I'm finally convincing my hubby that CA is just not a stable state and that we need to start thinking about moving somewhere else in order for our family to sustain itself. He threw out Austin and wants me to get him some information about the great state of Texas.
Here's what I would like you to respond to, if you can. Any and ALL information is greatly appreciated! We'll see where this takes us. Moving away from his family is a BIG step but I believe one that he's realizing more and more needs to happen.
What suburbs are "Family" living in and/or near Austin? Looking for a good area. We love to bike and walk as a family. We enjoy the outdoors & fresh air.
Do you know of any good/great schools for K-8 around the Austin area?
What is there to do in the Austin area? Plenty for family? Things for date night/couples' night?
Are there places to get away to? For mini vacations/family get aways?
What are the concerns of living in or near the Austin area? Such as Hurricanes? Tornados? Flooding? Etc...I come from Earthquake town so I'd just like to be prepared.
How's the weather? Any snow in winter? Hot summers? (guessing so since its Texas)
Are there any areas I should def stay away from when searching for a community to live in?
Anything else you can think of tell me or informing me of, that would be great. You can post here or PM me if you would like.
Thank You...Deb
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R & D 10/17/92~Engaged 10/24/02~Married 5/8/04~Charlotte Emilia 8/31/07
Sorry for the late reply--I didn't see this post until now. I live in Austin and love it. I will try to answer your questions as best I can.
1) What suburbs are "Family" living in and/or near Austin? Really most of Austin is pretty family friendly. It depends on what type of area you want to live in and what your budget is like. I am a fan of staying as central as possible, mostly because I am not big on traffic and commuting. But living in Central Austin is a lot more expensive than living in the Austin suburbs (though still much, much cheaper than CA). In the city, Allandale, Rosedale, Brykerwoods, Tarrytown, Barton Hills, Cat Mountain, and Northwest Hills are my favorite neighborhoods. All of those areas have plenty of young families and good public elementary schools, though they differ quite a bit as far as house size, price point, and general feel. Westlake is an area close to downtown Austin but with a suburban feel and it's own highly acclaimed school district, so you might want to check that out. As far as the suburbs go, I am not as well-informed, but I have friends with kids who live in both Cedar Park and Round Rock (both suburbs north of Austin) and really like it. Circle C in South Austin is a popular area for families, too (it's actually in Austin, but is further out and has a more suburban feel).
2) Do you know of any good/great schools for K-8 around the Austin area? I know more about elementary schools than middle, and I am most familiar with the Central Austin schools. That said, Doss, Cassis, Highland Park, and Brykerwoods elementaries are all supposed to be very good. They generally overlap with the neighborhoods I listed above. Murchison Middle School is supposed to be good, and all the Westlake schools (Eanes ISD) are supposed to be really good. I know many of the suburbs have good schools, but I don't enough about the details to comment. My son is only 2 so I don't have personal experience with anything other than the private preschools at this point.
3) What is there to do in the Austin area? Plenty for family? Things for date night/couples' night? There are a couple big lakes in the area with opportunities for kayaking, boating, skiiing, etc. Lots of hike and bike trails, parks, playgrounds, etc. Lots of outdoor concerts, free blues on the green in the summer, an absolute ton of live music venues. Lots of cool family-friendly restaurants with outdoor eating areas, playgrounds, live music, and good food and drinks. As far as date nights, there are plenty of nice restaurants and fun bars to keep you occupied, plus the standard movies theaters, etc. you would expect to find anywhere and some options for performing arts. I mean, it's not NYC or anything, but it is a reasonably sized city, and I can't imagine you would really find yourself at a loss for things to do.
