Best area to move to in Austin?

H

hawaiianhorn

25+ Posts
I'm thinking about moving to Austin by the end of the summer. I'm currently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so I need suggestions as to where is the best place to move to...any suggestions would be appreciated!
 
are you single, how old are you, do you want to rent or own, what is your budget, do you like to go out, where will you be working?

need some more info if you want good responses
 
i'm also looking for a place. single in my mid 20s, looking to rent. i go out occasionally but i travel a lot during the week as a consultant. so i would like to save on housing since i'm rarely at home.
 
You can rent some nice houses or apartments along S Congress or S First in the Bouldin and Travis Heights areas. Quick trip to the airport to get out of town, right across the river for going downtown, and since you don't have kids you don't have to worry about the quality of Travis High School.

But I don't know what it costs or how much you're looking to spend.
 
if you are young, single and make decent money, there's no reason not to live downtown in one of the posh high rises. hell, it's built specficially for you and your demographics.

if you live anywhere else, you'll be wasting money as you'll be going out downtown and doing stuff around town lake anyway.
 
Over 30 years ago as a single, I lived for 6+ years at Congress Square located at the corner of South Congress and Riverside. It is right in the middle of everything with easy access to downtown, I35, Zilker Park, MoPac, lots of eating places. Don't know how/if it's been kept up over the years or what the current rental range is. One- and two-bedroom units were very nice back in the day. It was a great place to live.

There's another more recently built and gated complex just up the hill on South Congress (east side of Congress) across from the School for the Deaf that looks very nice.
 
If you want to save money, I would avoid downtown. Hyde Park or somewhere off of South Congress might be a better bet. There was a post on here not to long ago about housing for <1000 with some good suggestions.
 
One more suggestion besides Hyde Park.

There is a small neighbourhood bordered by I 35 on the West, Airport on the East, and 26th/Manor on the South. (yea, it is pretty much a triangle).

I had some friends who rented a house there during school. It was great. Nice older homes, fair prices, and close to 35 and to downtown.
 
No, terrible idea. Horrible. Nowhere on the East side is good. People say that pockets of it are safe and getting better. They are wrong. Stay away from anything east of the interstate,esp. if you are from out of town or out of state. You really should move to Hype Park or somewhere like that. Those areas are safe, clean and have plenty of pecan sharing neighbors.

East Side = no
 
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Is there some magic force field right down 35? That is hilarious. The neighbourhood I am talking about is less than 1/2 a mile east of 35 anyway. I hope, loop, that you were being sarcastic. What about all the new high rise condos being built downtown, but east of 35? They horrible and unsafe also?
 
No, no safe pockets in East Austin. Hyde Park. The people that say there are good pockets in East Austin are trying to get you hurt.

(disclaimer, I have lived in East Austin for ten years now and would not trade my neighbors or my area for any other, I have it made in the shade. I get to suckout in poker, share my pecans and get called ************ from guys snazzily dressed in hip clothes).
 
Yup, me too. Just the city listing on my house is over quadruple what I paid for it. I have been offered five times what I purchased it for, six and a half what I owe. Not tempted yet. Staying put.
 
sort of over by where the new train station is coming in. Values are going up when that happens, so I am told. Now is the time to buy those duplexes or whatever is going in up on MLK near the train station.
 
I'm 32, female, and single..I would prefer to live in the suburbs..Im looking for an area with affordable apartments, easy access to grocery stores, malls, and etc. I was told to stay away from the East side of Austin..
 
Why do you think you want the suburbs, if I may ask? Burbs are burbs no matter where you go it seems. There are pockets of Austin that are very unique and others that are up and coming.

If you enjoy music, arts and outdoor things you can live somewhere in Austin itself and get all that and more. Depending on where you work you can commute to it from Austin in record time with the new rail coming in.

There is a certain hipness about Austin that is lost in the burbs but they are not all that bad, some better than others. I think I would find it quite boring if I had to live there and would leave Austin before ever living in the 'burbs. That may just be me, though.

I would suggest getting a short term lease if you can so that you get a feel for the city. But ask yourself what you will want to do when you play. What are your hobbies and areas of interest? How far will you travel to do them, etc...

If it is just you, you can get lofts or efficiencies for a decent rate. Because of the large number of students a lot of places will do shorter term leases. Not all but many.

I think you would enjoy something over off of Enfield Rd., Upper Hyde Park or Travis Heights for an intro to town. Maybe even the smaller apartments along Speedway in Hyde Park.

If you look at a map of Austin you will see Enfield Rd. is basically 15th Street when it crosses Lamar. See east of downtown.

Hyde Park is that area just above the University campus with all the Avenues of Alphabet letters, Duval/Speedway and streets like that.

Travis Heights is just below the river and downtown. I suggest the South Congress area or So. First street.

You will see those are somewhat centrally located. You will have tons of things to do nearby.
 
south near William Cannon

north near Parmer

both are near suburbs, both have good quality affordable apt communities and both have plenty of access to grocery stores, etc
 
I think the Arboretum sounds perfect for you actually. By the Domain, it's clean, affordable. I'm moving there as well.

To the best of my knowledge, there aren't alot of nice apartments east of I-35.

The Hyde Park apartments will be pretty old for the most part, but you'll be living next to older students and singles. If I didn't have a family, that would be my choice. Anywhere near campus, reallly. Love that area.


Arboretum has more of a professional feel,imo.
 
I think that would be because it is nicer. I agree with RamaThorninmyside that Arbor seems to be more for her given what she has provided.
 
Everyone is also forgetting the area west of Mopac between Far West and Anderson Ln. Nice apts, shopping, close to downtown, UT as well as the Arboretum area.

South and North are boring, but affordable.
 
Far West is the best bang for your buck. You have get a nice 1 bedroom for 650. You are in a very safe neighborhood. You are surrounded by million dollar NorthWest hill homes. You are walking distance to great Chinese (ChinaTown), Japanese (Mushashinos), Mexican (El Chile & El Arroyo), a cute little coffee shop/bakery (Kneaded Pleasures). A 2 minute drive over to Wallys, Fuddruckers, Mangias, Subway, etc...

The best HEB in the city is right there. You are 10 minutes from Downtown. 2 minutes to the Arboretum. 5 from the Domain area. Halfway between Cedar Park Mall and Barton Springs Mall.

I recommend this area to everyone moving to Austin. Sign a 1 year lease... and then re-evaluate.

I bought a condo in this neighborhood and I love living here. I can leave my windows open at night. I can walk everywhere I need to get... and because of the easy access to Mopac, I am close to everything.

It is a good 20 minute drive to the airport though... but not too bad.
 
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