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So we've done our research and are moving to West Lake Hills. We love being in the Hill Country, yet close to downtown, and our 2 year old will get to go to what most people agree are great public schools. Plus we found a great house, and I'm not crazy with the houses in this area (architecturally), so that sealed the deal for us.
However, most of what I read (on this forum in particular) seems to take a very negative attitude toward the city. So I guess what I'm wondering is: Is WLH as wonderful as it seems to me, and the negativity I read about is partly jealousy? Or is it really overly hyped, with its own set of problems, as any community has? I'm looking for some objectivity here. Why I'm doing that on the internet, I don't really know. Boundless optimism, I guess. BTW: We moved to Austin in January and are currently renting in central Austin.
Anyway, here are some negatives that I've read or heard about and my comments:
Snobbish: One comment I read that sounds the most accurate is that anywhere you're spending over 500k, you're going to get a certain snobbishness. I hope that's more the truth. I live in central Austin around some $500k-$1 million dollar homes, and there are plenty of snobs here, too. Is it that much different in WLH? Background: My wife and I are young-looking, and a little bit anti-establishment. When I say "snob", which is a pretty vague term, I mean we look different and people don't say hi back to us when we say hi to them, and I assume the two are related. It's an assumption, take it as such. I guess if it's not worse than the other rich parts of Austin (don't kid yourselves, Travis Heights, you're rich), I'd be happy. I mean, the locals don't ask you what you drive or how much you make do they?
Too white: This one seems to be fairly true, and unfortunate. I'm not white, and I don't want my son to grow up in a homogeneous environment. However, sometimes you don't always get what you want. I think central Austin is very, very white. We looked at some neighborhoods in East Austin that were very Latino. Diversity, I guess, just wasn't at the top of our list. A "want" but not a "must have". I guess we could do worse if one of the only bad aspects of the town is it's "too white".
School aren't as good as they say: Not sure what to make of this one. I routinely hear how bad Austin public schools are "except for Eanes" -- I know there are exceptions - I'm not here to debate your particular school's merits. I do find it ironic that people complain about No Child Left Behind and then use test scores religiously to rate schools as "good" or "bad". It does sound like Eanes has a lot of money and dedicated parents. Again, I think I could do worse than Exemplary and blue-ribbon schools that are overly-hyped.
One more relatively minor issue: It's not very bike-able. I've been commuting downtown by bike - doesn't seem like that's going to be doable without some creativity. I'm not a crazy hill-climber and our would-be house is on a narrow, steep road with tons of blind turns. Yuck. Any opposition to this comment? Trails or bike-able routes I don't know about, perhaps?
Anyway, like I said in the beginning, we're moving there, so my mind is already made up, I'm just curious if others think that WLH is just so good that people hate it (like the Yankees), or if the goodness belies an underlying evil (like the Yankees). Hopefully I can hear from those with actual experience with the community, but if you just wanna throw in a random "WesSlake suxxx!" that's cool, too.
Snobbish: yes, there is the rep. In WLH a $500K house is on the low end, one million is not unusual. I know several people who live in $2 million homes in Eanes. Both are super friendly and down to earth. But folks in Austin know, that if you live in a 2 million home, then you are paying close to $40K a year in property taxes! That kind of coin boggles many people's minds (mine included). So that plays a part, and there are also plenty of people there who keep careful tabs on the kind car you drive, jeans you wear, how you keep your lawn etc. Depending on exactly where you live, there can be a kind of social surveillance that can be very off-putting (but not everyplace in Eanes or Westlake Hills is like this but it does exist).
Too white: too true! The insistence on big lots (1/3 acre min) with narrow roads and limited walkability also limits neighborliness and community in some areas.
Schools: Eanes students are almost exclusively white and well-off, so of course, they have top-notch test scores, is this due to the quality of the raw material? Or the education they provide? Plenty of people live in Eanes and chose private school for their kids. One issue is the sheer size of Westlake HS (and the bitter battle to defeat a second high school), class sizes even in AP course can be pretty big, and it just isn't a good fit for every kid. There is no school that works for every child. And then many people have a bad feeling when they see the money spent on athletic fields while the elementary schools still aren't accessible to the disabled.
Again, so much will depend on where exactly you are in Westlake.
I really don't know where you are getting your information. Westlake (one word) is a good area. I haven't read much bashing on this forum. I think you are spending too much time worrying about things. Just enjoy your move and your new area.
I really don't know where you are getting your information. Westlake (one word) is a good area. I haven't read much bashing on this forum. I think you are spending too much time worrying about things. Just enjoy your move and your new area.
Agreed.
I just bought a house in "Westlake" (quotes because much of "Westlake" is technically within City of Austin) and will be moving there in July. Oddly, we're "downsizing" from a 3316 sqft $500K+ custom home on an acre in Oak Hill to a crappy/modest 1800 sqft 1978 track home located in the Woodhaven section that's walkable to all three schools.
