Posted: 5/6/2014 4:30:44 PM EDT
| Moving from MN to Texas. Wife has job with State and will work in Austin. With a budget of 200k or so for a house and 3 girls, 2 high school and 1 middle school, what area should I be looking at with an okay drive for her and ok schools for the kids? |
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More info needed. Traffic here is bad... seriously. You'll want to look for a home that minimizes the commute each of you have to do. Basically, either north or south of the river. There are several good school districts (Round Rock and Eanes for example), but quality schools are not necessarily found district wide. |
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Quoted: Moving from MN to Texas. Wife has job with State and will work in Austin. With a budget of 200k or so for a house and 3 girls, 2 high school and 1 middle school, what area should I be looking at with an okay drive for her and ok schools for the kids? Dont live in Austin. Try Buda.
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| Liberty Hill is booming, as is Leander. I take the metrorail to work from Leander and it goes all the way downtown. I don't know how close it gets to your wife's office, but that would be an option to save on gas etc. $74 a month for a metrorail pass for both train and bus. |
| It greatly depends on where exactly she is working and where you plan on working...Pick a suburban area outside of Austin on the side that you will be working, otherwise you can count on an hour long drive at minimum to and from work. Per capita, Austin has the worst traffic |
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Moving from MN to Texas. Wife has job with State and will work in Austin. With a budget of 200k or so for a house and 3 girls, 2 high school and 1 middle school, what area should I be looking at with an okay drive for her and ok schools for the kids? I would echo those who say you want to be outside the Austin city limits (generally lower house prices, lower property tax rates, lower electric and water utility rates, etc)... but which suburb is best from a commute standpoint depends on what state office building she will be working at. They are all over town, although most are in the "downtown" area which is between the river and the UT campus and between I35 and Mopac. However quite a few are in North Austin, for example my wife works for Texas HHSC (Health & Human Services Commission) and she works on the Austin State Hospital grounds which is up by 45th and Lamar. There are even some state offices south of the river like the whole Comission for the Deaf campus. Suburbs that are a good (or rather just less bad) commute to one of those locations may not be so good to another. |
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Dont live in Austin. Try Buda. Living outside of Austin is going to be the ticket in my opinion. My family lives in Buda and both my wife and I work in South Austin. The schools are great here, much better than the schools that would come with a $200k house in Austin from what we found when doing our research. We really enjoy the area. Kyle is also a good option but is a few more miles south of Buda so the commute starts to add up a little bit. Buda seems to be the sweet spot for us between avoiding the majority of "big city" problems balanced with a not terrible commute to work. Houses in our neighborhood range from ~$175k - ~$215k but houses for all budgets are available in the area. Taxes aren't as high as in Austin/Travis Co. Best advice: No matter where you decide to live, make sure it's on the same side of Austin that you will be commuting into or make sure you commute in the opposite direction of the traffic flow during rush hour. If you have to cross Austin twice a day you will want to jump off one of the flyovers eventually. |
| We moved to Round Rock two months ago and it's way better from where we were living in north Austin. Can't speak for the schools but everything else is in easy distance. My other half works by Camp Mabry but is lucky with traffic as she gets is and out before it gets bad. There is no escape from it in Austin. |
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Quoted: We moved to Round Rock two months ago and it's way better from where we were living in north Austin. Can't speak for the schools but everything else is in easy distance. My other half works by Camp Mabry but is lucky with traffic as she gets is and out before it gets bad. There is no escape from it in Austin. My brother in law is stationed at mabry. He commutes from Buda. It takes him over an hour, even from there. Real pathetic commute times. Living in Austin is not worth the expense. I would rather wait in traffic vs pay Travis county libtard taxes. |
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My sister lives in Buda, so Im down there at least a couple of times a year. Personally, find a good 'burb, dont live in Austin been in austin near 30 years this is good advice. eta: i'm looking to get east of town - cedar creek is my preferred area - but i'm looking in between cedar creed and elgin. i work south of the river, barely, right on the highway. getting to the office at 7am, my commute would be about thirty minutes. |
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The neighborhoods around Anderson Mill and 183 are very nice. I would say, they are my favorite in Austin. I think that 200k will still get you a nice house in the area. I'd find that unlikely 
no offense, but $200k isn't going to get you a house in "Austin" proper where schools are going to be worth a shit, if at all. and whoever said eanes, drank their way thru lunch. the biggest questions are; where is she going to work and how much of a commute will she tolerate. oh, FYI, property taxes in a "good school" just went up 12.2% (which I'll be fighting, obviously) if you want to check appraised values on streets in travis county you may like, check here: TCAD linky |
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East Riverside Drive right off of the I35 is where her office is at. Our plan was the "burbs" not in Austin proper, just not sure what area. She starts July/August = HOT. Buda Kyle and San Marcos are what we are looking at now. You are moving here in the summer from Mn.? Dibs on guns and ammo , you'll be dead by Sept. 
