Austin Travel Forum

My husband and I are contemplating moving to Austin from Tucson. We are in our early 30s and have just had a little boy 4 mos. ago. We're looking for an area that has good schools/not too far away from ammenities/homes are not packed too tightly together/trees, preferrably a community that is near somewhere where you can just go to walk (similar to a 2nd street area like in Long Beach, Calf....shops,restaurants,etc.).
My questions are:
1. Where are good places to buy a home ($260-$290k)?
2. What are areas/communities where NOT to buy? Pls. be honest.
Thank you in advance for your responses.
Sincerely,
Charmaine

Ok, I'll be honest. I would try non-AISD (Austin Indep. School District) schools. Perhaps Del Valle, Pflugerville, Round Rock, etc. It's just not set up so well. Westlake and that area seem fine though. It may be that I just work at an underpriveleged school that explains my biasness. Anyways, East side of 35 seems not to be the best. West Campus is going to be more expensive, but well worth it. It's ok though, in Austin things are VERY affordable.

Good luck!

Sorry to hear you're leaving Tucson.
Outside of Central Austin (which is typically VERY expensive), there's little in the way of walkable communities. You'd probably like the Round Rock area though, particularly the "master planned communities" that they have in that area, which typically integrate residential, retail and office areas, but usually still require a car to get around. My sister lives in Round Rock, in an older subdivision, but seems to really like it there.
The other alternative is out by Lake Travis. Homes are more expensive in that area though and the commute into Austin is longer.
Houses are cheaper in the Austin area than in Tucson right now, so you'll be able to get much more house than you could here. Homes in Texas are also typically quite unlike those here in Tucson, in that they actually look different and you can't always see what your neighbor's up to and vice versa.

I'm not sure if you have moved yet or made a decision, but here's a few tips:

West Lake area is in the Eanes School district, which is supposed to be one of the best in Texas - but the housing there is outrageous. In that price range, if you want a decent sized home, I'd say you'd have to move further out - in Round Rock (which has good schools) or out to Steiner Ranch or Circle C communities - people love Steiner Ranch, but it is about 35 or 40 minutes from downtown. Very pretty masterplanned community with good elementary and middle schools. If you want to live closer to town, Hyde Park and Travis Heights are popular areas - but you would get a very small home for that price, if you could find one at all. Don't look anywhere east of I-35. Check out www.austinhomesearch.com and concentrate on areas: 7, 8E, 1B, 1N if you want to live in the "cool" areas. Travis Heights is in area 6, Steiner Ranch is in area RN - I live in area 7 now, which has some great neighborhoods, but in that price range you would need to get a condo. Central Austin is quite expensive. But a fabulous city!

I am a local Realtor with Prudential Texas. Your price range is great and you should have no problem finding a good home for you and your family. Their are two ways that you can go new our used. If your looking for a new house then you will be further out like Round rock Kyle and with your price you can shop around with the different floor plans. These areas will be hit hard if their is any shift with the market so i would make sure that you will be living in this new house for at least five years before selling. The builders have the area covered and you don't want the be competing with new vs used with that time comes around. Used house will be no problem and you can get into more stable areas closer to town. Only down side is that you might compromise on the house but sometimes with the convenience of being so close to downtown and the neighborhood will offset not having one extra bed room. Any question please let me know i am Realtor 100% and pride of my profession so please don't hesitate.

Ronny

Ronny.Nelson@prurealty.com