Sign in with Facebook
2.5 Stars - 25 Opinions
A NEARBY SHOLE FOODS MARKET
Downtown Houston
The Williams Tower
Forbidden City in Katy,TX
Is it possible to live in Houston on 1000 dollars a month? Also, how is the transportation in the city? Is it reliable, efficient? Thanks.
Daniel True
danieltrue@vtmail.com
#1. $1000/month for room and board? Gee, I think you still can, if you're not picky about where you live or if you're only in an efficiency. Having a roommate sure would make this easier. And I'm not even talking about any other expenses (like utilities which may or may not be included, taxes, etc.).
Honestly, I wouldn't even try, but I've been bourgeous for too long ;-)
#2. Public transportation is a problem in Houston (indeed, in every city in Texas). The light rail system is nice, but doesn't go too many places, and otherwise you have the bus system, which is slow and cumbersome. You will note that anyone in Houston with any money - from big businessman to "undocumented" immigrant - drives a car. A number of places are simply not reachable except by car.
If you are planning to move to Houston and live without a car, I would highly encourage to deeply investigate where you would live, what services are in walking distance, and how you will get to work. You might be able to get away with this in the Montrose area, for example...but I don't know if you could get a rent for $1,000, much less have anything left over for food, etc...
Bill
There are still some apartments to be had for under $400 if you are not too picky. Almost all of them are going to be located outside the 610 loop and more beyond Beltway 8. They may ask for a 1 time deposit equaling one month up front (in addition to your normal rent payment), so you should keep that in mind when budgeting for your move. A number of places have specials that wave certain fees/first month rent, etc. so you should check around. You might also look around for a roommate.
Public transportation is getting better here, but it still has a long ways to go. A number of the large apartment complexes have bus pickups close to them, but it may not be a bus going to where you want to go. When I first moved down to Houston about 10 years ago I was on a very limited budget. My biggest expenses were my apartment, my car, my car insurance, and food. If you can get by without a car you will cut back on your expenses considerably, but you will also spend an extra hour or two a day navigating the mass transit system (perhaps on top of your actual commute time).
When picking a place to stay I would check the price, where it is in location to the bus/rail lines http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/ and how close it is to your work. You'll then need to do some math and see if you are comfortable with what $1000 will buy you a month.
Houston features a wide variety of pollen and mold spores (the latter often found in the air conditioning ducts that made this place, such as it is, what it is today). West Nile Virus has also recently showed up. No doubt at least some of these pathogens could be cultured by a competent microbiologist or botanical professional.
Houston's nightlife changes regularly, new bars and lounges open every week, and the crowd changes just as often, it's hard to keep up with, and the main concern is "How's the crowd?"
A nice quiet place for a great glass of wine is The Wine Bucket, low music, no pick up crowd, this place has an extensive wine menu, as they should, it's all they serve!! dress nice
You expect to pay a bit more for a really good piece of steak and this restaurant certainly doesn't disappoint. The wait is sometimes long if you show right at 7pm, but they do take reservations.
We told them we were there for a special occasion last time, so they placed us in what looked to be the wine room. It seemed to separate from the rest of the restaurant and had shelves and shelves of wine on all walls.
This is the sort of restaurant where you can actually pick out the piece of meat before they even cook it. I've never actually done it because I'm not a huge red meat person, so I wouldn't know what's good. But its fun for some people. The steak is delicious and always comes out just how you ordered it.
The salad bar is really good and they have great bread.
Houston's Visitor Center is amazing! You can get enough pamphlets on what Houston offers you to last a year and I actually LIVE here!
It is inside the historic City Hall (NOT the annex) in Downtown. Once you walk in you will see two guards. I just asked them for the Visitors Center. They didn't check my purse or anything. In most Houston buildings you will go through a metal detector and have your purse/bag checked. Once inside the center is on the left. There is also a side entrance. When you walk in you'll inevitably notice the statue of....Sam Houston!
Inside you will see small versions of many of the main sights. You'll see the replicas of the Toyota Center, George R. Brown Convention Center and many other buildings that we're proud to have constructed.
I'm sure you'll be greeted right away by one of the volunteers. I just wanted to look around but she was bound and determined to help me find something to look at. After telling her I was a teacher I got every museum pamplet there was :)
I also watched the 10-minute video in a small theater setting about Houston and all his has to offer with commentary by George Forman, native Houstonian. It was really good I thought.
There are also wonderful souvenirs if you're here on a visit!
My favorite part? The cardboard, real-life size replica of Yao Ming. Great photo opportunity!
Texas was not always part of the Union. The history regarding it's independence from Mexico, becoming a Republic (as recognised by the US, Britain and many other countries), and then becoming the 28th State of the US is definately worth finding out about.
The San Jacinto Battleground and Monument offers an excellent introduction into that history. It is also the place which witnessed the birth of the Republic of Texas back in April 1836.
The monument shown here houses a museum with an exhibition, gift shop and short film presentation. You can also take the elevator to the top and see great views of the shipping canal and towards Downtown Houston on a clear day.
More information on this can be found in the website below.
More photos in my travelogues.
Latest Houston hotel reviews
Sponsored Links
We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
Address: 15385 Katy Freeway, I-10, (formerly "Baymont Inn & Suites"), Houston, Texas, 77094, United States
Comments