Relocating from Philly for job in Round Rock (Dallas, Austin: neighborhoods, university)

[Chevroletnavy]

Originally Posted by rocko76

Ditto this. I've been here (Round Rock, 'burbs of Austin, maybe 20 mins from Domain) for 5 years now, coming from East Vincent (right outside of Phoenixville). As mentioned, the Domain is nice, but it is... manufactured... in comparison. If you have an apartment there can you grab lunch, dinner, or a drink and not need to drive? Sure, but it will be at a chain. There's nothing independent like Majolica (although I've heard they have closed ), Bluebird, etc. And definitely no Blobfest!

And downtown Austin definitely is not Philly. We will fairly regular hop in a car to San Antonio (2hrs), Houston (~2.5-3hrs) for a day trip on a whim. Definitely would not have done that in SEPA... because you wouldn't need to for "stuff".

Doesn't mean we don't like it here (we do), but it's most definitely different - the northeast more or less has a couple of hundred years of development vs here.

I love Phoenixville. It is so much more walkable than Conshy. Bluebird, Great American Pub, and the Bistro. The Domain does have a train though correct to take into the city?

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Chevroletnavy

I love Phoenixville. It is so much more walkable than Conshy. Bluebird, Great American Pub, and the Bistro. The Domain does have a train though correct to take into the city?

you are thinking about austin and texas all wrong. There is literally nothing that will be like what you have now. The culture, history, food, entertainment, transportation, weather, housing - everything will be different.

You are going to be sorely disappointed if you have expectations that life will be similar to what you have now.

There is no train at the domain, there is no "train ... to take into the city".

The domain is an outdoor mall.

[ashbeeigh]

I've met a handful of younger recent Penn State grads who are originally from Philadelphia and they all seem very happy living in the Hyde Park area. Just adding another option. It doesn't sound exactly what you want, but it's another place to look into.

[kitkatbar]

OP, you might like the Domain. It has a grocery store (Whole Foods--more expensive, so keep that in mind, but other options are close by) and as others have pointed out there are some restaurants so if your apartment is there you can certainly walk to somewhere to eat without needing to drive. But it is, yes, an upscale outdoor shopping mall.

Austin has absolutely terrible public transportation. You need to completely adjust your expectations. Usually, you will need to drive.

Thanks for this. I guess the Domain will be the closest thing. I didn't realize Austin did not really have many suburbs.

Austin has lots of suburbs. But many don't have bus service at all. Where my friends live, they have to drive 15 minutes before they get to the nearest bus stop.

[ScoPro]

When a bachelor friend of mine (a native of Vancouver, Canada) moved to Austin from a 3 year stint in Luxembourg 8 years ago, I recommended that he first rent an apartment in the Domain. He loves it there.
His commute up to eBay on north Parmer is an easy one (against the rush hour traffic), and he likes the walkable “neighborhood “ plus being close to Starbucks.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Chevroletnavy

Thanks for this. I guess the Domain will be the closest thing. I didn't realize Austin did not really have many suburbs.

It has suburbs, but they are failry new and all sort of planned. They were all built after the advent of cars. So they don't have a vibrant business area or anything. Some may (Round Rock actually does), but they are no where near the scale you are used to. Others have manufactured one with areas similar to the Domain. Basically strip malls with very little character.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by Chevroletnavy

I love Phoenixville. It is so much more walkable than Conshy. Bluebird, Great American Pub, and the Bistro. The Domain does have a train though correct to take into the city?

We do have a train. A train. As in one. It goes downtown, but not from the Domain. Get the idea that you are going to be able to take public transportation everywhere or anywhere out of your head. You can't. The city is so, so spread out and unwalkable that it makes it impractical. For example, my husband had jury duty downtown. He looked into taking the bus (only public transportation option) to avoid traffic and parking. 3 hours. It would have taken three hours to go about 15 miles.

In my hometown of Media (about 10 miles from Center City, I think), I could walk to either the train station or the trolley that ran down the main street. I could be in the city in 30 minutes via train. And they ran like every 15 minutes. Yes, you'll miss this. But it's just a fact of life here.

Editeed to add that they are adding a train station at the new soccer stadium, which is sort of close to the Domain. But you would still need to either drive or Uber to and from the station.

[whereiend]

There is the Kramer station (red line train) which is walkable to the domain, but you are talking about 15 mins or so. The 803 express bus does go directly to the Domain, and is a decent option to downtown, but it's not getting you to Round Rock.

IMO these people are being dramatic about public transit here. The bus system is pretty usable if you live in the central core and work downtown. However, round rock is not that. Pretty much 100% of people commute via their own car in that area.

Anyway, if you want to work in north Austin and have a walkable place that's good for singles the domain is 100% correct I think. If you want to do better than that you'll need to get a job that's not in Round Rock. Austin is a suburban sun belt city, not the northeast.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by whereiend

IMO these people are being dramatic about public transit here. The bus system is pretty usable if you live in the central core and work downtown. However, round rock is not that. Pretty much 100% of people commute via their own car in that area.

"If you live in the central core and work downtown." Most people don't. And those that do may want to get our of Downtown every now and then. I find the people that say this usually haven't lived in an area with a truly good public transit system.

It's not just the system itself, it's the fact that the city is not walkable. Example: I could take a bus to my old office. But I would have to walk along a busy road with no sidewalk, through high grass to get to it. That's not unusual. The city was just built for cars.

[whereiend]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

"If you live in the central core and work downtown." Most people don't. And those that do may want to get our of Downtown every now and then. I find the people that say this usually haven't lived in an area with a truly good public transit system.

It's not just the system itself, it's the fact that the city is not walkable. Example: I could take a bus to my old office. But I would have to walk along a busy road with no sidewalk, through high grass to get to it. That's not unusual. The city was just built for cars.

You're missing the mark. I'm fully aware of what a high density city with transit looks like. What I think is hilariously ignorant is someone moving to suburban Texas and expecting that. Like no **** you can't live 30 minutes outside of a southern college town and get around via train? The idea is laughable to me.

But, plenty of Austinites for many years have gotten around via bicycle and bus. This is historically a college town after all. I do that today. If you want that lifestyle, live near the university, 78702, or 78704.