Southside, Pearland, Sugar Land? (Houston, The Woodlands: crime, house, neighborhoods)

[pa2tx]

My wife and I are looking to buy a house in the next 3-6 months and would like some advice on where to look. We are in our early 30s and my wife is pregnant with twins (that's enough for us, no more kids in the future!). Therefore decent schools are important.

Looking for a 3 bedroom house, anything built after 1950 will be new to us since we're from Philly. A quiet neighborhood with a diverse population is a must! We are fine with being inside the city or the loop, or way out in the suburbs. Just not anywhere conservative as we want a likeminded community.

Our budget is $400-550k, but we're hoping to stay on the lower side if possible. My wife will be working in the Texas Medical Center area. I'm still looking at jobs and have narrowed it down to one in TMC or in Braeswood Place. My wife's sister recently moved to Greater/Ost South Union and she's really close to her, and also a friend of mine, so being nearby would be a huge plus.

We would like somewhere aesthetically appealing, ie. woodsy streets with plenty of pines, or palm trees, just not one of those hollow developments built 5 mins ago (no offense).

My wife is Black so we wanna make sure we live somewhere she won't experience too much racism. A neighborhood with a decent Black population would be a serious plus.

We're looking at the southside of Houston, places such as Golfcrest, Sunnyside, and Westbury. Are these nice places to live? We also like parts of Pearland and Sugar Land but they seem a bit too new as a whole. Anywhere we should avoid? We're not well versed in Houston's neighborhoods so the difference between southeast and southwest, for example, is meaningless to us. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these areas, and any others you think we'd be interested in. Thanks!

[MacInTx]

I've lived in this area most of my life, but with views like yours, I have nothing to offer.

[pa2tx]

Originally Posted by MacInTx

I've lived in this area most of my life, but with views like yours, I have nothing to offer.

Sheesh. Are you seriously being that petty? The only "views" I expressed in the entire post is that I'm liberal and want to live in a liberal area. If you don't wanna offer advice to liberals... fine. But why make a pointless post just to insult me? Can't you just let other people hold their views that don't affect you?

[arandomhuman9]

Sorry you're being insulted, best to just ignore people like that.

I grew up in Houston, though I lived in LA for over a decade and now I'm in New Jersey. Southeast Houston as a whole is pretty dangerous, and Golfcrest isn't so great either. You wanna look towards the Southwest for (relatively) older homes in decent neighborhoods. Sugar Land and most of Pearland are very new and there's not much in the way of trees, though they have great schools and are well within your budget so I'd suggest taking a look at them anyway. Hope you find your way.

[pa2tx]

[Mod cut: orphaned]

We don't wanna live somewhere with people who have fundamentally different values than us. We've experienced our fair share of such places and aren't interested in doing it again. We want a liberal area and a non-racist area. I never said anything about conservatives being racist. It's a online post about moving to a new city; not a novel. There's no deeper meaning. Frankly the word snowflake seems to describe your reaction quite well.

[MacInTx]

Originally Posted by pa2tx

My wife and I are looking to buy a house in the next 3-6 months and would like some advice on where to look. We are in our early 30s and my wife is pregnant with twins (that's enough for us, no more kids in the future!). Therefore decent schools are important.

Looking for a 3 bedroom house, anything built after 1950 will be new to us since we're from Philly. A quiet neighborhood with a diverse population is a must! We are fine with being inside the city or the loop, or way out in the suburbs. Just not anywhere conservative as we want a likeminded community.

Our budget is $400-550k, but we're hoping to stay on the lower side if possible. My wife will be working in the Texas Medical Center area. I'm still looking at jobs and have narrowed it down to one in TMC or in Braeswood Place. My wife's sister recently moved to Greater/Ost South Union and she's really close to her, and also a friend of mine, so being nearby would be a huge plus.

We would like somewhere aesthetically appealing, ie. woodsy streets with plenty of pines, or palm trees, just not one of those hollow developments built 5 mins ago (no offense).

