Why would you rather live in a house in a suburb than a house in a neighborhood of Austin of the same price? (Houston: to rent, new home)

[centralaustinite]

Well, I made the other choice! Centralaustinite is my handle for a reason!

I live central, just south of the river, newer house in an older neighborhood. 7 years ago we paid in the low 300s for it. Small lot but the park is nearby. 18 houses on my street and 13 kids! Three of those kids are mine. Tremendous family feel and I don't have to live on cul-de-sac or have a three car garage. We cook food for new moms, watch each others dogs and pick up mail. The broader neighborhood is very diverse, (economically, by age, status - lots of singles young and old, ethnically, and gay and straight). Lots of artists and musicians in the hood. And our local HEB is one of the most ethnically and economically diverse place on the planet (I have written before about my love of it).

To me the suburbs seem too far away and too isolated, the lots too big, and what do you do if you don't fit the demographics of your particular block?

I do feel out of place here (on this board) sometimes since it often seems populated only by Steiner Ranch fans, and the charms of Circle C, P-ville and Cedar Park are lost on me. We could afford an enormous house in those places but I wouldn't trade it. If I did trade this house, it would be for a smaller one (2400 sq ft now) in Allandale, Crestview, or Zilker and I'd bank the difference.

Believe me, I'm not the only one raising a family in central austin!

[southdown]

When we first came to Austin I really hoped to live somewhere central, but my DH just couldn't see the reasons for living in a smaller house with a smaller lot for the same $ as a big place in the 'burbs - he was concerned about his commute on busy central streets; plus he imagined there were more inner-city problems like traffic, parking, street crime; and the ISD's rating system made the schools look worse than they really are.

I knew he was wrong but the big move was stressful enough without another bust-up, so we took a house in the dreaded burbs.

Now he has had time to get to know the city he's really sorry he didn't look more closely at central Austin. But the kids are now settled in school and another move would be a killer. Such a shame - although we are in a nice friendly area and the schools/parks/community pool etc are good, it is just sooooo dull to look at, there is nowhere to walk apart from cookie-cutter streets and homes, and we have to drive to absolutely everything.

[cubssoxfan]

centralaustinite, do not despair about having a different opinion. As an outsider looking in, it is very valuable to have different opinions when one is tinkering a move and looking for facts and personal opinions in weighing such a decision. The city vs. suburb tiff exists everywhere and is also very alive up here in Chicago. I think it's like weather preferences; people are just different. No right or wrong.
Kudos to all contributing posters for keeping the differing opinions polite and constructive.
Having a family, the biggest challenge is not having to move the kids around. They already would be leaving exisiting schools and all extended family on my side. So the master planned communities are often the "easier" choices. Older daughter is slow to make friends so school change is hard for her. The youngest makes friends everywhere and quickly, moving for her is not as hard. Ideally relocation would happen right when school is out for summer and the next 2 1/2 months would be spent exploring before settling on a spot. Even then, it's hard to nail it down. And if you relocate during the school year it's more challenging.
Now for DW and me, it's trees, nature and walking/running/cycling without having to drive somewhere first to do it. So we all have similar wants sprinkled in with very personal and often different desires.

[TexasHorseLady]

centralaustinite, we raised our kids in Central Austin (Cherrywood, Highland Park and Barton Hills, mostly - my two are about 12 years apart in age, so we lived in several areas over the multi-decade period that they were growing up). We had friends who raised theirs just east of UT next door to Eastwoods Park. Loved it. Wouldn't have done it any other way (except we did move out to the country when the youngest was 12, but that had more to do with the horses than anything else).

[Jennibc]

If we were rich, we definitely would prefer in-city, but we just spent the last eight years struggling with a high mortgage payment so that we could live centrally. And you know, the financial stress outweighs the pleasure I get from being able to walk two blocks to a coffee house, in fact when you paying too much for a mortgage, $2.25 for a cup of drip seems like it's out of the budget.

Yes, I like the character of an older neighborhood but after having to spend 13K redoing our roof and 12K remodeling a bathroom on top of paying a lot of money for the house, I'll settle for a cookie cutter. It's all a question of means and priorities.

[Lil_ly]

Different strokes for different folks. That's the beauty of the human race.