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| Been in Austin for the past year and a half. You can get a brand new house in del Valle for less then 200. San Marcos would be an hour drive one way to commute. Traffic starts to get horrible starting just past Buda. Buda has a high property tax (more then I pay in Austin) at. 3% plus buda is having issues with water rights plus they have a large problem with very hard water. New developments now come standard with a softener. I am on the southern edge of Austin and I wish I had gone a little east of Austin (not east austin, that is 95% ghetto). Great deals to be had in del Valle and manor. My .02 |
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Cedar Creek/Bastrop just over the county line and your schools will be better with lower property tax.
I'm SW just over the Hays county line (Manchaca) and you can get a decent place for just over $200k. (edit: I just looked on the mls and I guess it might take closer to $250k now). I commute during off hours or I would probably have to be committed/medicated. You could move to Manor and be right next to Austin Rifle Club - schools might not be quite as nice as Cedar Creek. 4th pick would be Cedar Park/Leander and take the light rail as someone else suggested. I think it's getting kinda crowded up there which isn't my style, but you may enjoy the convenience. The Dallas Stars (former MN team  ) minor league team plays at the Cedar Park Center and I'd love to go to those games if it weren't over an hour away from me. BTW, GO BLACKHAWKS!
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Thanks for the information. From the sources of you guys and her brother (he lives down there) Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown and Hutto appear to be on the short list right now. We know about the traffic issues, she works with the DOT, and it does not bother her. Now the real questions: How hot does it get there? Where can I get a suppressor? Where do I pick up my new resident rifle?
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Thanks for the information. From the sources of you guys and her brother (he lives down there) Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown and Hutto appear to be on the short list right now. We know about the traffic issues, she works with the DOT , and it does not bother her. Now the real questions: How hot does it get there? Where can I get a suppressor? Where do I pick up my new resident rifle?Summers get hot. Expect about on average 15 or so 100 degree days a year, with more 90 degree days than you want to count. 2011 was brutal with like 80or 90 100 degree days and it got Phoenix hot (112) that summer. Normal summer it usually tops out in the 103 to 104 range. Suppressors, go to silencershop. Rifles, there are more places than I can count to get your rifle fix. (McBrides, GT Dist, Sportsman Finest, The Gun Store, Reds North and South, etc.) |
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East Riverside Drive right off of the I35 is where her office is at. Our plan was the "burbs" not in Austin proper, just not sure what area. She starts July/August = HOT. Buda Kyle and San Marcos are what we are looking at now. LOL at "the" I35
Have you considered Bastrop? I haven't seen what the commute is like these days, but housing prices are much cheaper out there and if you are commuting to close to I35, it shouldn't be as bad. |
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Thanks for the information. From the sources of you guys and her brother (he lives down there) Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown and Hutto appear to be on the short list right now. We know about the traffic issues, she works with the DOT , and it does not bother her. Now the real questions: How hot does it get there? Where can I get a suppressor? Where do I pick up my new resident rifle?My wife and I live in NW Austin near RR 620 and Anderson Mill Road . . . very close to Cedar Park. I cannot imagine commuting to SE Austin every morning. Same can be said for commuting from Leander, Georgetown and Hutto. My wife works for state agency and commutes to Lamar & 45th each day. Your wife's drive would be twice as far and she would have to cross the river. Traffic would wear her out! As much as we love living NW of Austin (and I've lived this side of town my entire life), I would think twice about it if I had to make your wife's commute every day. That said, I've never been a "South Austin" type of guy. It would be tough for me to live south. As far as climate . . . it can't be beat. Hot? Not really. Sweating is good for you