My wife is Black so we wanna make sure we live somewhere she won't experience too much racism. A neighborhood with a decent Black population would be a serious plus.

We're looking at the southside of Houston, places such as Golfcrest, Sunnyside, and Westbury. Are these nice places to live? We also like parts of Pearland and Sugar Land but they seem a bit too new as a whole. Anywhere we should avoid? We're not well versed in Houston's neighborhoods so the difference between southeast and southwest, for example, is meaningless to us. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these areas, and any others you think we'd be interested in. Thanks!

I live in Friendswood. We moved here for the decent schools. My neighbors across the street are black. They've lived here since the 1960's. After the lady died, my wife adopted the husband. We make sure he has a place to go for holiday meals. My backyard neighbors are a white man with an Hispanic wife and an Hispanic man with a white wife. Their kids grew up with my kids.

There were several "Trump" signs in the yards on my street this past fall. You probably don't want to look at Friendswood. Too "racist".

[LocalPlanner]

Pearland is the default option for folks looking for decent housing and well-reputed schools while working in the TMC. The city as a whole is among the most ethnically diverse in the entire nation, and I'm sure politically it's quite mixed (though you may not find a neighborhood that's overwhelmingly liberal). The eastern side of the city has somewhat older homes (but still post-1950) and is thus more well-treed, but is also the less diverse part of town (more Anglo and conservative). Still, you should definitely check it out.

You might also look in the Braeswood / Westbury / Willowbend area, just outside the 610 Loop, but you have to be very careful about flood history there. Those with more knowledge than I have can fill you in on the reputations of the schools. Homes there will be mostly 1950s-1960s unless they've been rebuilt (often because of flooding).

[AcresHomes44]

Riverside Terrace would fit the bill. It's along 288 & north of the TMC, close to TSU & UH. Some people say it's a part of 3rd Ward (which I understand), but others label it independent of 3rd Ward. Either way, I think you'll be alright here. Sunnyside isn't as bad as it used to be, but crime is still an issue there so you can cross Sunnyside off that list.

SW Houston=Texas Hwy 6 to US 90. Sharpstown, Alief are two recognizable areas in SW Houston. 59/69 connect NE to SW Houston.
SE Houston=Best way to describe SE Houston is a triangle. You have 288, 45 and the Sam Houston tollway that make up the triangle. 610 separates OST/South Union area from the hoods of South Park, Sunnyside & South Acres/Crestmont Park.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by pa2tx

We don't wanna live somewhere with people who have fundamentally different values than us. We've experienced our fair share of such places and aren't interested in doing it again. We want a liberal area and a non-racist area. I never said anything about conservatives being racist. It's a online post about moving to a new city; not a novel. There's no deeper meaning. Frankly the word snowflake seems to describe your reaction quite well.

I'm sorry your post keeps getting derailed and I have reported one of the posts. No need to engage.

One thing to note is that it is harder to label the southern part of Houston - because there is a separate city called SOUTHSIDE PLACE and a separate city called SOUTH HOUSTON!

Westbury, Golfcrest and Sunnyside - I think - will be very different. Westbury will have the most diversity - economically and ethnically - and probably the most expensive. Golfcrest is - I think - heavily Latino. (Golfcrest Elementary, for example, is 95% Hispanic.)

All three of these areas will be more liberal than Pearland or Sugar Land - but I think Pearland and Sugar Land will also have a reasonable degree of diversity - both in ethnic groups and in political opinions - much more so than The Woodlands, for example!

There are also some beautiful neighborhoods located close to TSU and UH. The home values tend to be better than you might think. The Parkwood neighborhood (off of Scott St. - 77021 I think) is stunningly beautiful. The larger area has a lot of distress so schools art not stellar - which keeps the price more affordable than one would think!

Good luck! (NOTE: The Parkwood neighborhood is right next to Riverside Terrace - as mentioned by AcresHomes44 - definitely worth a look!)

[pa2tx]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful feedback! Any thoughts on the school situation in the city of Houston? That's confusing me a bit. There's the zoned public schools and also nicer public schools...?