What are the best suburbs of Houston?

[Porsha_Roy]

Hi!
I was wondering what some of the best areas outside of the city center are to live in? I would like to live closer to the water, but not pay a ton in rent or have to deal with traffic all the time.
Also, what are locals opinion on Galveston?

[Ross_Gilham]

Katy/cinco(west side), Cypress (northwest), Tomball and Woodlands to the (north), are all very nice suburbs. Galveston is easily the worst beach in America, brown muddy water, trailer trash locals, nasty seaweed and jelly fish everywhere. There is no where near Houston that has good beaches, you'd have to go toward Courpus Christi to find enjoyable beaches.

[John_Gorman]

The suburbs on the southeast side (near Clear Lake) are pretty nice if being near the water is a big plus for you. A bit further north (near La Porte) is less nice, much more industrial. Further south (near Texas City) is also very industrial.
Traffic in the suburbs is pretty bad, especially if you're commuting to the city. In fact, I find that traffic on surface streets near the center of the city is easier to deal with than ones out in the suburbs, and the freeways can be brutal to deal with sometimes if you're commuting from the suburbs (I have a reverse commute from the city to the suburbs and it's a piece of cake).
Galveston has some charm to it in the downtown area, but the beach is not nice at all by other beaches' standards, tourists are annoying, and there aren't many jobs (and you'd have to be crazy to commute to Houston from there).

[Desmond_Ojeda]

Closer to the water the best towns are Sugar land, pearland and friendswood. Steer clear of Pasadena. Also the Clearlake area is nice. As far as traffic is concerned, you're screwed no matter what part of town you live, Houston's traffic is terrible all over. Galveston is fun to visit but I'd never live there.

[Kyle_Charles_Brewer]

I'll give a differing opinion here on Galveston, I think the city is great. The beach isn't that nice, but its better than no beach at all. The thing I like best about Galveston is the historic neighborhoods and character of the town. The area on the east end of the island is filled with reasonably-priced victorian homes and architecture. The town is known for being a bit rough around the edges, and the school district is not good if you have children.

Honestly, I would steer clear of the suburbs of Houston (especially Cypress and Katy) due to the terrible commute into Houston and the endless seas of tract homes and strip centers.

[Porsha_Roy]

Thanks for everyone's answers. Very helpful.

I am a single professional female- is the consensus then to live more in the city center? Like Third Ward or Montrose or...?

Also if locals do want to go to the beach...then where do you go?

Is Houston worth moving to?

[Ron_Vutpakdi]

What are the most important things to you and where will you be working? The "best" suburb could end up being the worst for you if it's on the wrong side of town from work or recreation.

Also, by "close to the water" do you want saltwater or freshwater? If you are further north, there are freshwater options like Lake Houston or Lake Conroe.

For the beach, I prefer Surfside (due south of Houston) over Galveston (more SSE) since it is less crowded. Either way, the beach is only about an hour away without traffic.

[Porsha_Roy]

Ron-
I am just starting my search into the Houston area to make sure this is a city that I would want to move to.
I am a graphic designer. I haven't started looking for work there yet as I will not be moving until March.

I would like to be closer to salt water, or at least know which beaches are the best and be on the right side of the city to access it (if that makes sense), also close to daily shopping (grocery/ clothing stores/ ect)

Things that are important to me are beach access, parks, restaurants and night life (wine bars). An area where more single professions are (I don't want to be around a lot of kids). I'd like to be able to walk out of my door and have things happening around me.

[Ron_Vutpakdi]

Sounds like the Midtown, Montrose, and Galleria areas would be the best for you.

The Galleria area and right along Washington Avenue have the advantage of being close to Memorial Park while the Montrose and Midtown areas have the advantage of being close to Hermann Park. Midtown & Montrose would also be closer to the main rail line as well as downtown.

For nightlife and things outside of your door, Montrose, Midtown, and Galleria areas are probably the best shots. I'm more of a homebody, so please take my advice with a grain of salt. The area along Washington has nightlife as well.

Graphic Designer positions will be spread out all over town, but the heaviest concentrations probably will be center and west.

There are a fair number of apartments, condos, and townhouses right in the Galleria area. As long as you aren't in the residential home areas, there shouldn't be too many kids.

As long as you aren't on the North, far West, or Southeast side of town, access to beach access will be about the same (an hour) for most areas.

[Ross_Gilham]

As with any city there are good areas and bad areas. In Houston anything with "ward" in its name is usually very poor and high crime. Wouldn't recommend driving though if you can help it, and definitely no one wants to live there unless they have no other option.

[Fastball_Peterson]

Anywhere south of 1-10 but West of 59 and 288 but north of Holly Hall and east of the 610 West Loop not to forget the side of Bel Air Texas that is on the west side of the West Loop. As far as third work goes just stay on the west side of 288 and you're fine. Six Ward is also OK it along Washington on the west side of downtown.A void fifth Ward, first Ward, but the fourth Ward is not as bad.