There’s a lot of great free stuff in Houston, but for free Houston events, services, movies, and more, look no further than your nearest Houston library. The Houston Public Library is not just for homework anymore. Of course it’s still an amazing place to research schoolwork, genealogy, or anything else you want to know about. You’ll have access to research databases on 36 subjects, as well as special collections of books and even government documents, plus, of course, helpful librarians who can guide you through your research. But the Houston Public Library offers so much more! For example, you can:
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Your Houston apartment is your home, and you’ll want to make it your own. Of course, in order to get your security deposit back, you’ll need to make sure any changes you make can be completely undone when you move out. This limits your options for apartment renovation, but not as much as you may think. Here are six ways you can make big changes to the look and feel of your Houston apartment, while keeping your landlord happy:
1. Set up room dividers.
Turn one large room into two or more. You’ve got lots of options here. Divide your space with a folding screen, a large bookcase, curtains, or some of the unusual room-dividing systems suggested in this post from Apartment Therapy.
2. Change knobs and handles.
If you’re not in love with the doorknobs, cabinet handles, or drawer pulls in your apartment, buy some you like at any hardware or home décor store. When you install your new hardware, save the old handles and knobs in an easy-to-find place so you can replace them when you move out.
3. Change window coverings.
Putting up different curtains or blinds is simple, but it can make a big difference in the look and feel of your Houston apartment. If you’re worried about putting holes and hardware into your walls, try hanging curtains from tension rods pressed into the window frames.
4. Paint.
If you’re thinking of painting your walls (or cabinets, or anything else), ask first. Some landlords will allow painting, but many won’t. Make sure you know the rules, and if you’re considering an extreme color, get your landlord’s okay on that, too.
5. Use removable “wallpaper.”
Most landlords won’t let you put up standard, pasted-on wallpaper—though some will. When in doubt, ask. If yours won’t allow painting or wallpaper, you can still change up your walls. Some completely removable ideas for your walls:
6. Replace light fixtures.
Some apartments come with truly awful light fixtures, and other fixtures may just not fit your personal taste. You may be able to get lighting you like by simply replacing the shade. You can also redo the entire fixture, though you’ll need electrical know-how to do it safely. If you’ve never worked with wiring before, get a very good tutorial, get help from a friend who knows wiring, or hire an electrician to do the job for you. This ApartmentTherapy post has links to lots of resources for changing lighting, including a list of important safety precautions.
{extended} ]]>At Houston Apartment Insiders, we want to help you move into an apartment that’s comfortable, great for your unique lifestyle, and above all, safe. We’ve already given you advice on how to prepare for natural disasters. We’ve also given you tips on choosing and setting up a Houston apartment to help prevent crime. Today, we’d like to talk about fire safety. Be especially sure to read over the apartment fire safety tips below if you’re a student setting up your first apartment. Even if you’re a long-time apartment dweller, though, please take a few minutes to think about apartment safety.
1. When apartment hunting, think about how you would get out in an emergency. Does the building have more than one exit? Are stairs and fire escapes easy to get to and use? If you or anyone in your family has mobility issues, make sure the fire exits suit your particular needs.
2. Follow the rules laid out in your lease and posted around your apartment complex. Some—like those about where you can’t smoke or use a charcoal grill—are made to keep you safe.
3. Keep at least one fire extinguisher in your apartment. This PDF from the Houston Fire Department will help you choose the right one.
4. Don’t smoke or let others smoke inside your apartment, if you can help it. If you do smoke, always use a large ashtray, and make sure cigarettes and matches are always completely out before you leave them alone.
5. Be careful with space heaters. The Houston Fire Department has created this PDF full of tips for safe space heater use.
6. Test your smoke detectors once every month.
7. Change the batteries in your smoke detectors every six months. To help you remember, the Houston Apartment Association suggests you change them each time you reset your clocks for daylight savings time (in the spring and in the fall).
8. Keep your stove, oven, and any other cooking appliances clean.
9. Keep clutter away from any appliance that heats up.
10. When buying appliances that heat up (like coffee pots, irons, or space heaters) choose those with auto shut-off features.
11. If you have a fireplace and you use it, get your chimney cleaned regularly.
12. Use the right wattage light bulb for every socket. Using a 100-watt bulb in a 60-watt socket can overheat the bulb, possibly starting a fire. Also consider using compact florescent bulbs, which stay cooler.
