Best Community for our family (Austin, Bowie: sales, to rent, custom home)

[lvtord]

Hello, and thanks for any input! Our family is relocating to Austin from So Cal due to a job transfer for my husband.

We have three kiddos, 4 yrs, 15 yrs and 17 years. We are looking at putting my oldest into a private high school due to him being a senior and wanting him to be able to connect quickly in a smaller environment. He is very open to the move and finishing high school in Austin.

My family is very social and active. Being that we live near the beach now, we are looking for homes near water so that we can SUP, kayak, etc. We are looking for a community that has many activities so that we can jump in, meet people and make friends quickly. We are also looking for a church to attend and my teens are very active in their youth group, so any suggestions along those lines would be appreciated.

We looked at Rough Hollow and liked the numerous activities, but are wondering if the taxes are worth the high price tag?

Are there any other communities that fit our description above? Being that we pay tons in CA for income tax, we realize there will be a trade off of income tax vs property tax. Are utilities typically higher or lower than CA, does anyone know?

Thanks for reading my rambling post and for any advice!

[centralaustinite]

Have you found a private HS? What is your timeline for moving? (Hopefully not for this fall). Rough Hollow would be a hell of a commute to most private HS in the Austin area.

What is your price range and where is the job located?

[Raskolnikov]

I'd suggest southwest Austin; close to downtown but a good place for kids/ families. Great schools. Specifically Circle C, Western Oaks. But it depends on your budget. Westlake is also very good. The private school location matters a lot but two of the private schools you'd probably want are also in southwest.

[lvtord]

Yes, unfortunately for this fall. We are coming out next week to look at a few high schools. Another thought we had would be to rent a home near the private HS we chose and then move into our permanent home once our son graduates.

My husband will be working out of the house but also needing to travel to cities throughout TX. He's a medical device sales manager and will be covering TX, so traveling to the airport a few times per month.

Price range no more than 800K.

THanks!!

[Raskolnikov]

With 800K, you could afford Westlake or maybe even Rollingwood.. Close in is good but good schools are super important.

[centralaustinite]

The idea of renting for a year near the oldest's school might be a good one but you have to consider where the other two are going for school too, right?

I am a private school parent and I also have a rising senior. You can PM me if you want, I'm very familiar with private school options in Austin! (I'll also be a public school parent this year for the first time). Most private HS start a few days to a week before the public ones, so sometime during the week of August 17th instead of August 24th.

I would look at SW Austin, Circle C, etc. as well as Lost Creek. Get a top-notch realtor.

good luck!

[lvtord]

Are Westlake, Rollingwood or Lost Creek new communities? Being that we are relocating, we are hoping that to move into a neighborhood with others that would be new to the community as well.

Thanks!

[scm53]

Originally Posted by lvtord

Are Westlake, Rollingwood or Lost Creek new communities? Being that we are relocating, we are hoping that to move into a neighborhood with others that would be new to the community as well.

No, they are all mostly 30+ year old housing stock.

I think you have two choices. It seems your lives revolve around your kids, and their school activities. You want to live in areas where those families dominate - if for no other reason than commonality. But remember - other families voted with their dollars because they found what you are looking for as well. So that's why I'd steer you to either 78738 or 78739 zip codes. In 78738, I'd look specifically at Lake Pointe. In 78739, I'd look at Circle C West, or the higher end sections of Avaña or Meridian. Probably 1/2 of the households there are just like you. Plenty of housing stock at your price point in all of those. You can have a 4,000+ house, w/ a pool for $750K or so.

You might think about the private school thing for your senior. Both of those areas have constant turnover, so new kids are pretty common - at all grade levels. I am talking completely off the cuff here, but the two public HS in question (Lake Travis and Bowie) probably have greater t/o than any private HS in town.

Utilities - you will pay more here. Shockingly more. 78739 is closer to the a/p, as well as the roads out of town. Plenty of great churches with active youth programs in both 38 and 39.

[Raskolnikov]

I would be wary of buying a new construction house in a new construction neighborhood, unless it is Circle C. You're more at risk from an appreciation standpoint; also most of the new construction in Austin is in parts of town that aren't good for schools. (like Southeast Austin). I've had friends who moved into new construction and then had trouble selling their house. I'd buy in an established area and just make friends rather than try to buy in a brand-new construction neighborhood. There just aren't that many of those anyway. Look at Circle C West, though, for houses built in the last 10 years, if you don't want a very established neighborhood

[scm53]

Lakepointe is built out. Unless you want a $1M+ custom home, Meridian is built out. Neither they, nor Circle C West are "brand new construction neighborhoods", and all three have walk to elementary schools and neighborhood pools.

Enjoy your trip here -- let us know what you find out.