The Allure of the East End

Readers, beware. This will be the first of many posts that describe with my flirtings in the East End of Houston.

Now technically, I now live in Eado, i.e. East Downtown. So this is one of those awesome things about living as an educator in your 20's in Houston; you can actually live and own a downtownish condo, where in many cities CEOs and lawyers and stockbrokers fight to rent 500 sqft apartments.

Since we moved to EaDo nearly five years ago, this area has boomed. It used to be just us, some sketchy warehouses, and the punks from the Insane Clown Posse show at Warehouse Live. Now we are surrounded by restaurants, a sports pub, a wine bar, and within a 10 minute walking distance to the already almost famous Discovery Green park and the new Phoenicia. I can actually ride my bike to Phoenicia and get groceries, which makes me nearly fall over with delight every time I make the trip. For those of you more veteran and hardcore Houstonians, you know what a big deal this is, in a city where it generally takes 15 minutes to get anywhere by car.

But alas, our lovely condo was a great place for our early 20s, but now as we are moving into the next decade of life, we're not as concerned with bars or rooftop parties. We are now looking to move into a house that will eventually be filled with some children. Preferably a historic house in a great neighborhood. And of course, inside the loop. What has made me fall for Houston is the affordable and lively city life, so there is no way I am giving that up. So I have set my sights on the East End.

The East End is the next hot area of inner loop real estate, and tons of development projects are already underway, including....wait for it...wait for it....public transit! You will actually be able to take the light rail from the East End to either downtown or the University of Houston area. If we lived in the East End, my husband would never have to drive, and I would hate him for all 30 minutes I'm usually stuck in traffic on the way home.

One of the strongest things about the East End and probably the biggest perk is the sense of community. I learned that tonight when I attended the first steering committee meeting for the East End Food Co-op. About 20 people gathered to discuss the mission and vision for a new food cooperative, and everyone from laywers to PTO members to politicians to retirees contributed to the initial conversations about what the neighborhood needs. I left the meeting with new friends and invitations to local community events, and was surprised at how just darn happy I was to be getting in on the ground stage of such an awesome movement. In Pittsburgh, I was always involved in local politics and activist movements. I had been disconnected from that in Houston, which allowed me to continue to keep up barriers and avoid getting too attached, or even worse, invested in the city. The more connected I am here, the harder it will be to leave.

So sorry Houston, it really was about me and my issues, and I did shut you out. I'll try harder to open up to you. I promise.