Working in Temple - Want to live in Austin. How close can I get to the city? (San Antonio: apartment, rental) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

thefineprint3 · 03-26-2011, 09:02 AM

Wow, the Austin job market is hard to crack into! After months of searching, I finally was offered a position in Temple, TX but don't intend to move there.

We have family in Round Rock and Cedar Park but really aren't the big box cookie-cutter suburban types (no offense meant here! We just like to eat and shop local.) We are trying to get as close to Austin proper as possible... is there any hope for us? Obviously, I'm looking at a 45min - 1 hr commute. I won't consider any more than that. I work 6:30am-3:30pm so traffic shouldn't be an issue. We are a relatively young couple (late 20's) with a 1 year old. Will be driving downtown maybe on weekends. We will be renting a house (looking for $1100 - 1250 a month). Schools aren't a concern at this point. We are hippies at heart...don't need anything fancy. Just looking at a map I'm thinking the closest we can get are maybe the Wells Branch, Brushy Creek or Jollyville areas.

Basically we're hoping for a small house in an established neighborhood (would love for it to by 'funky' but I know that's more of a south Austin thing) with yard space and trees as close to the city as possible but outside of big box cookie-cutter development areas like Cedar Park and Round Rock...

Any ideas would be much appreciated!!! We are coming from San Antonio

Moonlady · 03-26-2011, 11:01 AM

I used to live in Temple and commuted to North Austin for work until I moved here. Commute time was over an hour. If you don't want to live in one of the northern suburbs like Cedar Park, Round Rock or Pflugerville, your commute time in and out of Austin, will be far greater.

Something you might consider would be Georgetown. It has far less of a suburban feel because it was an established town in its own right before the burbs came creeping in. I lived in Georgetown and it was nice because the commute to Temple was 45 minutes or less but it was close enough to Austin that we could go downtown or shopping in Austin without too much of a hassle.

thefineprint3 · 03-26-2011, 12:02 PM

thanks for the idea - we hadn't considered georgetown but do like small towns with a main street. i've commuted from my mother's house in Round Rock (off of Old Settlers Blvd) to my new job in Temple and the commute was only 40 minutes. I don't think I was speeding...

TexasHorseLady · 03-26-2011, 12:19 PM

I was thinking Georgetown - it's pretty much right in between the two cities, you can shop local for most things and still be a reasonable drive into Austin (I do it several times a week, frequently to South Austin).

CptnRn · 03-26-2011, 12:22 PM

It may be counter intuitive, but it could easily be cheaper for you to live close to where you work and commute into Austin for an occasional overnight at a hotel downtown.

Living close to where you work saves considerable money. Other then housing, one of the largest annual expenses we all have each year is our automobiles and the resultant cost of commuting to work. If like the average American, you drive 12,000 miles per year, and most of that is to work and back, that is around $1,500 on gas alone, not to mention increased maintenance, tires, etc.

AAA estimates that the average cost to own and operate a vehicle is $8,500/year. If most of that cost is for commuting to work and you move to within walking/bicycling distance of work, you just gave yourself a $6,000 raise +/-.

love roses · 03-26-2011, 01:20 PM

I'd say Georgetown too. Austin isn't the only place that has "local" places to shop and eat or non cookie cutter houses

Leander could be a possibility too, but I'm not so familiar with it. Lots of people in the Georgetown area go into town on the weekends since the distance isn't really that bad. There's not much need to go on a daily basis, unless you want to. I think Georgetown is a good midpoint. I'd almost even say Salado, but it may not fit you much, just judging by your ages. Georgetown has a college, so there is a younger crowd there and there are some good festivals and a market days, farmers market, nice parks, etc...

CarnivalGal · 03-26-2011, 02:24 PM

Don't rule out Round Rock either. It's downtown area is quite charming.

thefineprint3 · 03-26-2011, 03:14 PM

thanks for the ideas! georgetown sounds like a possibility but just in looking online...there don't seem to be many rental properties. i'm guessing it's the type of place people go to buy a house. i'll keep looking though. thanks everyone!

and to the person who responded with considering living in temple...temple really just isn't an option at this time - neither is killeen. honestly, i think i'd rather living somewhere that we both loved and commute then move to a town just for the sake of a job. the position in temple is OK but i'll be looking for something closer to Austin in about a year

h886 · 03-27-2011, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefineprint3

thanks for the ideas! georgetown sounds like a possibility but just in looking online...there don't seem to be many rental properties. i'm guessing it's the type of place people go to buy a house. i'll keep looking though. thanks everyone!

and to the person who responded with considering living in temple...temple really just isn't an option at this time - neither is killeen. honestly, i think i'd rather living somewhere that we both loved and commute then move to a town just for the sake of a job. the position in temple is OK but i'll be looking for something closer to Austin in about a year

Obviously it's up to you. You have to do what makes you happy and if you would be miserable, don't do it. However, I think the suggestion to live in Temple has some merit. Even living in Georgetown you're looking at a 45 minute drive each way every day. With gas going up and the wear and tear on your car, that's going to get pricey. If your end goal is to end up in Austin, working this job for only a year, then it might make better sense to live in Temple and rent an apartment there for a year. It's only temporary... plenty of people live someone where that isn't their very favorite spot for a year. I have to wonder why a self-proclaimed "hippie" who likes to eat and shop local wouldn't consider the potential negative impact on the environment of making such a long and unnecessary commute... especially when you're only talking about a year.

thefineprint3 · 03-28-2011, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h886

Obviously it's up to you. You have to do what makes you happy and if you would be miserable, don't do it. However, I think the suggestion to live in Temple has some merit. Even living in Georgetown you're looking at a 45 minute drive each way every day. With gas going up and the wear and tear on your car, that's going to get pricey. If your end goal is to end up in Austin, working this job for only a year, then it might make better sense to live in Temple and rent an apartment there for a year. It's only temporary... plenty of people live someone where that isn't their very favorite spot for a year. I have to wonder why a self-proclaimed "hippie" who likes to eat and shop local wouldn't consider the potential negative impact on the environment of making such a long and unnecessary commute... especially when you're only talking about a year.

Well..the self proclaimed hippie part was kind of a joke so no need to take that literally. Georgetown to my new job in Temple is not a 45min drive, as it takes only 40min from my mother's house in Round Rock, which is further south. An apartment isn't an option at this time as we have 2 large dogs. Thanks so much for your input. We will continue looking in the Georgetown area - Temple isn't an option at this time