For more information on apartment fire safety, read the Houston Fire Department’s extensive list of safety tips, which is available online in PDF form, or as a CD you can load onto your computer.
{extended} ]]>If you’re vegetarian or vegan and new to Houston, you may wonder whether you can find good eats and like-minded people in a state so famous for steak. Wonder no more! Houston is a vibrant and varied city, with plenty of company for people with any tastes or dietary needs. We’ve already blogged about how to live gluten-free in Houston. For Houston vegans and vegetarians, there are so many restaurants, stores, and organizations that we don’t have the space here to name them one by one. Instead, here are online resources to help you find the Houston vegetarian people and places that complement your unique values and lifestyle:
Find veg restaurants.
The simplest way to find great vegan and vegetarian food in Houston is to start with the big restaurant review sites. All of these have plenty of feedback for a wide variety of local eateries:
• Yelp
• GrubHub for take-out and delivery
• Zagat
There are also vegetarian-specific restaurant finders with ratings for Houston:
• Happy Cow, the Healthy Eating Guide
• VegGuide, which also lists Houston vegetarian delis, bakeries, and groceries
• Vegetarian Resource Group, which lists local restaurants, as well as plenty of advice for vegetarians everywhere
Meet like-minded people.
Houston vegans and vegetarians are very active on Meetup.com. A quick search there shows many groups meeting regularly, including:
• The Houston Vegetarian Meetup Group
• The Houston Vegan Meetup Group
• Vingles: Vegetarian-Vegan-Animal Loving Singles
Other ways to meet fellow Houston vegetarians include:
• Leisure Learning Unlimited, Inc., Houston’s lifelong learning resource, which offers vegetarian cooking classes
• VeggieDate, for vegetarian singles
Read Houston vegetarian and vegan blogs.
• Vegan Houston, a Blogger-based list of Houston vegan restaurants, farmers markets and co-ops, groups, food producers, and bloggers
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1. Ask whether door locks are replaced or rekeyed before new tenants move in. If the answer is “no,” insist that your apartment have a new lock, or else don’t move in. You don’t want the previous tenant to be able to open your door. Also make sure your newly keyed lock is a solid, well-made deadbolt.
2. Make sure there’s a peephole installed in the apartment’s front door. Also check to see that the peephole is well designed so it doesn’t let people standing outside see into your apartment.
3. Unless you have a reason to prefer the ground floor (like a mobility issue), choose an apartment on a higher floor. If you do choose the ground floor, make sure the windows are covered by bars that open only from the inside. Do be sure you can open them in case of a fire.
4. Look at the common areas. Are entryways, hallways, laundry rooms and mailrooms well lit? Are lightbulbs there changed when they burn out? Are shrubs and trees trimmed to keep them away from doors and windows?
5. Examine the windows. They should not be easy to open wide or lift out of their frames. Ideally, your windows should have solid, secure locks.
6. If the apartment has a sliding door, make sure there are additional locks—a metal bar that sets into the rails and/or pins that go into the frame—so it can’t be easily opened or lifted out.
After You’ve Moved in
7. The best thing you can do for apartment security is get to know your neighbors so you can look out for each other. Introduce yourself to people you see, attend building-wide events (including picnics, meetings, and parties), and ask if there’s a crime watch group in your complex.
8. Don’t let the world know who you are. Put just your first initial and last name on mailboxes, and keep your phone number unlisted.
9. Never buzz in strangers or let them enter the building with you, no matter what story they give. Try to make sure your neighbors follow this rule, too.
10. Let a few people you trust know when you’ll be out of town, but don’t tell the whole world. On one hand, this means making sure that someone will pick up your newspapers (or you put paper delivery on hold) and any packages that arrive while you’re away, and good neighbors will keep an eye on your place. On the other hand, this means never leaving notes on your door or announcing online that you’ll be away.
{extended} ]]>As we plan for our New Year’s Eve celebrations, our thoughts turn to the future. What will 2012 hold for Houston apartments and real estate? We can get a pretty good idea by looking at recent real estate news reports. Houston journalists are making predictions for 2012 jobs, apartments, and real estate. Whether you plan to move to Houston or move within the city in this coming year, it’s good to know what to expect.
