Cool Neighborhoods in Austin? (West, Manor: sublet, apartment complex, lease)

[Katarang]

Hi, I'm 26 and moving to Austin in March. I'm hopefully gonna be going to school and will be applying for jobs at restaurants and bars. I'm super into music and I like to go out and do stuff. What would be a good neighborhood for me to look into for apartments?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[thesonofgray]

What school? UT?

If yes, look at north campus area (generally bound by Dean Keeton, Guadalupe, I-35, and 38th/45th/51st) or the area immediately east of campus around Manor and I-35.

If you have money to waste and like lots of rich greek (as in frat) trust fund babies, then look in West Campus (Guadalupe, MLK, Lamar, 29th). West Campus used to be the quintessential Austin-hip neighborhood but was taken over relatively recently by developers who know how to exploit daddy's little girl really well (think Veruca Salt in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory). But there are still a few gems in West Campus, although they are an endangered species.

Anyways, there are a lot of good apartment finders in Austin, so I'd recommend checking them out if you get a little overwhelmed.

Good luck!

[inthecut]

every mega-apartment complex looks the same, which probably is more overwhelming than anything.....

[ldubs04]

I would suggest Riverside Place Apartments in central Austin. We lived there for 4 years and wouldn't have moved if it was not for the home buyers' tax credit. It's on a major bus line for UT & ACC. 15 minute walk from downtown, which I've done on nights it was tough getting a cab. They are no frills apartment living, but you live on the lake, rent is cheap for Austin, and a lot of students, aka service industry people, live there...

[passionatearts]

Originally Posted by ldubs04

I would suggest Riverside Place Apartments in central Austin. We lived there for 4 years and wouldn't have moved if it was not for the home buyers' tax credit. It's on a major bus line for UT & ACC. 15 minute walk from downtown, which I've done on nights it was tough getting a cab. They are no frills apartment living, but you live on the lake, rent is cheap for Austin, and a lot of students, aka service industry people, live there...

No, no, no!!! Don't live on E Riverside Dr east of I-35. It's a seedy, high crime area (not necessarily high for violent crime, but it has a very high property crime rate). Also, there's a lot of UT shuttles that go down there, but it's not really that close to UT if you're going by bus. There are better neighborhoods closer to UT (ex: Hyde Park) that are not that much more expensive if you're willing to get a roommate.

Please give us an idea of your budget, and I can make some recommendations to you.

[ldubs04]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

No, no, no!!! Don't live on E Riverside Dr east of I-35. It's a seedy, high crime area (not necessarily high for violent crime, but it has a very high property crime rate). Also, there's a lot of UT shuttles that go down there, but it's not really that close to UT if you're going by bus. There are better neighborhoods closer to UT (ex: Hyde Park) that are not that much more expensive if you're willing to get a roommate.

Please give us an idea of your budget, and I can make some recommendations to you.

There are property crimes everywhere, and Riverside Place Apartments is on the West side of I-35, close to Congress... besides to quote an earlier post.

Originally Posted by CptnRn

We all knew the area was probably high in property crimes, but I never expected it to be this bad. It ranked 6th in a recent study.

[url=http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/study-west-campus-among-most-crime-ridden-neighborhoods-129312.html]Study: West Campus among most crime-ridden neighborhoods[/url]

I've lived all over Austin and I would only move back to RPA. I often visit with friends still living there... but I'm easy to please.

[Katarang]

All of this is super helpful, thanks! As far as price range goes, I'm pretty broke. I'm living outside Chicago now and my rent is around $650. I don't know if I'll be making as much money out there, and will be going with not much saved up. Kinda scary!

Looked at pictures of Riverside Place apartments...looks good. 15 minute walk from downtown and on the lake sounds good to me!

[Naomi Manischewitz]

i did scouting in september and my favorite neighborhood was actually a part of south austin around south 1st st. trouble is, the apartments there are dumps are very expensive.

i actually also liked parts of east austin.

i looked online at riverside place apartments. they looked pretty good. thing is, i thought they would have been cheaper. ive look online at apartments and have seen a few that are much cheaper than riverside.

[Katarang]

Yeah, looked into Riverside and it's out of my price range. What did you like about the area around south 1st st?

[Naomi Manischewitz]

Originally Posted by Katarang

Yeah, looked into Riverside and it's out of my price range. What did you like about the area around south 1st st?

hi. if this helps, i am about your age. i just turned 25.

i like having a lot of greenery around me and things like coffee shops and restaurants walking distance but not too crowded. i typically dont care for downtown anything as a place to live. i like feeling more like i am in a forest lol, but have things walking distance from the forest

south 1st just fit what i was looking for. it has a lot on the street itself and has the scenery i like. there are quite a few apartments on south 1st. i took a tour of one (timercreek) which i loved from the pictures. i even met a guy randomly years ago out here in la who lived in timbercreek lol. you are right near downtown, zilker, and to me just fit my personality the best.

thing is, you are paying to be in south austin.

with me, i might be subletting in austin for 1-3 months this summer if i dont get into this program in israel for 10 months. should i not get in, i am giving myself until the end of september to hopefully get a job in one of the school districts in the austin area. because i have no furniture and dont want to invest in it yet until i get a job, i would rather just get a sublet that is fully furnished with all bills included. in that case, i am willing to be anywhere in austin as long as it is cheap.

anyway, the apartments i took tours of in austin were all in south austin. the prices were pretty much the same. for a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom it ranged (from september) from 990-1100. now i would probably just go for a 1 bedroom and live there for 2 years until i could afford to get my own place and save up some money. there is one i loved that is completely out of my price range so i didnt even bother to look. its called park terrace. the location was the best for me with what i want, and i like how its not a huge complex.

i dont know right now if you are just wanting to risk it and live somewhere nice that you love and hope you get a job, or if you are like me (im very play it safe!!) where you get the cheapest place as a back up in case i cant sublet, and just fill it with cheap stuff until i get move to a place i want to be once i get a job.

this place i saw online. its in northeast austin and not really in the area i like but its cheap and got decent reviews Apartments for rent in Austin, TX - Travis Station, managed by Mid-America Apartment Communities

if those prices are still accurate, you can get a 623 sqft 1 bedroom for 435 (probably with a lease for a year.

with me assuming i get a job and start renting, i would like a a place in south austin hopefully on south 1st. to me though from the places i saw and read about, they are large properties, bad maintenance, and costs a lot of money for the area code. i prefer small places and not a place that is huge. nearly every place i saw was very large

i did like a place i saw called the oaks in south austin, however every time i showed up to the office (4x!!) no one was there!. retreat at barton creek is on lamar. the grounds were beautiful and the apartment itself i saw inside was great. residents though on yelp said a big issue was with the water there, so that kind of rubbed me the wrong way.


if anyone knows any places on south 1st that is great, let me know. all the reviews on yelp for south 1st st apartments were bad lol.