Getting ready for Austin
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,183
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Getting ready for Austin
Hey all, I'm preparing for my move to Austin next summer. Just doing some research, and would appreciate any feedback in regards to which areas of Austin have a good balance of low real estate cost and safe and not a huge commute to downtown or wherever the IT industry is, and which areas of Austin I should stay away from.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,738
Likes: 10
From: Austin, Texas
Vectorz,
Let me be the first to welcome you to Austin. You might want to spend a week or two here, in August (like the last 2 weeks) before you commit to living here
. J/K, but be prepared for LONG, HOT, summers.
One rule to live by here. If you work north of the river (Town Lake) live north of the river, if you work south of the river live south of the river.
Othewise traffic will remind you of L.A.. There is plenty of nice affordable housing in either direction. Housing close to downtown, like in most cities, is going to be more expensive than in the burbs. The housing in the north (Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown) is in general a little more afforable than in the south. Just stay west of I-35.
I think IT jobs will be spread out all over the city, as most of the businesses are. Most of the employment here is centered downtown in the Government, UT, Service Industry. But you have Dell and Samsung in the north, Freescale and AMD in the south, as the major employers.
Austin is a cool town (not as cool as it was 6-7 years ago) but still a pretty nice place to live if you don't mind the heat (dry heat
).
Good luck with the move.
George
Let me be the first to welcome you to Austin. You might want to spend a week or two here, in August (like the last 2 weeks) before you commit to living here
. J/K, but be prepared for LONG, HOT, summers.One rule to live by here. If you work north of the river (Town Lake) live north of the river, if you work south of the river live south of the river.
Othewise traffic will remind you of L.A.
. There is plenty of nice affordable housing in either direction. Housing close to downtown, like in most cities, is going to be more expensive than in the burbs. The housing in the north (Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown) is in general a little more afforable than in the south. Just stay west of I-35.I think IT jobs will be spread out all over the city, as most of the businesses are. Most of the employment here is centered downtown in the Government, UT, Service Industry. But you have Dell and Samsung in the north, Freescale and AMD in the south, as the major employers.
Austin is a cool town (not as cool as it was 6-7 years ago) but still a pretty nice place to live if you don't mind the heat (dry heat
).Good luck with the move.
George
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,183
Likes: 5
Thanks for the feedback, George. Yes, i'm definitely anticipating the heat, but I imagine it cannot be any worse than Las Vegas or Cancun. Or can it?
Oh, and while I do some looking for real estate from over here (online), are there any sections of Austin that you would recommend staying away from for whatever reason? Mainly safety perhaps..
Oh, and while I do some looking for real estate from over here (online), are there any sections of Austin that you would recommend staying away from for whatever reason? Mainly safety perhaps..
Last edited by vectorz; Aug 24, 2006 at 04:31 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 10,399
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From: Austin Texas
Austin is like any area, the best locations have the highest prices. There are some extreme exceptions; i.e., a 50 year old 900 sq. ft. 2 BR, 1 B w/no garage, no central heat or air close in to downtown for $250,000 because the idiots are paying that much for a lot. Or a 3/2/2 2 story 30 year old house w/central heat and air in excellent shape in a good neighborhood but a "bad" ZIP code for $140,000.
You have to be carefull with neighborhoods, a couple of blocks can make a big difference, lots of rentals in Austin and rental neighborhoods reflect lower prices. Even the new subdivisions outside Austin have a strong rental presence, mostly from West Coast investors.
You have to be carefull with neighborhoods, a couple of blocks can make a big difference, lots of rentals in Austin and rental neighborhoods reflect lower prices. Even the new subdivisions outside Austin have a strong rental presence, mostly from West Coast investors.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: GO EXPRESS!!!!!!! Round Rock, TX
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Originally Posted by vectorz
Are there any areas in Austin that are unsafe?
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,575
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From: GO EXPRESS!!!!!!! Round Rock, TX
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Originally Posted by Boob
I'd stay away from areas near IH35 and Rundberg and South Congress/Ben White. Not saying there's anything bad about those areas. Just saying I don't live there and would not live there.
Boob is trying to nicely say, avoid the minority areas. Austin has catered to them so long they think they run the place.
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Race Director
Joined: Mar 2005
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From: Austin Texas
Originally Posted by Boob
I'd stay away from areas near IH35 and Rundberg and South Congress/Ben White. Not saying there's anything bad about those areas. Just saying I don't live there and would not live there.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2003
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Originally Posted by EVIL
Boob is trying to nicely say, avoid the minority areas. Austin has catered to them so long they think they run the place.
However, with that in mind, I want my kids to grow up in an area where they won't be exposed racism but at the same time not be a bad area with poverty.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,575
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From: GO EXPRESS!!!!!!! Round Rock, TX
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Originally Posted by vectorz
Doh! I *am* a minority (Asian). But wait, isn't WHITE a minority in Texas? I thought Mexican|Latino|Hispanic were the majority.