Houston economy, jobs, and the mortgage crisis
Renting an apartment is a better idea than buying a home for many people in our current economy and housing market. In fact, renting can even help our local economy recover. Still, 2012 will not see a full recovery from the mortgage crisis. According to this report from MSNBC, the mortgage crisis is only about halfway through. We can expect about four more years of foreclosures and problems for home sellers because of the glut of foreclosed homes coming onto the market.
On the bright side, Click2Houston.com reports that the continuing mortgage crisis is helping Houston’s unemployed. Hundreds of new jobs have been created, since more people are needed to process all of those foreclosures. In fact, job growth is strong in Houston overall, and especially in the apartment lending industry.
Houston apartments being built, bought, sold, and rented
As for the kinds of Houston apartments that will be available in 2012, and their rent prices, there is good news and bad news—and some that is good or bad, depending on whether you’re a renter or a landlord. In January, all of Texas will adopt a statewide building code. The new requirements are aimed at making new buildings more energy efficient, but they will also make them more expensive. This will have the biggest impact on new homes, but new apartment buildings, offices, shopping complexes, and buildings of all kinds will also be affected. It’s good news for the environment (if the new rules work), but bad news for renters looking for low prices.
High-end apartments in Houston are getting scarce, which means higher rents and less choice for renters, but plenty of opportunity for investors. The investment real-estate market in Houston is booming, with large groupings of luxury apartment buildings are being bought and sold. New apartment complexes are being built, too, especially in the stylish neighborhoods in the Galleria and inside the Loop. On the other end of the rental spectrum, though, times are tough for renters, and apartments are sitting empty. As the unemployment rate sits at nine percent, even “affordable” apartments are more than some blue-collar workers can afford.
Whatever your price range is, Houston Apartment Insiders can help you find the right apartment for you. Here’s wishing you a prosperous 2012, and happy renting!
{extended} ]]>Both Hanukkah and Christmas are happening this week, so it’s a time of celebration and faith for many Houstonians. If you’re new to Houston, you may be wondering where to go to worship. Fear not! Last year, we posted a list of resources for finding Christmas services of all denominations. It’s time for an update, plus ways to find just the right Hanukkah celebrations for you—and even a Jewish and Muslim interfaith celebration. May this week bring more peace and joy to everyone in Houston! Happy holidays!
Houston Hanukkah Celebrations
Hanukkah began at sundown this past Tuesday, December 20, and continues through Wednesday, December 28. Houston Hanukkah celebrations are underway all over town. For the first time ever, the Houston Galleria is including a 12-foot-high steel Menorah in its holiday display, lighting a new “candle” every day of Hanukkah. For other events throughout the Houston metro area, including services, community celebrations, and fun family events, visit Examiner.com’s simple, day-by-day list, or Chabad Outreach of Houston’s more extensive listing.
Houston Christmas Services
This year, Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, so you can easily attend services for almost any Christian denomination on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or both. Find the right church for you by Googling to find your denomination’s web site (for example, the United Methodist Church or the Roman Catholic Church), or visit ChurchesIn.com or The Church Finder to find any type of church in Houston.
Muslims and Jews Together for Christmas Eve
While Christians and secular mainstream culture pull out all the stops for Christmas Eve, Houston’s Jewish and Muslim communities will come together in the spirit of peace and common understanding. People of both faiths will meet at Masjid at-Taqwa in Sugarland to learn about each other’s faiths, meet new friends, and share common ground—along with some great food. For more information, read the Houston Chronicle’s post about the event.
{extended} ]]>It’s December in Houston, a time likely to bring up fond memories of holidays with your family, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or just some time with the kids when they’re out of school. If you’re new to Houston, though, our weather may be dampening your holiday spirit. Houston’s beautiful, warm winter weather is one of the greatest things about living here, but for anyone dreaming of a white Christmas, it can be disappointing. Still, our fair city offers plenty of ways to enjoy traditional winter fun. For example:
Go to a Hockey Game
Yes, Houston has professional ice hockey. In fact, the Houston Aeros are the 2011 Western Conference Champions in the American Hockey League. The 2011-2012 season continues through April, so you’ve got plenty of time to catch a home game at the Toyota Center downtown. If you’d rather play hockey, yourself, or watch your kids learn to play, winter in Houston is a great time for that, too. The Aerodrome Ice Skating Complex offers hockey classes and leagues for recreational players under seven years old through adults, novice to expert level.
