Where are the best neighborhoods in Austin? (Center, Howe: sales, to rent)

[Austin97]

if you go further into great hills the apartments are pretty nice, like on morado cv. Alternately look at northwest hills as well. Any apartments near a major highway will get more traffic from criminals

[Dynamoo]

Originally Posted by baltimoregirl8

R I just want to live in a nice neighborhood where people speak English, rapes aren't common, and people use leashes. Is that too much to ask for? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Every neighborhood in Austin fits the criteria, except for "nice". There is no neighborhood in Austin where rapes are common, people don't use leashes, and people don't speak English.

If you're seriously that paranoid, live in a place like downtown, Tarrytown, Bouldin or Clarksville.

[baltimoregirl8]

Originally Posted by Dynamoo

Every neighborhood in Austin fits the criteria, except for "nice". There is no neighborhood in Austin where rapes are common, people don't use leashes, and people don't speak English.


If you're seriously that paranoid, live in a place like downtown, Tarrytown, Bouldin or Clarksville.

I am far from paranoid. I have good reason to believe this area is awful maybe it's just the people in this apartment complex. My husband was almost attacked by a pitbull while taking out the trash when we first moved in and the owner did not apologize. My next door neighbors refuse to use leashes for their two dogs. They have loud parties and stand outside speaking Spanish. Their upstairs neighbor had a little girl holding the leash for a Doberman she was outside alone. The dog could have easily escaped from her. There is another guy who has a lab that is never leashed he is friendly but I'm concerned another dog might attack him. I have read several Yelp reviews where women say they have been assaulted in my complex and there was an attack in the complex across the street. Like I said the homes near by seem nice but these apartments are awful. I don't plan on staying in Austin for more than 3 yrs so I'm not looking to buy a home. The apts in the domain seem nice but they don't have breed restrictions. It seems like all of the apts with good reviews welcome all breeds so I can't win.

[centralaustinite]

The only breed that you are having issues with is "human." Find an apartment complex with better management!

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I have not been following this thread, but was curious about the crime stats, since I often go to the Baltimore area for work and my co-workers there warn me about the crime. Here are the two most easily and up-to-date comparisons I could find.

In short, there is a slightly higher risk of rape in Austin (51.9 vs 46.2 per 100k residents, or about 12%).

In comparison, the risk of being murdered is over 2,000 percent higher in Baltimore (55.4 vs 2.5) - you are almost correct in stating that you are more likely to be robbed - it is actually more likely to be murdered than raped in Baltimore (55.4 vs 46.2 murder vs rape in Baltimore). Robbery is 700 percent higher and assault 300 percent higher in Baltimore. Burglary is 60% lower in Austin and overall property crime ~25% lower.

For 2015, APD reports that there were 4 rapes in 78729 (which I think completely covers Jollyville) out of the 471 in the city. So a bit under one percent that were reported last year in Austin.

It makes someone wonder if maybe you were unaware of the crime around you growing up?

Thanks for adding some data.

For those interested, Jollyville has its own WikiPedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jollyville,_Texas

And yes, the name of the road is the road that leads to it as someone else mentioned.

It's confusing, road names, because some denote where you are *now* (Barton Springs Rd), some denote where the road leads to (Old San Antonio Rd in Manchaca is 65 miles from San Antonio), and still others conjure up a more general sense of where one is headed metaphorically (Highway to Hell - AC/DC), the latter being the road OP seems to think she accidentally took before ending up at the apartment where she now resides.

he apartments along Jollyville have a generally good reputation, but they are in fact apartments, all of which have exposure to the issues described.

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Thanks for adding some data.

For those interested, Jollyville has its own WikiPedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jollyville,_Texas

And yes, the name of the road is the road that leads to it as someone else mentioned.

It's confusing, road names, because some denote where you are *now* (Barton Springs Rd), some denote where the road leads to (Old San Antonio Rd in Manchaca is 65 miles from San Antonio), and still others conjure up a more general sense of where one is headed metaphorically (Highway to Hell - AC/DC), the latter being the road OP seems to think she accidentally took before ending up at the apartment where she now resides.

he apartments along Jollyville have a generally good reputation, but they are in fact apartments, all of which have exposure to the issues described.