However, with that in mind, I want my kids to grow up in an area where they won't be exposed racism but at the same time not be a bad area with poverty.
However, with that in mind, I want my kids to grow up in an area where they won't be exposed racism but at the same time not be a bad area with poverty.
Oh, and for the record you can be Asian and still be a racist. With that said though, I'm half hispanic and my wife is hispanic and we can both see where Austin's problems come from and it isn't Westlake Hills....
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: GO EXPRESS!!!!!!! Round Rock, TX
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Originally Posted by vectorz
With what I stated above, would Round Rock still be a good place to live?
Round Rock, Cedar Park, Oakhill, pretty much the suburbs are the only places I'd consider living anymore except for Terrytown. For what it's worth...
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2003
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EVIL, thanks for clearing that up. I was just a little concerned because I hear a few stories about animosity against minorities (mainly hispanic) so it's a little bit of concern, but on the other hand I don't hear too much animosity against Asians. The concern is for my children particularly at school, because I know how other children raised in a hate filled environment can be.
I looked up some stats, and Texas appears to be one of the 4 states that Latinos|Mexican|Hispanic are the majority.
How much should I be expecting to spend on real estate for a home in a safe area?
I looked up some stats, and Texas appears to be one of the 4 states that Latinos|Mexican|Hispanic are the majority.
How much should I be expecting to spend on real estate for a home in a safe area?
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,575
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From: GO EXPRESS!!!!!!! Round Rock, TX
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Originally Posted by vectorz
EVIL, thanks for clearing that up. I was just a little concerned because I hear a few stories about animosity against minorities (mainly hispanic) so it's a little bit of concern, but on the other hand I don't hear too much animosity against Asians. The concern is for my children particularly at school, because I know how other children raised in a hate filled environment can be.
I looked up some stats, and Texas appears to be one of the 4 states that Latinos|Mexican|Hispanic are the majority.
How much should I be expecting to spend on real estate for a home in a safe area?
I looked up some stats, and Texas appears to be one of the 4 states that Latinos|Mexican|Hispanic are the majority.
How much should I be expecting to spend on real estate for a home in a safe area?
Expect to spend around 180k+ for a nice neighborhood in the suburbs.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,183
Likes: 5
180k?! That's terrific! Thanks for the advice guys. So the plan is to take a trip down to Austin sometime in the next few weeks, take a look at some real estate and evaluate the prices to see if it still makes sense.
Thanks everyone, for your input.
Thanks everyone, for your input.
Pro
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 734
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From: Austin TX
Originally Posted by haljensen
I'm a Property Manager in Residential Real Estate in the Austin area and hate to see a broad general statement like yours. I have friends that live East of I35 and North of Rundberg in some of the best priced, most crime free and most stable neighborhoods in the Austin area. 78753 ZIP has some pocket neighorhoods that are outstanding for families.
My statement was not meant to say there aren't nice spots within those areas, rather, to warn someone away from there if they value a generally crime free area. I live out near Lake Travis and I love it out here. There are just a few bums around the major highways (not like downtown where they're everywhere.) I also haven't seen any "ghetto assed"
people walking around my apartments or surrounding neighborhoods. Someone mentioned West Lake Hills. I wish I could afford over there. Definately a nice place to live and raise a family. Lakeway is also nice, with heavy police enforcement. All this being said, crime happens...someone had their motorcycle stolen from my apt complex. This is the only thing like this I've heard of in this area for the 3.5 years I've lived around here.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,895
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From: Austin tx
St. Jude Donor '09
VectorZ the first thing that would really help is where is your office going to be located for the job you are going to have.
And plan on looking from that location to how much time you want to spend in bumper to bumper traffic everyday.
As for East of I35 staying away from. Again depends on the area there are some real nice areas east of I35 in Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock and south Austin. but there are also bad areas.
As for live south and drive north of the river that is like 15 minutes with traffic and you are north of the river. I am moving to the Circle C area and work in the Arboretumn area and know lots of people that are in the same situation. It takes them just as long to drive to work and home as it does me currently living in Leader. So unless you live in Leander and work down by Ben White north or south of the river means nothing when it comes to traffic.
And plan on looking from that location to how much time you want to spend in bumper to bumper traffic everyday.
As for East of I35 staying away from. Again depends on the area there are some real nice areas east of I35 in Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock and south Austin. but there are also bad areas.
As for live south and drive north of the river that is like 15 minutes with traffic and you are north of the river. I am moving to the Circle C area and work in the Arboretumn area and know lots of people that are in the same situation. It takes them just as long to drive to work and home as it does me currently living in Leader. So unless you live in Leander and work down by Ben White north or south of the river means nothing when it comes to traffic.