Great Austin Neighborhoods- Houses to rent for 1200??! (Cedar Park, Pflugerville: apartments, lease)

[researchingUTandAustin]

Hello. I will be relocating to Austin in August with my husband for a position I accepted at UT. We currently live in Orlando, FL. I had a few questions that I was hoping to get some help with:

1. We have a budget of around 1200 a month for rent (we will only be able to stay a year as the position is not perm). Where are the good neighborhoods at in Austin for this price that are close to UT? I don't mind driving 30 or 40 minutes but no longer than that. I am 32; my husband is 43. We don't have any children yet but cerntainly don't mind living around people that do LOL We would like to rent a house, not an apartment- hopefully one that has 3 BD and is relatively newer (built after 1998 or so).

My boss tells me not to go furhter north of Cedar Park or south of Stassy (Spelling?) due to the drive/traffic. She also said something about staying out of anything west of Pfilgerville or east of 535 (couldn't find on map). I think she lives in North Austin.

2. What kind of jobs are there in Austin for someone who does financial stuff like stockbroker, etc? My husband works for TRowe currently and they don't have offices there so wondering what he might find.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

[h886]

Originally Posted by researchingUTandAustin

Hello. I will be relocating to Austin in August with my husband for a position I accepted at UT. We currently live in Orlando, FL. I had a few questions that I was hoping to get some help with:

1. We have a budget of around 1200 a month for rent (we will only be able to stay a year as the position is not perm). Where are the good neighborhoods at in Austin for this price that are close to UT? I don't mind driving 30 or 40 minutes but no longer than that. I am 32; my husband is 43. We don't have any children yet but cerntainly don't mind living around people that do LOL We would like to rent a house, not an apartment- hopefully one that has 3 BD and is relatively newer (built after 1998 or so).

My boss tells me not to go furhter north of Cedar Park or south of Stassy (Spelling?) due to the drive/traffic. She also said something about staying out of anything west of Pfilgerville or east of 535 (couldn't find on map). I think she lives in North Austin.

2. What kind of jobs are there in Austin for someone who does financial stuff like stockbroker, etc? My husband works for TRowe currently and they don't have offices there so wondering what he might find.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

She meant "I-35" as in Interstate 35, rather than 535. It may be hard to find an actual house so close to UT for that price. Houses close in to the center of town are very I would agree with her advice to stay west of I-35, south of Pflugerville and north of Stassney, merely to cut down on commute. Other than that, just see what sort of houses you can find available in that price range.

[RowdysMom]

You might find something in that price range in or around Pflugerville. I have no idea why your boss told you to stay away from P-ville. It is a fine place to live. The commute is only about 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic.

[mark311]

It's easy to get confused when someone is trying to give you an idea of where to live in the Austin area when you don't have a good grasp of the area yourself.

When your boss said "nothing East of I-35", she meant that only about Central Austin, not once you get into the Northern suburbs like Pflugerville. Unfortunately, $1200 for a 3 bedroom single family home that isn't older than 1998 is going to be very tough to find within a 30 to 40 minute commute during rush hour.

Pflugerville is actually a pretty good option, but even there newer 3 bedroom apartments are pushing $1100. There are a few single family homes in that range, but you're not going to have a huge inventory where you can be picky and they'll probably be early 90's. Since you don't have kids and don't need to worry about good schools, you'll have a lot more options. Remember that an undesirable neighborhood in the Austin area might just have some lower income families and poor schools without the crime that normally goes along with it in other cities. There are only a couple pockets of really bad crime that I would avoid. In the North Austin area, that's the area around I-35 (on both sides) between Rundberg and Braker.

[capcat]

I usually agree with you mark311, but not with the nothing east of 35 in central Austin statement. Most definitely, there are areas in which I would enjoy living that are east of 35 in Austin. Just have to get to know the city.

[donnaaries]

Parking at UT is a nightmare. Please consider a duplex or a townhouse off of a UT shuttle route or a CAPMETRO bus instead of driving into campus.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by capcat

I usually agree with you mark311, but not with the nothing east of 35 in central Austin statement. Most definitely, there are areas in which I would enjoy living that are east of 35 in Austin. Just have to get to know the city.

I actually agree with you. I was just trying to clarify what her boss meant even though I don't really agree with her boss since the Op doesn't have kids going to public schools. Either way, it would be difficult to find a 3 bedroom house for $1200 per month built after 1997 in Central Austin East of I-35 (at least the areas that I would enjoy living in East of I-35 in Central Austin). It just doesn't exist. Mueller would fit if they were looking for an apartment, but I think even there it would be more expensive than $1200 for a 3 bedroom apartment. I would definitely live in Mueller if I didn't have kids going to public schools. Places like French Place, etc, don't even come close to meeting the newness want of the Op. Basically, a compromise on size, price, age, or commute time needs to be made at some point in my opinion.

[TexasHorseLady]

A quick search of the MLS turns up several 3-2 houses built anywhere from 1984 to 2004 for lease in your price range. It looks like that's going to be your best bet for relatively close in as new as you're looking for.