Oak Brook neighborhood in Brushy Creek area (Austin, Round Rock: houses, safe area)

[PurpleTurtleGirl]

Hi there - We are considering moving to Oak Brook near Brushy Creek. Does anyone have an opinion / advice on this area?

Thanks!

[mark311]

It has great access to the Brushy Creek trail and some homes even have a view of the trail itself. I would say that is the main selling point. Otherwise, it's similar to a lot of the other surrounding neighborhoods.

What kind of information are you looking for specifically? Are you from out of state and completely unfamiliar with that area?

[PurpleTurtleGirl]

No, we live in Austin and like the idea of the trail system in the Brushy Creek area. Our kids are outdoorsy and like to swim and bike and generally be outside. Oak Brook seems very nice. Just wondering if there's anything we need to be aware of as we look. Traffic, common area issues, that kind of thing. I know that the Schlitterbahn may go in just north of there.

[10scoachrick]

Just riding my bike through there, the neighborhood looks pretty nice. The lots are pretty sizable compared to the adjacent neighborhoods. Plenty of park area and the Brushy Creek Trail just outside your door. The O'Connor extension south of 620 will increase traffic a bit, most likely(along O'Connor...NOT through the neighborhood).

I reckon this is part of the Brushy Creek MUD or perhaps they have their own...in other words, not part of Austin(just a couple of blocks to the west) or Round Rock--just to the north and east. The homes carry an Austin, 78717 address...just to keep things interesting.

You're two minutes away from a good-size HEB grocery and plenty of small retail/service shops, banks, indie post office and plenty of new offices along 620. Hospitals and medical offices, new CVS and Walgreen's right around the corner(adjacent corners, as apparently required ).

Now, if they just didn't allow folks to post spam signs on every corner of every intersection along there(Brushy Creek)...multiple yard sales, 'business' opportunities, etc...many taped to cardboard boxes!! Makes an otherwise attractive area look like no one cares! 'We' don't allow that in Austin---just a few blocks west, if you recall.<Sorry, just a peeve of mine >

If we hadn't been looking for newer and larger with a true three-car garage, it's a neighborhood we would have taken a closer look at.

Also, new schools being built as I type(just to the west on Avery Ranch Blvd). These are Round Rock ISD schools, but I'm not sure how the neighborhoods will feed into them('Your' ES is probably Brushy Creek).

[mark311]

Originally Posted by PurpleTurtleGirl

No, we live in Austin and like the idea of the trail system in the Brushy Creek area. Our kids are outdoorsy and like to swim and bike and generally be outside. Oak Brook seems very nice. Just wondering if there's anything we need to be aware of as we look. Traffic, common area issues, that kind of thing. I know that the Schlitterbahn may go in just north of there.

Traffic can bunch up little bit on Parmer during rush hour between the Palace (football stadium) and Brushy Creek Rd (especially on the bridge), but other than that, traffic isn't too bad right in that area. They are building a new Super Walmart just North of there across from the HEB on 1431/Parmer as well.

Nitro Swim is just North of there off 1431 if your kids are competitive swimmers as well as Soccer Zone. 1890 Ranch in Cedar Park on 1431 is a nice and new shopping center with a Super Target and some pretty good restaurants as well as a nice movie theater if you haven't been over that way. A Costco is planned to go in over there in less than a year. No real gotchas to that area other than the property taxes might be more than you would expect. It's a very safe area of course.

[PurpleTurtleGirl]

Thank you both. This is very helpful information!

[ScoPro]

Very nice area.

We've lived nearby in the Meadows of Brushy Creek for 16 years and love it.

Oak Brook is not a part of the Brushy Creek MUD like my neighborhood is. We are an unincorporated area (which I prefer), but do have the 78717 Austin mailing address.

But I would like to add that we enjoy being 5 minutes from the ZTejas restaurant at Parmer & O'Connor. Waterloo Ice House too.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Very nice area.

But I would like to add that we enjoy being 5 minutes from the ZTejas restaurant at Parmer & O'Connor. Waterloo Ice House too.

And soon:
Avery Ranch Texas Butcher - The Meat House

Although, I'm not sure how a charcuterie based in New Hampshire will do here. (They have a location in Westlake)


Sco, what sort of MUD are they in? The home listings I found just show 'MUD' for water and sewer. Seems I recall seeing the Round Rock Recycle bins in that neighborhood.(Private group, I reckon...same as the North Austin MUD around Rattan Creek off Parmer)

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

And soon:
Avery Ranch Texas Butcher - The Meat House

Although, I'm not sure how a charcuterie based in New Hampshire will do here. (They have a location in Westlake)


Sco, what sort of MUD are they in? The home listings I found just show 'MUD' for water and sewer. Seems I recall seeing the Round Rock Recycle bins in that neighborhood.(Private group, I reckon...same as the North Austin MUD around Rattan Creek off Parmer)

Interesting about the upscale butcher shop. Drove by there on Parmer today and was wondering what it was.

All I know about Oak Brook is that it doesn't show up on the Brushy Creek MUD map.
A good friend of my son lives there, so I'll make an inquiry as to the neighborhood's affiliation.

[10scoachrick]

Just a little update and an observation. Driving through a couple more times, I noticed how consistently nice the yards are kept. It's quite noticeable...not huge lawns and overdone gardens, but very nice. I couldn't put my finger on one difference in comparing it to the adjacent homes in Avery Ranch and then it hit me...MOST of the blocks don't have a nuisance strip of grass between the sidewalk and the curb. DW and I thought it was only on the side of the road without street lamps, but that's not the case. A few of the streets had the strips, but many did not. Just in passing through, it is a much cleaner look NOT to have the lawn broken up by the sidewalk and a silly 3-4 foot wide strip of grass(IF you can keep it alive!) along the curb.

I wondered why they were designed that way and why Avery Ranch(for example) is not. Is there a 'danger' having peds and kids that much closer to the road? Is it less desirable because there is no 'buffer' between the sidewalk and the street? It sure looks cleaner to me.

And by the bye, there are quite a few legit three-car garages in Oak Brook...I reckon there weren't many houses that otherwise landed on our 'lookout' sheet when we were house hunting.

And speaking of MUDs, I may have caught a glimpse of a sign with Fern Bluff MUD on it...not sure as I was just making a turn.