Out of towners- elementary & middle schools (Austin, Round Rock: transplants, apartments)

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I would look in 78749 for a start. MLS shows 36 properties in that price range, although some will end up selling for a bit more. Most of that zip code goes to above average to very good school chains.

The house you would get for that money would be a bit smaller than CP/RR - only 7 of those listed are >2,000 sf, and 9 are <1,600. You would have to look at specifics to get more idea of what you are looking for.

Depending on you preferences, you might find something you like in 78745, although the schools are not generally as well regarded. 99 properties where below the $325k mark, but only 16 were >2,000 sf.

78749 zip attends Austin High, which is decent for the most part, and has been historically. Akins (78748) lags behind, but is catching up, and Crockett (78745) is a little stagnant at the moment, but I expect that to change, as well.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

78749 zip attends Austin High, which is decent for the most part. Akins (78748) lags behind, but is improving, and Crockett (78745) is a little stagnant at the moment, but I expect that to change, as well.

78749 is Austin and Bowie HS.

Crockett and Travis are the only ones that I would perhaps avoid, as their turnaround may take longer than I would like. Or maybe not, but not willing to buy there if I have kids of HS age in the next 10 years or so.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

78749 is Austin and Bowie HS.

Crockett and Travis are the only ones that I would perhaps avoid, as their turnaround may take longer than I would like. Or maybe not, but not willing to buy there if I have kids of HS age in the next 10 years or so.

Agreed. This situation is the by-product of Austin's success of late. There is a disconnect between school quality and housing prices in AISD - there are lots of "legacy issues" that need time to run their course. The schools are filled with lower-income and subsidized students that are being pushed out to places like Del Valle, but the middle-to-upper class parents buying into these neighborhoods are hesitant enroll their kids because of tracking issues. This is causing under-enrollment (and possible closures) in the central core of AISD, and over-enrollment in the suburbs.

[gabetx]

If he will be working on S. Congress you should also look into Buda and Kyle. Good suburbs in a good school district on the south end of Austin.

[A-Tex]

Basically with that budget you're going to have to chose between commute or schools.

[centralaustinite]

Frankly, it is virtually impossible to buy in the Travis attendance zone at $325K. The schools don't impact sales at all, but they do affect the mix of people who buy.

The elementary schools are quite good, dual language at Becker and THES, in-district charter at THES, Dawson is exemplary and Zilker and Barton Hills usually are too. Then many go to middle school magnets, Kealing, Fulmore, Small, Richards, and on to LASA, Richards, or McCallum Fine Arts for HS. The current price levels in 04 mean that most buyers also have the option of private school.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by mcharas

Ok- maybe you can enlighten us on traffic then... We simply haven't explored other towns yet. A 1 hour commute (in a car, yes) is nothing for us now... How bad would it be... truly cringe-inducing, or just annoying???

I'm not incredibly familiar with the cross street, sorry.

Taxes where we are are much, much higher- around 10k actually sounds like a nice break.

Suggestions for towns closer to south of the river? Should we look south, or west?

Traffic could be awful.... or worse than awful (depending on where on South Congress your work is and where you end up living). But need to know where the job is.

Good to hear that you won't have property tax sticker shock (many who move here do).

You're getting a lot of opinions up thread. Depending on where you work, Dripping Springs (out west), Buda (down south) or even Bastrop (to the east) might work for you. Or maybe something in South Austin. (but it sounds like circle C is out of your budget).

Post where on Congress (the cross street) the job is & people will give more specific opinions. Also, you might want to consider renting for 6 months to get the lay of the land (I know it's not easy to do with school age kids though). Good luck.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by hound 109

Hey SW Austinites....is there anything in Circle C left for 325K?

No, but you can get into Deer Haven for that. It is just NW of Slaughter and Mopac. Cowan ES, Covington MS, and Bowie HS. Even better choice at that price point is Legend Oaks -- W of Mopac, between William Cannon and Davis. Great neighborhood, great schools. Easy access to downtown.

This is a pretty nice guide to SW neighborhoods:

http://www.austinrealestatehomesblog...neighborhoods/

[mcharas]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

For immediate needs, there are decent elementary schools, but the MS and HS need further improvement, and should continue to improve with the uptick in home prices. We live in the Akins area, but have our young children transferred into 78704, and plan on continuing on to the Fulmore Magnet. Our immediate concern is the sheer size of the campuses in south and sw Austin. Some schools in the area already have 800-1000 kids.

Awesome- thanks for that info.

Our elementary school has close to 1000 (yes- that is only one building... out of 9 schools in the district, the smallest houses about 750)... the middle school is about 2000, and the high school has nearly 5000 (again- those are just numbers for 1 building each... we have two more middle schools in our district. For perspective, when looking with our oldest last year at colleges, most were smaller than our high school).

[mcharas]

Originally Posted by scm53

No, but you can get into Deer Haven for that. It is just NW of Slaughter and Mopac. Cowan ES, Covington MS, and Bowie HS. Even better choice at that price point is Legend Oaks -- W of Mopac, between William Cannon and Davis. Great neighborhood, great schools. Easy access to downtown.

This is a pretty nice guide to SW neighborhoods:

78749 Neighborhoods | Neighborhoods in 78749 Austin

Thank you for that advice and website!!!