Ice Skate
If your winter dream involves skating at a slower pace, like people in those romantic movie scenes at Rockefeller Center, winter in Houston has got you covered, too. The Aerodrome Ice Skating Complex has learn-to-skate classes and public skating times. For more traditional scenery, you can skate inside the Galleria mall, or outdoors at beautiful Discovery Green.
Visit Santa, Sugarplum, or Scrooge
However warm our weather gets, Houston’s community and arts scene always know how to keep the holiday spirit alive. About.com offers a multifaceted list of great holiday events in Houston. Of course there are productions of A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker to be seen, and that irreverent Christmas story for grown-ups, The Santaland Diaries. There are also light displays, holiday gift markets, a candlelit evening tour of old-fashioned Christmas decorations in Sam Houston Park, a Houston Symphony concert all about Frosty the Snowman, and, of course, opportunities to visit Santa. Whatever your taste—religious or secular, family or edgy—winter in Houston can be fun for all.
{extended} ]]>Many of us are scaling down these days, some of us even moving from a house to an apartment. Whether you’re moving within Houston or from far away, when you switch to a smaller space, storage and organization get more challenging. Small-space living doesn’t have to be a problem, though. It’s an opportunity to scale down your stuff to just those things you truly love, and to learn all kinds of innovative organizing ideas. The Houston Apartment Insiders blog has offered ideas for small spaces in the past, including decorating ideas to make your apartment feel bigger, and hints for entertaining in smaller spaces. Organizing your belongings is a key to feeling at home, though, so now we’d like to share four resources chock full of ways to keep the things you love easy to find and easy to use.
The site with the edgiest name on our list is also the most perfect fit for small-space living. Blogger Simone Chavoor lives in a 300-square-foot Hollywood studio apartment, but loves design and organization. Every post she writes is an idea or resource for fabulous small-space living. Look here for design ideas, how-to posts, and links to even more resources for making your home run smoothly and beautifully, however small it is.
This blog is dedicated to the idea that storage should be more than utilitarian. Storage spaces and techniques should work, but they can also be artful, creative, and fun. Look here for organizing ideas for every type of possession you have. You can make your Houston apartment beautiful and functional at the same time.
Houston’s Ikea store is a great source of inexpensive furniture and housewares for your Houston apartment, and used Ikea items can easily be had on Craigslist and in Houston’s many wonderful second hand stores. If you don’t find exactly what you need, though, or if you just enjoy DIY-ing unique pieces for your home, look to Ikea Hackers. From spoons to dressers, cribs, beds, and shelves, this blog is full of custom solutions for all of your small-space living challenges.
The Lifehacker blog is all about ideas for making every aspect of your life easier, from finding great games for your smartphone to managing your time at work. Just a little digging shows that it has plenty of organizing ideas for your Houston apartment, too. For example, check out this tutorial on making your drawer space go further (while still being able to find all of your socks and undies when you want them), and Lifehacker’s Top 10 Space-Saving Household Projects, many of which are great for small apartments.
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The holidays are here—Thanksgiving just past, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s on the way—and gift giving is on our minds. If you’ve just moved into your new Houston apartment, or you’re still hunting, adding on holiday obligations can be a bit overwhelming. It may help to think of your new apartment as part of your holiday gifts. One of the best gifts you can give to yourself and your family is a new apartment where you’ll really feel at home. And if your friends and family ask what gifts you’d most like this year, let them know what your new Houston apartment needs, or wants, to become a haven of your very own. Here are some things to think about for your apartment’s holiday wish list:
Find a great apartment.
Of course, if you haven’t found your new Houston apartment yet, the space itself should be the first thing on your list. Think carefully about how much you can afford to spend, what details you really need, and what others you want. Once you have your wish list made out for your apartment, itself, contact Houston Apartment Insiders. We’re the Santa Claus of the apartment hunt: Finding the best apartment for you is what we do, and our services are free to you.
Get ideas from our blog.
Our previous posts can help you get your list started. If you’re setting up your first apartment, this post will help you figure out what all you’ll need. For tips on making the most of small spaces, this post will help you with furniture and décor, and this one will help you plan to entertain guests in a small apartment. Just for this season, we also offer apartment-specific holiday decorating ideas.
Get ideas from other web sites.
