The Newer Suburbs Are Pretty Nice
-
6/18/2021
Wow! So much negativity! I’ll try to answer why you are ‘baffled’ that so many outsiders want to move here. From my perspective. But first let me address some of your other well-written but completely inaccurate comments.
Yes, public transportation here is worse that LA. Both LA and Houston are cities that spread horizontally, and street cars and subways don’t make sense like they do in Boston or NYC. FYI - There are no trains near LAX airport either. Have you ever stood in 9 degree freezing sleet for 30 minutes, waiting for a streetcar? I have. Personally, I prefer my private heated/air-conditioned car!
You are correct about one thing -- I’ve lived in Boston and Los Angeles for more than 10 years in each of those cities, and yes, there are more bad drivers here. A greater percentage of stupid, rude, selfish drivers who speed or cut you off or pull out in front of you from a side road at the last moment. Idiots. Just something you have to deal with and be alert for.
Yes, its hot and humid in Houston in the summer months. But no walkable areas here? Not true. There are some nice walkable areas here. University Place, Greater Heights, the Museum District. There are many lovely parks such as Hermann Park in the city and many in the suburbs, such as Oyster Creek Park in Sugar Land. You need to get out more!
“Once you drive 20 minutes from downtown, it’s unbelievably backwards.” Huh? Cinco Ranch, The Heights and West University neighborhoods are not unbelievably backwards. Those areas have extremely low crime rates, too. Yes, Houston has a high number of shootings and murders, but it seems that the great majority of these happen in one or two of the very poor neighborhoods. You wouldn’t move to Chicago’s South Side, so in Houston, don’t live in the Sunnyside neighborhood.
“Anti-black, and anti-gay sentiments are commonplace in the shiny and new suburbs, like Alvin, Kingwood, Tomball, Deer Park, and Conroe.” Really? First, I would hardly call Tomball and Deer Park “shiny and new”. They are older, lower-income somewhat tired and run-down suburbs and pretty far away from Houston proper. Second, what are you basing your comment on? Tomball and Deer Park are almost 60 miles apart. Did you live in either area? Here’s a tip: You will find greater social integration in the real, true newer suburbs – Katy, Sugar Land, Stafford, Missouri City. I live in Sugar Land. Two doors down lives a nurse and his family from Nigeria, originally. Across the street is a real estate agent of Chinese heritage. Next door is a CPA from India. We all get along just fine, thanks. Again – you need to get out more.
Anyway. Why do outsiders want to move here? I previously lived in the Boston area and the Los Angeles area and we moved here from LA three years ago. You know what you find in front of your $750,000 condo in downtown LA? Trash, homeless people, drug needles and feces littering the sidewalk. Bad! Ok, maybe you don’t want to live in downtown LA. You want a nice home for you and your spouse and your two kids, safe neighborhood, good schools, convenient shopping. So you look at a home in the LA suburb of Torrance. Nice house, but nothing special. 3,000 sq. ft. Price: $1,600,000! And with a big down payment, you can get your monthly mortgage down to $5,800 a month! Who can afford that? Ok, what about living in Boston, with its great public transportation? When I was a student at BU thirty years ago, I lived in a run-down apartment for $300 a month on St. Botolph Street. It was a bad neighborhood. But now St. Botolph Street is gentrified. The old brick buildings have been converted into lovely condos. A 2 bedroom condo on St. Botolph Street is on the market now (summer 2021). 1,500 square feet, for $1,500,000! You want to pay $4,000 a month for a lousy 1,500 square feet and standing in the freezing sleet every winter waiting for the stupid streetcar to come? Not me. Ok – how about a suburb of Boston… like Newton. Now you can get your family’s home – nothing special -- for only $1,000,000! Can you afford that? And of course you will need a car! Just like LA or Houston. Now let’s turn to an equivalent suburb in the Houston area -- Sugar Land! You can buy a very nice 3,000 sq. foot home for $400,000! A very nice home on a safe, quiet street. With good schools, and a nearby HEB store! Your monthly mortgage is just $1,000. Do the math: For the same house in a similar neighborhood, it’s $1,000 a month vs. $4,000 to $6,000 a month! And that is why people move here – jobs, more jobs, safe neighborhoods. At an affordable price! They don’t have HEB in Boston or LA, btw. Thanks for letting me reply to some of your comments.
rachael | Sugar Land, TX