Moving to Austin.. Best place to live?

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Nonbryan

100+ Posts
Just got a transfer to Austin and making the move in '07! Can anyone suggest some good areas or neighborhoods to look at living and buying a house? Also, any bad ones we should keep away from? I really appreciate the direction.
 
congrats!!

Im trying to move back in 07 as well. Southwest Austin is booming. I hear they are going to build a Galleria there. Also, employers like AMD are moving Southwest as well.
 
The "Galleria" is going at 2244/71/620. It should be completed in the next year I think, maybe sooner. There is a lot of development right now at MoPac and Wm Cannon, but its far from a Galleria.

It really depends on where you will be working. I live in SW Austin (MoPac/290/Wm Cannon triangle) but wouldn't suggest this area if you work north of town due to the suck that is MoPac. Downtown from here isn't bad b/c you can go other roads.

So, where's the job?
 
Where's your office going to be?

How long a commute do you want?

Do you have kids? Is their education important to you?

What are you willing to spend (approx.)?
 
Traffic just asked all the questions that need to be answered before I can help.
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my parent's house is pretty rad. home-cooked meals, a cozy fireplace, my dad walks around naked sometimes...

but we got a hot tub.... but he gets in there naked too.
 
In sales so work out of the house so commute isn't really a problem. Same with the wife. We don't have any kids yet but hopefully will so schools are something to look at. I know this is pretty open but we were looking from 200k to 300k. Common names that keep coming up are Steiner, Allendale, Circle C, Avery Ranch, Travis Country to name a few.
 
Allendale is a very nice area. It's very central compared to those other places and IMO if you're going to live in Austin you should live somewhat central. Suburbs are suburbs...
 
If I needed frequent access to the airport, i'd look at some of the new developments near Bastrop, like The Colony. Nice new homes on large (1+ acre) lots, and the smaller ones can be had for around $300K.

Frankly, that's my 'lost my job" fallback area. I'm not interested in living there now, but I've thought about buying a lot.
 
we just moved to austin 2 weeks ago. we looked in austin. didn't want to do the burbs thing since we did that in dallas, and really, if you're going to live in austin, LIVE IN AUSTIN.

so after looking in austin proper and seeing the house that we could get for our price range, i was depressed until we saw a brand new house off of 38th. i jumped on it real quick like and so that's the story. kids go to lee elem, which supposedly is one of the best elem in aisd.

unless you want to live in the burbs, you have to be patient and find the right house/deal. you just have to be ready to pounce on them when you see them.
 
check out NW Hills as well, from Far West up to 183/360. Still in the city, but cheaper than some of the places closer in. Schools are good as well.
 
Can you still get in Allandale or NW Hills for under $300K?

I live in Barton Hills and the 3/1 1300 square foot house across the street from me just went on the market at $350K.
 
You can get into NW Hills for $160/sf to $180/sf. At $300K, that would probably mean you're looking at a 1700 sf house, which is on the small side for that neighborhood.

We moved into the area a few months ago, and paid $141/sf, but our house is, well, quite large. The bigger the house, the lesser the price per square foot. Plus, we got a bargain.
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Yeah, probably not a lot in NW Hills for under 300K. Either on the smaller side, or look up north of Steck for the best chance.
 
Looking through the MLS, you'll find a couple of houses less than $325K in area 1A, but they're both "pending, taking backups". I'm sure more will pop up from time to time.
 
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