Time to panic

Seeing red: Glenn Beck makes Texas moves with a Lone Star mansion in his future

Glenn Beck on the radio

File this under "No. No. Oh please, God, no."

Texas governor and potential Republican candidate Rick Perry appeared (via satellite) on Glenn Beck's show on Monday and talked about all the great things Texas is doing with tort reform and job creation and such.

But the real scoop of the exchange was when Beck told Perry he was considering "possibly moving to Texas." He even threatened to run for governor, but fortunately he immediately began to joke about what a "really crappy, bad" idea that was and my heart began to beat again as normal.

But Bud Kennedy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes, Beck's Texas gambit might not be all talk. Beck got his radio start in Corpus Christi and worked as a DJ in Houston at 104.1 before being fired. Kennedy notes a $3 million mansion in Westlake, a high-end suburb near Fort Worth, has recently been leased, and that if Beck moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area he would be joining nationally syndicated radio personalities Mark Davis and Mike Gallagher.

And maybe Beck is ready to hustle to a red state after a New Yorker ~~accidentally spilled wine on~~violently kicked and harassed him and his wife while at a Bryant Park movie on Monday night. (When did New York City become hostile to screaming lunatics?)

I know Texas is a big state, but is it big enough for us and Glenn Beck's ego? Or are you looking forward to having a Lone Star Doom Bunker on the horizon?

Update: New York Daily News has confirmed that Glenn Beck is renting the 7,900-square foot mansion in Westlake's gated neighbood of Vaquero Estates for $20,000 a month. Word on the street is that The Jonas Brothers once lived there.

Glenn Beck

bang for your buck

These are the 6 most affordable ZIP codes for Houston renters

Bellaire, Texas

Facebook / City of Bellaire, Texas

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Trying to afford buying a home in Houston is difficult enough with current mortgage rates, and doubly so if you're already paying high rent on an apartment or a house. But there are six Houston ZIP codes where renters can get the most bang for their buck, according to a new study by financial services company CashNetUSA.

To find the most affordable ZIP codes to rent in the U.S., analysts compared median household incomes by ZIP code to the average annual rent costs using the Zillow Observed Rent Index. ZIP codes where the average annual rental costs required the lowest percentage of median household income were considered the "most affordable."

Two Houston-area ZIP codes specifically stood out in CashNetUSA's ranking of the most affordable ZIP codes for renters in America: 77401 in Bellaire (No. 9) and 77094 in the Energy Corridor (No. 12).

According to the study's findings, the average monthly cost of a rental in Bellaire comes out to $2,401.25, and the median annual income of a Bellaire household is $210,577. Analysts then calculated that the annual rent of a home in the Bellaire ZIP code only takes up 13.68 percent of a household's median income, which is the ninth-lowest in the nation.

But as Houstonians know all too well, Bellaire residents aren't exactly struggling to pay their rent, seeing as they live in one of the wealthiest places in America.

Meanwhile in Houston's 77094 ZIP, annual rent costs only represent 13.88 percent of a household's median annual income. The area – which encompasses the Kingsland Estates, Green Trails, Green Trails Oaks, Windsor Park Estates, Windsor Park Lakes, and Barker neighborhoods – has a median household income of over $168,000, and average rent costs add up to $1,944.58, according to the study.

CashNetUSA found the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code for renters nationwide is 66224 in Leawood, Kansas, where annual rent only takes a 10.57 percent cut out of a household's median annual income.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio's 78248 ZIP ranked as the No. 4 most affordable ZIP code for renters in the U.S., and the No. 1 most affordable ZIP code statewide. The North Texas ZIP code 75013 in Allen ranked two spots behind Houston to claim the No. 14 spot nationally.

The most affordable Houston ZIP codes for renters
CashNetUSA further unveiled the five most affordable ZIP codes across major U.S. cities, including in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

Following 77094 (which took the No. 1 spot citywide) is 77008 (No. 2), which spans Greater Heights, Houston Heights, Shady Acres, and Lazybrook/Timbergrove. Rent costs in this ZIP code averaged out to $1,856 per month, the report found.

Landing in the No. 3 spot is 77024, which includes four of Houston's historic Memorial Villages, including Hedwig, Bunker Hill, Hunters Creek, and Piney Point. The report said average rent in the area comes out to $1,730 per month, which takes up 16.88 percent of a household's median annual income.

The remaining top two most affordable ZIP codes for Houston renters are located in 77007 (Washington Avenue Coalition/Memorial Park, Rice Military, and Crestwood/Glen Cove) and 77345 in Kingwood, which is about 30 miles north of downtown Houston.

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