Wait, who's intercontinental airport?

July 10, 2013 4:47 PM

Surprisingly and excitingly this Norwegian will find himself in Houston for a few weeks. Hope me figure out what area to stay in!

Despite my origin, I suffer from a rather urban orientation and wouldn't know how to drive a car should I discover myself in one. I freelance, so rely on WiFi spots (coffee shops, libraries, universities) and would prefer to walk everywhere.

I've heard dark rumours that Houston may not be the ideal city for the above provisions, but I still have faith. Houstonians, show me where it's at!

posted by klue to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Houston is more or less round, with the only interesting bits in the center. You want Montrose or Museum District, almost certainly
posted by Jacen at 4:55 PM on July 10, 2013

In Montrose, Museum District and downtown I would try to be close to a B-cycle (bike rental) station if you want to try that or along the Metro Rail. If you're near a rail stop there's some fun walkable things along the route (note it's a short route - 7 miles I think). There's lots of free wifi here. I live in Montrose and don't drive much, but bike a lot. It can be done. There's also the Westheimer 81 or 82 (pdf) bus that runs frequently and allows for a lot of walkable access. If I were relying on the Westheimer 82 I would still want to be in Montrose or the Museum district for better walkability.
posted by dog food sugar at 5:06 PM on July 10, 2013

If you're going with the bus along the 82 bus route I would look at places along the downtown start (Walker) to not too much past Shepherd.

For the Rail I'd look at places between the downtown UHDT stop to the Med Center transit center stop.

When you figure out where you're going to be let us know roughly and we can tell you some good wifi places. Welcome to H-town.
posted by dog food sugar at 5:16 PM on July 10, 2013

would prefer to walk everywhere

So... I'll be the jerk to ask. Do you have much experience walking everywhere in 35C heat and high humidity, with a heat index sometimes above 45C? Because if your few weeks are in summer, that's what you're looking at.

If your few weeks are in winter, though, it'll probably just be blandly nice but still as humid as Satan's armpit.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:05 PM on July 10, 2013 [3 favorites]

The dark rumors are true. We're too spread out and too tropical to be a walking town. The greater Houston area is over 26,000 square kilometers -- bigger than El Salvador. I drive over 65 kilometers to work, one way, every work day and that is not unusual. Tomorrow it's 36 degrees C and 50% humidity.

It would be very good if you tell us what brings you here, and what types of things you'd like to do. You won't be able to see much without a car, but we do have buses.
posted by Houstonian at 6:07 PM on July 10, 2013

You don't want to walk in Houston in the summer, and, in any event, it's too spread out of a city to walk around in, beyond some very small neighborhoods, such as near the university/hospitals.
posted by dfriedman at 6:28 PM on July 10, 2013

With appropriate dress, getting around Houston without a car in the summer is possible. Yes, it's hot and humid--but loose fitting clothes, sun protection, and siestas (sitting still, possibly napping, during the hottest part of the day) make it manageable.

Going *everywhere* you'd like strictly on foot might be tough, though. If there's a workplace in the mix--someplace you have to be that you don't get to decide--that could complicate things. Public transportation in Houston will get you a lot of places, but seldom very quickly. If there's no workplace--I can attest that there are plenty of folks in Montrose that get by just fine never leaving the neighborhood. If you find a place close to one of the downtown transit centers, you can avoid transferring buses.

Houston Metro
Houston on Walkscore
posted by GPF at 8:17 PM on July 10, 2013

I have a great deal of experience living in Houston without a car, and yeah it's doable, but not ideal. I wrote up some walking tours of the Museum District / Rice / Rice Village area in this AskMe. You can stay at hotels near the light rail, including the Rice / Med Center area and be fine. There are also B&Bs scattered around the Montrose / Museum District, but I don't know of one to suggest. The only thing I'd add to my previois AskMe is that there's now a Torchy's Tacos in the Rice Village. Enjoy.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 8:49 PM on July 10, 2013

Response by poster: So... I'll be the jerk to ask. Do you have much experience walking everywhere in 35C

Yes!

and high humidity

Oh.

Thanks for all the answers. Montrose seems to be the most suitable area. Based on the answers in this thread, it looks like the place has everything I need. I'll probably book something random in the area and then relocate once I get there and the place materializes out of the hazy projection it now appears as.
posted by klue at 12:18 PM on July 11, 2013

I have a friend who stays at a B&B called Robin's Nest in Montrose and has found walking around there very doable. It's hot, yes, but if you stay in a small radius taxi's are an option too. You can get from one side of Montrose to the other in a cab for around $10-ish.

There's also the Magnolia hotel downtown. Reasonable-ish, free wifi and generous free breakfast. Near buses and the rail and the downtown library. There's also tunnels downtown (pdf) that are air-conditioned for getting around in the summer heat.
posted by dog food sugar at 1:20 PM on July 11, 2013