Westside

Westside has such a wide variety of people, it's very eclectic and for just about anyone, at any age. There are the older groups that have been around here awhile, younger families that have moved in after the new construction started, and even a wide range of young folk.

The Westside has no shortage of offerings with which to fill your Saturday night agenda. Most restaurants and bars are located along Westheimer, the main commercial drag that runs from inside the loop all the way out to the western fringes of the city. The dining options on this street alone are almost imponderable. Uptown, true to its character, offers some upscale dining options, such as Americas Restaurant, at 1800 Post Oak, which offers novel South American cuisine. According to the Houston Press, the Arcodoro Ristorante Italiano offers "the best authentic Sardinian cuisine in the nation." Have a late night hankering for Korean barbecue? Try Arirang Korean Restaurant, at 9715 Bellaire Blvd. The Bistro Provence, at 13616 Memorial, is one of the city's best French restaurants. La Sani Restaurant, at 9621 Bissonnet, serves some of the city's best and spiciest Indian foods. There are also all the old neighborhood stand-bys: Cafe Lili's Middle Eastern food; Pappadeaux's, a regional cajun seafood chain; an essentially limitless number of Mexican restaurants... You get the picture. The Westside has some good eats.

The area also has its plenty of clubs, which tend to be focused especially around Uptown. As with the area's restaurants, there are options to suit every taste. Planeta Bar Rio, at 6400 Richmond, is a dance club with live music and live DJs. The Roxy, at 5351 W. Alabama, is famed for its lasciviously good times. The Xtra Inning Night Club is a hip-hop club at 13655 Bissonnet. JP Hops House, at 2317 S. Hwy. 6, hosts folk and country acts.

Perhaps the fairest thing to say about the Westside is that you get what you pay for. If you are looking at moving to Uptown, you can certainly shell out a lot of dough for a high-class apartment in the sky, and you will be rewarded by having a home in one of the trendiest shopping districts in North America. If you are content to live a bit farther from the heart of the city, you can get a decent apartment on the cheap. However, there are certain sorts of value that are hard to come by on the Westside. For instance, if you prefer older architecture and the sense of living in a historic community, then you simply aren't going to find what you're looking for on the Westside, no matter how much you're willing to pay. If, however, you are content to live in a quiet, suburban neighborhood, far from the madding crowds (if not the traffic), you would do well to look here, particularly in areas west of Beltway 8; and here, indeed, rental prices are quite cheap, though you may have to deal with a long commute in the Westside's nasty traffic.

Mass transit options on the Westside are limited. There are plans to expand the city's nascent light rail system into the Uptown area by 2012, and perhaps deeper into the Westside after that. In the meantime, the city's bus service is the only mass transit option. The frequency of buses in the area is typical for Houston: slightly less than would really be convenient. Nonetheless, many buses do run on Westheimer, especially, making it relatively easy to get to Uptown or the Inner Loop.

The area is prototypically suburban, which means it's built for getting around by car, above all. Unfortunately, traffic can be hellacious. The worst of it is on I-10; you will need a yogi-like capacity for equanimity if you are to commute into downtown every day without blowing a fuse. The Southwest Freeway (US 59) can be just as bad. The 610 Loop through Uptown, and the area in the vicinity of the Galleria Mall, can also be migraine-inducing. On the bright side, you will never want for parking, as it is abundant and almost always free, even in the most densely developed areas.

Young professionals looking for a sleek, modern condo in a ritzy neighborhood will do well in Uptown. Anyone looking for a spacious, affordable apartment, with or without amenities, will be able to find that in other areas of the Westside. Remember, though, that if you're looking for something more than that, you don't have to settle for this part of town. If you want to live in a neighborhood with a distinct character and a sense of history, and which is also affordable, go elsewhere: to the Heights, the Eastside, or other areas inside the Loop. Houston is not so expensive that you should have to sacrifice the charm of a pleasant and rooted neighborhood in order to live in a reasonably spacious and affordable home.

You ought to do fine with pets here. In fact, if you're looking to rent a house with a decent-sized and dog-friendly yard, this might be a pretty good place to look, as such homes are in abundance.

As befits such a large and heterogeneous neighborhood, there is no shortage of bars, clubs, and other entertainment spots in the area. The Arena Theatre, at 7326 Southwest Freeway, is one of the larger and more renowned venues in town. There are also a number of smaller venues and bars that have live music. Just to mention a few: Caps Piano Bar, at 2610 Briar Ridge, has blues, jazz, and zydeco acts; JP Hops House, out on Highway 6 just north of Westheimer, has folk and country acts; The Club Tropicana, at 3222 Fondren, has been voted the best the best Latin club in town.

The area doesn't have many parks worth remarking on, with one notable exception. George Bush Park, out at the western edge of civilization (or of Houston city limits, at any rate), is a large park and nature preserve that straddles the Buffalo Bayou. It has jogging and bike trails that weave in and out of forest and wetlands, soccer and baseball fields, and a shooting range, among other amenities.

If the idea of living near a mall which serves as a shopping destination for international travelers, then excites you, then this one is a no-brainer: look for a chic apartment in Uptown. For the rest of us plebes, it might be a good idea to consider the areas near Memorial Drive. This woodsy, winding road traverses the length of the Westside, and acts as something of a foil to the garishness of Westheimer. It would be stretching things to call areas off of Memorial bucolic; but they are leafier, quieter, and all around easier on the senses. On the other hand, if garishness is your thing, then: Westheimer, ho!

There is really no shortage of commercial development on the Westside. Westheimer, in particular, is lined with strip malls for miles and miles - basically its whole length, in fact. Therefore, you really shouldn't have trouble finding all the essentials within a fairly close drive. Drive, however, is the operative word: such is the sprawling layout of the area that walking is very rarely a convenient alternative for most errands. If you're going to live out here, you're going to want to be one with you car.

For some families, there will be appeal in the Westside's vast stretches of placid suburbia. Certainly, lots of families live here.

There are no higher educational institutions in the area, though Houston Baptist University is just to the south of US 59, on Fondren.