Congrats on your move!

I'd figure out where you were going to work, and work your real estate search outward from there. There's good places to live close to most anywhere you will be working. There are two problems with driving in Austin, as I see it: Not enough east-west arteries, and the Colorado river. The river, in the middle of town, is a bottleneck at rush hour. So in general, you want to live on the same side of the river as where you work. I suspect you'll find the real estate prices here better than whence you came.

 

In rush hour, what's the worst case scenario if I were to travel one end of Austin to the other end of Austin, having to crossover the river and such? As in how long would that take me?

 

With no accidents 1-1.5 hrs. With accidents 2-4 hrs. He's right, there's really only 4 viable ways north/south without going through downtown: I-35, Mopac, Lamar, or 360. Take the advice, live on the same side of the river as where you plan to work, you'll thank yourself later.

 

Greater Austin from extreme South to extreme North is probably 15 miles and extreme East to extreme West probably 12 miles. 180 Square Miles! The rush "hour" is from 7 to 9 AM and 4 to 6:30 PM and you move at a crawl on major roads for at least a 10 mile radius of downtown. Then there is our road construction, some part of every major road is ALWAYS under construction. Right now it's 183 in N. Austin to Cedar Park and I35 North for the new toll road.

I live about 5 miles from downtown, if I was dumb enough to try driving during peak rush hour it would take me 45 minutes to an hour to drive it (not including trying to find a place to park). There are people that live in Leander that work downtown, thanks to the 183 construction they have to leave before 7AM to get to work at 9AM (12 miles or so).

Work north? Live North! Work south? Live South! Live in Leander? Hope you can find a job in far N.W. Austin.

 

I've been reading through these posts, and everyone has pretty much "hit the nail on the head". Traffic does suck, if you don't allocate for ample travel time, and the inevitable accident(s) along your route. Another big contributor to the traffic problem is what we call "rubberneckers", or those who have to drive 2 mph just so they can see what a car accident looks like on the opposite side of the highway, and then speed up to 60 mph once they've passed it. Austin is 10 years behind the power curve..meaning that they are now building/expanding roads that should have been done 10 years ago before it became one of the FASTEST GROWING AREAS IN THE NATION. So once again, the best advice: WORK NORTH, LIVE NORTH; WORK SOUTH, LIVE SOUTH.

As for safety, it's all relative to what you're willing to pay for. Austin has been declared as one of the top 5 safest cities in the United States, and has the highest paying police force in the State of Texas. Like all cities, every area is going to have their good side of the tracks...and the bad. In my opinion, the safest sides of the city are either northwest or southwest. Personally, I would recommend living up north...Parmer/620 area ($200,000+), Forest Creek ($250,000+) in Round Rock (where all the "Dell People" live), or my favorite area...Avery Ranch ($300,000+ homes). Areas such as Leander, Liberty Hill, Cedar Park, Kyle, Buda and even Bastrop are growing areas that are gaining popularity and growing like weeds. Again, it all depends on what you're willing to spend. Austin schools are great, but I believe that Round Rock I.S.D. has a better emphasis on education, newer facilities, and "less" of a gang problem. As for areas to avoid (because I have worked these areas and can testify to the stuff I've dealt with): Dove Springs (southeast), Riverside (south central), Manor Rd/Springdale (northeast), Rundberg or North Lamar (north central)

Property taxes are a lot higher in the city limits of Austin. That's why so many people are moving outwards towards Leander/Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and especially Hutto. Chances are, if you're in the IT field, most of the employers are up north anyway.

I can go on, and on forever talking about this so I'll end this for now. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

 

If you're interested I might be selling a house in Round Rock Ranch. 2 story, 2300+ sq. ft., screened back patio, built in 98, $190k. Pm me if you want more info.

 

Speaking from my casa in Avery Ranch, thanks for the props! I will further your comment on property taxes by saying that they are real high in AR, due to us having 6 different tax districts to pay into. One of these is to pay for Avery Ranch Blvd. itself, which is amazing to me, as it is a public road. Why are AR homoeowners footing the bill? That's another topic for another day....