I have a buddy that might be moving to houston sometime soon for a job located around I-10 and Sam Houston Tollway and he would like to know what areas he should avoid and which are good?

I think he told me his budget is around 150 to 180kish, depending on how much insurance and taxes are in the area, but in that range he should be safe.

He would prefer established neighborhoods (some mature trees), yard big enough for medium sized dog, non-track built, and a short commute (less than 30 min), decent elementary schools would be a plus

Katy (W) or Cypress (NW) should fit the bill...

Although either will probably be 30min.  Closer would be copperfield or jersey village areas.

ya right around i10 and beltway 8 around the memorial city mall theres a couple decent neighborhoods

ok. tell him do not go anywhere near the briar forest, tanglewood neighborhood areas, just south of I10 outside bw8. they bussed in katrina refugees to apartments and duplexes and they never left. be sure to look up the crime rates of neighborhoods. also there are neighborhoods north of I10 just inside bw 8,  they aren't great either,  but not nearly as bad.  his best bet will be cypress or katy.

the areas inside bw8 and south of i10, like the other poster said,  around memorial mall and memorial in general,  are very nice,  but I think you will have a hard time finding anything near that price range.

For the right place he might be able to handle up to 220k depending on salary.