What are the most upscale/desirable areas to live in Austin? (Dallas: housing, rent)

[austinaggie]

I have lurked, but not poste, on this forum for awhile but I had to respond to the OP on this one. I think I am qualified to respond as I grew up in Houston, went to college in Texas then moved to Southern California and lived there from 1989 to 2006. Don't let anyone tell you differently-you CAN find a nice home in your budget in a neighborhood similar to the picture you posted. My husband and I did and we spent only $365,000. We have a 4/2 2600 sq. foot house less than 5 miles from Downtown (360/2244) in a fantastic school district and we love it. If you want to get away from the gangs, smog, insane traffic, self-absorbed culture, sub-par schools, deteriorating infastructure, third-world atmosphere etc. of SoCal you WILL like it here. If you want to find a house in your price range that is in a beautiful neighborhood all you have to do is look in Parkstone, Senna Hill, Lost Creek, Woods of Westlake Barton Creek West, Davenport Ranch, Lakepoint just to name a few. These neighborhoods are all relatively close to downtown, are West of Austin in a beautiful area and ARE in your price range. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I did research for over a year before we moved here and I think we made a great decision. We live in Lost Creek and we LOVE it. I will never go back to Southern California, no way, no how. I lived there for over 17 years and as the song goes "California has worn me quite thin" It was great to live there but I stayed there about 10 years too long. It's great to be back in Texas and we don't regret the move AT ALL. There are plenty of places to choose from here and believe me with your budget you can find something in Austin or the surrounding area that will blow away anything you can find in your budget in SoCal.

[jessemh431]

Originally Posted by manbehindthecurtain

If I were in your situation I would consider Portland long before I would Austin. The weather is a hell of a lot nicer, cost of living is similar (to Austin) and there is a lot more to do... however, mentioning you are from Cali in Oregon will loose you friends and even gain you enemies...

lol. i know. what is up with that. everyone on the west coast hates Californians, especially Coloradoans and Oregonions. it pisses me off b/c people probably wouldn't like me there, yet I love Seattle and Portland.

[manbehindthecurtain]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

lol. i know. what is up with that. everyone on the west coast hates Californians, especially Coloradoans and Oregonions. it pisses me off b/c people probably wouldn't like me there, yet I love Seattle and Portland.

I have friends that live in Portland and they say it's a simple issue of a few bad apples ruining it for everyone else. Starting a few years ago, a lot of Californians flocked to Oregon (my uncle one of them) and tried (whether intentionally or not) to change things. The locals REALLY didn't like that. It's similar to what is going on in Austin right now but I think it was/is much worse in Colorado Springs and Portland. The end result is this "us or them" attitude. It has become this really weird social war.

Seattle doesn't seem as affected because the cost of living is not low enough to benefit a lot of people moving out of nor or so cal.

Really sad, actually. Otherwise, Portland and Colorado Springs are beautiful places full of very nice folks. Blend in quick and you probably won't have a problem.

[southwest1230]

Jesse, the RE taxes are high in Austin to make up for the lack of corporate taxes...
no free lunch....simple as that....

[CravenClan]

Austin aggie,

Great out look!!! Nice to here a post from someone who did their homework!! and who is from So. Cal!!

Can't wait to visit there next week!!!!!!

[austinaggie]

Thanks CravenClan. I've read your posts and I know that you are in the Temecula area. My husband and I used to visit your neck of the woods (from Long Beach) quite often and loved it there. In fact, we were married at Thornton Winery so we are very familiar with the area. I know what you mean though about how much it has changed in the last 10 to 15 years. We could see the build up and could tell things were going to get very crowded and very congested which of course did happen.

I really think you will like it here when you visit. Although some people don't think it is very beautiful compared to California, I do. When I am driving on 2244 toward the town of Bee Cave the vistas are breathtaking to me. The air is clear and the sky is blue and you can see for miles. Then when I am driving down 2244 into the Westlake area I am reminded of driving through the canyons on the way into Laguna Beach. Of course this is just my perspective and you may not feel the same when you arrive for your visit.

Although the NW area of Austin is also very nice we just fell in love with our area and it just feels more open and somewhat rural to me. You will be completely blown away by how many housing choices you will have here. Just take your time and do your research. I can't remember if schools were high on your list but if so I would suggest that you look into areas that feed into Eanes (where our kids go), Lake Travis ISD or Dripping Springs ISD. Good luck and please forgive any typos in my posts. They have nothing to do with me being an Aggie-just due to some very dry and blurry contacts!

[CravenClan]

Thanks for the KIND words!!!

My husband and i were married at Thornton as well!!! 6 years ago in August!! It is a beautiful place!!

We have loved Temecula, until too much attitude and congestion, along with yucky air blew in!!! 10 years ago, we weren't raising little ones, but now....we have a 5yol, 3yol, and 8 mo. old...so we have our work cut out for us!!!!LOL!!

We are looking into Dripping Springs, we want to be a little further out, not in the thick of it!! It is refreshing to hear about clear skies and fresh air. Don't get me wrong, Temecula HAD those things, it just seems blurred now.....

If you have any other info, you could PM me, and we can chat away!!!

Thansk
Christina

[jessemh431]

So it seems like i wouldnt even need to spend that much to live comfortably in Austin. And, with the taxes, maybe i should go less. Do you think i could live in upscale place with 500-600k homes? What zip codes would that be? How bout 78731?

I really like this one. It has everything I want for under 500k, but I don't know how safe the area is. It has a pool, its in hilly terrain, two stories, 3 bed+/2 bed+, 2000+sq.ft.
REALTOR.com: Find a Home - Listing Detail

[austinaggie]

jessemh431,

We live in 78746 which includes Westlake Hills and Rollingwood as well as some areas of Austin and unicorporated Travis County which is where our house is located. I believe Senna Hills and Barton Creek West are both in 78733. They are both further from downtown than we are but are still in Eanes ISD. The caveat here is that you will not be able to get a huge new construction house for $500,000 to $600,000 but you will be able to find nice homes in that price range (except in the actual heart of Westlake and Rollingwood-you could probably only get tear downs for that). It all depends on what is important to you. For us the school district was the most important issue and we personally don't like new subdivisions so we had no problem buying a 23 year old home. Also, if you don't mind being even further from downtown you could probably find something really nice for $600,000 in Lakeway but I don't know the zip code/codes off hand for Lakeway.

Anyway, did not mean to highjack this thread. If you do a search for homes in those two zip codes and in Lakeway you should get an idea about what you can buy in your price range.

Cravenclan, what a small world! I'll pm you as soon as I have a little more time (or you can pm me and I'll respond).

[jessemh431]

So what is the popular hang out place during the summer besides attending live concerts in Austin. Do many people have boats and go boating in nearby lakes? Do many people have pools?