Surf the web for ideas. General home design sites, including HGTV.com and Housebeautiful.com, have ideas that will work for apartments. Also enjoy apartment-specific sites, including ApartmentTherapy, Apartment Ideas, and MyFirstApartment.
Share your wish list with friends and family.
Once you know what you wish for, let your gift-shopping loved ones know. Of course Amazon.com connects to almost everything on the web, so you can build a wish list on their site. For artier handmade pieces, check out Etsy, which also lets you create wish lists and collections of sellers you love. For even more options, collect pictures of your dream apartment décor on photo sharing sites like Tumblr and Pinterest.
Buy your own apartment gifts without breaking the bank.
Houston is a city of variety and style, with plenty of creative places to shop for apartment furniture and accessories. Our previous post on furnishing student apartments has inexpensive ideas that would work for any age or taste, including where to shop for both new and secondhand items. If you’re a fan of the resale scene, check out this post for more on Houston’s vintage, consignment, and thrift shops.
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Happy Thanksgiving! We at Houston Apartment Insiders would like to give thanks for all of you, and for the chance to introduce so many people to this beautiful city. There are so many reasons to be thankful that we live in Houston. Whether you’re moving here for the first time, or you’re a long-time Houstonian, it’s good to remember (or learn about) the many joys life in Houston. Here are just a few reasons to love Houston:
• Warm weather year-round. We’ve mentioned this before, but it’s always worth saying again: It’s never too cold in Houston. While it it can be hot and humid, and we’ve just seen one of the worst droughts in Houston’s history, our temperatures rarely get below freezing, and we see an inch or two of snow every few years.
• Almost every kind of food is made here, and it’s delicious! People have moved to Houston from all over the world, and they share their cuisine in more than 11,000 restaurants. Enjoy the southern barbecue and Tex-Mex we’re famous for, or sample almost any other kind of food you can imagine.
• The arts are alive here. Living in Houston means you’re close to year-round resident companies in every major performing art. Enjoy professional theater, dance, and symphonies, then check out our fine art museums, galleries, and public sculptures.
• Our music scene rocks and swings and sings the blues. Houston music is a unique mix. In venues large and small, you can hear music of almost every style—and ground-breaking new work—every night of the week. We’re known as a mecca for music, including great live performers and innovative recording studios.
• Sports fans are never bored in Houston. You can go to pro home games here for almost every major sport. We’ve got major league teams to be proud of in baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. In the minor leagues, there’s also hockey, tennis, women’s football, and indoor football. College sports fans can root for five Division 1 teams in the Houston area.
• Houston is well educated and always learning. Houston is home to the University of Houston, Rice University, Texas Southern University, the University of St. Thomas, Houston Baptist University, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, and the Baylor College of Medicine, just to name a few of our educational institutions. We’re a young, well-educated, forward-thinking city. What’s not to love about that?
• Houston’s culture is open, warm, and welcoming. This is Texas, so southern hospitality is part of Houston culture, but so is innovation, education, and creativity. Houston is a huge and gloriously diverse city. Whoever you are, there’s a place for you in Houston.
There are so many more reasons to be thankful that you live in Houston. For more details, check out the lists of reasons to love Houston from the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Press.
{extended} ]]>Thanksgiving is next Thursday! If you’re new to Houston, you may have just left your established friends and family behind, and be wondering how to celebrate here. There’s no need to be lonely this Thanksgiving. Houston is full of events for all ages, all budgets, and all tastes, and there is no better time to get out and meet your new community. Last year, we offered some ideas for connecting at Thanksgiving. Here are updated listings, and a few more ways to celebrate:
Dine Out
If your kitchen isn’t unpacked yet, or you’re simply not in the mood to cook, Thanksgiving is a great time to check out one of Houston’s excellent restaurants. You can find descriptions and contact information for restaurants that are serving on Thanksgiving (and some that will deliver your feast to your home) on Citysearch, B-4-U-Eat Restaurant Guide, and 29-95.
Enjoy Family-Friendly Events
Our city’s biggest Thanksgiving tradition, 62 years old this year, is the Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade. Enjoy the spectacle on Channel 11, KHOU-TV, or in person in downtown at 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. About.com Houston has a quick run-down of all the details.