Pond Springs Road used to be called Old Jollyville Road. I believe at one time, the old Jollyville and new Jollyville probably intersected long before the current incarnation of 183/Research Blvd.

in any case, Jollyville Road is a different zip code than Jollyville area (although they are adjacent) and I would not necessarily associate that area with a high crime rate. If one feels unsafe in that area, there are not going to be too many other places in Austin that are going to be significantly better.

[RunninJT]

Originally Posted by baltimoregirl8

I am far from paranoid. I have good reason to believe this area is awful maybe it's just the people in this apartment complex. My husband was almost attacked by a pitbull while taking out the trash when we first moved in and the owner did not apologize. My next door neighbors refuse to use leashes for their two dogs. They have loud parties and stand outside speaking Spanish. Their upstairs neighbor had a little girl holding the leash for a Doberman she was outside alone. The dog could have easily escaped from her. There is another guy who has a lab that is never leashed he is friendly but I'm concerned another dog might attack him. I have read several Yelp reviews where women say they have been assaulted in my complex and there was an attack in the complex across the street. Like I said the homes near by seem nice but these apartments are awful. I don't plan on staying in Austin for more than 3 yrs so I'm not looking to buy a home. The apts in the domain seem nice but they don't have breed restrictions. It seems like all of the apts with good reviews welcome all breeds so I can't win.

Village Oaks apartments? If so it is not just you. Man I got so many stories about that place.

Dogs off leash around Austin usually are escapee's who are lost, we have them roaming around our neighborhood here in Windsor Hills every week. None have been aggressive, some of them even have leashes on! that the are dragging on the ground. Our neighborhood blog has weekly post trying to relocate the dogs back with their homes.

Yes, the Domain apartments have a lot of dogs there, LOTS! and from what I have seen they are all purse dogs or fashion accessories, not exactly man eaters. To be fair when I see a dog off leash with a person it is usually downtown, in the off leash park areas. Otherwise its a dog who got away and is looking for its way back home.

Honestly OP it sounds like you are dealing with a pretty severe case of cynophobia and there is really not a lot that can be done to alleviate that in Austin. Austin is an extremely dog friendly city compared to most places, one of the things I really like about Austin. Until the last few years Austin was even a no-kill city, not so much any more though with so many people moving here and losing more dogs than ever. If not for your fear of dogs then your worry over the unusually high number of sexual assaults (which I will say is not unwarranted) would have an easy solution.
A room mate like this:

Will ALWAYS have your back no matter what. Just dont dock their ears and tail, thats just mean.

[centralaustinite]

Austin is still a no kill city!

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Austin is still a no kill city!

They lost their 'certification' for a while, but got it back, iirc.

[RunninJT]

-Trainwreck20, centralustinite

So funny story. I took a stray dog I found a year ago to the SPCA on 183/I35. The intake manager was happy to take the dog in and while processing the guy in charge wandered off into the back for something. Well one of the ladies in scrubs (volunteers?) grabbed a flier from a stack hidden on top of a shelf and quickly handed it to me while making a "hush" sign. While she did that the other 3 workers in the area were doing obvious lookout and all looked very anxious like they were afraid of getting yelled at.

The flier said in big bold letters "WARNING, AUSTIN IS NO LONGER A NO KILL HAVEN! if you leave a stray dog at any of the local animal shelters in Austin there is now a 70% chance that it will have to be put down out of necessity". It went on for a few paragraphs about why this was happening and a list of places outside of Austin that were still considered "no-kill" with their phone numbers. When the manager came back I told him I had changed my mind and that if the dog was not chipped (was not) I would take him home and see if I could find where he belonged. The manager did not seem surprised in the least.

Now if that has changed since a year ago? No idea. But I would assume not since people are showing up now more than ever. Austin has changed a lot, not all of it good.