Midtown vs. Montrose vs. Village vs. Upper Kirby (Houston, Elgin: houses, neighborhood)

[houstonfan]

Why dont' you make an apt hunting trip to Houston? Hire an apt locator, they are of no cost to you and they know the areas well. Nobody can match the perfect hood for you, you'd have to feel it for yourself. We can describe things about each hood but it's the 'je ne sais quoi' of each that makes it ideal for one person and not the next. ie, Most of my tx friends can't believe i'd choose to move to houston over dallas, but i felt there's something sterile about dallas, can't put my finger on it. HOwever, demographically and statisttically speaking, the 2 are almost identical.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by madmartigan8

Wow, ya'll have been super helpful.

Here's what it sounds like to me... Montrose > Upper Kirby > Midtown > Rice Village. This is mostly due to the "character" of the respective neighborhoods. And each has pockets of walkability with restaurants/bars/coffee shops/etc. Of course this is all dependent on my price range. Does that sound right?

The "character" of the neighborhoods ya'll speak of... how would you describe the character of each? My ideal atmosphere (when I'm not busy with law school) is more of a bar/lounge scene as opposed to the club scene, I prefer an intelligent non-materialistic crowd, but I'm also in no rush to settle down so I wouldn't really enjoy an up-tight settled-down neighborhood.

Do any of these neighborhoods have bigger pockets of walkability and the atmosphere I'm looking for, in relation to the others?

Rice Village is near Rice University (strong science and economics focus)and Montrose is near St. Thomas University (strong art and liberal arts). Montrose has bars and clubs with a more artsy feel and Rice Village just has bars. The Village certainly has a more scholarly and academic atmosphere to it, as well as upscale because it is situated in an area with much affluence. The Village area is certainly more family oriented overall.

[madmartigan8]

Originally Posted by houstonfan

Why dont' you make an apt hunting trip to Houston? Hire an apt locator, they are of no cost to you and they know the areas well. Nobody can match the perfect hood for you, you'd have to feel it for yourself. We can describe things about each hood but it's the 'je ne sais quoi' of each that makes it ideal for one person and not the next. ie, Most of my tx friends can't believe i'd choose to move to houston over dallas, but i felt there's something sterile about dallas, can't put my finger on it. HOwever, demographically and statisttically speaking, the 2 are almost identical.

I am going to come down and visit for a few days and apt hunt.

I'm just trying to gain perspective from ya'll to narrow the range of my search and gain perspective outside of the short exposure I will have when I make my decision.

I agree about Dallas. It seems lifeless compared to Houston, IMO.

[vertigo5110]

MONTROSE!

It's VERY Houston. It's such a hard thing to describe so, you'll have to come and see for yourself.

[houstonfan]

Originally Posted by madmartigan8

I'm just trying to gain perspective from ya'll to narrow the range of my search and gain perspective outside of the short exposure I will have when I make my decision.

.

I think you did your research well and all 4 you picked are great and you'd be happy in any of those 4, given that you're on the right blocks.
I just got back from hanging out in UK and I was thinking of your post while I was there. I was around W.AlabamaxKirby and I really think you'd like UK. Depending on what university you attend, your peers may or may not be concentrated there however, if that makes any difference to you. Good thing about renting is that it's easy to change up if you have regrets.

[astrohip]

I know these areas well, having lived in & around them my entire adult life. While I'm 50+, my son is at UH Law. Which law school will you be attending?

I would recommend Montrose or Midtown. Both are active areas, lots of 20/30 yr old people, students, young professionals, etc. I don't think Upper Kirby or the Village will be what you want. They are nice places to live, but they aren't "neighborhoods". In the social, organic sense.

Good luck!

[madmartigan8]

Originally Posted by astrohip

I know these areas well, having lived in & around them my entire adult life. While I'm 50+, my son is at UH Law. Which law school will you be attending?

I would recommend Montrose or Midtown. Both are active areas, lots of 20/30 yr old people, students, young professionals, etc. I don't think Upper Kirby or the Village will be what you want. They are nice places to live, but they aren't "neighborhoods". In the social, organic sense.

Good luck!

I'm going to UH Law as well. And thanks for the input. Do you know where most UH Law live? Not that it matters too much to me tho.

[madmartigan8]

Thanks again for everyone's input. I'm feeling much more comfortable with my upcoming trip to apartment hunt.

I'm now wondering... If each neighborhood is block sensitive, will I be able to explore the neighborhoods to find the right blocks in a day or two? Or will it be too much ground to cover? Or... are there any places in particular in each neighborhood I should visit?

Also, anyone want to take a shot at characterizing Montrose, Midtown, and Upper Kirby? So far it seems like Montrose and Midtown are more 20 & 30 somethings and Midtown is more professional.

[Mr. Krinkle]

I would say Midtown is a young professional environment. Montrose is a mixture of everything from students, artists, professionals, families, to cokeheads.

Midtown - Check out the area between Louisiana, I-45, Elgin, and Bagby. There is more to midtown than that, but that area is the most populated area.

Montrose - Montrose is a farily big area. Just take a stroll along Westheimer and the St. Thomas area.

[bamba_boy]

Montrose is the most varied, most fun, and the most full of the Non-big-clubs, more intimate little bars for romance or intellectual discourse, more diversity of people. Scott Gersner's Jazz Bar is sort of big but a great site for jazz, rnb, Salsa (free lesson nights too). Place to go if you enjoy meeting well-educated latin and chocolate ladies, not just drunken white sorority girls (more the norm on Richmond Strip and other Galleria area places). Midtown is not that much different but it is newer, not quite as developed, perhaps more Manhattan-like only in that there are more dense multi-story buildings and apts (nothing close to true Manhattan). Upper Kirby has the Big Easy Lounge, my fave , small place with great blues , RandB, and zydeco bands, a really diversity in prices from way over $900 to dumps around $700 (btw, even in Houston, inside the west loop you're not getting much for $900!). Upper Kirby sort of runs into Rice Village on it's way to Montrose and you have some nice happenings in the U. open to the public. The Village itself is sort of overpriced shopping h*ll to me but you may like it, esp if you're from Manhattan used to 5th Ave prices! Some nice pubs like Ginger Man, there however. Lots and Lots of young people.

One thing to remember, Upper Kirby, Rice Village, Midtown, and Montrose are all contiguous, have fuzzy boundaries, and the whole conurbation is probably less than 5 miles by 5 miles, so don't get hung up on the labels. Just find a cool, affordable apartment in any of them within walking distance of an acceptable pub (to avoid DUI's :-) and you'll be fine, and you can enjoy the wonders of them all.

Don't forget that the Museum District and Hermann Park are just south of this area too, and while not much pub/bar-culture, have some great attractions and events peopled by interesting attractive folk. Lots of nurses and med-students, curator-types, etc. Not quite as much affordable housing, though. Lots of MDs and hospital administrators in $1MM houses and $0.5MM hi-rise condo units.