Neighborhood suggestions for family of 6, job is in 78752 (Austin, Round Rock: best neighborhood, big home)

[mommymaci]

Hi,
First time poster here. We are a family of 6 (kids ages 3, 5, 7, 9) from Anchorage, Alaska (originally from the NJ/NY metro area) and my husband has been offered a chance to relocate within his company to Austin. His office would be on East Huntland Drive, 78752. Is this "downtown"? I have no idea. We are leaning towards taking the offer and I have tried reading the forums regarding schools, neighborhoods, etc, but honestly it is so confusing, it might as well be Greek. So I am hoping the experts can help. I am looking for a great family community within a reasonable commute to work (coming from Anchorage, husband's idea of "reasonable" is 10 minutes, LOL, I told him I doubt that is realistic). We want great schools, a place where I can make friends (I'm a stay at home mom) and my kids can make friends. I would say our home budget would be in the under $400K range, would like a 4-5 BR, around 2800 s.f. more or less, a pool would be nice, not more than 10-15 years old. My 9 year old is on the swim team and my 7 year old wrestles. My kids are currently in a Japanese immersion program, but I don't think there are any Japanese programs in Austin? If not, then solid public schools would be great. Round Rock and West Austin have been suggested to me... I was also looking at Cedar Park and Pflugerville but I know there are traffic considerations and I know I can't trust mapquest to give me commute times. Hubby is white, I am Filipino, we are conservative, Catholic. I'm trying to give as much info as possible, but I'm sure I am forgetting some things. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

One more random question. We have a 2 week vacation scheduled in the middle of October. It is quite "the norm" in Alaska to take your kids out of school to go on vacation because it is so expensive to get out during school breaks. So for the first time, I scheduled a vacation and planned to take my kids out. Would this be a big deal/frowned upon? My kids will be in Kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th grades. Thank you!

[Moonlady]

The area where your husband will be working is considered North Austin. I think Round Rock would be ideal but he would have to put up with a bit of traffic on I-35 for his morning commute. Pflugerville would be another good option, but I've read mixed comments on here regarding the quality of schools so you may want to do some more research there. Cedar Park is a fine community and the distance to his work area is not that great, but there is this huge bottleneck every morning on the main artery (183) which would take him from CP to work.

A little closer into town would be the area in NW Austin called Great Hills. Good schools and a pretty area but the houses were built in the early 90's and finding 2800sf might be challenging. I think you are going to have a problem finding what you want in West Austin. The age of the houses and price being the biggest factor.

Austin is divided by a river that runs through the downtown area. Crossing the river often becomes a bottleneck in many commutes, so a general rule of thumb is to live on the same side of the river as you work. The only reason I bring that up is because there are many great neighborhoods south of town as well, but factoring in the commute would make it less desirable.

I can't really speak to the vacation thing- but IIRC, they are pretty strict about the number of days a student can miss. Hopefully someone else with kids in school can help with that question.

[hoffdano]

I wonder if 2800 sf is that difficult to find in Great Hills. Great area. But 2800 sf isn't really very big, even for homes built in the 1990s. If you look in this general area, I suggest you look at areas that feed into Anderson HS.

I would not want to commute to work in IH35. Your husband will have to reset his expectations concerning commutes. A 10 minute commute to his work location would put you in an area where you probably would not like the schools.

I think taking kids of out of school for two weeks in mid-semester will be a challenge. Definitely not the "norm" in Texas. Your swimmer will have many great swim programs to choose from. Wrestling at the high school level is growing. And it is available as a club sport.

[janejanejanejanejane]

Very frowned upon by teachers especially to take your kids out for that long.

[mommymaci]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am flexible in age, price, and size, was just listing my ideal. 2800 sf is the minimum we need so we are not on top of each other... but I don't want to go too crazy big since I will have to clean it and pay the utilities! Great advice about the river, these are the types of things I was looking to find here. I figured so much about the schools and vacation, at least I will have time to make changes/rebook. I will look at the communities suggested, thank you for the great advice!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Moonlady

A little closer into town would be the area in NW Austin called Great Hills. Good schools and a pretty area but the houses were built in the early 90's and finding 2800sf might be challenging. I think you are going to have a problem finding what you want in West Austin. The age of the houses and price being the biggest factor.

I agree with this recommendation, Great Hills, zip code 78759. http://www.city-data.com/zips/78759.html

It would be an easy commute for your husband and it is a really nice neighborhood. Green and parts of it are hilly, lots of shopping close by. Most of the houses will be older then the OP asked for, but for newer houses you almost have to move considerably further out. The largest number of houses in this area are between $300k and $400k. With a considerable number either side of that as well.

