What is Bee Cave like? (Austin, Spring: renting, new house, neighborhoods) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

G Grasshopper · 10-31-2010, 01:14 PM

We are renting in Lakeway right now, but haven't decided for sure that we want to buy there. My question is, what kind of place is Bee Cave to live in? We have no young children, but just want a community that we can feel at home in, friendly and with some community feel and activities. We prefer not to get into a big new house with no trees and a small lot, but prefer something that makes it easy to enjoy nature, even close to home.

sliverbox · 11-01-2010, 08:42 AM

We visited the area 2 years ago. Locals might give a better description. To me it looked like a sort of planned semi-upscale retirement community with large Mcmansion type houses. Wasn't exactly my favorite part of Austin.

hoffdano · 11-01-2010, 08:45 AM

I live near Bee Cave and have driven through it for more than ten years. I still do not think of Bee Cave as a community. I think of it as an "area." The city government seems active, plans a number of activities, especially around the Bee Cave Galleria and it outdoor space.

I'm not really sure which housing areas are considered Bee Cave. It looks like Falconhead, The Uplands, and The Homestead are Bee Cave "subdivisions."

I like the area, and would probably rather live in Bee Cave than Lakeway because I don't like the control that Lakeway exerts on its residents. Same schools of course. But Lakeway does have a fairly strong sense of community and does a nice job running the city (other than their silly speed limits and very strong city ordinances).

FalconheadWest · 11-01-2010, 08:50 AM

I live in Bee Cave, and it's NOT a retirement area. There are kids all over the place. The vast majority of the area is "new", so you're going to get the typical lots, which some think are "small", but they're just typical. My community as several sections and they break them down by lots that are X80, X70, and x60. If you want a smaller lot, you get a X60. If you want a larger lot, you get a X80, but 70 is very typical in much of the Austin suburban area.

You will not notice a difference between Lakeway and Bee Cave except Lakeway has older homes. You will barely notice where the city line is.

atxcio · 11-01-2010, 09:00 AM

Bee Cave was just a single road intersection until just recently, wasn't it? Maybe a few rural properties and a small strip of commercial and the Backyard.

So you aren't going to find a Bee Cave "identity", other that what is built up with the Galleria and new subdivisions.

G Grasshopper, it kind of sounds like you should be looking a little closer in to town. Like right off 360. Despite being closer in, it's still a suburban/out in the country feel (being Austin, that area was also out in the boonies not too long ago). Since schools aren't a huge priority, maybe look towards the north area of 360 -- like Cat Mountain or Lakewood. The older section off Lakewood Dr just east of 360 is filled with mature trees, right next to Bull Creek and walkable to parks. Yet get in your car and drive 5 mins up the hill, and you are on Mesa drive and close to everything. Or, you could look farther south of 360 closer to Bee Caves Rd (2244). Then you'll be right near the Barton Creek Greenbelt. And anything on 360 will be pretty close to Lake Austin for recreation.

atxcio · 11-01-2010, 11:28 AM

Moderator cut: orphaned

However, I still don't think it's what you are looking for if you want something different than Lakeway. Accessibility to nature isn't so great out there, because everything is private property. You actually have to go closer to the city to be near huge swaths of protected "public" land (parks, greenbelts and free public waterway access).

sliverbox · 11-01-2010, 12:05 PM

Perhaps "retirement community" wasn't the right choice of words. Its just that most of what we saw were these planned neighborhoods- and many with golf courses- hence it looked like a bunch of retirement communities for snowbirds. I thought the choice of architecture in many of the subdivisions we saw was strange: Sort of this mixture of Spanish revival/Southern California styling. Lot of BIG houses. It was just a tad far from the city. Not too far, but the traffic we experienced in the morning was pretty bad.

paul6835 · 11-01-2010, 01:16 PM

Bee Cave is growing, its a lot like Lakeway with more retail, and more going in. Its also 5-15
minutes closer to downtown and the airport than Lakeway.

There's a Whole Foods going into that Galleria Moderator cut: orphaned, I think this fall.

If you want a larger lot and don't care about a newer house, you should look at the Homestead. Older homes with huge lots.

G Grasshopper · 11-01-2010, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atxcio

Bee Cave was just a single road intersection until just recently, wasn't it? Maybe a few rural properties and a small strip of commercial and the Backyard.

So you aren't going to find a Bee Cave "identity", other that what is built up with the Galleria and new subdivisions.

G Grasshopper, it kind of sounds like you should be looking a little closer in to town. Like right off 360. Despite being closer in, it's still a suburban/out in the country feel (being Austin, that area was also out in the boonies not too long ago). Since schools aren't a huge priority, maybe look towards the north area of 360 -- like Cat Mountain or Lakewood. The older section off Lakewood Dr just east of 360 is filled with mature trees, right next to Bull Creek and walkable to parks. Yet get in your car and drive 5 mins up the hill, and you are on Mesa drive and close to everything. Or, you could look farther south of 360 closer to Bee Caves Rd (2244). Then you'll be right near the Barton Creek Greenbelt. And anything on 360 will be pretty close to Lake Austin for recreation.

We drove around Bee Cave yesterday. Granted, we didn't hit every street, but we were not impressed. Mostly we saw big, 2 story houses on small lots - maximum square footage per land. This just impresses me as the kind of building that benefits the developer but not the homeowner. Very few one story houses. This morning we were in the Spicewood Springs area for just a few minutes, but saw more one story houses than we saw all afternoon in Bee Cave. Lakeway does have both two- and one-story houses, mature neighborhoods and greenbelts. (I am not fond of the newer, gated areas of Lakeway, which seem exclusive and cold to me.) We were trying to stay in the Lakeway area because my mom is in a nursing home there and my sister is in Apache Shores. But my sister is encouraging me to look further afield, as it is important to get the right neighborhood and we will still have the house and neighborhood long after mom is gone. So perhaps we should look some in the 360 corridor, as you suggest.

hoffdano · 11-01-2010, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G Grasshopper

We drove around Bee Cave yesterday. Granted, we didn't hit every street, but we were not impressed. Mostly we saw big, 2 story houses on small lots - maximum square footage per land. This just impresses me as the kind of building that benefits the developer but not the homeowner. Very few one story houses. This morning we were in the Spicewood Springs area for just a few minutes, but saw more one story houses than we saw all afternoon in Bee Cave. Lakeway does have both two- and one-story houses, mature neighborhoods and greenbelts. (I am not fond of the newer, gated areas of Lakeway, which seem exclusive and cold to me.) We were trying to stay in the Lakeway area because my mom is in a nursing home there and my sister is in Apache Shores. But my sister is encouraging me to look further afield, as it is important to get the right neighborhood and we will still have the house and neighborhood long after mom is gone. So perhaps we should look some in the 360 corridor, as you suggest.

I agree many of the newer properties in Bee Cave are like this. But some people clearly want this kind of home/lot combination. Enough yard for small kids and a dog, but not too much to maintain. Not my thing but I understand the appeal.

Lakeway is much older - going back to the 1960s. It has a mix of small one stories, some beautiful waterfront, and everything in between. I am shocked by the size of some being built on Highland Blvd.

But why not consider Spicewood? Or the Homestead? Some beautiful one of a kind homes there. Highland Blvd. makes it easy to get to Lakeway from 71 now. And I believe before long Serene Hills Dr. will be open to SH71.