COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT’S THE SCOOP ON EASTWOOD? 
“I’m new to the site and researching Eastwood. Considering buying a lot or tear down and building. Currently own/live in a wonderful townhouse in Montrose, but have a growing family and we’re outgrowing a townhouse and can’t afford to buy what we need in Montrose. So, we’re looking in Eastwood, Third Ward, and other close-in neighborhoods that are more affordable. Anyone have suggestions on the ‘best’ residential streets/blocks in Eastwood? We’ve driven around a lot but I haven’t committed the streets to memory — there are a few with a median that are gorgeous and walkable with a stroller. Any info will help! Oh, and what about Idylwood as a place to live with a young family?” [Htown Convert, commenting on A Bayou-View Property Rises in Idylwood] Illustration: Lulu
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*PERSONALLY* I like 3rd ward better than Eastwood, but that’s just me. Obviously the more west in 3rd ward the better.
I was on the InTown Homes website getting a sense for what they’re charging for townhomes in “EaDo,” and I happened to see that they’re building a couple of bungalows on Lawson Street in Eastwood. I’m not sure if they have the inside track on what’s hot, but they might be on to something. If I were in your shoes, it’s at least worth exploring. My own townhome has dramatically shot up in value since InTown starting building in EaDo.
Bayou’s Edge.
If you value your children, your life, and your possessions, stay out of Third Ward (or any Ward for that matter) and look elsewhere.
Third Ward and Eastwood will be perfect for you and your family. I recommend going to Collector’s Firearms and buy yourself a few nice protective pieces and ammo. It’s the price of getting the most bang for the buck.
If you are going to move into any of the areas you listed, I would budget $15k – 25k/yr per child for private school. In up and coming neighborhoods, the schools are usually one of the last things to improve. For example, most of the schools in the Heights are still pretty bad (Havard being the notable exception) and the Heights have had a 20 year gentrification head start over the areas you listed.
I would suggest looking outside the loop/inside the beltway. Eastwood is a good neighborhood, but the whole industrial vibe just turns me off. It isn’t even like Montrose when it comes to walkability because there is virtually no retail. You could get a similar large home in Westbury or Maplewood for about the same price as Eastwood and have a more residential environment with lots of pretty trees and good schools depending on where you buy.
Please site administrator!! Ban ‘commonsense’. He is a TROLL!
Idylwood is great for young families, there are quite a few here. It is very different from Montrose, as noted, you won’t be walking to any great bars or restaurants any time soon.
Idylwood, in general, could be considered safer and quieter than much of the greater Eastwood area. You’ll find many young families walking around the neighborhood pretty much every evening.
I think the street you referred to with the median in Eastwood is Park dr. Which, I agree, does look pretty nice.
You can probably expect a more rapid appreciation in pricing from Eastwood than Idylwood, given the new development going on over there, but I wouldn’t listen to me for real estate investment advice. =)
I’d look at Timbergrove, Oak Forest, or something in that direction. Lots of green space in that area, and more family friendly, in my opinion.
Trollin, Trollin, Trollin, keep the haters rollin….. Raaaawhide!!!
Eastwood and Idylwood are both really cool neighborhoods. Idylwood has a cool roll to the terrain, reminds me of Glenwood (the terrain that is). If you have children id say no, the public schools are awful, and all the good private schools are in the Westside. I like this area for young couples with no children or young pre-school kids, or same sex couples with no kids or very young ones. If you’re dead set HISD had open enrollment, maybe you’ll get lucky and get then into a good school (there are only a few), but that will mean driving all over town picking up and dropping off your kids.
Try University Oaks. It’s a pocket neighborhood bounded by Wheeler, MacGregor, Cullen and Calhoun. Residents are mostly UH staff and faculty, and the Charter School for Technology is a short walk away. I think they go up to at least 5th grade.
UO is safe and many residents have been here for decades or are second-generation. Planned development in the area suggests that prices will jump soon, so this is a good time to buy. And if you move later but don’t want to sell, you can always find a high quality tenant from among the UH faculty.
