As The Menil Collection has begun to divulge its long-term plans for expansion, talk has turned to what will replace the cheap-but-doomed Richmont Square.

This announcement (or non-announcement, since there is no current plan to level or empty the apartment complex), along with the uncertain fate of the budget-friendly Allen House apartments and the replacement of the Westheimer Square Apartments (one-bedroom rent: $525) with the Alexan Westheimer (cheapest one-bedroom rent: $1,400) leads the River Oaks Examiner's Michael Reed to wonder if affordable living inside the loop is going the way of the dodo.

In journalism, they say three is a trend, but in this is case I disagree.

There are still plenty of large, cheap apartment complexes inside the loop, particularly around the medical center and towards the West Loop. Whether there will remain any large complexes of this sort around Montrose and Upper Kirby is a different question.

The options are clearly dwindling, but generally in Montrose large complexes of any sort—bargain or high-budget—are the exception. Duplexes and fourplexes rule, and small, eight- or 16-unit complexes still abound on more residential streets.

And of course, across from the lost, lamented Westheimer Square sits the Avalon Square, as big, cheap and ugly as ever, with no apparent intention of going anywhere.

Let's call a spade a spade, shall we? Houston, despite the recent proliferation of high-end apartment complexes in in-demand neighborhoods, is still the most affordable big city in the nation.

These higher-priced additions not only reflected the housing market conditions of the pre-crash 2000s, they also catered to a growing amount of city dwellers who demand things like central air, private balconies, personal washers and dryers and modern kitchens and bathrooms.

During the same time period, Inner Loop residents living in complexes who had these amenities saw their rents raised by up to $300 without as much as a new coat of paint. Now that the market has changed, the same places have dropped their prices significantly.

As long as our city economy is thriving, development with maximum profitability (read: high rent) will always threaten. But the fact that we have so many affordable options in the coolest neighborhoods is part of what makes Houston so nice.

And they won't be disappearing any time soon.

Sarah Rufca lives in a reasonably-priced apartment inside the loop.