If you have kids, bring them to the Children’s Museum of Houston the day before or the day after Thanksgiving. On November 23, there will be plenty of Thanksgiving-themed crafts and exhibits, plus a chance for your child to build a “float” costume to wear in the museum’s own Thanksgiving Parade. On November 23 and 25, Santa Claus will be there to meet good children and kick off the Christmas season.
For an even bigger start to Christmas celebrations, you and your family may enjoy the 26th Annual Uptown Holiday Lighting. The Uptown Park neighborhood starts off the season on Thanksgiving night with half a million lights, holiday music, reindeer, costumed characters, fireworks, and, of course, a visit from Santa.
Help Houston’s Needy
Is there better way to give thanks than to share with people in need? There are plenty of opportunities to give and volunteer in the Houston community. Waste Management of Houston will be serving its 27th annual Superfeast—Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who comes out (18,000 to 21,000 people are expected), no questions asked—on the grounds of Houston City Hall. Volunteers and sponsors are welcomed. Interfaith Ministries is looking for volunteer drivers to deliver Meals on Wheels dinners to homebound people in need this Thanksgiving. The Houston Food Bank also provides Thanksgiving meals to needy Houstonians, and welcomes food donations.
Trot Off All That Turkey
If fitness is important to you and you’d like to celebrate Thanksgiving with like-minded Houstonians, or you just want to work off your Thanksgiving feast, turkey trotting is the tradition for you. Where.com has compiled this list of the ten most popular Thanksgiving Day runs in the greater Houston area, from one-mile family fun runs to 10k races.
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Many Houston-area college students already know the joys shopping second-hand, since they tend to be young, hip, but on a budget. Today, though, there are so many reasons for everyone to look into resale shops in Houston. In today’s economic climate, everyone can afford to save a little money. Concerned about the environment and human rights? Since everything has already been paid for once, you’re not directly supporting the manufacturer, so you have less reason to worry about how they treated their employees or the planet. Knowing that you’ve saved your wardrobe, furniture, and household items from a landfill is a good feeling, too. Need another reason to buy your clothes gently used? Many shoppers find that they dress and decorate better—in better quality items and more sought-after brands—once they start shopping second-hand.
If you’re new to resale shopping, you may have a some questions. What’s the difference between vintage, consignment, and thrift shopping?
According to About.com’s Vintage Clothing and Furniture channels, “vintage” means that an item is between 20 and 100 years old, and is representative of the era it came from. Vintage clothes and furniture are not old enough to be considered antiques, but are clearly from a bygone era. You can find vintage items in consignment stores, in thrift stores, on Ebay—or anywhere. Wherever items of a certain age are, they’re vintage.
“Consignment” is a way of selling. The previous owner lets the consignment store sell the item for them. When it sells, the store keeps a percentage of the proceeds, and the previous owner gets a cut, too. Items in consignment shops are usually pricier than in thrift stores, but they’re also more likely to be in good condition and of high quality, and organized in an attractive and easy-to-shop . You can find great clothes, furniture, and more—sometimes even high-end brands—in thrift stores, too, but it’s more of a gamble, and you’ll have to dig deeper in cluttered racks and bins.
“Thrift stores” sell items that were donated, and the store gets all of the proceeds. Many thrift stores are linked to charities, and give all of their profits to do good—yet another reason to feel good about shopping second-hand. A common misconception is that thrift stores help the poor by letting them to buy clothes, furniture, and housewares at rock-bottom prices. Not so! While some stores do offer even better deals for people in need, (Disabled vets shop for free at Houston’s DAV thrift store, for example.) charity thrift shops are in business mainly to make money by selling items that were donated to them, and passing the profits on to a good cause. Don’t feel guilty about shopping at a charity thrift shop. The money you spend there is doing good in the world.
Knowing where to shop is just the beginning. Thrift, consignment, and vintage shopping is a satisfying and addictive hobby for many people. The experts know what’s possible, how to recognize great finds, and how to fix up and refashion things that need a little care or updating. If you’d like to learn more, visit the fun and extremely helpful Thrifty Chicks blog, and join the online community at TheThriftShopper.com.
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Whether you’re moving to a corporate apartment for a short time, or working at home is part of your long-term plan, there are many reasons to set up a home office in your Houston apartment. More and more companies allow employees to telecommute some or all of the time, many Houstonians run their own small businesses, and it’s great to have a dedicated office space just to organize your daily life. Whatever your needs and your budget, you can have a home office. All it takes is a little planning, and it’s best to start while you’re hunting for your next apartment.