[CarnivalGal]

We moved from NW Hills area to Steiner Ranch for 2 reasons - more (and newer) house for the money and the schools.

I didn't really like the idea of having a really small house or one that needed a ton of work, which we couldn't have really afforded anyway.

Also, I would trade "good" or "acceptable" Austin schools for my "Exemplary" schools anyday. Even the "good" schools, like the ones we were zoned to in out old neighborhood come with the baggage of AISD, which is poorly managed to say the least, and a little too liberal for my taste.

Also, our neighborhood was pretty and well-established, but it was mostly older families. So there were very few children in the area. My kids wouldn't have anyone they could just go out and play with. Here, there are 5 kids playing in the cul-de-sac at any given time

[Austinitegirl]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

To me the suburbs seem too far away and too isolated, the lots too big, and what do you do if you don't fit the demographics of your particular block?

I think you're coming dangerously close to implying that people who live in the burbs are from Stepford, and everyone who comes in is "assimilated" or something. I don't generally define myself or limit my associations with my neighbors to "demographics." To do so, wouldn't be accepting of their... um... what's the word... D-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y. That's a surprisingly narrow-minded statement for someone so proud to be living in the middle of Diversity McDifferent Town.

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

I do feel out of place here (on this board) sometimes since it often seems populated only by Steiner Ranch fans, and the charms of Circle C, P-ville and Cedar Park are lost on me.

You should spend a little more time in the burbs - there are a lot of wonderful, diverse people there too. Their houses may look very similar, but if you step through the front door, you'll find no two families alike. Circle C in particular is very beautiful, very communal and full of personality - the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is across the street!

I've lived in small town Texas, central urban Texas and SUBurban Texas. And I have to say, I've never been happier then when I lived in Round Rock, where I had a coffee shop, grocery store, dozen or so (NON chain) restaurants, pharmacys, banks galore, AND major retailers within WALKING distance of my very quiet off-the-beaten path neighborhood.

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

We could afford an enormous house in those places but I wouldn't trade it. If I did trade this house, it would be for a smaller one (2400 sq ft now) in Allandale, Crestview, or Zilker and I'd bank the difference.

Again, that's sort of a polarizing, borderline inflammatory statement implying that those of us who live in the suburbs are only concerned about the size of our house.

I think it's admirable that you're so welcoming of ethnic and socio-economic diversity - we need more people with that mindset in this world, but I would humbly suggest that you consider expanding your geographic diversity. You have a very "cookie cutter" perspective of what life is like in the suburbs.

[iceshots]

We are out in Dripping Springs for the following reasons.

1) We are SW in order to be close to work.
2) My daughter (15) picked the high school after researching all the candidates that were in an acceptable commuting range. She was coming from a small private school and did not want to be swamped in a large high school here. DS had a good balance of size, academic standards, course offerings, facilities, other activities, and she just plain loved the school and people when she down to visit.
3) Both my wife and I were raised in large(ish) cities. We both prefer small town/country.
4) Wanted to keep the house cost at about 100 - 130 sq ft. We wanted a large house with some land.
5) Hill country views. At night in the hot tub it looks like we have our own private resort.
6) I still get a kick out of coming home to find deer standing in my front yard.
7) I can get downtown in 20 minutes whenever I want.

If everyone wanted to live in the same place and same type of house, the world would be a boring place, and the cost of that 1 house would be astronomical.

If we all wanted the same thing, we would all be driving a Model T.

[centralaustinite]

Austinitegirl, you misunderstand me.

I was responding to the idea that the reason you go to the suburbs is to be with other families. I did not state it clearly enough, my fault. If you have teens for example and the cul-de-sac is filled with five year olds, you may still feel left out even though the block is filled with families. With a greater spread of ages in the inner city that type of exclusion is less likely.

I didn't mean to flame about the size of the house, a previous poster had mention that for X price you could get a huge house with a huge lot in the burbs. I was just trying to point out that home size is not everything. My house is large for my neighborhood but even with three kids if I had to chose again, I would go smaller.

Truly, my world drops off at 183 to the north, William Cannon to the south, and 360 to the west . 18 years in Austin and I rarely go out of those bounds. I know the east side and the small towns to the east fairly well. The Hill Country, the lakes, the malls, the various developments, to the west, north and south all are a mystery to me.