SW Austin neighborhood thoughts (McKinney, Crockett: middle-class, foreclosure, renters)

[David_MW]

Interviewed for a job in Austin Monday morning and spent the day before tooling around looking at neighborhoods that had houses for rent in my price range ($1000-1500/month). Looking to rent for a year or so then buy. I would be working on the other side of I-35 near McKinney Falls State Park and thought that SW Austin would be a good option. Don't really want to commute far.

The area that seemed most promising was an area bounded by MoPac to the west, Manchaca to the east, William Cannon to the north and Slaughter to the south. This area seemed older, somewhat funky, with a mix of houses in good, fair, and slightly poor condition. I liked it for the most part as I am not a new subdivision kind of person and like diverse neighbors.

Thoughts on this area - school any good (seems to be from looking online)?

The area to the north and west of Boone Elementary seemed nice (though I just checked the sex offender map and there seems to be a concentration of red dots around Wycombe Drive just north of Boone).

Anybody know what is up with that? I have kids so that is of some concern although I know you can never truly escape that sort of thing in larger cities.

Also, what about the areas to the east of Brodie Lane (Harper's Ferry and other streets in that area)?

Plus, what about south of Slaughter? Thanks for any wisdom you can pass my way.

[Trainwreck20]

Also, what about the areas to the east of Brodie Lane (Harper's Ferry and other streets in that area)?

This area can be quite dicey, or at least it was a couple of years ago. I had a friend who lived off of Harpers Ferry (actually, on Galesburg) and he moved, partly due to the schools and partly due to the somewhat uncertain neighbors. I am not sure about elementary and jr. high, but this area feeds into Crockett, even though the location is pretty close to Bowie. There is a high percentage of renters here, which leads to some pretty varied neighbors. This is not bad in of itself, but you never really get to know them. He and his wife owned a house for several years there, and they had, at various times 1) screaming/fighting married couples, 2) seemingly perpetually drunk young 20-somethings, 3) the 'used car lot' familiy (they were parked all over the lawn), and 4) naked guy (he wasn't naked, but sat in his underwear in the front room with the blinds open eating and watching tv...and he wasn't small.

All this is somewhat entertaining for adults, but not nearly as much if you have kids. The area that backs up (sort of) to MoPAc is a nicer area.

[David_MW]

Thanks for that. I was just looking back through older posts and found similar notes about the area.

We did look in Buda but would rather be closer. The school situation in SW Austin has me mystified. Searching online and looking at school ratings I can locate potential areas but the attendance zones don't seem to match up when you locate houses.

What do locals in the area view as good performing elementary/middle schools in the SW part of Austin?

[jobert]

Yes, the million dollar question: which SW neighborhoods feed into Crockett High, a middle-class suburbanite's worst nightmare. You pretty much have to stay south of Slaughter or west of Brodie. The Crockett school zone dips far south around Manchacha Rd, though. Neighborhoods will look nice for example: Olympic Heights? looks good...whoops..feeds into Crockett. I would recommend S. Austin around Southpark Meadows, Onion Creek, anywhere south of Slaughter. This area is still pretty rural but only 10 miles due south of downtown. The schools aren't great, but better than near south and the guesswork and shifting boundaries are taken out fo the equation. This area is hilly and has great access to Downtown and McKinney Falls. Just stay south of Slaughter, that's all

[llkltk]

In SW Austin, elementary schools that are very good are Kiker, Clayton and the new one opening in Meridian in 2010. As far as middle schools, there is a new one opening on 1826 that will be exceptional as well.

Rents are upwards of 2000 in these areas but you might be able to find one in Villages of Western Oaks which is an older community just northwest of slaughter.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

This area can be quite dicey, or at least it was a couple of years ago. I had a friend who lived off of Harpers Ferry (actually, on Galesburg) and he moved, partly due to the schools and partly due to the somewhat uncertain neighbors. I am not sure about elementary and jr. high, but this area feeds into Crockett, even though the location is pretty close to Bowie. There is a high percentage of renters here, which leads to some pretty varied neighbors. This is not bad in of itself, but you never really get to know them. He and his wife owned a house for several years there, and they had, at various times 1) screaming/fighting married couples, 2) seemingly perpetually drunk young 20-somethings, 3) the 'used car lot' familiy (they were parked all over the lawn), and 4) naked guy (he wasn't naked, but sat in his underwear in the front room with the blinds open eating and watching tv...and he wasn't small.

All this is somewhat entertaining for adults, but not nearly as much if you have kids. The area that backs up (sort of) to MoPAc is a nicer area.

If only they had an HOA...

[iceshots]

LOVE IT!!!!!

This is one time where an HOA may have helped.

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by Austin97

If only they had an HOA...

Austin97:

As if anyone should be forced to pay assessments to a secretive organization controlled by board members and vendors to go around threatening people with the loss of their homes.

Nothing described is illegal or unlawful and those folks have every right to the use and enjoyment of their own property. There are plenty of "drunk 20-somethings", "naked guy" types, and "married couples that argue", etc. in HOAs. There are also plenty of crimes committed in HOAs, crimes against members of the HOAs, and crimes committed by members of HOAs. At least none of the people in this neighborhood are wandering around threatening neighbors with foreclosure or private fines. Perhaps they also don't want to be subjected to being routinely threatened should they fall out of goosestep with the personal expectations of unaccountable board members operating under the hood of an association.

You have previously stated in another thread: "An HOA doesn't make decisions, the people that make up the community make the decisions." This is not an accurate portrayal of how HOAs work. To the extent there is a decision or choice to be made, however, haven't the residents already made it? Given that the people that make up the community have already made their decisions and that they don't require an HOA to make decisions, then exactly why do they need an HOA?

In summary, it's not clear what legitimate purpose the HOA would have (i.e., if there was ever a legitimate purpose for an HOA). The imposition of perpetual liens and assessments on someone else's home certainly only going to decrease the value of the home from the owners' perspective.

[Raskolnikov]

Good elementary schools Southwest: Mills, Kiker, Baranoff, Patton, Clayton, and I'm sure there are others. But in general, the further west you go, the less dicey the schools are.

However you've left out an area I totally think you'd like : Westcreek. Its at William Cannon and Brush Country, north of William Cannon, and south of Monterrey Oaks. Older / funkier houses. Eclectic people. But the most important thing--- a good elementary school and very low to non-existant crime. Also look in Western Oaks (the older sections). Parts of Western Oaks feed into Patton, parts feed into Mills. Jr. Highs in the areas I've described are all very good.

You might also try looking over closer to Westgate shopping center. South of that the houses are eclectic, not cookie cutter, and I think Sunset Valley has a decent elementary school. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

ALSO-- you can sometimes rent houses in Circle C that are inexpensive. I recently saw a few down by Kiker Elementary that were cheap and rentable. (And kind of smallish). This is the older section of Circle C so has a little less of the cookie cutter vibe.

On the whole I would say stay south and west. Go far, far to the west, as far as you can.

[llkltk]

Why does older necessarily mean less cookie cutter? Years ago you would have called those houses cookie cutter. Doesn't make sense.