La Ventana Driftwood - any opinions? (Austin, Spring: HOA, home search, neighborhood)

[Golden_Spirit]

My family is looking for a place with privacy on larger lots but not too far out from the city. I passed by La Ventana and was in awe of how beautiful the place is. I'm considering buying a property or land on La Ventana but I've been reading (old posts) about some past issues with water, propane, HOA litigation and crazy rules. Can someone update me on what's going on there? Are these resolved?
Also - Any other pros and cons? Other 1 acre places I should consider in Dripping/Driftwood/Wimberley area? I have small kids, so definitely looking to build a community. Do they have many kids there.or is it mostly retirees? Thank you so much!

[Austin97]

We have friends that lived there through all the litigation issues. I believe they were resolved. Im not sure if you can drill your own well or if you can have your own propane tank vs. buying their expensive utilities.

I personally think it is really far away. You pretty much arent in austin so there isnt really much reason to move to the over priced austin area.

[austin-steve]

I have a place out in Wimberley now. Dripping has matured to the point where most of what you need for daily living is out there without having to come into Austin.

If you will be commuting into Austin, you'll need to consider the drive. It's not that bad even from Wimberley but I don't do it everyday.

It does have a low 1.87% tax rate, as it doesn't belong to any municipal jurisdiction other than County. HOA is $110/month though, which is pretty high.

[Golden_Spirit]

Thank you so much for your replies. @Austin-steve - is your place in La Ventana or somewhere else? I'd need to go Austin downtown 3x week for work during rush hours either from Driftwood or somewhere in Dripping (is what I am considering, because I want space and privacy), do you think it's doable? Schools and hospitals seem to be ~20-25 min which is not great but not that bad... @Austin97- I hear your point. La Ventana is definitely an upscale community and it's absolutely gorgeous so yes, the prices are higher, but you will never get a place so beautiful, land in Austin, so I guess it's something to weight. The water issues do scare me, I don't know if are resolved. Do you really think it's far? It seems to be 30 minfrom Austin, 45 on a bad day, 12 min from groceries, it sdoesn't sound so bad but maybe I am missing something ?

[hts]

Isn't the community split up between 2 (possibly even 3) different ISD's? At least I thought it was when we were looking, so we passed.

How about the Preserve or Polo Club in Dripping? Both would be a much better/closer commute to ATX. Another community we like is Bunker Hill (also in Drip).

[Golden_Spirit]

Thank you for your reply. May I ask, what's wrong with having 3 different ISD's? Sorry fory ignorance! The lots available are in a place.called The Preserve in La Ventana (not sure if it's the same you mentioned?) But the schools are all defined (Wimberley ISD). The one thing that's important to me is good schools, low tax rates, space while having a sense of community. It's a pretty heavy list with many opposites but I've seen places like this. I'm not so sure about the community in La Ventana though for people with small kids...
3x week commuting to Austin downtown doesnt sound so bad (~45min with some traffic)... But maybe i am missing something....

And I know about all the Texas bugs , Scorpions, fire ants, red head centipede, snakes. The one that definitely scares me the most is the kissing bug given the Chagas disease, which i hear is present in the region. Any experiences with that anyone?

[blakely]

Nothing's inherently wrong with having different ISDs within a neighborhood, but some families like the idea that their kids go to school with all the neighborhood kids, in the sense that it can build stronger community. It's fun for kids to have friends in the neighborhood that they know from school--makes life easier, to the extent that they can walk and bike to each others' homes. Although you could also argue that you'd like your kids to meet friends from other schools---there's value in that, too, if it happens. Our kids tended to become closer to the kids in the neighborhood that went to their public school, only because they knew each other from the bus, playground, classroom, sports, etc. It's not something I fully appreciated until it blossomed organically. But it sure made life easy when they wanted to see friends after school because so many were neighbors.

The other consideration is whether there is a difference in quality of the schools that the neighborhood zones to. You'd want to factor that into your home search if you prefer one track vs the other. It's my understanding that the Dripping Springs schools are stronger than the Wimberley schools, but of course that's a gross generalization and it probably comes down to the individual schools within each ISD...again time to drill down so your kids end up in the schools you'd like to see them attend.