I've lived in Montrose for going on 5 years now, and it's routinely touted as Houston's premiere walk-able neighborhood. That being said, I've noticed a number of business closings and deterioration of commercial properties in the area for a while now, outside of the obvious ones of Disco Kroger and the neighboring Half-Price books strip mall. Residential property values in the area haven't accrued that much either.

This has been abandoned as long as I've lived here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1233+Waugh+Dr,+Houston,+TX+77019/@29.7556276,-95.3980337,3a,75y,84.08h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s42FFwIxh6Sssix4vJ8Lwlw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D42FFwIxh6Sssix4vJ8Lwlw%26cb_client%3Dsearch.gws-prod.gps%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D84.081406%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m8!1m2!2m1!1ssnap+kitchen!3m4!1s0x8640c0a6c0e4b92f:0x7ace05e043dbd460!8m2!3d29.7556486!4d-95.3978137

Hay Merchant is just a trash dump now:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/3050+Waugh+Dr,+Houston,+TX+77007/@29.7448067,-95.3926265,3a,75y,294.35h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shdGLQ2xrlaHtL6jyJGvGxw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DhdGLQ2xrlaHtL6jyJGvGxw%26cb_client%3Dsearch.gws-prod.gps%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D294.35355%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m8!1m2!2m1!1shay+merchant!3m4!1s0x8640bfadd2e6b15d:0x1901f66de34eb13!8m2!3d29.7448785!4d-95.3928514

Whatever this was is a trash dump as well now:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Salty/@29.7427931,-95.4015998,3a,75y,358.22h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMwH8b1vYxVFbrlCcz4P0Bg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DMwH8b1vYxVFbrlCcz4P0Bg%26cb_client%3Dsearch.gws-prod.gps%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D358.22314%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m8!1m2!2m1!1shay+merchant!3m4!1s0x8640c12148a6af5d:0x7cb5302f5e72cd71!8m2!3d29.7432096!4d-95.4016148

Fenced off, but still abandoned for some time:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Handies+Douzo/@29.7370702,-95.3909341,3a,75y,162.87h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sV1t8145ijYwyQfgI1XQRLg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DV1t8145ijYwyQfgI1XQRLg%26cb_client%3Dsearch.gws-prod.gps%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D162.86803%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m8!1m2!2m1!1ssnap+kitchen!3m4!1s0x8640bf309d6bd609:0xc4cd02cbe02e809a!8m2!3d29.7368422!4d-95.3908508

I hopped over to EaDo recently, and that place is an adult Disney World, with breweries, comedy clubs and the Truck Yard, with new places that opened up since the last time I was there. Not saying that this is the best kind of development, but I'm wondering why the neighborhoods are going in such different directions. Is it just the presence of the stadiums that's doing it?

I wanted to get folks' thoughts on the way lawn care is currently handled in Houston. I've lived in both the burbs and in town, and most homes and businesses hire crews for lawn care/landscaping.

Unfortunately, these crews don't seem to have much regard for the local residents, and often run gas-powered leaf-blowers and weedwackers at the highest intensity for quite a bit of noise pollution. What's worse is that all the leaf blowing doesn't seem to really accomplish all that much, just blowing leaves from the driveway into the street, just for leaves to collect on the driveway a few days later. Crews will also start at 8 AM on Saturdays and holidays.

Having transitioned to working from home during COVID, the drone of leaf-blowers outside almost constant and very annoying, even in the suburbs where there's some expectation of peace and quiet.

My brother lives in New England, and people just don't bother with it up there; the leaves just sit and compost on lawn or wooded areas. Here's an example of a front lawn up there: https://www.redfin.com/NH/Merrimack/15-Seaverns-Bridge-Rd-03054/home/60342364. Is there some reason we go through all of this theater here? What is it all for and is there something we can do about limiting the noise pollution?

With the 2020 Census results out, Houston continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, adding many people from all over the country. For those who have lived here a long time, or those who have lived here a short time and tired of it quickly, I was curious what your candidate list of moving destinations looks like.

What are the major draws of the destinations you're looking at?

For myself, I've been eyeing the smaller cities of the Northeast; the Southeast (Atlanta, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham), but it feels too spawly and similar to Houston.