going to HOuston to look around w/ possiblitiy of moving there. Need ideas, info of where to go, what & where to look at things to get a good taste of town and help decide if want to move there. What's good place to live for 24yr old, single female. Might be working in near S.w. freeway near us-59.

get a visiting Houston guidebook and a relocating to Houston book for starters.

Our son lives in Houston and fortunately works from home. Houston traffic is very conjested. It takes forever to go anywhere...if you're not used to heavy traffic you will hate it no matter which side of town you live on.

Midtown is the new hot area for twenty-somethings. Lots of new developments there, outdoor cafes, etc. For going out at night, everyone goes to the Washington area.

SW Freeway is US 59 . . There is a TollRoad from the outlying developements in Katy / Sugar Land that helps the commute to 59 considerably.

http://houston.citysearch.com/ is a site with some good info.

Are you wanting to rent or to buy?

Houston is a great city for twenties, but IMO, I would avoid the suburbs. The city has three "loops". The innermost is 610 and most of the going out places for twenty somethings are "inside the loop" (a phrase you will hear quite a bit once in Houston).

I would second the suggestion for midtown. It is a great area to be able to walk to bars and restaurants.

Most of the night life crowd has moved to the Washington corridor. It can be rowdy at times, so it depends on what you are looking for.

Rice Village is also very nice, but most of the apartments end up going to college students and the houses there can be pricey.

The galleria is also nice but full of traffic on the weekends with mall go-ers coming into the city.

If you live inside the loop, commuting is a breeze. Traffic is dense with all of the suburbanites coming into the city in the morning and out in the evening, but if you are going the opposite way, it flows nicely.

What part of US 59 would you be working near? That is a major interstate that connects the Northeast part of Houston with the Southwest and goes directly through downtown.

I hope this helps and I hope you like Houston!

Also, if you have an EZ tag and want to take toll roads, it makes it pretty easy to get around. A lot of the highways have been expanded recently.

Definitely look at Midtown as a place to live. You do not want to live in the suburbs. What do you like to do for fun? Let us know and we can give specific suggestions. And don't come to visit now! We have had record breaking heat--tied the record for the hottest day ever. If you can wait until October, you'll like Houston a lot more!

We live in Houston and I second (third? fourth?) the Midtown recommendation. If you're young and single, you will have more fun and a better experience inside the loop. Lots of fun restaurants and bars, and tons of other young and single people. Plus you'll be close to sporting venues (Reliant Center, Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center), museums, art galleries, Rice University, Herman Park, etc. Lots to do, whatever your interests - unless they involve outdoor activities in cool weather - we don't get much of that

Good luck - Houston is a great place to live!

I live in Houston too. The midtown area would be great to live in. It is so close to just about everything inside the loop (610) that it makes getting around easy. I have lived here most of my life so I have learned when to avoid major traffic issues and what streets are better to travel on and when. It is an easy city to get around. There are a lot of fun things to do here too. The heat is HOT in the summer, but if you can tolerate that you will like it here. I find the people very friendly. I live in Clear Lake, but it is mostly families in this area and you would probably want something inside the loop to live in. I like Rice Village, the Montrose area, the Galleria area, Westheimer. So many places to explore here! Enjoy your visit!