Question about Riverside neighborhood (Houston, Dallas: apartment complex, travel, rental)

[s_dee66]

My husband and I are planning to move to Austin at the end of the year so naturally we have started apartment hunting online....we found a place called Rivercrossing Townhomes on Faro in the 78741 zip. We have no kids and I will be going to school at Texas State and my husband will be working somewhere in Austin (police department...not sure which precinct). Any complaints about this neighborhood or things we should be aware of? Any suggestions for alternative locations? Thanks! Oh, and we would like to not pay more than $1000 a month...1bd works fine for us also.

[car957]

It's very close to what we at Austin FD call apartment city, since that area is predominantly UT students so you can expect a lot of noise. The surrounding area is primarily industrial (your less than 2 blocks from the AMD semiconductor fabrication facility, and less than 1 mile from an industrial gas plant and another semiconductor research facility) and is within a couple of miles of the Montopolis area, which is a socio-economically depressed area.

If your going to Texas State and your husband will be working for APD, I would look in South Austin. If your husband will be a police officer, this location is close to the APD/AFD training academy - but I would not consider it. If you live in South Austin, it will only add 10-15 minutes to his travel to the academy. Living in South Austin locates you closer to Texas State University which is in San Marcos.

Send me a private message if you need additional information. And welcome to Austin...

[sanmiguel]

Your husband is in an excellent position to find out inside information by talking with any of his peers in the APD. They will be frank with him about the pros and cons of any neighborhood or housing development in their jurisdiction.

[s_dee66]

Wow I wasn't expecting such quick replies!! Thanks ya'll!! It's so tough finding decent places to live just by looking online. We live in California right now, waiting for my husband to finish his time in the Marine Corps. I have friends moving back to Austin in June so we are definitely going to have them look around for us. the prices for these townhomes seem really good (2bd/2.5bh for $880/month) so it makes me wonder why it's so affordable.

[mwv]

Riverside is a somewhat dangerous neighborhood, at least by Austin standards. Areas of South Austin, especially SW Austin, are better and of a similar price. The UT student population in Riverside is declining and more and more illegals are moving in. While Riverside will be redeveloped in a few years, it's not a good choice for now. It's the cheapest central neighborhood in the city however.

[julrey]

I lived off Riverside and Burton a few years ago. While I would frequently see some shady looking customers, especially around the bus stops, I never saw any actual violence and never felt particularly threatened myself. Then again, I'm male, I wouldn't necessarily want my girlfriend walking around that area alone at night. There are several apartment complexes closer to the freeway between Riverside and Burton that seemed a little safer, but as someone else hinted, "dangerous" by Austin standards is quite a bit different than, say, Houston, Dallas, etc. If you're from Detroit or St. Louis I daresay you'd find our "hoods" laughably quaint.

[twange]

Originally Posted by julrey

If you're from Detroit or St. Louis I daresay you'd find our "hoods" laughably quaint.

You ain't kidding brother! I'm from Cleveland and let me tell you about bad 'hoods. Miles and miles of them

[schoenfraun]

I live in this neighborhood right now, my husband and I rent. It's very convenient to downtown. I realize that it's supposedly one of the "worst" areas in Austin, but we've had NO problems here in 8 months. Friends have a very nice, new SUV parked out on the street all night, no problems... No threat of theft, I don't see what all the negative fuss is about. There are some very, very nice pockets in this 78741 area. Very nice houses, well-kept, great looking, houses over $300,000.

The one thing this neighborhood has, which so many urban areas have---cars with no mufflers, tires squealing, and stereos blaring. That's my only complaint. But even at night, it's quiet. And you're close to South Congress in this area, which is fun to visit but $$$ to live/rent there.

Good luck.

[s_dee66]

Originally Posted by schoenfraun

I live in this neighborhood right now, my husband and I rent. It's very convenient to downtown. I realize that it's supposedly one of the "worst" areas in Austin, but we've had NO problems here in 8 months. Friends have a very nice, new SUV parked out on the street all night, no problems... No threat of theft, I don't see what all the negative fuss is about. There are some very, very nice pockets in this 78741 area. Very nice houses, well-kept, great looking, houses over $300,000.

The one thing this neighborhood has, which so many urban areas have---cars with no mufflers, tires squealing, and stereos blaring. That's my only complaint. But even at night, it's quiet. And you're close to South Congress in this area, which is fun to visit but $$$ to live/rent there.

Good luck.

Are you familiar with Rivercrossing Townhomes? Websites can lie, so input from someone there would be great!

[schoenfraun]

I don't know where that is. We are on Woodland near Parker. Lots of duplexes around here for rent... we're in a duplex. We like it a lot. I don't know about Faro or this townhomes complex. But I can tell you that Woodland is an exit off 35 and a "main drag," hence my noise complaint. I would recommend this neighborhood. There are duplexes here on Woodland and there are others on Parker between Woodland and Oltorf. Lots of convenient bus routes.

I have not had this experience, but my next door neighbor has: panhandlers coming to the door, asking for a donation to some bogus thing that does not exist. That is beyond my experience and sounds hard to believe, but he swears this happened the other day.

I have no complaints about this neighborhood and think it's close to downtown and the (perhaps annoyingly trendy) South Congress district, so it's a good place to get started.... Definitely not fancy, but affordable. Location can't be beat. I wish I could tell you something about the townhomes you're interested in, but I am not familiar with them.

There is a place at Parker and Oltorf called Sienna Ridge. I think they're rentals.