Young Family Looking to Relocate to Diverse Area of Austin (Houston: 2013, renting)

[Eshakc]

My husband and I are in late 20s with a 4 year old and looking to relocate to Austin area from San Antonio and buy a home. We are African American and coming from a very diverse (in race, culture, economic status), military middle to upper middle class suburb of San Antonio (Converse). We have been looking in Kyle/Buda because it seems to be a good halfway point but the schools are not racially diverse at all. It seems we need to go more north in Austin (Round Rock, Pflugerville) to find a location comparable to what we are coming from.

Some things we are taking into consideration in location are:

My husband will begin at ACC this semester and transfer to a University in the next year or 2.
I will be attending Texas State University for Grad School starting January 2013.
I am currently looking for employment between San Marcos and Austin.
Our son will begin elementary school next Fall.
We would like to purchase a new home (brand new or less than 3 years old/$175k to $225k) preferably out of city limits, lower property taxes in a growing area.

Please help me with your input on an area that will best fit our needs. Thank you!

[Komeht]

None of those are what anyone rightfully would consider "diverse"

At least Kyle and Buda involve the least about of road time - so I would go with those.

Why are you purchasing though when both of you are still in school? You don't really know where you'll be in 4 or 5 years. I suggest renting over that period.

[Eshakc]

Originally Posted by Komeht

None of those are what anyone rightfully would consider "diverse"

At least Kyle and Buda involve the least about of road time - so I would go with those.

Why are you purchasing though when both of you are still in school? You don't really know where you'll be in 4 or 5 years. I suggest renting over that period.

When researching school districts, the schools in Round Rock and Pflugerville (10% to 20% African American) are clearly more racially diverse than the schools in Buda and Kyle (3% to 8% African American). Maybe the websites I am using are giving inaccurate results??

The Road time would be the least of our priorities after schools, value of homes, diversity of area.

We are purchasing a home because we are in the financial position to do so. My husband is a disabled vet and I will be a graduate student working full time so we will both have a steady income coming. We are Texas residents and do know where we will be in the next 4-6 years. We will not be renting.

[sxrckr]

The suburbs of E/NE Austin are where you'd get some diversity.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by Eshakc

When researching school districts, the schools in Round Rock and Pflugerville (10% to 20% African American) are clearly more racially diverse than the schools in Buda and Kyle (3% to 8% African American). Maybe the websites I am using are giving inaccurate results??

The Road time would be the least of our priorities after schools, value of homes, diversity of area.

We are purchasing a home because we are in the financial position to do so. My husband is a disabled vet and I will be a graduate student working full time so we will both have a steady income coming. We are Texas residents and do know where we will be in the next 4-6 years. We will not be renting.

1. Everyone has their own priorities - personally - I can't imagine trading up to 2 hour commute time A DAY for a tiny bit more diversity that you get in the lilly white suburbs north of Austin as opposed to south of Austin - but go for it. If you really want to make diversity your number one factor over everything else - try central or central east.

2. Knowing you'll be in Texas in 4-6 years doesn't mean you should buy in Austin today. In case you haven't noticed - Texas is a big state and I highly doubt you'll be commuting to Dallas or Houston if that's were you should end up. Being in a financial position to buy does not make buying the right decision financially, get my point? Moderator cut: personal attack. Good luck.

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by Eshakc

When researching school districts, the schools in Round Rock and Pflugerville (10% to 20% African American) are clearly more racially diverse than the schools in Buda and Kyle (3% to 8% African American). Maybe the websites I am using are giving inaccurate results??

The Road time would be the least of our priorities after schools, value of homes, diversity of area.

We are purchasing a home because we are in the financial position to do so. My husband is a disabled vet and I will be a graduate student working full time so we will both have a steady income coming. We are Texas residents and do know where we will be in the next 4-6 years. We will not be renting.

Pflugerville might be the best bet - as long as you're close to 130 Toll road, this can get you to San Marcos in an hour or so - still a heck of a drive to have to make on a regular basis.

As a side note, check out the TexVet VA loan programs. The interest rates are at ridiculously low levels, and 30%+ disability qualifies for an additional half-point off. Right now, that would give you a 2.69 30 yr rate - which should help offset the fact that property taxes in those areas are all higher than average.

Veterans Loans

[CptnRn]

Round Rock & Pflugerville have a higher African American population but you don't want to live up there or in Cedar Park if you are going to Texas State University, that would be a horrible commute.

You an check the demographics of any location here https://www.city-data.com/city/Texas.html

Last time I checked Austin had lower property taxes then most of the surrounding communities. https://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...some-most.html

Onion Creek, in SE Austin is a very nice subdivision and that zip code is pretty diverse, similar to Round Rock. Not many new houses there though and the public schools on the East side are not the best. You can click on any zip code in this Austin area map and see the demographics. https://www.city-data.com/zipmaps/Austin-Texas.html

[Eshakc]

Originally Posted by Komeht

1. Everyone has their own priorities - personally - I can't imagine trading up to 2 hour commute time A DAY for a tiny bit more diversity that you get in the lilly white suburbs north of Austin as opposed to south of Austin - but go for it. If you really want to make diversity your number one factor over everything else - try central or central east.

2. Knowing you'll be in Texas in 4-6 years doesn't mean you should buy in Austin today. In case you haven't noticed - Texas is a big state and I highly doubt you'll be commuting to Dallas or Houston if that's were you should end up. Being in a financial position to buy does not make buying the right decision financially, get my point? Moderator cut: personal attack. Good luck.

You are right, everyone has their own priorities. I think you may have misunderstood the purpose of my post. I was not asking about the size of Texas or whether or not I should buy a home, I am buying a home. Hopefully I get some more input from others who are offering help with the questions I asked and not just sitting around to challenge everything said.

Thank you to everyone else for the helpful replies!

[Komeht]

I merely asked the question (is now the time to buy when you're both in school and presumably not settled into careers yet) and made a suggestion that you can take as helpful or not. Your response was quite defensive for someone who asked for suggestions.

Since you are determined not to take any of the advice I've offered yet and will be fighting Austin traffic both ways several times a day (good luck with that) - allow me one additional piece of advice. Get a really nice car - you'll be spending a lot of time in it.

Feel free to disregard.

[Eshakc]

Disregarded