Relocating for a new gig in Houston, but real estate and neighborhoods are all over the place. Budget is around 2M - we’re early 30s and have two young kids. Where are good places to live inside the loop? Coming from NY, so I’m glad we can get a bigger place for our dollar. We’ve been told about Heights, Montrose, West U. Decent public school would be nice to have as an option.

Just a general note…

There’s a Houston crime map. There’s flood maps from Harvey or other variations. Overlay these. Maybe also with school catchment areas. See what’s left.

You can go a long way with 2m in Houston. Depends a lot what you want. You’ll know already that interest rates suck and there’s a real threat of real estate tanking in the future nationally. Personally, I’d shoot closer to 1.25 and keep more powder dry. You still got lots of great options at that price point.

Bellaire - inside the loop portion is quite safe, clean and bike-able. Many parks too for kids.

Garden oaks , oak forest or the heights area.

Memorial area has great schools and it beautiful.

With your budget and having kids I would recommend West U as a top choice. Great beautiful neighborhoods similar to the suburbs for families and the area has a lot of family friendly restaurants and parks. Heights is a great neighborhood as well especially for younger parents but the neighborhoods aren’t as built out in terms of sidewalks if that’s important. I’m always having to walk in the street in my area. Heights is definitely where there is a lot of new development, restaurants, etc. so it’s a popular neighborhood.

All of the above, and please check on the flood plain maps, esp if you’re looking in Bellaire area. I think there’s meant to be an update to those maps soon so they’re more accurate.

River Oaks or West U

No one has mentioned Montrose - how is that area for young families?

One other great thing about West University and Southside place: exceptionally fast emergency response times. If you call 911 in West U or Southside place you can expect a first responder to be there in 2-3 minutes or less.

River Oaks and Bellaire are your best bets for inside the loop and public school. We live in River Oaks and our son attended RO elem and attended HISD G&T middle and high schools. He did very well, but will say this about HISD — it’s very very easy for a kid to get lost in the system. If you can afford private and are settled on being inside the loop then think about placing your kids in St. John’s as young as possible because it is very hard to get in as they get older. You might also want to consider the Memorial area — it is just outside the loop. Kinkaid is another good private k-12 option and is in the Memorial area.

West U w that budget . Woodlands if you want suburbs

West U / near Rice Blvd

Having lived all over Houston in the last 30 years I recommend Spring Branch (~1 mile west of 610 & north of I-10). Great location. Great schools (SBISD). Not a flood prone area. I personally would avoid homes that are in HISD

Museum District, West U, Rice Univ. area

Memorial. Eot

Also - not sure how much you value diversity, but it varies wildly from neighborhood to neighborhood.

I don’t mean this to sound disrespectful but I have to ask. How on earth is your budget $2M if you’re in your early 30s at Accenture?

Regardless, you’ll probably want West U if you want to be in the heart of the city.

Any of the Memorial villages or Bellaire are also good options if you’re willing to live a little outside the loop. Just make sure you’re not buying in a flood zone.

Hold their value or increase over time is: River Oaks, Tanglewood, The Villages, West U. Heights and Montrose are very mixed (no zoning in Houston) and so it can be hit or miss (ie$2M next to a tear down). Also street and road maintenance as well as sidewalk maintenance varies greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood. The first 4 mentioned above are nicely maintained.

Lots of good info on neighborhoods and public schools. But you should also consider if you are set on public school. Some people love the idea of public school but many in the $2M home price point opt for private school. If that is the case, it opens up a bit more optionality for location (e.g. Heights zoned to Love, Afton Oaks zones to St George, etc). I lived in the Heights for 10 years and recently moved to Garden Oaks for more land & bigger house. My kids have gone to private school the entire time. I’d say 70% of the kids in my neighborhood (zoned to GOMM) go to private schools.

East Downtown!! Get a bang for your buck and centrally located. The city is pouring tons of money into this area with a 5 year growth plan!

West U, Boulevard oaks/Southampton, Southside place

Hey OP, I am a realtor as well so feel free to DM for advice and market analysis