>Houston is somewhat of a unicorn in this mix. To say the city has no zoning laws really only implicates a very small portion of the logical geographic area in

>Houston is somewhat of a unicorn in this mix. To say the city has no zoning laws really only implicates a very small portion of the logical geographic area in the urban center. I'm not quite sure what you mean: Houston's city limits span 667 square miles! That's not a very small portion in the urban center. It's true that there are a few pocket cities embedded in the city that may have different zoning laws: Piney Point, Bellaire and West University, but Houston relentlessly grew through annexation until it was slowed by lawsuits. It still continues to grow though annexations... see [1] https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Annexation/docs_pdfs/HoustonAnnexationHistory.pdf https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Annexation/docs_pdfs/Hous... I also disagree about home prices being unattainable; I think implicit in your statement are assumptions about schools, neighborhood walkability and the like. There are plenty of places that aren't yet ideal but are far cheaper. In my zip code there are plenty of listings for houses and lots in the $100k range but at the top of the market there's a mansion for $2.1 million. Best of luck in your search for something with your criteria.