Neighborhood Guide
Binz lies between Hermann Park and downtown, bounded on the east by Almeda and on the west by South Main. Here there is low to moderate rent and a short commute to school, but a higher crime rate.
Bissonnet-Southampton lies between the north edge of campus and the Southwest Freeway. There are a few small apartment complexes here, plus a fair number of duplexes and garage apartments. Since it’s right next to campus and the neighborhood is nice, rents are often high.
Montrose is a colorful neighborhood with large arty/Bohemian, Hispanic, and gay and lesbian populations. Nightlife, restaurants, and museums abound. The neighborhood begins one mile north of campus and is roughly bounded by Brazos on the east, SW Fwy on the south, Greenbriar on the west, and Allen Parkway on the north. There are some cool apartments and houses to be found, but quality and cost vary. In Montrose, it is customary to advertise a vacancy by merely placing a sign on your front lawn. It pays to drive around and collect the phone numbers of interesting-looking places. Efficiencies and one-bedroom apartments start at $500/month, and two-bedroom around $700 or more.
The Medical Center lies immediately east, southeast, and south of Rice. Many older apartments can be found to the south. Classified ads tend to overuse this classification, sometimes including apartments in areas as far away as Greenway or Montrose. This area can be very expensive.
Museum District is the small neighborhood right around the Museum of Fine Arts, near Montrose and Bissonnet. Rents in this area are usually high, but there are a couple of inexpensive apartment buildings and some garage apartments. Advertising here also often just consists of a sign on the lawn.
West University is the upscale neighborhood west of campus. There are few apartment complexes and most houses are out of the student price range. Your best bet is to look for a garage apartment if you’re renting alone, or get a group together and find a house, but don’t expect to find such a place for under $1000.
The Reliant Stadium/Astrodome area has many condos, townhouses, and apartments. Some are more run-down than others. Street life in this area can get a bit unpalatable, so be especially sure here to get a feel for what a given neighborhood is like both during the day and at night. Additionally, traffic jams occur before and after a well-attended event in Reliant Stadium.
If you don’t mind commuting, other neighborhoods that aren’t too far away are:
Bellaire is a nice community four miles west of campus, on the far side of West U, and much more middle-middle class. Safe and pleasant, there are many comfortable homes to be rented here. But beware: as in West U, many homeowners are now selling their houses to people who raze the structures and build tract mansions; you might find yourself booted out when your lease expires.
The Galleria is the area near the huge mall of the same name, around the intersection of West Loop and Westheimer. Many upscale places are to be found here, but you’d better love rush-hour traffic.
Greenway is the area around the Greenway Plaza, near the intersection of SW Freeway and Buffalo Speedway. There are some affordable large complexes in the area.
The Heights is a pleasant older neighborhood inside the loop, northwest of downtown and north of Montrose with low rents. There are many restored wooden frame houses. The neighborhood is mostly blue-collar with an increasingly large upper-middle class and arty population. Its southern edge is Memorial Drive, about four miles north of campus.
River Oaks is Houston’s home of the rich and famous and lies west of Montrose, north of Greenway and east of the Galleria neighborhoods. Mostly mansions here, but there are some pricey apartments available around the fringes.