possible if you intentionally live right in the town center, but they are very much suburban. Within neighboorhoods walkability will also vary a lot. In Montrose if you live a few blocks from HEB or whole foods you can walk for groceries. There are other areas of Montrose you couldn't walk to the grocery store if it was twice as close.

Personally I really like the combination of being able to walk to many places in Houston yet still have a yard, pool, etc. That is actually not easy to do in the Northeast.

[Yn0hTnA]

Originally Posted by rockinar

On top of that, this is Houston. Nobody walks anywhere unless you really love to exercise or like to get robbed. All you will see in the city is endless cars. You would see more people out in the suburbs walking than the city. In the city the sidewalks are bad, the smog is bad, etc. It does not make a good place for exercise. Most in the city go to Memorial Park to do their walking.

You would get more for you money out in the sleepy suburbs of The Woodlands, Sugarland, Katy, etc.

Montrose and The Woodlands are polar opposites of each other. Also note that Montrose is a large gay community. So if seeing two guys hugging on each other at the grocery store or a restaurant offends you, you might want to find another area.

Anywhere in the city is going to be more expensive. I'm guessing by you name, you may be Indian? If so, there's large indian comminuties around Houston. Montrose is not one of them.

The Inner Loop of Houston has lots of people walking for none of the reasons you describe, and it wont be endless rows of cars there either. The fact that you said more people are out walking in the suburbs, than in the city, especially considering areas like Heights and Montrose, further proves that you don't know what you are talking about.

The OP is from New Jersey, he won't be offended by the gays. And neither are most people in Houston, many suburbs, for the matter.

Originally Posted by kaelti12

Houston isn't very walkable, not for everyday things anyway. Also more often then not its either very humid and hot, or raining. Not the most pleasant to walk around in.

Places like Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong all rival, or even surpass, NYC in terms of pedestrian activity, and walk-ability, and all have the same humid, hot and rainy climate as Houston.

On the other hand, Chicago, NYC, etc can get quite cold in the winter, with snow, and that doesn't deter pedestrian activity in those cities either.

Originally Posted by Dirt McGirt

IMO the right areas of Houston are a lot more walkable and safe then some on this thread are indicating. I live in blvd oaks bordering Montrose, Rice U, and the museums. There are a dozen or so restaurants and bars we'll walk to, walk to get coffee, walk to the zoo, hermann park, or museums, etc. The area is safe. Not immune to crime, but you're very unlikely to have an altercation while outside. Most of the crime is car or home break-ins when no one is around. And there are areas more walkable than where I am at.

I have also lived in Manhattan and parts of NJ directly across the river from Manhattan. Houston is neither of those areas for walkability. The biggest difference is with non-existent mass transit in Houston, everyone still needs a car, hence you can't develop a large area of walkability since cars will always get used for anything beyond equiv 1 subway stop in nyc transit terms.

For walkability, IMO only certain inner-loop areas are really relevant. Sugar land or the Woodlands are less walkable then living in Edison or Whiteplains for comparison - it's possible if you intentionally live right in the town center, but they are very much suburban. Within neighboorhoods walkability will also vary a lot. In Montrose if you live a few blocks from HEB or whole foods you can walk for groceries. There are other areas of Montrose you couldn't walk to the grocery store if it was twice as close.

Personally I really like the combination of being able to walk to many places in Houston yet still have a yard, pool, etc. That is actually not easy to do in the Northeast.

There is mass transit; in the form of light rail. Expansions are due later this month. However, the light rail functions more like what would be a tram in European cities; it is an intra-urban connector, designed to connect areas of activity within Houston's urban core. The real commuter rail and rapid transit systems are what has yet to be built, but the Park and Ride Bus system is doing all it can to fill the role of such systems. Houston also has the Metro Bus system going. So no, mass transit is not entirely non-existent.