Where to live in Austin (to rent, buy, floor)

[gcrissman]

So I found out where I would be working if I move to Austin with the job I am looking at taking. The location will be in South Austin around I-35 and E Ben White Blvd.

So what areas should we be looking at if I have to work there? What about if my wife works for Dell? Or UT?

We want a single family home, 1 story preferred but can deal with a 2 story if it has a 1st floor MBDR, and need at least a 2 car garage, 3 would be nice. We want to rent for a year (budget is $2k) and then buy (budget is 250K). We have upside on the budget but want something we can pay off in less than 10 years without being broke.

We are
- 41yr old, kids moved out, have 2 dogs (boxers), both in the IT field
- wife does the 3day Breast Cancer walk and a few 5Ks each year and I am trying to be more active after a knee surgery so we want somewhere with trails and dog parks. May start playing golf again
- We have a Jeep and plan on doing some offroading (legal locations of course).
- Enjoy good food, not fancy places but any place that has good food even if it looks like a hole in the wall. Like being out on weekends enjoying life and whats going on around us
- I am a beer and cigar guy
- Want to retire (or semi-retire) at 55 to travel more often, 60 at the latest