relocating from DFW to Austin---any advice? (Dallas, Round Rock: home, transfer, neighborhoods)

[calvin9495]

My husband just found out that he's being transferred to Austin. He'll be working in north Austin.

I've been doing some online research about Austin and the surrounding cities to the north, but I'm hoping some of you who have lived in the Austin area for awhile can offer some wisdom. We're looking for a "family friendly" area since I teach and we have a young daughter.

We're used to lengthy (45 min to an hour) commutes to work, but we'd really prefer to stay under 30 minutes, if possible. Would Round Rock or Georgetown be out of the question? I'm really hoping Austin traffic isn't as nasty as Dallas traffic....wishful thinking??

Are the surrounding suburbs (Round Rock, Georgetown, Jollyville, Pflugerville, Manor) just extensions of Austin, or do they still maintain a kind of "hometown" atmosphere?

We're really excited about this move! Still, I'd appreciate any advice anyone has to offer.

Thanks!

[love roses]

Georgetown may be too far. It's barely even considered a suburb of Austin, and is very nice in it's own right, with a great town square and cool old victorians. All the rest are also not so much "extensions" of Austin, and each was a small town in it's own right. They all have their original old downtowns. Yes, they are now very close to Austin, as Austin is spreading further and further out (West of 35 especially). I don't know anything about Jolleyville, except for the name of the road out here. There really aren't any neighborhoods that aren't "family friendly" around here. The only area I'd not look at would be anything just East of downtown across 35. Everywhere else East such as Round Rock, Pflugerville and Manor are fine. Commute wise probably only look at Pflugerville, Manor, or Round Rock.

[loves2read]

like love roses says--lots of communites now linked where as before they were separate towns--there are still a small town feel to many of them and ...
finding a teaching job in a competitive market won't be easy, especially now that the year has started...
there are some lovely areas in that part of the country---we really love the Austin area--grew up around Seguin south of Austin...

each community has its own positives and negatives--just remember that the Austin market is peaking right now probably--housing prices have been going up for the past 8-10 years and lots of developments in the towns around Austin---but things could change any time...just make sure you can afford the home you buy if the market value drops 20% and the re-sale market slows like it has in other areas of TX...

[neddy]

Might also look towards Leander and Cedar Park on the NW side

[DedeeTx]

You might want to look in the Liberty Hill area. 183a makes getting into n. austin a 20 minute drive.