Out of towners- elementary & middle schools (Austin, Round Rock: sale, house)

[mcharas]

My husband and I are moving with our two young children to the Austin area and we need advice on which elementary schools and middle schools seem to be the most well-rounded.

We are coming from the largest school district in NY which is something like a small college with regard to their offerings due to its size (taxes) and the type of community/county it happens to be in where there is heavy parent support and the personal means ($) to back kids' interests. We don't need everything that we have here (which is anything you can think of), but we would like a well-rounded district.

We have an 8 year old and a 5 year old. As far as a town to settle in, we haven't decided where we will land but like what we see so far of housing in Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock, but haven't ventured farther in our research in terms of distance... just want to be within 30 minutes drive of Austin. Something that seems to help us when we look at housing is our budget- there seems to be plenty to look at (budget up to 325k).

A major plus would be a lively community with good recreational/town sports for kids.

Thanks!

[hound 109]

Where's your job?

Dozens of neighborhoods would fit your description. Don't search in regards to "towns" or "districts" (especially if looking in the Pville, RR, CP, Leander, NW Austin area). They all blend together.

Search in regards to feeder patterns (school tracks) & neighborhoods.

But where's your job? (& how did you come up with a 325K number for a budget?)

[mcharas]

Thank you for the suggestions.

The 325K budget is in relation to our salaries, $ from the sale of our current home, and most importantly what we want to take on for the remainder of a mortgage... We can afford more, but with this being the last move in our lives, we simply don't need more home or yard than what we have been finding in our price range. And what we see is great for a family that is growing fast, with kids to be gone sooner than later (we have one that is going to college this year- we know how fast time flies).

He is working in the south congress area.

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by mcharas

Thank you for the suggestions.

The 325K budget is in relation to our salaries, $ from the sale of our current home, and most importantly what we want to take on for the remainder of a mortgage... We can afford more, but with this being the last move in our lives, we simply don't need more home or yard than what we have been finding in our price range. And what we see is great for a family that is growing fast, with kids to be gone sooner than later (we have one that is going to college this year- we know how fast time flies).

He is working in the south congress area.

South Congress and what cross street? (Congress Ave runs for about 10 miles....9 of the 10 miles are south of the river).

Why (on earth) are you looking at RR & CP if the work location is on South Congress?


Taxes for 325K will run 7-9K per year in property taxes (in case you didn't know this). Mcharas, I hear you on the home size and yard size. I also sort of downsized about 4 years ago, best thing I ever did.

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

[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?

[palaverer]

Originally Posted by mcharas

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

Give Dripping Springs a look.

[sojourner77]

Slim pickings anywhere west of Mopac (SW Austin). That budget will get you into the Crockett/Akins HS areas of south Austin if you want proximity to work and downtown. Dripping Springs has good schools, but that's going to be a hike through the "Y".

[mcharas]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

That budget will get you into the Crockett/Akins HS areas of south Austin.

Is this a good thing?

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by mcharas

Is this a good thing?

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.

[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.

Edit: I limited the search to 3 bdrm/2 bth