Looking to Move to Austin From Houston (Round Rock, Allen: for sale, apartments)

[nicemarmot]

I need some direction on moving to Austin - My wife and I are looking to move in the next 2-3 years and I need a good neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide of the city.

I keep seeing posts of twenty-somethings that want to move to Austin and live in apartments and do the hipster thing. We aren't interested in that. We don't care about the clubs, frat bars, or the party scene - We are looking to move and buy a house, but we don't want to live in some planned community with a Home Owner's Association. That would be hell.

There are things that we want - A decent house, preferably 1,800-2,200 S.F., mid-century though about 1970 (we like the construction materials, design, build quality of that era). It would be nice if there were some shops, bars and restaurants within walking distance, but it doesn't have to be in the middle of everything. A neighborhood that's doing it's own thing, with some good mixed use development...maybe a park close by. Sidewalks and green space rank high priority for us. Looking to spend between $120,000 to about $180,000. Maybe a little more if I get the right job. Going by Trulia or similar sites and basing on price alone is pointless if we don't understand the neighborhoods that those houses are in.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

[Trainwreck20]

mid-century though about 1970

between $120,000 to about $180,00

That is going to be very hard, I suspect. Austin is just not that old of a city, so most of the 'older' (<1970) housing is now central, which equates to expensive (>180k). Off of north Lamar near I-35/Parmer is an older neighborhood, and you are near a couple of parks, although walking most amenities will be a bit difficult (have to cross Lamar).

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by nicemarmot

I need some direction on moving to Austin - My wife and I are looking to move in the next 2-3 years and I need a good neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide of the city.

I keep seeing posts of twenty-somethings that want to move to Austin and live in apartments and do the hipster thing. We aren't interested in that. We don't care about the clubs, frat bars, or the party scene - We are looking to move and buy a house, but we don't want to live in some planned community with a Home Owner's Association. That would be hell.

There are things that we want - A decent house, preferably 1,800-2,200 S.F., mid-century though about 1970 (we like the construction materials, design, build quality of that era). It would be nice if there were some shops, bars and restaurants within walking distance, but it doesn't have to be in the middle of everything. A neighborhood that's doing it's own thing, with some good mixed use development...maybe a park close by. Sidewalks and green space rank high priority for us. Looking to spend between $120,000 to about $180,000. Maybe a little more if I get the right job. Going by Trulia or similar sites and basing on price alone is pointless if we don't understand the neighborhoods that those houses are in.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

Lots of good 1,800-2,200 sf mid century. . .some even near mixed use vibrant neighborhoods. . .but none in your price point.

[EzPeterson]

Gracy Woods is about the only area that's going to have any kind of selection of properties - otherwise, it'll be ones or twos here and there - even then, you're going to be hard pressed to find anything.

[riaelise]

Are you interested in surrounding cities (suburbs)? If so, you will have some nice choices even at that pricepoint, within commuting distance to downtown Austin. I'd personally recommend any of these -- Cedar Park, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Leander and Georgetown. We personally live in NE Pflugerville, but I don't think my area has the housing stock that you are looking for. There are some excellent neighborhoods in "old Pflugerville" that are always in demand and have low inventory (look on MLS/Trulia -- Saxony, Willow Creek, Meadow Park, the area in 'downtown' Pflugerville). The homes are a mixture of 60s - early 90s..the older homes (1900s - early 20 century) tend to be passed down rather than sold. These parts of town have abundant green space and huge trees and sidewalks. You will have to drive a short distance for shopping, though.

[happy-robot]

Find out where you'll be working first before choosing a neighborhood. (what business are you in?) Traffic in this town is insane and the right house in the wrong location will make your life miserable. Plan to avoid commuting on 35 if at all possible. Really. It's referred to as "The Parking Lot Formerly Known As I35."

North Austin, around Gracywoods, Parmer, and Lakeline, will fit within your budget. You'll get a great house in Leander or Cedar Park for that money but you'll have to drive. All of these have close by neighborhood parks.
P'ville (Pflugerville) has high property taxes so watch out (no commercial base).

Your budget seems low for the south part of town. Sunset Valley if you're handy--you can buy a gentle fixer. SoCo, forget it. Barton Hills, forget it. Tanglewood Forest, Cherry Creek are more affordable and farther south. Circle C has all ranges of houses but your resale will be less due to the volume of houses and they are pretty much cookie cutter and newer--there's an HOA there too. All of these have neighborhood parks.

West: Westlake, Cat Mountain, Arboretum, and generally west of 360 you can probably get a townhouse for starting $400K. Lots of greenspace and the like.

East: Onion Creek is affordable, mixed neighborhood, far south. East of UT is up and coming and generally going the way of the affluent hipster.

Central: (Hyde Park, SoCo) forget it unless you're handy--buy an old creaky house needing help (pre 50's) and fix it up. Lots of small urban parks and the neighborhoods are so dang cute you want to just walk down the sidewalks. Allendale is north Central, maybe affordable if you come down on your square footage and can live with a carport.

Del Valle: only if you're a drug dealer (or have a habit yourself)

You didn't mention if you have kids--most parents in this town will sacrifice anything to get into the right school district, Eanes, I think, is tops and that's Westlake. Walkability is pretty much relegated to central and south (SoCo).

Get a knowledgeable realtor that is willing to drive you around and let you into representative houses that are currently for sale (I have a rec if you need it). That's the best way to figure out what you're willing to compromise on and what you can afford. Also start haunting Austinhomesearch.com with the map option.

[riaelise]

One comment - Pflugerville has a commercial base now and it is growing bigger by the year. The property tax is still fairly high, but is going down each year as the sales tax revenue increases.

[nicemarmot]

Outer cities are OK - just not sub-urban hell. I just want to be able to walk to a street or intersection that has some decent restaurants, shops, and stores. Lots of neighborhoods in cities have these streets or intersections where all the stuff seems to be happening - I just don't want it to be a series of strip malls and sprawl. We don't have kids, but we plan on having some in the next 5 years. I work in aerospace, but I'm planning a strategic exit because there doesn't seem to be much of that in Austin. My background is physics, and I've worked in several other fields, so I think I can migrate over. Besides, my plan includes having and MBA by the time we move. I'm more interested in business strategy anyway, and I already sort of do that where I work.

I'm pretty handy and live in a fixer-upper now. I wouldn't mind a refurbished house that's ready to go, but I would definitely consider something that has potential. I don't mind a transitional neighborhood either. Avoiding a Home Owner's Association is kind of a big deal for me, though.

[janejanejanejanejane]

I would just go and look downtown. You will get a beater with that price range. Houses here are tons more expensive than Houston. Typically a 3500 sq ft house in Houston (Kingwood, Spring) Could cost lower 200s, where here you're looking at upper 200s, 300s and heck, 500s+ &1million + in some areas.

[nicemarmot]

I'm really not looking for anything more than 2500 SF - single floor only. We just don't need more space than that. The house we live in now is about 1700 SF 3BR, 2B and cost $112,000. An extra room would be nice - maybe a dedicated library room or something like that, but all that extra space requires air conditioning, and I just think it's wasted on me because I don't get anything out of owning a 3,000 SF house. I guess If our combined salaries got to $250K, then I would consider a bigger house, but as a rule of thumb, I don't buy anything more expensive than twice what our lower yearly salary is. That way, we can still afford to live in a house even if one of us loses our jobs.

I guess salary and job location would be driving factors - for both my wife and myself.

Thanks for the advise