<p>I have no idea about Houston whatsoever. The only people I know who lived there were in their 40s at the time, Exxon execs, and it was awhile ago.</p>
<p>D may be there for her first job after college. What are the safe/dangerous/young grad neighborhoods? Is there public transportation or will she need a car? Haha, I don’t even know what to ask!</p>
<p>Rice University is in the middle of Houston. I have friends who live around there and around the Galleria. There are a lot of young professionals in DD’s apartment complex which is really close to the medical center. I am not familiar enough to answer other questions, but you might want to post the question in the Rice forum if you don’t get answers here.</p>
<p>I live in Houston. Where she chooses to live depends on job location. For example, living near the medical center can be pointless if you’re employed across town.</p>
<p>I think that a car in Houston falls pretty much into the necessity category for a college graduate with a job. She may find that public transportation works from home to job - and she may find it that it just doesn’t. Again, it depends on job location and then whether or not she lives near her employment. The ideal situation would be to have a car that she doesn’t need to use on a daily basis.</p>
<p>Houston has nice locations scattered everywhere throughout the city. Your daughter should have no problem finding a place to live in which she feels comfortable and that she really likes.</p>
<p>I agree with ignatius. The first question to be answered is what part of town will she be working in. Houston is a very large city (think LA), and she’ll want to have a reasonable commute. A car is pretty essential in Houston. While some parts of town can be accessed with the light rail, it’s reach is pretty limited right now. Trust me. She will definitely want a car.</p>
<p>There are many nice areas of Houston and there seems to be a lot of nice new apartment complexes springing up all over, so she’ll have lots of options. If, by chance, the job is downtown, some nice safe areas are close to Rice University, Upper Kirby, West University area, 3 new apartment complexes near Greenway Plaza (around Richmond/Weslayan), and many more central locations. A lot of 20-somethings have moved to the mid-town area and there are a lot of new options there too, but it’s still pretty transitional, and I understand there have been a fair number of car break-ins recently.</p>
<p>I don’t know where she’s moving from, but Houston has pretty much anything she will want – lots of shopping, great museums, national sports teams, friendly people, low cost of living, and many, many dining options in all price ranges and ethnicities. Make sure she checks out Central Market for grocery shopping. Even my 21-year old son loves this store. And they have bands playing on weekends out on the patio and you can buy a fresh-grilled burger and sit and enjoy.</p>
<p>Congratulations to her on getting a job! Let us know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>She will need a reliable affordable car with the good AC. No one thinks twice about driving across Houston for an activity/function in the burbs-the distance can be over 30 miles and take an hour+ to get there. It is a giant hassle to get rides from friends and to carpool.</p>