People who know nothing of the area will chime in about the crime in Eastwood, not because they know, because they don’t. Go on the actual crime stat sites and look. Oak Forest? Yeah, for a completely different price point, and don’t bother going to the gun store if you go there, there was a group volunteering to arm the residents of Oak Forest because of all the driveway hold ups. http://houston.culturemap.com/news/city_life/06-14-13-its-free-shotguns-for-everyone-in-oak-forest-group-aims-to-freeze-a-crime-spree-by-arming-the-neighborhood/ Schools, yeah, well, you may want to look at private. Westbury and those areas are fine, but while some elementary schools are good, some of the schools aren’t any better and none of them are good over there past elementary.
All of my friends have been moving out of Montrose and Heights, it seems. Every time a lease is up, they’re either moving to Eastwood or Third Ward/Riverside. It’s kind of dramatic.
Would all the commenters who have/had lived in Eastwood or Idylwood please raise their hands? Thought so.
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I have owned in both, and am raising a pre-schooler in Eastwood. If you are zoned to Lantrip elementary, it is a fine alternative if you can’t get into a Vanguard school; Cage less so. I don’t know anything about Idylwood schools, but also don’t know anyone there who sends their kids to the zoned elementary, so take that FWIW.
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Gentrifying areas have their pros and cons, and you know what each are (good price, hit-or-miss blocks, great houses with character (good and bad). Each has a strong sense of community and those with young kids are pretty tight knit because they share the challenges of schools, similar to other HISD families.
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Inventory of homes IMO is the real problem. People just don’t sell for whatever reason, so it’s hard to come by the perfect house.
I’ve previously lived in Eastwood (both owned & rented). I used to go jogging at some fairly odd hours and likewise would walk to the Kroger and back for groceries very frequently. Even at night, I’d say that the neighborhood is perfectly safe (and much moreso than Montrose). There’s plenty enough retail within walking distance if you’re not too stuck up about whether your grocery-store-of-choice has remodeled recently or anything like that.
I’ve been told that Lantrip has a good faculty, but I can’t personally vouch for them. (No kids.) From the parents of children in Eastwood that I’ve met, I would suggest that they tend to care about their kids. Not every neighborhood has that going for it; and even if you get your kid into a private/charter/magnet school, they’ll still be chummy with the neighbor kids. So that’s something worth considering.
@Walt, regarding schools in the Heights…Reagan High School is a fantastic school, and they’re getting better every year. I will admit that Hogg Middle is still struggling mightily, and Hamilton has issues. But I do know that Reagan has made great strides. (At the very least, safety and security are non-issues.) Their UIL academic team won first place at state in mathematics a year or two ago, if I remember correctly.
Strollers are for sidewalks, not the middle of the street!
Is there a “breeder free” neighborhood left in this town?
I own a property in the Broadmoor neighborhood which is covered by the Eastwood association. My hand is raised.
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Those who spout off about crime and the need for a gun in this area of town obviously don’t know what they are talking about.
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Look at the Houston crime stats page: http://www.houstontx.gov/police/cs/beatpages/beat_stats.htm
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Here is the list of crimes committed for Eastwood/Broadmoor (10H20) in July 2013: http://www.houstontx.gov/police/cs/stats2013/jul13/jul1310h20.htm
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Running the Beat Stats for July 2013:
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10H20 – Eastwood/Broadmoor
…Aggravated Assult = 2
…Auto Theft = 3
…Burglary = 11
…Rape = 0
…Robbery = 3
…Theft = 12
…..Total = 31 Crimes / Population (77003, 77004, 77011, 77023) 91,745 = .034%
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1A30 – Cherryhurst, Mandell Place, Montrose
…Aggravated Assult = 5
…Auto Theft = 9
…Burglary = 10
…Rape = 1
…Robbery = 1
…Theft = 138
…..Total = 164 Crimes / Population (77006, 77019, 77098) 51,684 = .317%
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2A30 – Houton Heights, Norhill, Studemont
…Aggravated Assult = 4
…Auto Theft = 13
…Burglary = 21
…Rape = 1
…Robbery = 3
…Theft = 94
…..Total = 136 Crimes / Population (77007, 77008, 77009) 99,429 = .137%
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Now you tell me, which neighborhood area of the three is the safest? Which neighborhood area of the three would you least likely need to visit Collectors and stock up on defensive measures?
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This area of town is becoming appreciated finally due to its superb location and cheap prices but those that live here hardly ever move and homes stay within the same families for a long time. It’s quiet, for the most part the residents are all out the door by 7am headed to work, neighbors help out neighbors.
