Pros and Cons of Cat Mountain Vs. Tarrytown (Austin, Spring: rentals, HOA)

[faithr]

When we looked at housing last week, we really liked Tarrytown.
However, the prices are steep and we did see a house on Cat Mountain that was very nice, for a few hundred thou less, which to me, seemed considerable. The house on Cat MT. also had a nicer lot although still not huge. What are the pros and cons of both? I don't have a commute as I work from home, but still want to be close enough to Central Austin to shop, eat, go to movies, etc.....
If money was no object, I would choose Tarrytown as I liked the feel of it. I also liked SoCo but did not see anything in my price range that was very nice.
Thanks in advance!

[llkltk]

I'd go with Cat Mountain, beautiful views.

[gigi927]

I love the Cat Mountain area. You're still only 10 or so minutes from downtown in non commute hours, too.

[jclAustin]

Cat Mountain has a HOA which gives access to a pool, tennis courts, a basketball court, and a playground. Having access to a pool (without the maintenance and liability of it in your backyard) in the summer is really nice.

[mimimomx3]

Depends on what is important to you...Tarrytown- close to everything, appreciating home values (traditionally more than other areas), established landscape (gorgeous old trees), unique houses. There is a city pool on Mopac and Enfield, and of course you're right down the road from Deep Eddy and Barton Springs, 2 spring fed pools). Lots of local, fun businesses. This is what Austin used to be. Cat Mountain is beautiful, you can't beat the views, there is a more driving involved, it's more of a suburban, orderly neighborhod with amenities. Tough call, but I don't think you can go wrong with either!

[Trainwreck20]

Hmm...wish I had to make that choice .

[faithr]

Do you think as a single person, without kids, I would feel comfortable w/ Cat Mountain? I should have posted that in the initial thread. Although my long term partner and I are moving to Austin together, we are buying separate homes. He will buy in either Tarrytown or South of Congress. We'd like to be within 10 minutes of one another.

[atxcio]

You'd feel comfortable in both places, I think, as a single person with no kids. Both neighborhoods are a good mix of older families / couples, some younger families, and well-off single people. Tarrytown might be a little better in that regard, as it has more rentals and some destination retail/restaurants that frequented by all sorts of people.

Cat Mountain is very, very nice... visually nicer than Tarrytown IMO, but Tarrytown has the over-the-top land values due to the better location, in some ways (walkability, proximity to downtown / lake). However, I think the better practical location is Cat Mountain. It's close enough to downtown, but also close to the Arboretum, Domain, and all the good shopping and restaurants in the "shifted center" (northern part) of the city.

I'm probably unique in this, but I also really like some of the 80's style architecture in Cat Mountain. I think multilevel, "hill country" or "contemporary style" is very cool. However, there are traditionals and the ultra popular mediterranean style, too. Cat Mountain has an older HOA with very reasonable fees. If you want a big lot, though, it's hard to find in Cat Mountain. Tarrytown, on the other hand, has older architecture and quite a few tiny homes... bungalow style, etc. It's hard to find something of a decent size in Tarrytown that isn't a pricey rebuilt. You also should be aware of the "McMansion" ordinance, which limits how big you can build (or expand) on those smaller houses. It applies to Cat Mountain too, but those were built larger in the first place, so it isn't such a problem.

Appreciation has and will continue be great in both areas. Property values will be very stable in tough times, too. These are two of the most desirable places to live in all of Austin.