Help me find a place to live in Austin (Round Rock: apartment, renting)

[sxb317]

We recently moved to Austin from Chicago and renting temporarily until we figure out what neighborhoods will be a good place to live. I would love some thoughts from Austin resident on navigating the neighborhood search. Here are our facts:

- We are a couple in our 30s with a new baby. So far, we always lived in urban areas but now realizing we may have to go out of the city to find kid-friendly amenities, good public schools. However, we dont' want to be more than 25 minutes from the city.

- My job is in Westlake area, my husband's is in Oak Hill. We would love to keep commutes less than 30 minutes.

- Our price range will be 300K-400K. We don't need a mansion but probably something above 2000 sqft. We lived in vintage apartment and houses for so long that, we now would love to get something newer. Newer than 10-15 years old. On the other hand, we still love some characther in our living space, no cookie cutter McMansions.

- Good schools and kid-friendly a must

- We love outdoors activities and this was a big reason for our move, so we don't want to be too far away from parks, hiking trails, etc.

If you live some place that may fit the bill for above, let me know. Westlake is beautiful but I'm afraid not very affordable. We don't want to go as far as Round Rock, etc.

Thank you!

[jobert]

That's kinda tough, because anything newer than 15 years old that far out in that price range will be cookie cutter. You'll have to compromise on something (distance, schools, age, unique housing, price). Many neighborhoods meet 4 of the 5 requirements listed, but not any that meet all 5. Considering where you guys are working, I'd choose Lakeway.

[TheyCallMeDerek]

There's tons of stuff out there for you guys. Neighborhoods: Circle C, Hielscher, Village At Western Oaks the list is endless in that price range...

[jobert]

Originally Posted by CallDerek

There's tons of stuff out there for you guys. Neighborhoods: Circle C, Hielscher, Village At Western Oaks the list is endless in that price range...

Those are all pretty cookie cutter, though. Village at Western Oaks is cheaper than 300K and a lot older than 15 years. I would live outside of 360 towards the lake. That would be about 30 minutes from town, but meet all the other requirements. The commute to Westlake would be shorter as well.

[atlanta hope]

I like my neighborhood in Granada Hills -- older houses in the 70s on almost an acre lot but maps to all the Circle C schools. No HOA is a bonus.

[jobert]

I think that River Hills or Lake Austin Estates has new (1995 to 2010) houses in that price range, plus you would attend Eanes ISD, which is an exemplary district. With that type of budget, there is no reason not to live in the hill country if given the choice. The SW Austin Circle C area is okay, but I think prices are declining. I did a search on Zillow to compare the asking price versus the price actually sold for in the Circle C area, and the only sold house was waaaay below the average asking price - not a good sign. I hope it's not an indication of a pending implosion for the area.

[jobert]

If the OP waits a while, they could eventually get a good deal in the SW Austin area. If it were me, I would just head for the hills west of town instead.

[CarnivalGal]

Check out Lake Pointe in zip 78738. It's off of Bee Caves Rd near 71. It's in the Lake Travis school district (which is excellent) and about halfway between Oak Hill and Westlake. Really nice newer homes in your price range with lots of kids' amenities. We have friends there who love it.

[sxb317]

Thank you for all the suggestions. It's hard to find out about all the neighborhoods as a newcomer. Some of these areas will be a perfect location for our commutes. And I'm excited that there may be areas in/near Westlake that we can afford. We plan on buying summer 2011 so hopefully market will be closer to the bottom then.

Another question, is there a website where you can search for houses based on the neighborhood, Lake Point, River Hills...etc. I'm finding it difficult to try to figure out the perimeter of a neighborhood and then do a map based search.

[TheyCallMeDerek]

You can search by subdivisons at AustinHomeSearch.com