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It was noted in an earlier post that InTown Homes is building three detached single family homes in Broadmoor on Lawson see here: http://www.intown-homes.com/cavahome.aspx?idcity=1&webcia=%28101,265%29&wlink=169
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This will happen more and more often and we are excited about the possibilities of what might replace the old Finger Furniture building and Macy’s/Foley’s warehouses. Both HUGE land areas that could dramatically transform this area of town.
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All the best,
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Fraser
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Populations by Zip Code from 2010 Census referenced here: http://www.zip-codes.com/zip-code/77003/zip-code-77003-2010-census.asp
Yes, everyone in the 3rd Ward DIES. Right after they move there! It’s horrible!
Yes, we should ban everyone we don’t agree with.
*Raises hand for JD*
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I have lived in Broadmoor for over 5 years now. it is walkable, VERY bicycle friendly, it isn’t some scary crime infested wasteland of crack houses and laundromats.
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The neighborhood is changing around me, as someone above mentioned, townhomes being built, there have already been a few tear down/rebuilds in the neighborhood, a lot of houses here are very well kept.
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I don’t have kids, but would feel comfortable sending them to school with the kids that run around the neighborhood.
jgriff- Commonsense needs to be banned because he is WRONG. Facts exist. Many were provided in this thread with links for verification. He’s bringing talk radio nonsense on to this board and it really brings down the quality of the discussions. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
I live a half block from Lantrip Elementary. My neighbors all say that the school has a strong PTO (parent involment goes a long way)and good teachers, but I only have dogs so I can’t personally vouch for the school. Eastwood has sidewalks, bike lanes, and eventually the MetroRail. So I’m pretty sure retail will follow. As for restaurant and bars, we do have a few bars over by BBVA Compass Stadium, and a couple of great Vietnamese restaurants and TON of really good Mexican restaurants. I’m sure there are other good restaurants waiting to be discovered. I’ve lived in the Heights, and in Montrose before that. Eastwood is quieter if you discount the trains. THE DANG TRAINS! Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.
If you live in Montrose, you should be set for public schools from K-12 (Lamar). Why not just deal with not having the ideal sq footage for your family and stay in Montrose? Two kids can share a room. In fact, kids actually like it. Not long ago, the average family would have considered even a smaller townhome in Montrose to be more than enough sq feet. Despite what the builders and realtors want you to think, you can have a family and live in a house that is smaller than 3000 sq ft. and be perfectly happy.
If you’re wanting to tear down and build, Forest Hill, which is east of Wayside, is a nice setting with big lots and hills. It was designed around 1910 to be a River Oaks type neighborhood but ended up being random small houses mostly. It hasn’t been discovered but with the wave moving east I imagine that’s coming relatively soon. Mason Park is adjacent and another place to check out.
Au contraire, in the real estate market, perception is 9/10th of reality, hence what I said is just as valid as statistics.
@Jose — about those dang trains…
Quiet Zones are coming to the Eastwood area. However, it’s going to take some time before work gets underway. The Eastwood Civic Association and area SuperNeighborhood groups have been working for years to get them approved, but coordinating everything with COH and Union Pacific isn’t easy.
Commonsense,
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“Au contraire, in the real estate market, perception is 9/10th of reality, hence what I said is just as valid as statistics.”
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You must choose:
Do you wish to see (perceive) nothing, or do you want to see things as they really are? (SEE MY PRIOR POST W/ FACTS & LINKS. IF PERCEPTION IS WRONG THAT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY TO THOSE WHO CHECK THE FACTS.)
It is not hard to see things as they really are, it is simply a matter of tearing down walls, ridding oneself of defenses and presumption, rendering oneself vulnerable, an idiot, a fool. (THIS YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE, CONGRATS. MANY OF US HAVE PURCHASED IN EASTWOOD/BROADMOOR/EAST END AND WILL BE FOLLOWED BY LATE TO THE PARTY PURCHASERS)
But it is not easy to see things as they really are, because it is painful, it is real, it requires response, it’s an incredible commitment. (WILL YOU CROSS CHECK MY DATA? IS HPD AND THE 2010 CENSUS WRONG?)
To go nine-tenths of the way is to suffer at every moment utter madness. (YOU SIR ARE MAD)
To go all the way is to become sane. (GRASS IS GREENER ON THIS SIDE COMMONSENSE, WANT TO COME OVER?)
Most people prefer blindness.
But most people are a dying race.
