Visiting Austin (Houston, Spring, Lockhart: crime, hotels, live in)

[BRMan]

We're visiting Austin later in the month. We wanted to know (1) where is a good place to stay - we'd be looking at a hotel above the Motel 6 but not something top of the line, (2) what are the parts of town we need to avoid for purposes of driving around and where we spend the night. Are the bad areas generally east of I-35 ? We're coming from Louisiana.

[love roses]

East of 35 is an old misconception, unless you mean East of 35 downtown. Southeast is fine and Northeast is fine. Even parts of central east are alright nowadays due to the gentrification.

[brattpowered]

If you have spent any time in New Orleans (or BR now, probably) anywhere in Austin will be a cakewalk for you.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by brattpowered

If you have spent any time in New Orleans (or BR now, probably) anywhere in Austin will be a cakewalk for you.

LOL - I'd love to know how BR has this forum wide reputation for being a crime haven. As to NO, I just know to stay in certain areas, esp at night. And I figured Austin had its good spots/bad spots as well. My impression is that west of town/heading towards Lake Travis was the affluent part, while the eastern part was bad.

Also (while I'm asking questions) I see several ways to get to Austin from BR, but taking US 183 from Lockhart appears to be the most direct. Is that the best way to go, or are there better turnoffs from I-10 ?

[Trainwreck20]

Coming from NO through Houston? I-10 to Hwy 71 (about Columbus) up to Austin is very good, or, if you are looping around Houston, Hwy 290 from Houston directly to Austin. The 290 route is quicker to N. Austin, while the 71 route is best for S. Austin.

There are several areas that are rougher in Austin, but really, nothing (even at night) that is really that scary. The pockets of bad areas tend to be east of the interstate, although Braker/Lamar area in N. Central can be bad. There is no place that I can think of that requires avoiding, anyway.

If you are going to stay in S. Austin, there is a Holiday Inn Exp. off of 290 and pretty central, and there is a La Quinta off of MoPac and SW Parkway. Both are new and are in nice areas, no idea what they cost, though. Downtown is going to be pretty pricey no matter where you stay, although you could check the holiday Inn on the river and I-35...it is right on the jogging trail around the lake. I am not sure about N. Austin...there are several places along I-35 near 290 and 183, but I am not sure about quality/price. If you want to go a little further north, there are several places on Parmer west of I-35 that cater to Dell and TCEQ visitors and are probably pretty nice. Since I live in Austin, though, I rarely get to stay at the hotels .

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Coming from NO through Houston? I-10 to Hwy 71 (about Columbus) up to Austin is very good, or, if you are looping around Houston, Hwy 290 from Houston directly to Austin. The 290 route is quicker to N. Austin, while the 71 route is best for S. Austin.

There are several areas that are rougher in Austin, but really, nothing (even at night) that is really that scary. The pockets of bad areas tend to be east of the interstate, although Braker/Lamar area in N. Central can be bad. There is no place that I can think of that requires avoiding, anyway.

If you are going to stay in S. Austin, there is a Holiday Inn Exp. off of 290 and pretty central, and there is a La Quinta off of MoPac and SW Parkway. Both are new and are in nice areas, no idea what they cost, though. Downtown is going to be pretty pricey no matter where you stay, although you could check the holiday Inn on the river and I-35...it is right on the jogging trail around the lake. I am not sure about N. Austin...there are several places along I-35 near 290 and 183, but I am not sure about quality/price. If you want to go a little further north, there are several places on Parmer west of I-35 that cater to Dell and TCEQ visitors and are probably pretty nice. Since I live in Austin, though, I rarely get to stay at the hotels .

Thanks for the detail. We're coming from Baton Rogue. Looking at Google maps, it appeared that US 183 through Luling and Lockhart is more direct. I'll happily take Hwy 71 if that's the preferred route.....

[Trainwreck20]

Hwy 71 is freeway the entire way now, righ up until the outskirts of Austin, and the speed limit is 70 with the excemption of a small stretch around Ellinger (55 mph for about 1 mile). Don't speed on it, though, 'cause DPS has a regional office in La Grange and get their fill of tickets on 71, I am sure.

183, however, does have better BBQ and the WONDERFUL smell of sulfur in Luling. Seriously, though, there are lots of lights and speed zones on 183, and a poorly marked 90 degree turn at an intersection in Luling.

[Moonlady]

We drive to Lafayette occasionally and have found 71 to be the more direct route.

As for hotels, it kind of depends on what you are going to be looking for when you get here. If you want to stay near the downtown area without the downtown prices, there are a strip of hotels on I-35 just south of 71 (Ben White). There is Marriott, a Fairfield, Courtyard, Springhill, Red Roof Inn, a Hampton, and a Studio 6. Look in the 78744 zip code. If you're going to be spending a lot of time in the north end of town, check the 78759 zip - there are a ton of hotels near 183 N and Mopac.

Trainwreck also gave some good options for SW Austin as well.