Moving to Austin in a month, need apartment/area advice (Round Rock: apartment complexes, to rent)

[general101]

We are a couple moving from California to Austin in a month and are on the look out for an apartment to rent. Should be making a home finding trip in a week, so any information appreciated.

>> Need to be within a commutable distance of Dell/Round Rock. Preferably 20-25 minutes maximum in the morning and evenings (~10 miles or less). There seems to be lot of posts on bad traffic in Austin, so picking an area has been confusing so far.

>> Day care and school districts etc is NOT a criteria, we do not have any children. Not yet .

>> Large safe apartment communities preferred. Some walking trail or park nearby would be nice but not a must.

>> Need to be in a safe and reasonably active area in terms of shops and restaurants. So we are thinking of living somewhere in Austin rather than Round rock (somewhere south-east/south-west of Dell/Round Rock).

We were looking at some places on the east side of I-35 in pfugerville area but there seems to lot of empty land there which is a little unsettling. Jollyvile area (between hwy 183 and 1) looks like a good area in this regard, at least based on our research. Would that be right?

We are looking at Riata Apartments as an option since it looks like a bustling community. Any idea what the commute is like from there to Dell? I do read Hwy 1 has lot of traffic (~10 miles) but wanted to know if it is really bad from Riata to dell. How is "Riata Trace Parkway > MCNEIL ROAD > Hesters Crodding Rd > dell way" route (8.5 mi). It is hard to guess for us from the map .

ANY OTHER APARTMENT AND AREA SUGGESTIONS?

We are in touch with an agent who will be assisting us but wanted to come up with a probable apartment list ourselves before we make our home finding trip in a week.

Thanks everyone! We are excited about our Austin move .

[soxfan10]

You are reverse commute to RR from Austin so as long as you don't go too far south commute won't be a problem. Jollyville/Arboretum should be under 20 min. Can't speak to the apt complexes but that area is a good mid-point to your work and downtown with a lot of retail.

[malone7384]

I am moving to Round Rock next week. I have a friend who lives down there already and she says that Riata is a beautiful area.

Good luck with your move!

[general101]

Thanks a lot soxfan10 and malone7384 for the information and the quick response. Appreciate it!

Will wait for some input from others on any other recommendations for apartments. We are planning to visit Austin in a week to look around for places.

BTW, this forum really ROCKS! Just came across it last week. Unbelievable sharing of information and community spirit.

[austin_mommy]

I would check out Madison at Walnut Creek. Is close to I-35. Close to HEB and tons of other shopping complexes. Has a huge park right next to it. Of course, the only issue might be safety. However, though there have been a few incidents in this area, the apartment community itself is gated.

[jakobv84]

My SO and I moved here about 4 months ago and also commute to Dell. We chose to live downtown - it's about 20-25min in the morning and a little more in the afternoon depending on luck and timing. We found we'd rather drive the additional 10min each day and then have the lake, whole foods, 2nd street district, barton springs, etc. all in biking/walking distance.

[general101]

Thank you both for the information! So it does look like it is a 20-30 minute commute from Jollyville and not as bad as we expected.

[someguyatx]

From Riata area to Dell I would estimate 20 minutes with tolls 30 minutes without most days. There are several fairly nice apartment complexes closer to Dell, lots of shopping and stuff right there and its safe but a bit of a boring area. I would still check it out anyway since living close to work has advantages especially if you own a bicycle. Some apartments around there may be considered Austin others Round Rock or Pflugerville.

[general101]

Thanks a lot everyone for all your suggestions. Appreciate it!