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Paul Williams, Das Energi (1973).
With every mile moving east, you are getting nearer to Houston’s gigantic petrochemical industrial complex, along with its unpredictable environmental and public health issues, which begin just about a mile east of Eastwood (for example, look at the location of identified Superfund Sites in Harris County, http://www.tceq.texas.gov/remediation/superfund/sites/county/harris.html, which gives a clear picture). This is the main reason why people in Houston, and those who can afford it, stay as much west as possible.
Also, any comparison between Montrose and Eastwood reduced to arguments like tidy sidewalks, grocery shopping, or small crime misses the point. Montrose is about the only Houston neighborhood with a noteworthy cultural and historical profile which still persists authentically.
Eastwood Academy is ranked #10 in the state and #56 in the country. Only Carnegie Vanguard (Sunnyside), DeBakey (Riverside), and YES Prep (Aldine) rank higher in Houston: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/texas/districts/houston-independent-school-district/eastwood-academy-high-school-19259
Clay Street in Eastwood has the best tree canopy, followed by McKinney, Polk, and Bell :)
I used to live in Eastwood, and am pretty familiar with the different parts of the area. You are smart to be looking there. Grab something while you can in the area, because property values will start soaring once more people figure out what you have.
The first place I’d look is Woodleigh… the area bound by Polk to the West and Eastwood to the South. It’s right by Kroger, and has a fair share of fixer-upper homes. It’s also in between the two rail lines getting built, and would be a massively good investment.
Broadmoor is another one to investigate. If the University Line’s plans are carried out to fruition, the Line would end at the Eastwood Transit Center, which could thrust Broadmoor into the spotlight as one of Houston’s hottest subdivisions.
@Fraser, what no original thought, just quotations of previous work?
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In real estate unlike some other fields, it serves one to base everything on realities, practicality, and not on vague altruism. You go ahead and take the first risk, the first brunt, the bad schools, the still higher than other areas crime. If and it’s a big IF the neighborhood becomes desirable in a decade or more, I might swoop in and start enjoying the nice things, but why lose 10 years of life by not living an already nice neighborhood now?
Larry, what gave montrose it’s flair and culture is all but a husk of what it once was.
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what passes for culture there now, el real, anvil, blacksmith, there is nothing original in what they have.
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There are pockets of what made montrose great, numbers, a few places on fairview, a more recent addition that adds great flavor is southside.
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montrose is no longer montrose, it has become THE montrose. All of the perceived culture, but none of the heart. That has moved east.
@toasty
For me, culture rather includes something like the Menil campus, the U St Thomas, fine art Galleries beyond “street culture” showings, haute cuisine beyond “food trucks”, and many excellent examples of residential and cultural architecture (Johnson, Piano, etc.) beyond the ubiquitous “Texas bungalow”.
I live in Broadmoor(homeowner). No children, so I can’t vouch for the quality of the surrounding schools. Going on five years here and loving it. It’s a quiet neighborhood. We have an active civic association. Idylwood is the “Bellaire” of the East End. However, not certain how nearby Walmart will affect it. For Eastwood, developers and retailers are starting to take notice and its potential. The area around Navigation is already booming. Harrisburg will follow due to rail. I feel that Eastwood will become a ‘hip’ in a few years. The EEMD is pushing campaigns to attract more development and retail. El Tiempo opened on Navigation afew months ago. Intown Homes are nearing completion of the three Lawson St. Bungalows (one has already sold). BTW…I’m not a realtor, just a proud resident of the East End.
To those who are upset by the trolls: Remember, it’s difficult to have vision when one can’t (or won’t) see very far.
That said, I’ve been toying with the idea of suggesting that Piney Point be surrounded by concertina wire and that nobody be allowed in or out – that way everybody is safe.
Commonsense,
You are flip flopping, is it Perception or Reality?
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“in the real estate market, perception is 9/10th of reality” or “In real estate… it serves one to base everything on realities, practicality…”
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You are still focused on the Crime aspect of Eastwood/Broadmoor; “the still higher than other areas crime.”.
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Would you care to provide some alternative neighborhoods other then the ones I already provided (Montrose / Heights) to compare against? You need to understand that these neighborhoods are safe and quiet and that is a fact. Your perception may be that it’s dangerous and crime riddled but the Facts are the Facts. I provided links to the HPD sites I pulled all data from for all neighborhoods and invite and indeed encourage you to compare Eastwood/Broadmoor against other areas of Houston.
