Lost Creek, Senna Hills, Barton Creek West or LTISD neighborhoods (Houston: renters, HOA)

[KGDL]

My husband and I are planning a move back to our home state of Texas some time in the next year or so. We are native Houstonians w/ three young kids. We have spent the past few years living in Denver, & now we live in Atlanta. We are hoping to move permanently to Austin soon to be closer to our family. We both attended UT, so we are quite familiar with central Austin and Westlake. Our main priority is finding the best public schools. Eanes and LTISD are at the top of our list with a budget of $600-$650K.

Aside from schools, these priorities are also high on the list: laid back neighbors who like to get together and hang out, access to parks and a pool in the neighborhood, lots of young kids who play outside, 30 minutes max to the airport w/o traffic, mostly updated home with 4-5 bedrooms.

Seems like the following would work in Eanes: Lost Creek, Senna Hills, Barton Creek West. Am I missing any? What are the major differences (other than location & age of the homes) in those areas?

Based on what I have read, Lost Creek seems to fit the bill if we can get over the funky floor plans. I actually worked at LC country club in college and liked it a lot. Do most of the families who live in Lost Creek belong to/socialize at the club? Does anyone know the current initiation fee/dues?

I'm not at all familiar with the areas zoned to LTISD. Feedback on good neighborhoods to research there that are not too far from the airport would be great too.

Thanks so much!!!

[Hill Country]

Senna Hill and BCW have more kids than Lost Creek. Take about 25 minutes to ABIA. And both neighbors have pools. But not Lost Creek.

When 71/Y got fixed, more of LTISD will be make it to airport around 30 minutes.

Good luck.

[austinaggie]

Not sure why you think Senna Hills and BCW have more kids than Lost Creek. Stats please.

[hoffdano]

That budget would do well in many LTISD neighborhoods. Lakeway of course. The Hills. Any of the Falconhead areas. The nicer parts of LakePointe. The Uplands. The Homestead. If you go further west out SH71 the 30 minute drive to the airport will be tight.

[centralaustinite]

If being close to town and close to the airport is a priority, then Lost Creek is clearly the answer!

[scm53]

Originally Posted by KGDL

My husband and I are planning a move back to our home state of Texas some time in the next year or so. We are native Houstonians w/ three young kids. We have spent the past few years living in Denver, & now we live in Atlanta. We are hoping to move permanently to Austin soon to be closer to our family. We both attended UT, so we are quite familiar with central Austin and Westlake. Our main priority is finding the best public schools. Eanes and LTISD are at the top of our list with a budget of $600-$650K.

Aside from schools, these priorities are also high on the list: laid back neighbors who like to get together and hang out, access to parks and a pool in the neighborhood, lots of young kids who play outside, 30 minutes max to the airport w/o traffic, mostly updated home with 4-5 bedrooms.

Seems like the following would work in Eanes: Lost Creek, Senna Hills, Barton Creek West. Am I missing any? What are the major differences (other than location & age of the homes) in those areas?

Based on what I have read, Lost Creek seems to fit the bill if we can get over the funky floor plans. I actually worked at LC country club in college and liked it a lot. Do most of the families who live in Lost Creek belong to/socialize at the club? Does anyone know the current initiation fee/dues?

I'm not at all familiar with the areas zoned to LTISD. Feedback on good neighborhoods to research there that are not too far from the airport would be great too.

Thanks so much!!!

You can buy a less than two year old resale - 4,000 sq. ft, in your price range - in Meridian and hit all those buttons. Neighborhood pool, walk to elementary, kids of all ages, and tracks to a MS and HS good enough to get your kid in any college in America. Twenty five minutes to ABIA - with freeway almost all the way, and never any traffic - I know because my wife and I drive it road trip almost every week.

Every other place you are talking about requires a compromise - LT area will never get to the a/p in your time frame. Lost Creek - personally, I could never live with 8 ft. ceilings again. Even if they are updated, you still have that remnant of the '80s. Many in BCW are that way as well.

Now, some will say that Gorzcky and Bowie aren't the equals of WHS and LTHS. Depends on what you are measuring. If your goal is for your kid to get into any university in America, then you can do it that route. If they are REALLY gifted, then you can get into LASA which is a better HS than either LTHS or WHS.

[atxcio]

OP, you sound like you already know a lot about Lost Creek.

It's mostly families with children, due to the fact that it's still one of the most reasonably priced neighborhoods in Eanes ISD, and so close to Westlake High and Forest Trail Elementary. Also it's one of the very few neighborhoods without a mandatory HOA -- just a voluntary neighborhood association ($60/yr) which is primarily for organizing family events throughout the year. Plus, it's on the banks of Barton Creek with access to the greenbelt.

As you already know, it has a pool at the country club. I'm not sure what the percentage of the neighborhood that belongs to the country club is, but I'd suspect it's about 30% or so (we are not members although we live in Lost Creek). I don't know the prices for the CC, but I've heard they are pretty competitive.

Yes, a lot of the floorplans are funky and the housing stock is predominantly 70s and 80s custom homes (no the 8ft ceilings or dark, small rooms though -- those were more of a tract home thing). But the variation in the home looks, the lot shapes and sizes, etc is one of the strong points of the community IMO. If you want a more recent cookie cutter-style neighborhood, there are a billion places to choose from in any city... and at a lower price.

Getting to the airport is about 20 mins with no traffic. That number should be coming down for everyone once the part of 71 which bypasses Riverside and some other lights is complete. You probably already know about proximity to downtown. What you might not know about is that traffic on 360 has gotten much worse, so be warned.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by KGDL

Do most of the families who live in Lost Creek belong to/socialize at the club? Does anyone know the current initiation fee/dues?

My next door neighbor is a member, so I asked. $3,000 initiation. $366/mo.

[KGDL]

Thank you

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by scm53

You can buy a less than two year old resale - 4,000 sq. ft, in your price range - in Meridian and hit all those buttons. Neighborhood pool, walk to elementary, kids of all ages, and tracks to a MS and HS good enough to get your kid in any college in America. Twenty five minutes to ABIA - with freeway almost all the way, and never any traffic - I know because my wife and I both drive it round trip almost every week.

Every other place you are talking about requires a compromise - LT area will never get to the a/p in your time frame. Lost Creek - personally, I could never live with 8 ft. ceilings again. Even if they are updated, you still have that remnant of the '80s. Many in BCW are that way as well.

Now, some will say that Gorzcky and Bowie aren't the equals of WHS and LTHS. Depends on what you are measuring. If your goal is for your kid to get into any university in America, then you can do it that route. If they are REALLY gifted, then you can get into LASA which is a better HS than either LTHS or WHS.

I agree with this. I have a buyer closing on a house in Meridian this week and I was just out there yesterday with some renters looking at homes. Both have small kids and would prefer to be closer in, but the cost per sqft differential along with getting a functional, newer home tilts them away from central. And the neighborhood is teaming with other kids.

Lost Creek is a primo location, and if you're floorplan tolerant and covet the location, it would be a better choice, provided you can find a suitable home. BCW would fall into the worst location, but you'd find a "less old" floorplan.

How many times a year do you drive to the airport and at what times? Is an extra 6 minutes really a deal breaker?

Steve