Erika, I too grew up in a teeny weeny house. It was in a townhouse complex in Kendall. Across the street was a strip mall. In this strip mall, there was a Navarro supermarket (a Cuban grocery store type place), a Dollar Store, and a Blue Sky by the Pound food store. So, not exactly a ritzy neighboorhood. Also, there was a Kenny Rogers restaurant on the corner. After the Kenny Rogers restaurant closed, a shitty sex store moved in. Fact.
It wasn't a bad place, though. There were playgrounds, a swimming pool, and two lakes with lots of ducks and ducklings every spring!