Neighborhood recommendations

My good friend (22F) & I (23F) are planning to move to Houston from the North Jersey/NYC area. Which neighborhoods/apartment buildings are recommended? Both are young black professionals, working in banking & STEM but we love to go out to nice dinners and hookah lounges. We want a city feel or at least something that’s near the action (<30 mins)

Where should we be looking? Also, safety is a must!

Edit: Budget is $2k for a 2 bed/2 bath