Rural north of Austin, HELP!?!~ (Round Rock, Georgetown: real estate, house, rent)

[brucemc777]

I expect within a week I will be told (by my wife) that we must move to the Austin area within two months, with her going there much sooner. We live in Michigan (where I already have seen snowfall). I have been reading posts on Round Rock and Georgetown, but see that there are many places and I need some folks that live out there to help give me some guidance!

We probably will look to rent for the first six months to a year as I expect the move to have to happen quicker than I would like. Further, if you are aware, Michigan's economy is the enema access point of the nation, and we have not been spared. We are pretty much blessed by the firm that wishes to hire my wife from where she is right now and will cause us to have to relocate.

One year ago we moved from the east side of MI to the west side, and we went from a subdivision on top of subdivision area to an isolated subdivision bordering on rural (cows, horses, corn, soy...). I LOVE it. What I can't replicate where you are is Lake Michigan, but if we can have access to a body of water it would be nice. Speaking from an "I wish" perspective, I wish to have rural so at least one view from the house is field/natural (not homes), and would love something that abutted state park, wetlands or stream/river.

We would like someplace that would be priced if for sale around $200,000 or a bit more from where we are, but I don't know how that translates to your beautiful area. We have four children that presently double up in two rooms. Did I mention that I love nature?

Should we be looking northwest of Georgetown? Is Round Rock going through some troubled times? Are there other areas that we should not ignore?

I would much rather hear from folks that live in the area before talking to real estate people, but honestly, my wife is there right now and I need some guidance quick! I suspect that some who reply are working with real estate agents "bird dogging", but please, I need honest information, I can't be there because of circumstances, and I need it quick.

God Bless,
Old Bruce

[austifornian]

Slow down Bruce

There are many places that you can get what you want in this price range - the catch will be that it might end up being a long commute to your wife's job. Traffic here is manageable outside commute hours - start from her work location and work outward from there.

[HappyTexan]

I'd say don't look at Pflugerville. There are fields there today..but are quickly being covered with subdivisions.

[mrsengle]

Old Bruce (I like that!),

Georgetown is probably your best bet for that price range. If you're going to rent for a while, you'll have some time to decide if buying there is right for you.
Round Rock is fine, but doesn't have nearly as much 'scenery' as Georgetown.

[HappyTexan]

I agree with mrsengle..rent a house for a year and spend that time exploring and getting to know areas before you settle down and buy.

[llkltk]

Originally Posted by brucemc777

I expect within a week I will be told (by my wife) that we must move to the Austin area within two months, with her going there much sooner. We live in Michigan (where I already have seen snowfall). I have been reading posts on Round Rock and Georgetown, but see that there are many places and I need some folks that live out there to help give me some guidance!

We probably will look to rent for the first six months to a year as I expect the move to have to happen quicker than I would like. Further, if you are aware, Michigan's economy is the enema access point of the nation, and we have not been spared. We are pretty much blessed by the firm that wishes to hire my wife from where she is right now and will cause us to have to relocate.

One year ago we moved from the east side of MI to the west side, and we went from a subdivision on top of subdivision area to an isolated subdivision bordering on rural (cows, horses, corn, soy...). I LOVE it. What I can't replicate where you are is Lake Michigan, but if we can have access to a body of water it would be nice. Speaking from an "I wish" perspective, I wish to have rural so at least one view from the house is field/natural (not homes), and would love something that abutted state park, wetlands or stream/river.

We would like someplace that would be priced if for sale around $200,000 or a bit more from where we are, but I don't know how that translates to your beautiful area. We have four children that presently double up in two rooms. Did I mention that I love nature?

Should we be looking northwest of Georgetown? Is Round Rock going through some troubled times? Are there other areas that we should not ignore?

I would much rather hear from folks that live in the area before talking to real estate people, but honestly, my wife is there right now and I need some guidance quick! I suspect that some who reply are working with real estate agents "bird dogging", but please, I need honest information, I can't be there because of circumstances, and I need it quick.

God Bless,
Old Bruce

It's going to be hard to find something nice in Austin proper for 200K. You probably need to try Plugerville. Round Rock is out of your price range as well.

[Trainwreck20]

Georgetown, some areas of Bastrop, NW of G'town are all good starts...Which area of Austin will your wife work?

[brucemc777]

IH35 and Braker.

Can work with $250k, but rather not; prefer to have some leeway and don't know how bad your taxes are out there.

Hmmmmm, mrsengle, ye dare reply despite my little shot? I like that. I once was a Re/Max agent (many years ago in a galaxy far, far away). I suppose I should have my wife give you a shout. Have a web page? She's going to be driving around in circles come tomorrow.

llkltk, you confuse me. From what I have seen, Round Rock would be the easy choice, as what my wife has advised from that part that she has driven and the people that she is meeting with, some of whom live there, but it is entirely probable that finding a property there and finding a property that would fit my pie-in-the-sky wish list are two separate armadillos entirely. Might that be it?

Also, I would really rather find something out of any town, but I suspect that is going to be that much more rare and far between.

I GREATLY appreciate all you folks providing input! Tell me, do I have a prayer for anything near one of the lakes or along a river? That is, anything that the board of health has not condemned?

[love roses]

We've got several friends that live on acreage in West Georgetown. Very nice scenery and big trees. One set of them lives close to Lake Georgetown. Jonestown has lots of rural area still left. Bastrop would also be an option. It might be a tad bit of a drive, but to Braker, maybe not too annoying. My husbands office is that way too. We live in Hutto. There's rural property out here too, but not really any lakes right close by. Coupland has rural property. Elgin too, but schools are give and take. West RR would be better scenery than East. I don't think there's a whole lot of rural left in East RR. There are homes on the San Gabriel River in Georgetown, RR, and Hutto (Rice's Crossing) and Brushy Creek. Upriver on Lake Travis would be nice, but would be kind of a long commute to Braker. But even with all that said, I'd personally pick Jonestown or West Georgetown.

[Trainwreck20]

considering the property that you are looking for (regardless of price), your wife will have to commute some. Anything south of Austin should probably be ruled out (SW, S, SE). West of Austin has everything you are looking for, but will be outside the price range. East and Northeast will be well within your price range, but are generally the least 'scenic' (lots of farm land, not as many hills/trees) and will not have much in the way of lakes. That leaves North and NW.

Again, given your wife's relatively north job location, the 'major' towns that come to mind that have large areas of undeveloped land are Georgetown or even possibly Burnet (more of a drive, but the extra mileage will have low traffic).

Looking at G'town as the major possibility, there are probably some areas out to the west of town that are still relatively inexpensive, with acreage, and lots of trees. There are no major hills, but some gentley rolling terrain. Look off of North Lake drive, maybe, or further out Andice rd past Sun City. I have not been out there in a few years, so I am not sure on how developed it is past Sun City. Anyway, you are very close to Lake G'town out there, but there is NO development on the lake (all corps of eng. land). Russel Park is the easiest access.

If you can stand being a little further from the lake, look just north of Gtown out Florence Rd. Also, on the back side of the Serenada subdivision there are some 5 acre lot subdivisions (Brangus Ranch), that, while it is a subdivision, is heavily wooded and several places with horses and all the properties have 5-10 acres. Just for grins, I went and looked up my old house there, and the house we built there in 1978 (a GOOD custom builder). It is on 5 acres and the living area is ~3,000 sq/ft, with a three car garage, fencing, a two stall stable, and a decent sized tack room. It is appraised at 233k (up 4k from last year).