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Feeling a Bit Loopy Part III: Shifting Into Park

Miller Outdoor Theatre

Living in an urban center provides plenty of excitement, convenience and other benefits. It rarely, though, provides much of a yard.

But then, that means you don’t have to spend half a Saturday in the Houston heat behind a lawnmower and wielding an edger like a light saber instead of enjoying your downtime in creative, fun ways.

Houston’s park system dots the Inner Loop with the most attractive and compelling public green spaces. Among them is the massive Memorial Park, a 1,466-acre center of recreation for many Houstonians, one of the largest parks in the United States. Memorial Park not only has a golf course and a Beck’s Prime restaurant, but also hosts events like the spring edition of the biannual Bayou City Arts Festival.

There’s also Bagby Park, Market Square and soon-to-come Midtown Park, which offer many entertainment options for a short drive or light rail ride from one of Surge Homes’ Midtown communities.

Life Where You Live
All of these things have something in common: Astros games; Freedom Over Texas; the Art Car Parade; the free live outdoor shows at Miller Outdoor Theatre; the cheeseburger at Lankford’s Grocery and Market.

They only exist inside the Loop.

Sure, only around 20 percent of the city’s population resides inside the Loop, but that still falls in population size somewhere between Sacramento, California, and Kansas City, Missouri. Geographically, the Inner Loop is about the same size as Milwaukee, according to the City of Houston Planning and Development Department.

Nearly every city-wide event, from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to near-weekly “fun runs” for charity and the massive fireworks display every Independence Day, occurs within the confines of the Inner Loop.

Ask anyone who lives in the ‘burbs where they hang out with friends. The answer invariably will be somewhere inside the Loop, which necessitates a long drive home (hopefully not after a few cocktails). The bladder-abusing drive at the end of a night provides the strongest incentive for those living far from the city's core to hunker down at home, missing the greatness of Houston's Inner Loop.

About 90 percent of the city’s activities happen inside the Loop where only about a fifth of its inhabitants reside. The preponderance of Houston’s most coveted and famous neighborhoods are here (no offense, Tanglewood!).

It’s also where Surge Homes chose to develop many innovative communities of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums. These communities are so popular that Surge Homes is working hard to keep up with demand.  

For those who live here, there’s no need to boast about the benefits. These are the reasons they moved here in the first place.  

Like this blog? Read part I, “Keeping You in the Loop,” and part II “Finding Your Inner Drive.”