House Hunting!

jenvalet · January 2010

Hi everyone,

MH and I will be in the Austin area house hunting next week! We are very excited. I think we'll be looking at a variety of locations - Leander, Round Rock, Cedar Park and Georgetown.

My brother lives in Georgetown and he's really pushing it as "up and coming." But it sounds a little sleepy to me.

So, where do you live? Do you like it? How long have you lived in the area?

Thanks!

MrsHoyt · January 2010

Leander and Cedar Park are pretty much the same thing, IMO. Round Rock is similar, but more crowded. Georgetown has gotten bigger in the last few years, but there isn't much of a difference between any of the areas you've mentioned. All of them will have new developments with reasonably priced, pretty nice homes. All of them will have a pretty painful commute if you work in downtown Austin. All of them are close to good shopping.

I live south, and I love it, but I grew up in Round Rock and saw it change into something completely different when Dell set up shop.

Leigha12 · January 2010

DH and I lived in Austin for 10 years before having to relocate to Georgetown in November so I could be closer to work. HATE Georgetown. Okay, maybe hate is a little strong, but we can't wait to leave. The housing prices are good, and yards exist (not so in every Austin neighborhood), but it's a long drive from anything entertaining, and his drive into Austin is horrendous.

srh0029 · January 2010

We live in N. Central Austin and really like it. There's a grocery store & coffee shop within walking distance, we're maybe 10mins from downtown, and can pretty much get to anywhere else in austin in less than 20mins.

Sounds like you're more interested in the burbs though, so I would throw Pflugerville in the hat for you to check out too. We have a couple of friends that live there. It's a drive into town like the rest of them, but I think it's a fairly popular choice for younger families.

jenvalet · January 2010

Yeah, I think we'll probably stick with the burbs only because you seem to get more bang for your buck. And we'd like to stay close to my brother since he'll be the only family we'll have there.

thethomps · January 2010

I live in N. Austin (almost Pflugerville) and I love it! I'm close to Super Target, not too far from the Domain and Arboretum and can get downtown in 15-20 minutes on the weekends (except when there is a UT football game...I've learned to steer clear). I got quite a bit of house for my buck and have a yard for the dogs to run around. And when I first moved in, a donkey visited my house from one of the neighboring farms. Bet you can't say that about many places. Wink

MrsRosie · January 2010

We live in an area called Milwood in NW Austin. It's near Mopac and Parmer. We love it. Easy to get downtown or go pretty much in any direction, close to the Domain, lots of variety in the age and condition of houses (so you could get something almost new or you could get a 70s-80s fixer-upper for less money).

Jim&Pam08 · January 2010

I grew up in Austin and Round Rock, and now live in Round Rock. It's a tad far from downtown (30 mins w/o traffic), but it's family friendly and still has a lot going on. I've always thought of Georgetown as a place for older couples, and not a whole lot to do. We looked at living in Cedar Park, but decided it wasn't for us. I've heard Pflugerville is going downhill, but it's closer into town, so that's a plus.

ashleybritton · January 2010

I grew up in North West Austin. We bought our first house in Round Rock and I hated it. I felt so far away from everything. A lot of people love it...it just wasn't for me. Now we're in Cedar Park in a community called Red Oaks and I love it. I also sell homes for a builder in Cedar Park in a community called Walsh Trails. It's pretty unique because it has a tunnel connecting to two amazing park systems. If you like nature, it's definitely worth checking out. Good luck and welcome to Austin!

MrsRedRaiderGirl · January 2010

srh0029:

We live in N. Central Austin and really like it. There's a grocery store & coffee shop within walking distance, we're maybe 10mins from downtown, and can pretty much get to anywhere else in austin in less than 20mins.

Sounds like you're more interested in the burbs though, so I would throw Pflugerville in the hat for you to check out too. We have a couple of friends that live there. It's a drive into town like the rest of them, but I think it's a fairly popular choice for younger families.

Agree. I'm also central/north central, so no help there. But many of our friends live in Pflugerville - it seems closer than the other burbs, but still good bang for the buck.

ashleybritton · January 2010

One thing to consider with Pflugerville...their tax rates are pretty darn high. While the prices are good, your buying power is lower because of the tax rate.

sweetscarlet · January 2010

Count me in as another pro-Milwood lady. Great neighborhood, and really do love how close it is to The Domain, etc. Wish I lived a bit more central bcs I work south, but it's not at all a bad place to end up. Great for those of us who are buying their first homes, etc. In fact, some friends from Baton Rouge will be moving to Austin shortly, and while they could afford to live in more expensive areas in town, they will likely end up in Milwood to start.

Jim&Pam08 · January 2010

sweetscarlet:
Count me in as another pro-Milwood lady. Great neighborhood, and really do love how close it is to The Domain, etc. Wish I lived a bit more central bcs I work south, but it's not at all a bad place to end up. Great for those of us who are buying their first homes, etc. In fact, some friends from Baton Rouge will be moving to Austin shortly, and while they could afford to live in more expensive areas in town, they will likely end up in Milwood to start.

I agree about Milwood. It was my first choice as far as location. The type of house we were looking for was out of our price range and we would have had to sacrifice square footage. The schools are really good, and it's close to a lot. If we move again, I'd want to be in that neighborhood.

ssinca · January 2010

jenvalet:
My brother lives in Georgetown and he's really pushing it as "up and coming." But it sounds a little sleepy to me.

leander is SUPER sleepy so I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, either. although there are a few of us who live here so we'll be more than happy to show you around!

kak9/05 · January 2010

MrsRosie:
We live in an area called Milwood in NW Austin. It's near Mopac and Parmer. We love it. Easy to get downtown or go pretty much in any direction, close to the Domain, lots of variety in the age and condition of houses (so you could get something almost new or you could get a 70s-80s fixer-upper for less money).

I live in another neighborhood close to Milwood and we really like it. My neighbor is selling his house for $209k and it's a 3br 2 bath built in the 80s and very nicely updated (to give you an idea of the price range!) there are some less updated homes in the neighborhood for $175 to 200k. On a side note - I grew up in Hyde Park, and coming from Boston I much preferred the established neighborhoods with trees and an older feel.

Ricola · January 2010

We live in Southwest Austin, near "The Y", since about a year now. The neighborhood is called Westcreek and it's part of Oak Hills. We love, love, love this neighborhood! It's a 10 minute drive to downtown, we have all kinds of shopping right around the corner and the neighborhood was developed around 1980, so there are lots of mature trees and interesting plants. We don't have HOA-fees or anything like that, and the houses and properties are all very individual and charming; no cookie cutters here :-) We have a house (1700 squarefeet) with a pool in a good-sized backyard for just over 200K. Love it!

KellyP09 · January 2010

We live off the RR620 - close to Cedar Park but still Austin. This is a very up and coming area - growing fast!

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