TexasCHLforum.com

Rent near work or buy in the suburbs and look for a job near home.

Unless you're really lucky, you won't find a house in a "good" neighborhood inside the loop under half a million. You might have better luck inside the beltway but single family homes in "good" neighborhoods are rare under $200,000 in Houston. You don't have to live in a "bad" neighborhood but $200-250,000 inside Houston usually means a marginal or "transitional" neighborhood. So your block might be safe (nor now) but there's gang activity a few blocks away. Because of local government policies, gangs have grown in Houston but haven't got as big a foothold in the suburbs outside Harris County. Nor in the island cities (West U, Memorial Villages, etc.) so it's not just geography.

Renting near work will keep your commute down. You can also rent a place for $1000 in areas where it would cost at least twice that to own. (If you invest the difference, there's a good chance you can beat the slow growth rate of Houston real estate.) If I understand right, you don't have kids yet so why pay for a big house until you need it? Finally, the big advantage of renting is you can move when that "transitional" neighborhood transitions in the wrong direction, or if you get a new job outside the beltway.