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My wife and I live in NW Austin near RR 620 and Anderson Mill Road . . . very close to Cedar Park. I cannot imagine commuting to SE Austin every morning. Same can be said for commuting from Leander, Georgetown and Hutto. My wife works for state agency and commutes to Lamar & 45th each day. Your wife's drive would be twice as far and she would have to cross the river. Traffic would wear her out! As much as we love living NW of Austin (and I've lived this side of town my entire life), I would think twice about it if I had to make your wife's commute every day. That said, I've never been a "South Austin" type of guy. It would be tough for me to live south. As far as climate . . . it can't be beat. Hot? Not really. Sweating is good for you Quoted:
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Thanks for the information. From the sources of you guys and her brother (he lives down there) Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown and Hutto appear to be on the short list right now. We know about the traffic issues, she works with the DOT , and it does not bother her. Now the real questions: How hot does it get there? Where can I get a suppressor? Where do I pick up my new resident rifle?My wife and I live in NW Austin near RR 620 and Anderson Mill Road . . . very close to Cedar Park. I cannot imagine commuting to SE Austin every morning. Same can be said for commuting from Leander, Georgetown and Hutto. My wife works for state agency and commutes to Lamar & 45th each day. Your wife's drive would be twice as far and she would have to cross the river. Traffic would wear her out! As much as we love living NW of Austin (and I've lived this side of town my entire life), I would think twice about it if I had to make your wife's commute every day. That said, I've never been a "South Austin" type of guy. It would be tough for me to live south. As far as climate . . . it can't be beat. Hot? Not really. Sweating is good for you I commute from the PVille area to Ben White & I35... do I like it? No. But moving isn't a realistic option -- After 12+ years of making payments given the weak home sales market in my neighborhood (prices are just now starting to get back to where they were in 2001 when my house was built) by the time I made all the repairs and updates (new flooring, trim fixes, paint, landscaping, etc) to make the house sellable and paid the 6% realtor commission, I'd pretty nearly still have to pay to move or at least I'd end up further behind moving to another area that was more expensive. On the other hand -- I'd rather commute more and deal with the fun of home ownership than have to share walls or be throwing my money away on rent. And sure, I'm not far ahead by owning, but I've enjoyed more space than I could have rented for the same money and I've not had to deal with living on top of or below others. Theoretically over time I should start building some equity too -- mostly just bad timing on my part (buying at the height of the .com boom) and not putting much down to begin with (moved here from a place where my old house was waaay cheaper, so I didn't have a lot to roll forward). I certainly wouldn't recommend this long of a commute if you can avoid it... but if you work in a field like I do, unless you can afford to move you are very likely going to end up changing your commute multiple times over a period of years, in many cases through no choice or fault of your own. Software Engineer is basically a synonym for "often laid off" in the post-Internet years, and in many cases in order to pre-emptively avoid that or to get ahead people will change jobs on their own. Average work tenure for techies is < 2 years. I've had stints as long as 7 years at places, but others as short as 11 months, and in the field, my history is considered more stable than average. Anyway, I've worked at 6 different locations in the Austin area now since I moved here and all of them have been relatively sucky commutes, despite theoretically a large percentage of the tech jobs being located in the NE part of the area -- it just doesn't mean one is available and not a compromise in other respects when one is looking. It would be great if I found a job within a nice 10 minute commute from where I live, but I'm not going to hold my breath. It sounds like your wife works near where mine does... State of Texas near 45th and Lamar... My wife's job is obviously more stable than mine as she is nearing 20 years with the state, but she is nearing meeting the "rule of 80" where she can retire from the state and keep her pension and benefits and then still get a job in private industry that pays better. So her commute may change too over the next year or two. She's also only been in the picture the past 7 years of the 13 I've been in the house, before that she commuted up from SW Austin. My first wife had fairly short commutes to where she worked before she passed away in 2006, but mainly only because she worked a low enough paying hourly job (Health South) she could find that anywhere. I agree with you on the heat... I hate cold weather and will gladly deal with a few more months of hot weather not to deal with below zero temperatures. |
