Moving to Austin soon

[mark311]

After reading this again, you stated that you're moving here at the end of May? You'll really need to find a place soon unless you plan on staying in a hotel/extended stay for a month. What you're looking for will be taken in a day or two after it's listed (the good ones anyway). The Austin area real estate market is very hot right now for sales and rentals. Good luck.

[centralaustinite]

And after I posted I checked austinhomesearch myself and there are a surprising number of 4 bedrooms with yard in RR and Pf-ville in your price range!!

[DRVNFAST]

Wow, thanks for all the helpful tips! We are finding it's tough going finding a house, as the newer, cleaner 4 bedrooms go pretty quickly. Add into the fact that we are trying to accomplish this from out-of-state and it's getting a bit frustrating.
My wife is really pushing the RR area since she has a friend there. We may end up having to increase our budget. We'll see. We trying to keep costs down so we can save for a home and pay down/off our revolving debt.

Fortunately, I do work off hours, 4-12pm, so I'm hoping I won't be as hindered by traffic. What is traffic like southbound on I-35 at around 3-4pm?

Thanks again everyone!

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by DRVNFAST

Wow, thanks for all the helpful tips! We are finding it's tough going finding a house, as the newer, cleaner 4 bedrooms go pretty quickly. Add into the fact that we are trying to accomplish this from out-of-state and it's getting a bit frustrating.
My wife is really pushing the RR area since she has a friend there. We may end up having to increase our budget. We'll see. We trying to keep costs down so we can save for a home and pay down/off our revolving debt.

Fortunately, I do work off hours, 4-12pm, so I'm hoping I won't be as hindered by traffic. What is traffic like southbound on I-35 at around 3-4pm?

Thanks again everyone!

Those hours pretty much change everything. Round Rock, the East side of Brushy Creek , P-Ville and Wells Branch would all work for you. The SB traffic doesn't really start to back up until you get closer to DT, so you'll be reverse commuting.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by DRVNFAST

Wow, thanks for all the helpful tips! We are finding it's tough going finding a house, as the newer, cleaner 4 bedrooms go pretty quickly. Add into the fact that we are trying to accomplish this from out-of-state and it's getting a bit frustrating.
My wife is really pushing the RR area since she has a friend there. We may end up having to increase our budget. We'll see. We trying to keep costs down so we can save for a home and pay down/off our revolving debt.

Fortunately, I do work off hours, 4-12pm, so I'm hoping I won't be as hindered by traffic. What is traffic like southbound on I-35 at around 3-4pm?

Thanks again everyone!

Unfortunately I35 is bad all the time, but that shouldnt be completely stopped. i think there are some i35 webcams that can give you an idea. Just take a look at them at the times you want to commute. You can also look at google maps and see if it is red, yellow or green during your commute.

TxDOT

[DRVNFAST]

Originally Posted by EzPeterson

Those hours pretty much change everything. Round Rock, the East side of Brushy Creek , P-Ville and Wells Branch would all work for you. The SB traffic doesn't really start to back up until you get closer to DT, so you'll be reverse commuting.

, Thanks!

[riaelise]

Ok, I'd give the nod to Pflugerville. Why? Because you can get to your job without having to take the highway to hell known as 35. You can oneshot it by taking FM 685. Plus, you can get a 4 bedroom home, with fenced in yard, in a great neighborhood, for that price range. I'll recommend the neighborhoods of Blackhawk and Falcon Pointe (both master planned, golf course communities with amenities like pools, splash pads, playgrounds..I think there's tennis, but I'm not sure). For that price, you'd probably have a nice sized home (around 200-2500 sq ft) on a nice sized lot. My neighborhood also has rentals in that price range, but unfortunately it lacks several amenities. The area tends to have a nice mix of professionals, tradesmen, State employees, civil service employees. The schools are some of the better in Pflugerville, particularly Riojas and Murchison Elementaries, Kelly Lane Middle School. There is a huge shopping complex in the area as well, with movies and all matter of shopping. The crime rate is low.

Renting is a safe bet. It'll help you make an informed decision.

ETA: you absolutely don't need to increase your budget! Under zip code 78660 (Pflugerville) and 78664 (Pflugerville/RRE) I found a lot of pretty nice rental options. Here are some neighborhoods I forgot to include: Avalon (newish master planned community), Villages of Hidden Lakes (on Lake Pflugerville), Forest Ridge (Round Rock)..I can tell you the rentals are taken pretty quickly. From what I've seen the homes look pretty nice.

[DRVNFAST]

We got a place! Belhaven neighborhood in NE Austin. Meets most of our criteria and doesn't break the bank plus it's only a 5 mile drive to work without touching a freeway/expressway. We're super excited and can't wait to get down there! Needless to say, the East Coast Grad school adventure was fun, (minus 2 gigantic snow storms and 2 hurricanes in two years), but we are ready to get back to a lifestyle and culture we are more comfortable with. Thanks everyone!