4) Are there places to get away to? For mini vacations/family get aways? San Antonio is about 1.5 hours away and is a great weekend get away for families with young kids--they have a good zoo, a Sea World, a Six Flags, etc. We went there a couple times this summer for a weekend get away with DS. The Gulf Coast is a 2.5-5 hour drive, depending on where you go. We rented a beach house on the Gulf Coast in Galveston (about 3 hours away) this summer with another family and had a great time. Dallas and Houston are both within a 3 hour drive and have typical big city amenities and activities. Fort Worth is also about 3 hours away and has a lot of great museums. There are some cute towns and nice family resorts in the "Hill Country" that surrounds Austin. We have friends that camp with their kids in nearby areas, but we aren't campers, so I don't really know the details.
5) What are the concerns of living in or near the Austin area? Such as Hurricanes? Tornados? Flooding? Etc...I come from Earthquake town so I'd just like to be prepared. There are hurricanes that come in from the Gulf, but they don't come far enough inland to cause problems in Austin beyond heavy rain. In other words, we might get a few days of nasty weather, but no real threat to safety or need to evacuate. Tornados can happen in and around Austin, but they are pretty rare. This is the southern tip of Tornado Alley, so they are less common here than in, say, Kansas or Oklahoma where I grew up. Really, there are no big natural disasters to worry about. You might get some minor flooding after a big thunderstorm, or a little ice on the roads every few years, but this isn't a place plagued with natural disasters.
6) How's the weather? Any snow in winter? Hot summers? (guessing so since its Texas) An occassional dusting of snow maybe every few years or some ice on the roads for a day or two, but winters are generally very mild. Summers are really, really hot. Like this summer we had over 60 days with temps over 100 degrees. It can be brutal. I don't mind it much and you do get used to it, but this is probably not a good place to be if you absolutely hate hot weather.
7) Are there any areas I should def stay away from when searching for a community to live in? Austin is pretty big and spread out, so there are tons of areas to consider. I would figure out what your housing budget is like, what type of house you want (big/small, old/new, etc.), how close you want to be to downtown, etc. and go from there. As far as places to avoid, East Austin (like the part of Central Austin that is east of I-35) is considered the rougher part of town and the schools there are not as good as in West Austin or the suburbs. There are actually plenty of cute, transitional neighborhoods there, but it maybe wouldn't be as good a choice for school-age kiddos. Otherwise, there are certain places I personally would avoid due to traffic and commute times, but that would depend on where you are working and what your tolerance for traffic is.
I feel like I have dumped a ton of information on you! If you have more specific questions, I am happy to try to answer them.
I second what amew said. She pretty much covered it. There are a few other Circle-C like developments that are VERY suburbia like Steiner Ranch and Avery Ranch in Northwest Austin/Williamson County. Very family friendly and conducive to outdoor living but you are also 20-30 minutes away from downtown Austin, which is where the real 'feel' and culture of Austin resides.
The Lakeway/Lake Travis area is really nice too, with great schools, but you don't get the soul of Austin out there.
If I had to choose any neighborhood I'd choose Tarrytown no doubt. It's central, with good schools, and just very cute. But if I were forced to live in a master planned community I'd choose Steiner, probably.
If I had to choose any neighborhood I'd choose Tarrytown no doubt. It's central, with good schools, and just very cute.
You and me both! I love Tarrytown. If I could find a 4 bedroom house with a garage on a decent-sized lot in Tarrytown for anything approaching a price I could afford, I would be very happy. That said, I love Brykerwoods and Rosedale, and they are a little more affordable (though not by all that much--I am still shocked at what we sold our smallish, in-need-of-work house in Brykerwoods for a couple years ago).
I totally forgot about Steiner Ranch. It is nice if you want more of a planned community feel with big, new homes. I tend to favor unplanned neighborhoods where you pay lots of money for old houses with no storage.
Make sure you look at the Mueller area. 3 miles from downtown, everything is walkable, a town center in 3 to 5 years with stores, children's museum, etc. It's a great place to live and that's where I live. Tons of families and kids everywhere!
Oh and ps welcome to Austin even if you aren't here you might as well be!
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Living Info @ Austin, TX