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My wife and I live in NW Austin near RR 620 and Anderson Mill Road . . . very close to Cedar Park. I cannot imagine commuting to SE Austin every morning. Same can be said for commuting from Leander, Georgetown and Hutto. My wife works for state agency and commutes to Lamar & 45th each day. Your wife's drive would be twice as far and she would have to cross the river. Traffic would wear her out! As much as we love living NW of Austin (and I've lived this side of town my entire life), I would think twice about it if I had to make your wife's commute every day. That said, I've never been a "South Austin" type of guy. It would be tough for me to live south. As far as climate . . . it can't be beat. Hot? Not really. Sweating is good for you Quoted:
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Thanks for the information. From the sources of you guys and her brother (he lives down there) Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown and Hutto appear to be on the short list right now. We know about the traffic issues, she works with the DOT , and it does not bother her. Now the real questions: How hot does it get there? Where can I get a suppressor? Where do I pick up my new resident rifle?My wife and I live in NW Austin near RR 620 and Anderson Mill Road . . . very close to Cedar Park. I cannot imagine commuting to SE Austin every morning. Same can be said for commuting from Leander, Georgetown and Hutto. My wife works for state agency and commutes to Lamar & 45th each day. Your wife's drive would be twice as far and she would have to cross the river. Traffic would wear her out! As much as we love living NW of Austin (and I've lived this side of town my entire life), I would think twice about it if I had to make your wife's commute every day. That said, I've never been a "South Austin" type of guy. It would be tough for me to live south. As far as climate . . . it can't be beat. Hot? Not really. Sweating is good for you She is down there now and is really leaning towards Leander. What about the rail/bus to get her to work? There appears to be a rail station on 183 and near Hero way. |
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By the way, my dad was from MN. I never remember him saying he wanted to leave Texas and go back home. My mother's family has been in central Texas since the 1850's. You can see that I have a bias in favor of Texas . . . and more specifically, central Texas. After this winter I will not want to come back 
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She is down there now and is really leaning towards Leander. What about the rail/bus to get her to work? There appears to be a rail station on 183 and near Hero way. The train won't get her there by itself, it doesn't go south of the river at all. She'd have to find a bus connection between where the train stops downtown to where her office would be off Riverside. You might want to actually try taking the train and the buses here before you decide if that is a viable alternative. A lot of scumbag types take the public transit (if you look at the people who are getting on and off the buses) in Austin so I am not sure if I'd feel safe using it, at least not without packing. Thankfully Cap Metro does not try to prohibit CHL carry, HOWEVER, the State of Texas has a no-CHL policy in their buildings (although not 30.06 compliant in the handbooks)... which means she would have no place to store her carry if she does not drive there. While the policy actually says employees can't have a firearm in their vehicle (or at least it used to), since the "Parking Lot Safety Act" was put in place, most employer's can't fire people for having firearms in their vehicles in the publicly accessible parking lot without opening themselves to the possibility of a wrongful termination lawsuit. |
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She is down there now and is really leaning towards Leander. I think you'll like the Leander School District. I know a number of families that left the Round Rock ISD for LISD (for affordable homes more suited to their growing families). If I were new to Austin with school-aged kids (and knowing what I know), I'd be looking at homes in the LISD or land to build on near either Liberty Hill or Georgetown. My son graduated from Westwood HS (RRISD) a few years ago. It is a very good school and ranked high nationally. During his school's graduation ceremony, the district superintendent asked for all graduates to "stand up" if they had a grade point average of 4.0 or higher. I thought what the hell kind of question is that! I kid you not, over half of the Westwood graduating class stood up (needless to say, my kid was NOT among them). Of course, Westwood also houses the district's International Baccalaureate program in which grade points can exceed the "normal" 4.0. I wish you and your family much success here in central Texas. Your kids should love it. There are a tremendous number activities that your family will enjoy throughout the year. |