I was going to bump the last thread I bumped a month + back, but some didn't like that thread and suggested starting a new one. Anyway, I decided I preferred Austin enough to find a job there and will be relocating sometime in April. Pretty excited...it just seems much more my (and my family's) style. Happy to join the Austin based Clutchfans. We'll be looking to buy - I know renting first is probably smartest, but given where we are, buying is the only way we can do it. Austin seems to have pricier, and less, inventory, but we're generally looking anywhere from the central austin neighborhoods, Tarrytown, Rollingwood, northwest Austin, southwest Austin, due West Austin. I'll be working downtown and don;t like to commute more than 20-25 minutes generally. We have a young son and will be adding to the family in the future - school district is important, but as long as we're good through elementary school i think it's fine. any thoughts on location preferences (north vs. south, central neighborhoods for young families, etc.)? we don't typically like the suburb feel, though family feel and neighborhood is of increasing importance. any other tips about the town would be appreciated. good places for average guys to play pick up basketball? restaurant scene, especially if there's a vegetarian in your party. any and all advice appreciated! we're familiar with Austin as visitors, but not that familiar overall.
Welcome. We are living in Circle C, all schools are exemplary and we are 12 minutes from down town and the Salt lick in Driftwood. Circle C is the place to be. DD
what is your price range on a home - that will be the primary factor in where you buy. you might be shocked by the prices of homes in some of the areas you listed (or maybe you make more $$$ than the average clutchfan!).
Good stuff man. I lived there 10 years, and still go back regularly. Where to live will largely depend on your price range. Personally, I like the area around Zilker Park due to its proximity to the park, downtown, restaurants on South Lamar, South Congress, etc. Tarrytown is also a great spot, particularly, the Enfield/Exposition area. Rollingwood is essentially one neighborhood over, and is worth a look, as is the 2222/Mopac area. Far West also might work as well as it's a clean, mature neighborhood that's also not too far from the city. And if you don't mind going a few more miles out, the Great Hills area (360/183) is also nice. The Allendale area (Burnet and 45th ish) is overvalued in my opinion as the surroundings are not as nice as the others.
That Enfield Road/Mopac area is pretty cool. Not too surburby and not too city. Drive by it all the time, some of the houses there are really nice.
Are you bringing Beyonce too? You better be bringing Beyonce. In all seriousness, welcome to the greatest city in Texas! I can give you some good elementary school recommendations since I spent a bit of time looking for one for my son last summer. Drop me a message if you want to.
Welcome. Like jo mama said, a lot depends on your price range. I'd love to live in Tarrytown, Allendale, or around Enfield, but it will be a long time before we could afford to. Far West is a very nice area, too. If schools, especially elementary, is a big deal, Round Rock ISD is probably the best in the area w/o getting too far from downtown. Austin ISD is about to lay off A LOT of teachers which is going to really hurt their ratios. Round Rock is going to have layoffs, but nowhere near what some of the other districts are looking at.
I live in Austin, DEF don't rent, the cost of apts is really high in any kind of good area. South Austin is generally cheaper, West/Central Austin is fairly pricey as is North Austin. If you come to the South (along Slaughter/William Cannon) there is a lot of new housing developments, houses in the 125-250K range. If you have no concerns money wise, West/Central Austin is amazing (I think nicer than North Austin, but just my opinion), but I know the housing district I am in is literally 1/2 price for the exact same house as we saw up there (same building people), simply because land is just more expensive up there. (Once you see the area you'll know why its really nice). Literally no where in Austin is that much more than 20-25 min commute to Central Austin. The south tip is like 10-15 min, and from Around Cedar Park it is 25-30 minutes (at most). Central Austin is where all the traffic is if you take I-35 (if you take Mopaq, there is more scattered traffic stuff), so really getting to that area it's just 51st street -> Riverside has traffic (backups @ like 8am & Lunch & 3-7ish) and other than that 35 is pretty easy driving (much diff than Houston's craziness). And yea that's my review, imo, it beats Houston though in every way except having sports teams to cheer for (I am not a Longhorns fan).
If you are serious about finding a place, let me know because I work under the biggest realtor in Austin. He gets a lot of information on deals about various properties a lot earlier than other realtors in the area and can really help you pinpoint find exactly what you are looking for at a great value. If you are interested, email me the best number to get in contact with you and I will have him get in touch with you when you are ready. My email address is: Ngadban@gmail.com Best of luck, and I hope you find a great place to call home!
If you're a real Rockets fan, you'd stay in Houston Enjoy living there, I've only been there once. I wish I could move there too.. take me with you...
Austin High School right next to downtown has free courts that are usually available even right after work. I play almost every other day. You can't run full court but they have two baskets large enough for 3v3.
Austin is north of the river. The community south of the river is South Austin -- and it is clearly for suckas! Do you have a local real estate agent yet? I know a great one.
Thanks for the thoughts all. I should be able to afford something in any neighborhood. That doesn't mean unlimited budget; definitely will obviously get less in certain neighborhoods, but we are much much much more likely to take less in a preferred neighborhood, than move out to Dripping Springs or something similar. Nothing against those areas (certainly I can see their appeal more now that we have a kid) - but we'd much prefer to be closer. I am somewhat concerned / confused about commute. You simultaneously hear about how awful traffic can be in Austin - and I've been in I35 traffic through town many times and can concur it is awful (but don't know about other major highways) - but also hear how everything is a 25 minute commute, max. Is that true? I mean a real, typically daily commute, during rush hour? For comparison sake, in Houston, I would never move out to Sugarland, Katy, etc. cause I prefer closer/more urban areas and because I just don't want that commute. Thanks for the basketball court tip. If I'm looking at a zip code map - btw, here is a great zip code mapper http://www.usnaviguide.com/zip.htm - could I really go out to 78736/7/8 and still have a 20-25 minute commute max?
Apart from rush hour, getting around Austin is relatively easy since the city isn't that large. This is especially true if you're inside the the virtual box of I35-183-Mopac-71. The people that run into issues with longer rush hour commutes are those people that go from downtown to places like Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Pak, etc. Rollingwood and Far West are only a few exits away from downtown, and Tarrytown doesn't even really require you to get on Mopac.
I relocated my family last summer and we love living in the Austin area. I say area because we live in Jonestown on the north shore of lake Travis which is farther out then most people would like. I commute frome home to Oak Hill which is on the southside @ 71 and William cannon. My daily commute is about an hour one way but it still beats the he'll out of my previous commute on 290 in Houston. I do miss the great Houston restaurants but otherwise the Austin area is great.