[cwl1994]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I agree with this recommendation, Great Hills, zip code 78759. http://www.city-data.com/zips/78759.html

It would be an easy commute for your husband and it is a really nice neighborhood. Green and parts of it are hilly, lots of shopping close by. Most of the houses will be older then the OP asked for, but for newer houses you almost have to move considerably further out. The largest number of houses in this area are between $300k and $400k. With a considerable number either side of that as well.

Though you can buy a home between 300k and 400k most of the homes in Great Hills are between 400k and 500k unless you count barrington oaks in the mix (which I do not). Options below 300k are few and far between and most likely would be a duplex on Simons road, surrounded by homes between 500-900K. Great Hills is a great option but I would say it might be slightly more pricy than you may want. Finding a home in great hills that is 2800 sq. or more is no problem, but at a cost. My home is on a large lot with a view, 3,000 sq. feet, and a pool worth about 550k. I live at the bottom of the hills so my view is not sprawling hills but one hill but still a very pretty view.

The neighborhood behind it around the Balcones Country club would be a perfect fit. Easy access to 183 and to work and with excellent schools. Try Stiener Ranch as well but commute may be out of the way and I wouldn't normally advocate for it. Cedar Park and Round Rock will give you great schools and a big home on your budget and there is a sense of community. The flatter you get the more close you get with your neighbors.

I find that Great Hills overall is not the best neighborhood to know everyone on the street because of how divided the elementary schools are. There are 4 elementary schools that serve the Great Hills area and each take a good portion of the kids. Though these schools take kids from other neighborhoods too so you will find yourself leaving great hills often for friends. Hill elementary takes Jester/Lakewood kids and Northwest Hills kids. Davis takes balcones woods and some millwood. Laurel Mountain takes some of the Spicewood/Balcones Country club area. North Oaks take barrington Oaks, some Millwood, and some Spicewood/balcones country club area.

[CptnRn]

Zip code 78759

[mommymaci]

Originally Posted by cwl1994

Though you can buy a home between 300k and 400k most of the homes in Great Hills are between 400k and 500k unless you count barrington oaks in the mix (which I do not). Options below 300k are few and far between and most likely would be a duplex on Simons road, surrounded by homes between 500-900K. Great Hills is a great option but I would say it might be slightly more pricy than you may want. Finding a home in great hills that is 2800 sq. or more is no problem, but at a cost. My home is on a large lot with a view, 3,000 sq. feet, and a pool worth about 550k. I live at the bottom of the hills so my view is not sprawling hills but one hill but still a very pretty view.

The neighborhood behind it around the Balcones Country club would be a perfect fit. Easy access to 183 and to work and with excellent schools. Try Stiener Ranch as well but commute may be out of the way and I wouldn't normally advocate for it. Cedar Park and Round Rock will give you great schools and a big home on your budget and there is a sense of community. The flatter you get the more close you get with your neighbors.

I find that Great Hills overall is not the best neighborhood to know everyone on the street because of how divided the elementary schools are. There are 4 elementary schools that serve the Great Hills area and each take a good portion of the kids. Though these schools take kids from other neighborhoods too so you will find yourself leaving great hills often for friends. Hill elementary takes Jester/Lakewood kids and Northwest Hills kids. Davis takes balcones woods and some millwood. Laurel Mountain takes some of the Spicewood/Balcones Country club area. North Oaks take barrington Oaks, some Millwood, and some Spicewood/balcones country club area.

Thank you, CptnRn! I really appreciate the feedback. A realtor sent me a bunch of listings that fit my criteria and most were in Steiner Ranch or Ranch at Brushy Creek. Strictly based on their website, I like the idea of Steiner Ranch, but I wonder if the commute would get old pretty fast. I need to look more into Cedar Park and Round Rock (which zip codes should I focus on to make the commute tolerable - Round Rock seems pretty big). I will look more at 78759 as well. Thanks!

[EzPeterson]

That commute from Steiner would really wear thin pretty quickly - there's just no real straight shot over there. Cedar Park would be a bear too.

You might want to take a look at 78727, you may have to give a bit on the age of the home (lot of late 90's and some updated 80's), but it zones through the Doss/Davis > Murchison > Anderson schools that are highly regarded and would be a much easier commute.

78729 Has some options as well.