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You proceed by saying; “You go ahead and take the first risk, the first brunt, the bad schools, the still higher than other areas crime. If and it’s a big IF the neighborhood becomes desirable in a decade or more, I might swoop in and start enjoying the nice things, but why lose 10 years of life by not living an already nice neighborhood now?”.
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I did go in early, multiple times, lived in, invested in, flipped homes, and proceeded to enjoy the past seven years at our lake house up on Lake Livingston. As Dave Ramsey says “live like no one else, so one day you can live like no one else”. You can purchase a nice ($$$) property in the hot neighborhoods and enjoy the amenities and restaurants or you can purchase a property in a safe and nice neighborhood like Eastwood/Broadmoor and drive to the amenities and restaurants you desire while watching your property increase in value while making other investments.
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My “Perception” of this side of town is very positive based upon the following ten items ;-):
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1. The light rail lines
2. UofH expansion, new buildings, increasing size, growing reputation.
3. KBR land, Macy’s/Foley’s Land, Finger Furniture Land
4. Just announced Botanical Garden plans for Gus Wortham
5. Proximity to Downtown, Medical Center, UH/TSU/RICE
6. Reverse traffic in the morning once you get on the freeway (if needed) once you hit downtown any direction you go will be reverse traffic.
7. Plans for Buffalo Bayou
8. Not in a floodway or floodplain, see: http://www.harriscountyfemt.org/
9. Very good Thai food at Kanomwan, RIP Thai Nazi (the old man who use to run/own)
10. Very good Italian food at Mandola’s Deli
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It’s up to you but please hang up the crime aspect of Eastwood/Broadmoor, that boat does not float.
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Fraser
I’ve rented in Montrose, got robbed and I’ve owned near Mason Park, got robbed. It’s a big city people and unfortunately your invisible shields do not exist.
I miss the Thai Nazi too. :(
@Fraser,
You are wasting your breath. Just ignore commonsense. He lives in one of the Memorial Villages and he is smarter than anyone.
Regarding the crime stats, there is some under-reporting that goes on in particular neighborhoods, and the East End is among them. Other neighborhoods tend to report things at an unusually high rate, and Montrose is one of them. That explains some of the gulf between them in the stats, however I am personally — absolutely — convinced that crime is lower in Eastwood in particular than Montrose in general. My impression is that Broadmoor has more burglaries, though. (This is just from talking to people about their experiences.) And I’ve owned property in 77011 zip code, too, north of Harrisburg, and had some problems. There’s a lot of underreporting that goes on in there, but you shouldn’t be looking in those neighborhoods anyway. Stay south of Harrisburg.
@ Old School: You’ve got a really good point (provided that the kids are of the same gender, of course, because that could get awkward at a certain age). I’m a big East End booster, but if one prefers Montrose then it has to be acknowledged that the schools are absolutely better there. And its true that there tend to be better public spaces (although I don’t expect kids to genuinely appreciate any “culture” that might be associated with them).
But…the biggest turnoff to me about Montrose are the residents of Montrose. You know the sort, I’m sure. They’re people that would tell other people that they’ve never met and about which they know practically nothing, that those peoples’ lifestyle preferences are being manipulated by the powers that be, that they’re idiots incapable of making a decision on their own. I’d say that about some people, but only if I know them well enough — but that won’t stop an old school Montrosian from passing judgement. Oh, no, it surely won’t!
I disagree with Larry – Montrose is NOT authentic anymore Larry, I’m sorry but it is not! Anybody who has lived in Montrose for a couple of decades and has seen what it’s become would agree with me. It’s become an elitist unreasonably high priced pain in the rear. Every time they tear down another 1928 era house and build a matchstick structure with stucco glued onto it, the further down it goes. I would say move out before Montrose looks like a suburgan master planned community but it’s too late for that.
Lantrip Elementary is an excellent school and the PTO is very involved. Please come check out the Keep America Beautiful work in progress, as the school received a 20K grant to beautify the campus. We will be out there the next 3 Saturdays from 8 am to 2 pm. This is a great place to live. The children are friendly, my son LOVES his school, and he could have gone anywhere as he is GT. We chose to simplify our life and walk to school every morning. No time wasted in the car. Houses are small but folks often convert 4-plex into single family home. We are ready for you to join our community,
My husband and I have lived on the east side for about a decade and a half. Prior to my moving, I was a “Montrose girl” who adjusted nicely to this charming area. We are currently raising our family here as well and my son attends Lantrip. We love his school and like to refer to it as a hidden jewel. It is small, intimate and friendly.I have met and work with some extremely passionate people here that are dedicated to push for positive changes for our kids and community as a whole. We’d love to have you join in the fun!
