Best school areas in and around Austin

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

.......

I was wondering where the best areas to live in & around Austin would be in regards to top public schools?

The job would be a bit north of the Colorado River (Closer than Univ of Texas and also the capitol), and just west of I-35. GOOD INFO.

budget would be up to $600,000 or so. GOOD INFO.

Thanks

The best public (non-charter) High Schools in greater Austin are (in order):

- Westwood (rrisd)
- Westlake (eisd)

- Anderson (aisd)
- Lake Travis (ltisd)

- McCallum (aisd)
- McNeil (rrisd)
- Dripping (dsisd)
- Vandergrift lisd)

- Cedar Park (lisd)
- Bowie (aisd)

I would look into residential areas that feed into one of these schools. With your budget, you can probably find something in all of these areas. Might be a good idea to rent for 3-6 months to get your bearings.

Note: My rank is based on Sat Scores, AP testing & actual AP scores. (not touch feely terms like "exemplary" & it also doesn't take into account how well the bottom 3% of the students in the school are improving).

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by usernamenottaken

I think the "Regulars" are burned out with answering the same questions. Here's a thought, if you can't provide a Helpful answer, keep the snarky to yourself and refrain from posting. Someone will answer and if they don't they don't.

Depending on your commute tolerance you can get a lot more for your money the further away from downtown you get. Dripping Springs ISD (ISD means Independent school District here and has nothing to do with County lines, it's a little confusing) Leander ISD, Round Rock ISD, Eanes ISD and Lake Travis ISD are all considered good. Some schools in Austin ISD are good too, like Anderson High, Hill Elementary and others in that area.

78750 area is considered to be one of the best school tracts (RR ISD) in addition to Eanes area. But it is also highly competitive academically at the H.S. Level with a large Asian population. There are other schools that are more sport oriented. There are also Charter and private school options.

What is a "Good school" and a "nice area" to one person may not be the same for everyone.

We moved here last year and figuring out schools vs commute is overwhelming. We rented for a year and are changing schools and location now. Thought I had it all figured out after thorough research and a house hunting trip. But it took living here for a while to really know what was right. Of course if we had a $600k budget, it would have been easier

Really it would be wise to come out for a week or long weekend and drive everywhere and test out commute times for various areas. Then find a couple areas you feel fits your family and lifestyle best and then hone in on the schools.

Get a good Realtor. You can't do this on your own, even with the magic Search Function.

good post.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

1) I answered the first question in my OP.
2) If house size/age was that important, I would have listed it along with my budget and job location
3) I answered question 3 in my OP as well.
4) If commute was important, I would have listed that as well.
5) If I needed something more specific than "top public schools" I would have listed it
6) If I had a need to keep chickens, horses, or had an odd hobby that required special accommodations, I would have listed it.
7) If I had special entertainment needs, I would have listed that as well.
8) if the neighborhood was that important, I would have listed it. School quality was the focus of my search.
9) These questions are not as important as what I had asked for in my OP. If I needed to be close to a specific location, I would have listed it. If I needed a short commute, I would have said that, and it would would also be repeating my answer from #4. Same with entertainment in question #7.

The commute should be important. It's important to us because people on the road affects all of us (in lots of ways). But thanks for putting your job location & budget in your OP.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by RoadWarrior12

By sheer numbers, maybe. By percentage of population, no.

Plain and simple, your question has been asked and answered 100 times at least. SW Austin, Eanes, Hyde Park, etc. all good options some you only care about spending $600K and schools.

You'll run into this more than just on the board, we're sick of people moving here.

This.

But I'd add NW Austin to the above locations. Neighborhoods that feed into WWood, McNeil, Anderson & McCallum should also be on his list (probably more so than SW given his job location & desire for "top" schools).

[hts]

Whatever you do, don't look at Dripping. It's not for you and you'd hate it. Best of luck!

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by hound 109

The best public (non-charter) High Schools in greater Austin are (in order):

- Westwood (rrisd)
- Westlake (eisd)

- Anderson (aisd)
- Lake Travis (ltisd)

- McCallum (aisd)
- McNeil (rrisd)
- Dripping (dsisd)
- Vandergrift lisd)

- Cedar Park (lisd)
- Bowie (aisd)

I would look into residential areas that feed into one of these schools. With your budget, you can probably find something in all of these areas. Might be a good idea to rent for 3-6 months to get your bearings.

Note: My rank is based on Sat Scores, AP testing & actual AP scores. (not touch feely terms like "exemplary" & it also doesn't take into account how well the bottom 3% of the students in the school are improving).

Thanks - most likely I'd rent on my own at first while my wife put our home on the market back in CT. However, I'd probably want to find something by the end of the summer before the school year started - or, at least a rental in the area where I'd want to eventually settle.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by hound 109

The commute should be important. It's important to us because people on the road affects all of us (in lots of ways). But thanks for putting your job location & budget in your OP.

Maybe I should have said this - "tell me which schools are the best public middle/junior high schools and best public high schools in the Austin area, and I can decide which homes in those areas we would like and how far I can commute?"

[lzydogrnch]

I'd look at Eanes, Lake Travis, or Dripping.