What about Avery Ranch??? (Austin, Cedar Park: house, neighborhoods, live in)

[10scoachrick]

Howdy y'all(Hey, I'm from GA...some of that comes naturally): I've been getting some good info from the boards and DW and I should return in Feb. for more up-close investigation; BUT, I haven't seen much reference to Avery Ranch(as compared to, say, Steiner, Circle C, etc). I would expect such a large development to provide a little more interest on the boards. Is it too far north to be considered 'Austin'? It looks like a very nice area with plenty of recreation opportunities, fairly close to main traffic arteries, plenty of homes from $350K>...how's come nobody talks about it? We will not have to commute into town, have family in Balcones Woods as well as up in Lomita, have interests in golf, tennis and cycling, and would like a new/er home with enough room for visiting friends/family(third garage bay wouldn't hurt since workshops don't seem to exist).

I've even found 5 tennis courts at a rec area off Avery Ranch Rd(even though they don't show up on the CATA map).

It looks like there are a few newer resales as well as some new inventory(some not yet complete) from various builders.

Any general thoughts on the area or specifics we need to address? Thx.

[gigi927]

I like Avery Ranch. If you do not have a commute into the city it is a nice area and the access to various freeways and toll roads is excellent. Access to shopping also can't be beat. On a random note - they have an excellent urgent care facility there also - I always go there instead of the one that is 10 minutes closer to my house because they are just great. A Z-Tejas and Waterloo Ice House have also just opened up recently right in Avery Ranch.

Our vibe generally was that we really liked the area when we were moving here but the lot sizes were a bit small for our taste. But if you can do with a smaller yard (I recall you are kid-free) then no worries there.

I know you are into tennis...and playing in tennis leagues in this part of town I can tell you that as far as I've seen, Avery does not field its own women's tennis team, either via USTA or WTTA - but I do believe women from that neighborhood can play on the WILCO (greater williamson county) tennis team and they typically play out of Old Settler's Park in RR or at the WILCO park off Sam Bass Road and 1431. These teams draw from all over Williamson County. This is in contrast to places like Steiner, Circle C, and River Place, which all field their own teams from within their specific communities for both WTTA and USTA.

I think for native Austinites it's definitely considered way out north; for people relocating here who don't have a commute it doesn't feel as far out. So it's all relative to where you're coming from. I would say it's worth a look!

[llkltk]

I think it's a fairly nice community. However, it is about 25 miles from downtown. To me, it's way far out to be considered a part of Austin. It feels more like Cedar Park. We are moving to SW Austin which is only 14 miles from downtown and has so much more of an Austin feel. I know people that have moved to Avery and then regretted it because for Austin, I consider it far out. It's about as far out as Steiner since you have to drive so long to actually get to your house in Steiner. But, if you are a suburban type person it may be for you. Also, don't expect the same appreciation on your home as you would get in say SW Austin, Circle C or Meridian.

[love roses]

Avery Ranch is a very nice area. Close to parks and outdoor opportunities. It's not in Austin City Limits, but as a native Texan I feel like all of the little areas around Austin proper do have a particular Austin feel (or central texas hill country sort of vibe.) A 20 minute drive into town isn't that huge of a deal when you could probably do it all by backroads anyway from there. We live in Hutto and it takes us around 30 minutes to get into town, but since we don't need to be downtown for any reason very often except for the occasional festival or shopping, then it's really no big deal for us to not live downtown or Circle C or anything. The only reason you wouldn't see the type of appreciation you might in other neighborhoods is because that area is still growing. But, if I read correctly, Circle C still has some growing room as well.

[AustinGuy]

It seems like Avery Ranch would be a quicker commute to most places than Steiner since Avery is so close to 620/183 and Parmer.