College students (soon to-be parents) needing a quiet neighborhood in Austin, TX (Cleveland: apartment complexes)

[ssamurai]

My husband and I are college students in Cleveland, OH. We are expecting a baby and have decided to move back to Texas to be a little closer to family. My husband will be attending UT; I will be staying home with our baby.

What are good neighborhoods for a family on a budget (renting, we are not purchasing a home)? Quiet, affordability and safety are our top priority. Anything more than a 15-20 minute commute to UT would not be preferable, but we understand that may be inevitable.

Are there any specific neighborhoods, apartment complexes or streets to avoid?

[atxcio]

You probably want to look at the Far West area -- it's part of the area of town known as Northwest Hills. There is a UT shuttle that runs through there, plenty of apartments and condos available. Very safe and quiet compared to any other student area. Lots of medical offices in the area too, which would be good for a new baby or expecting mother.

There is also married student housing owned by UT just west of downtown. I think it is difficult to get in, but that might also be an option.

You want to probably avoid West Campus because it is very loud, it's where the frat houses and paid dorms are. North Campus is a little quieter. Both of those locations are very expensive because they are adjacent to the school.

Also probably want to avoid the East Riverside student area, although that is currently undergoing revitalization and getting better. Avoid apartment complexes in NE Austin around Cameron Rd and farther up North and East. Also want to avoid north of 183, particularly around the Lamar/Rutland/Rundberg area.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by ssamurai

My husband and I are college students in Cleveland, OH. We are expecting a baby and have decided to move back to Texas to be a little closer to family. My husband will be attending UT; I will be staying home with our baby.

What are good neighborhoods for a family on a budget (renting, we are not purchasing a home)? Quiet, affordability and safety are our top priority. Anything more than a 15-20 minute commute to UT would not be preferable, but we understand that may be inevitable.

Are there any specific neighborhoods, apartment complexes or streets to avoid?

Surprisingly there are one off house rentals in the crestview, northloop, hyde park, allandale area that are very close to campus that you can get for a pretty reasonable price. Many people are just looking for a good reliable tenant and arent looking to maximize their rental return. You should start monitoring craigslist now. You can also work with an apt locator, but they wont have access to the one off rentals.

[Moonlady]

What's your rental budget?

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by atxcio

You probably want to look at the Far West area -- it's part of the area of town known as Northwest Hills. There is a UT shuttle that runs through there, plenty of apartments and condos available. Very safe and quiet compared to any other student area. Lots of medical offices in the area too, which would be good for a new baby or expecting mother.

There is also married student housing owned by UT just west of downtown. I think it is difficult to get in, but that might also be an option.

You want to probably avoid West Campus because it is very loud, it's where the frat houses and paid dorms are. North Campus is a little quieter. Both of those locations are very expensive because they are adjacent to the school.

Also probably want to avoid the East Riverside student area, although that is currently undergoing revitalization and getting better. Avoid apartment complexes in NE Austin around Cameron Rd and farther up North and East. Also want to avoid north of 183, particularly around the Lamar/Rutland/Rundberg area.

This is all good advice. The West Avenue area is a good location for UT students with children, however it is easily more than a 20 minute commute to UT. There are nice, quiet neighborhoods closer, but they are probably not affordable for a student family.

https://www.padmapper.com/ might be helpful.

Crime Map Beta - Trulia will help you visualize where the safest areas and highest crime areas of town are. Keep in mind that overall Austin has very low violent crime rates, but high property crime rates, especially petty theft and theft from automobiles. So any areas with large parking lots tend to show up as high crime.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

This is all good advice. The West Avenue area is a good location for UT students with children, however it is easily more than a 20 minute commute to UT. There are nice, quiet neighborhoods closer, but they are probably not affordable for a student family.

Did you mean the Far West blvd area? Because that's definitely less than 20 minutes to UT, except perhaps during the height of rush hour. But most students travel at different times, and it's on the UT shuttle which is quite quick... maybe 15 minutes? I don't think any of the UT shuttle locations are more than 20 mins away from UT, even Riverside.

Here you go -- Google says 14 minutes. And that's not even going the most direct route.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Far+W...+ut+a&t=h&z=13

[ssamurai]

Thank you all. You have been very helpful!
Currently, our maximum is $900-950 (we are wanting two bedrooms).

Again, thank you for your input.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by ssamurai

Thank you all. You have been very helpful!
Currently, our maximum is $900-950 (we are wanting two bedrooms).

Again, thank you for your input.

Dont know how legit craigslist is, but Im seeing allandale 2br apts for 985

[bgrn198]

Originally Posted by ssamurai

Thank you all. You have been very helpful!
Currently, our maximum is $900-950 (we are wanting two bedrooms).

Again, thank you for your input.

I'd get an Apartment locator but the Far West area is a good suggestion you can walk to HEB,CVS and Austin Reginal Clinic from the apartments.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Did you mean the Far West blvd area? Because that's definitely less than 20 minutes to UT, except perhaps during the height of rush hour. But most students travel at different times, and it's on the UT shuttle which is quite quick... maybe 15 minutes? I don't think any of the UT shuttle locations are more than 20 mins away from UT, even Riverside.

Here you go -- Google says 14 minutes. And that's not even going the most direct route.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Far+W...+ut+a&t=h&z=13

Yes I did mean Far West Blvd area. Thank you for correcting me. Clearly I was mistaken regarding the driving time. I assumed since it was all on surface streets that it would be much slower then that.