Moving to Austin, need advice! (Spring, Clarksville: apartments, for rent, condos) - City-Data Forum

Alib0831 · 10-12-2007, 07:45 AM

I am planning on moving to Austin this Spring. I have done some apt. searches online, but it can be deceiving when you aren't from the area. Any suggestions on a safe place to live, close to entertainment and more young professional oriented than family? Oh and reasonable rent (moving from NYC so my idea of what is "reasonable rent" is very skewed!) I am a 25 year old, single gal. Thanks!

PeacePlease · 10-12-2007, 07:53 AM

It depends where you work. It is best to live closer to work or school (if you will be going to school). When I moved to Austin about 10 years ago, I rented an apartment near the Arboretum area. I picked that place because of the location. It was close to shopping, but also a somewhat short drive to almost anywhere in Austin without living downtown.

Note that Austin doesn't have much of a public transportation (although we're getting a commuter train in the near future). So driving is a must regardless where you live.

PeacePlease · 10-12-2007, 07:56 AM

Forgot to mention. Unlike many cities in the US, the downtown in Austin doesn't have most companies. So work might not be downtown for many people. There are no concentration of companies either.

txhusker · 10-12-2007, 10:15 AM

I agree with PeacePlease--the Arboretum area off of Hwy 183 and 360 (in case you're looking at maps) would be a safe, central area that is surrounded by shopping and some entertainment (bars & restaurants). Most of the entertainment will be downtown, but also like PeacePlease stated, employment is pretty spread out and not centered around the downtown area like it is in other cities.
I strongly encourage you to get an apartment locator and be honest with them in regards to your wants and needs. It's unbelievable how many apartments/condos/townhomes there are out there for rent and they will have first hand knowledge of most of them and can weed those out that don't match what you want. The locator I used sent me pictures of the actual inside of one of the apartments I picked, and they sent me floorplans of all of the apartments they were recommending for us based on what we needed and wanted. I'm not sure if all of them do that, but there's nothing wrong in asking them if they do or will do it for you. Most (99%) of the time, the apartments or landlord pay the locator's commission, so it doesn't cost you anything. That will help alot when you come down to look at places as well--the locator will have all of the properties you liked lined up so you won't waste time driving around.
Sorry I couldn't be more specific, but there are alot of properties in Austin and your perfect place will probably include more variables than what you listed--some you probably haven't thought of yet.
Good luck and enjoy it!

Biscuits · 10-20-2007, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alib0831

I am planning on moving to Austin this Spring. I have done some apt. searches online, but it can be deceiving when you aren't from the area. Any suggestions on a safe place to live, close to entertainment and more young professional oriented than family? Oh and reasonable rent (moving from NYC so my idea of what is "reasonable rent" is very skewed!) I am a 25 year old, single gal. Thanks!

My recommendation would be the Clarksville neighborhood which is roughly located between MoPac, Lamar, W. 6th, and Enfield. There are some older one bedroom apartments in the neighborhood that go for under $900 a month.

TomCTX · 10-22-2007, 01:58 PM

It depends on what your skewed version of reasonable rent is.. How much can you afford?