Best to you and your family.
@Woodleigh and Dailou – After reading your comments regarding Lantrip, I decided to check it out on HISD’s website. The school does seem to be of good quality (test scores, student attendance, etc) and the testimonials on this page seem to support that. But one thing I also noted about the school is that the percentage of students on free or reduced price lunch is 87%. While that fact won’t prevent getrifiers from moving to the neighborhood, it will serve as a deterent to them sending their kids to the local schools. They don’t want their kids associating with the “economically disadvantaged.” A good example of this is Field elementary in the Heights. This school is surrounded by houses that start at $350k, with many worth well over $600k, and yet the percentage of its students on free or reduced price lunch is 96%. What does this tell you; that the gentrifiers aren’t sending their kids to the local schools. There is little doubt that the east side is going to see significant gentrification in the near future. But I strongly doubt that this gentrification will impact the socioeconomic demographics of the local schools for at least 20 years.
@Walt, very true, also you have to be careful with those “high scores”. My wife works for HISD and there has been a huge internal scandal brewing recently about unusually high scores in extremely disadvantaged schools. They did not magically get better teachers, did not get new demographics of students, didn’t even get new curriculum. These scores were achieved the old fashioned way, Cheating… By the teachers to reach their quotas and receive bonuses.
@Walt
It is true that Lantrip is a Title one school with many disadvantaged students, and that the school is actively seeking ways to enhance diversity (such as its environmental science theme to attract some Whole Fooders in time). But it is also true that you sometime have to take a leap. True community building means at least trying the local school, so that you can advocate change from the inside. The school is safe, my kid loves it, and the test scores are amazing once you factor in the poverty. This is a special school. For all the people that told me I would not be able to send my child to my neighborhood school, well I could, and he is doing fantastic.
@commonsense – Continuing on your comment; it was interesting to note, that while I was looking into these schools, that both Field and Lantrip had test scores that were within spitting distance of River Oaks Elementary. So, either the standardized tests only ask if a student can spell their name (without verifying that fact), or your proposition holds some weight. I’m not going to claim to be an expert on standardized testing or the goings on of HISD, but commonsense (no pun intended) would dictate that one of those two scenarios is most likely correct.
Lived in Eastwood 10 years ago while attending UH. After graduation I ran off to the burbs and have, just recently, moved into Broadmoor with my family. I will admit that the East End is an acquired taste that tends to attract people more interested in developing communities rather than just participating in one but I cannot say its particularly crime ridden (everyone I know whos been robbed or mugged were living in Montrose/Med Center). In fact, I couldnt imagine living Montrose/Mid-Main with everything Ive seen and heard.
The East End is getting off the ground as a viable place to live and its expressing itself culturally and because of that its an exciting time to be here. But because its not “there” yet you will be living with working class people who drive trucks and have families (yes, there are so many kids its crazy. All, this “not a place for kids” business just has me shaking my head). The schools are one of the main reasons we moved back. They have improved dramatically in 10 years. Eastwood Academy is amazing. Cage as well.
Lastly, the retail is getting much better but, honestly, I could care less. The stuff I was excited about being close to again was stuff thats been here for years.
I don’t put much stock in “Exemplary”, “Recognized”, or “Acceptable” ratings standards from the TEA. Even the empirical data, which you can find using this tool, is IMO not a reliable predictor of student achievement:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/cgi/sas/broker
As you should expect, River Oaks performs SIGNIFICANTLY better than Lantrip on standardized tests. This is true whether you compare the entire student body or even just single out and compare the white kids so as to largely discard issues of limited English proficiency. (There’s less of a gap between the white kids, but there’s still a gap.)
But that’s not the whole picture. It may be controversial to say so, but intelligence is largely hereditary and people with a whole lot of money and assets will tend to have achieved their lot in life from being more intelligent. They keep that money by not being completely dysfunctional. (We all know of exceptions, but I’m speaking in tendencies.) They will, likewise, tend to spend more money on educational products and services for their children both in early childhood and throughout their school years.