Plan while apartment hunting
Keep your home office needs in mind while you’re looking at Houston apartments. Let Houston Apartment Insiders know what your needs are, and we’ll help you find the right space within your budget. Of course it’s easiest if you can afford to rent a larger apartment with a separate room for your office, but even if you can’t, look for spaces that would make great work stations. Watch for a nook in the living room, a large closet, or even a bit of hallway that could be transformed into a comfortable workspace. Think about your neighborhood and community, too. Our earlier post on choosing a quiet apartment can help you avoid potential problems with neighbors and traffic.
Legal and tax considerations
If you’ll do a significant amount of your work from home, think about taxes, zoning, and your lease while you plan. The most important thing to consider is whether your landlord will be okay with your plans to work from home. Doing some work from home, even in a dedicated spot, should be fine, but if you plan to run a business solely or primarily out of your Houston apartment, check with the landlord before you sign your lease. Any business can cause problems for your landlord’s liability insurance, so it’s best to ask first to avoid problems after you’re moved in and doing business. As for taxes, there’s good news: If your home office is your main place of business, and you have a dedicated space just for that work, you may be able to deduct part of your rent and utilities when you file your taxes.
Explore design ideas—especially for small spaces
Once you’ve chosen your space, have fun with apartment interior design. This post from Rent.com can get you started. Consider your personal working style and how it will fit with the space you have available. If you can’t afford an entire extra room for your office, this article from HGTV will help you find space in creative places. For more inspiration, surf the internet for fun ideas like these from Re-Nest and House Beautiful. Remember, even if you work for someone else, your apartment home office is your space. Enjoy creating an office that works for you.
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National weather reports are warning people in most of the country, from the southwest to the eastern seaboard, that the unseasonably warm weather they’ve been enjoying is coming to an end. Temperatures are dropping, snow is falling, and people are unpacking ice scrapers and winter coats. If you’re new to Houston, you may be wondering how much of this sudden wintry weather we can expect, and what you’ll need to do to prepare yourself for winter in Houston.
The answers to your questions are, “Not much,” and, “Get ready to have fun outside!” It’s true that Houston’s climate is sometimes a reason for concern. Summers are extremely hot and humid, and can bring dangerous weather from floods to fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Winter, on the other hand, is when you’ll see Houston at its best. In fact, our mild winter weather is one of the top reasons why people choose to move to Houston.
Does it snow in Houston?
If you’ve followed Houston’s news over the past year, you’ll know that we had a snowstorm last February that amazed us all. Don’t let this worry you. When you take a closer look, you’ll see that the amazing part of the story was that it snowed at all. In the great storm of February 2011, less than one inch of snow fell. Roads and windshields iced up, and this was a dangerous problem, but only because Houstonians so rarely see ice or snow. Adding last February’s snowfall to this chart from the Weather Research Center, you’ll see that snow has fallen here only 35 times since 1895. We’ve seen more than two inches of snow only five times in the past 116 years! Yes, it does snow in Houston, but the white stuff is a novelty around here, not a common problem.
What’s the average Houston winter like?
Wondering what you can expect from the Houston climate year after year? Climate Zone offers this helpful chart of our average weather patterns. You’ll see that, from October to March, our average temperatures are in the 60s, with an average low of 39.7 degrees in January, and an average high of 81.6 in October. For an idea of what winters in Houston feel like for everyday folks, check out the forums on City-Data.com. Houstonians are advising newcomers to leave behind most of their winter gear. Sweaters and fleece will sometimes come in handy. Whether to bring a winter coat or space heater is a matter of personal choice. Freezing temperatures do happen here, but not every year, and usually only at night.
What will this winter in Houston bring?
For the 2011-12 winter season, The Houston Chronicle’s Eric Berger offers this forecast: Houston weather will be dry and mild, with a few nights of freezing temperatures, perhaps, but none of the snow we saw last February. This is not entirely good news. Texas, on the whole, is in the midst of its worst drought in history, so we could all desperately use any kind of precipitation. Houston will get rain this winter, but not much, and less than the average. Snow is not likely to happen at all. If dry, warm weather is your cup of tea, you’ve definitely moved to the right city!
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