We're making the move because I want my kids live near schoolmates instead of being transfer students, and our proximate connection to our private school in Oak Hill is coming to an end. Mainly, above all, we are placing a personal premium on the specific location and the walkablity it affords, not only to the high school and library but also to the restaurants and shops at Bee Cave/Walsh Tarlton.
Also, at 0.3 miles (6 minute walk from the house) we can hop the number 30 Cap Metro bus and get dropped off at Zilker Park, Barton Springs Pool, Hike/Bike Trailhead at Spyglass, anywhere along Barton Springs Restaurant Row, or anywhere up along Congress Ave. downtown, or even the other direction to a movie at Barton Creek Mall.
Since 1999 we've lived on large acreage country homes with walkability to our kid's private school, but absolutely nothing else. I'm really going to enjoy not being so dependent on a car for recreation/transportation/education. I'll bet most people don't realize that that little pocket in Westlake might be one of the most "walkable" locations (factoring in bus connection) to the best parts of the 78704 and downtown, in Austin, and some of the best schools in the country. And it's way cheaper than Barton Hills.
With regard to the people of Westlake. I know many families through my high school kid and through my younger middle-schooler's volleyball league. My kids have been to sleepovers and birthday parties at $10M+ homes and at modest homes like the one we're buying. Parents are parents. Some have nicer homes and cars than others, but at the core, I see no difference between Westlake people, the private school families I've know for more than a decade, and the public school families and people I know from all areas of Austin. People are more the same than they are different, no matter the economic gap that might exist.
Thusly, in my opinion, labeling someone because of where they live is stupid, ignorant and wrong, whether it's rich people looking down at commoners or working class people casting resentment toward the affluent.
I really don't know where you are getting your information. Westlake (one word) is a good area. I haven't read much bashing on this forum. I think you are spending too much time worrying about things. Just enjoy your move and your new area.
Actually, even though it's very commonly referred to as "Westlake", technically it's three words: West Lake Hills.
There is "Westlake" and "West Lake Hills". People use Westlake to describe the general area around the city of West Lake Hills, including most of the area that is in the Eanes ISD. That area a lot bigger than the actual city of West Lake Hills, and includes sections in Austin, Rollingwood, and unincorporated Travis County. The high school is also called Westlake, not West Lake.
To the OP, you asked about bike routes. Depending on where you live, there is a good route to downtown -- it goes from 360 and Westbank all the way to Zilker Park/Barton Springs Rd/Downtown. You don't have to get on Bee Caves Rd at all -- you just have to cross it one time, and there are walking signals at that intersection. You'll see lots of bikes on that route, and it's marked with signs. Passes right by part of the 30 bus route that Austin-steve was discussing.
There are a couple tiny "red" (difficult) spots on the route, but I find them much easier than the other "blue" routes they show out of Westlake. I think the map has it wrong regarding the difficulty of that route.
I really don't know where you are getting your information. Westlake (one word) is a good area. I haven't read much bashing on this forum. I think you are spending too much time worrying about things. Just enjoy your move and your new area.
I agree. I rarely see Westlake bashing here. Eanes is routinely recommended. Is it a dream area? Not for many even if you afford it. Are some if its residents snobs? Absolutely. Are many just as nice as other Austinites. Yes. I believe the stories about Westlake High School - kids with money aren't all saints. But they perform well and most go on to do good things as adults.
Just curious as to what the walk score (walkscore.com) is of your new address?
Walkscore.com seems like a useless/bogus rating system. It gave my new home a 42 out of 100, which is ridiculous considering all the places I can walk to in less than a mile, plus the extended destinations I can reach with a one-way bus trip.
My current home scores only a 5, which is about right, since I can't walk to anything except the school (which is the only reason we live here though).
I punched in my former addresses in Austin and it rated them as follows:
House in Oak Hill near Convict Hill/Wm Cannon 78749 = 31
From this home you can walk to Dick Nicols Park in 10 minutes, and to a bus stop at Wm Cannon/Beckett in 5 minutes, but not much else.
House in Cherry Creek near Westgate/Wm Cannon 78745 = 52
From here is 1 block to a bus stop, and 5 minutes to Wm Cannon/Westgate with lots eateries, shopping, grocery store, starbucks, etc. 52 seems pretty low.
House in Travis Heights 78704 = 78
3 blocks to SoCo, 1 block to bus stop, so I'd expect a really high score, but still, 78 doesn't even put it in the top 10% for Austin (88 or higher).
Walkscore seems to add points for the number of things that pop up on the map, but doesn't weight them on a value scale for diversity of walking destinations or their relevance.
Of course, relevance will change for each individual, which is why the system is poorly conceived. Instead, it should ask questions of the person seeking the score and match the score to that person. For example, a family who wanted to be able to have their kids walk to top rated schools from K-12 grade would get a different walk-score for Woodhaven than a single professional who wants to be able to walk to a bar and hear live music.
Until the walkscore rating incorporate such relevance/intelligence in the ratings, I think they're novel but useless. Which is why you end up with a neighborhood such as Woodhaven, sought specifically by people seeking walkability to schools, achieve a score of 42 while a downtown condo scores a 97.
Steve
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