This is a problem with the empirical data.
If an average River Oaks white kid was placed in Lantrip Elementary, that doesn’t mean that they should automatically be expected to perform at a lower level.
I’m going to use myself as an example. I went to one of the best elementary schools in the entire state of Texas for the first three years, where I was average or slightly below, and then was transferred into one of the many pitiful ones. There were two white kids in the entire school; the other had been adopted by a Mexican family. There were so many people on free lunch that they gave it to everyone, including me. What happened was that I outperformed the entire school for as long as I was there. I never had a report card with less than an ‘A’ and always tested very well. The middle and high schools drew from more socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods, and once there were some normal middle-class white kids, it became immediately apparent that my performance had been and always was within a normal range for people like myself.
I don’t feel like it impacted my ‘success’ in life. However, being an extreme minority did make me comfortable with making decisions that were my own, that were different, and completely outside the box. In that way, it probably has impacted how I define ‘success’. That’s not so bad.
All of that being said, your kid WILL meet more future captains of business in River Oaks Elementary with matriculation to Lamar HS than in Lantrip with matriculation to who-knows-where. And I know people for whom such contacts have paid off waaaay down the road.
I think I threw up a little in my mouth after reading that previous comment. Dont know if it was the terrible science, the unabashed classism, or the thinly veiled racism (or the confluence of all 3) that rubbed me the wrong way but I will say that if you agree with TheNiche then, please, for the love of all things good, stay the hell away from the East End. Please. Stay far away.
I bought a house in Eastwood a little over a year ago and am pleased with how great it’s worked out. I can find amazing BBQ (Oakleaf Smokehouse), Thai (Kanomwan), coffee and local beer (Bohemo’s), Italian (Mandola’s), and a handful of Mexican restaurants just a couple of blocks away. The neighborhood is very walkable, and I always feel safe walking my dog after work.
The neighborhood is a diverse mix of affluent professionals, students, working class families, and single renters. Check this out: http://www.eastwoodcivicassociation.org/hometour.html
The area also has a lot of green space and parks. Eastwood Park has a pool, tennis court, baseball field, basketball courts, and skate park.
Getting out of the inner loop area is easy, as is using surface streets to get to other parts of the city.
I think it’s just close enough to the “action” of downtown, but tucked quietly away from the hubbub. I’m happy to call it my home.
Well, I’m just now seeing all these (mostly) very helpful comments. And, we’re still looking for a place to live. We’ve seen the Lawson Ave bungalows, and the one left for sale is really nice looking. The street is a bit spotty, my husband and I walked around over there on Christmas day. People park in the front yards (why do people park in their front yards? why do I care?), but it certainly did not feel unsafe. We’ve got a few artist and musician friends who all agree that Eastwood is the “new Montrose,” and it seems progress is headed that way. The main problem is the inventory! Other than the new bungalow on Lawson, there’s really nothing over there for sale (and the few that were rehab projects over the past few months went so fast we couldn’t find a builder to look at it with us before it was sold). And, there haven’t been any lots come up over there in 4 months that were on decent streets. So, the search continues.
Thank you to the East End residents who’ve given all the info, and names of streets with good trees. I appreciate all the info (even if it took me a few months to come back and see it!).
The problem with our town home, for the commenter who mentioned just staying put in Montrose, is the layout/floor plan (not square footage, although it’s nowhere close to 3000, it’s 2300). But, the master is on the third floor with a study (that doesn’t have a door or a bathroom). It will be years before putting a kid alone in the first floor bedroom would work for our family. But I’m not at all against families in town homes (we’re looking at 2-story town homes now with all 3 bedrooms on the second floor).
Eastwood is the place to be, and I hate this secret is getting out. I have lived in Broadmoor/Eastwood for over 10 years, and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Great area to raise a family. Those that say otherwise just don’t get it. Let them “feel safe” in their suburbs. Of course it’s a large city, and you won’t be walking your dog at 2AM. I wish you the best in locating something in the area. Montrose and Heights no longer have the cool factor, and I lived in both those areas and love Eastwood so much more.
Just popped in here doing some reading on Eastwood and noticed Larry’s comment about staying west of town to avoid polluted areas, but there is a federal Superfund site in Westchase within a mile of which 20,000 people are living. Doesn’t seem to bother the Energy Corridor folks.