Don't know what surrounding area is right for us. (Austin: homes, neighborhood)

[jazzijack]

Hello, my husband and I visited Austin last year, and really enjoyed ourselves.
What we would like to do is possibly buy an acre and build a home for retirement. We have about 10 years to go, but would like to purchase some land now. Our children are already grown, so it will be just me and my hubby. But we will be in our early 50's so we don't want to be too far from somewhere that has fun thing to do. Can anyone suggest an area that might be feasible for us? We wouldn't mind driving into Austin 30 miles or so for activties. We would like the City that we settle down in to have a cozy feeling that has markets, movie theaters, places to eat, but without all the hustle and bustle. We figure we want to do something fun or hang out we could drive to Austin for that. My dad was born in Taylor, but that is a tad slow, but possibly doable. I have read that race isn't a huge issue there anymore, but we are African American, and would like to live in or near a cultural diverse area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by jazzijack

My dad was born in Taylor, but that is a tad slow, but possibly doable. I have read that race isn't a huge issue there anymore, but we are African American, and would like to live in or near a cultural diverse area.

Interesting connection --- you know about that barbecue place where there were two entrances, one for white and one for "others"? That was still going on as of about 12 years ago when I visited Taylor. I was pretty shocked by it. There was no official rule, everyone just seemed to "know" it and went along with it.

I think you might like the Elgin area, great diversity and lots of improvements going on, good food, beautiful land in the area, but a pretty horrible commute into Austin. That's a big problem about a lot of areas though. Unless you're along one of the new freeways the commute to an urban area will be tough, and anything along the freeways is going to become generic suburbs so it kinda narrows your choices. I have a place in the country near Lockhart and like it a lot down there. The big Texas 130 freeway will go near my place in a few years, that will make it easy to access, so that area might be good for you except that it's not very diverse (basically all White/Hispanic.) Wish I could be of more help. It's best to visit Austin and talk to a lot of people about it, then visit the smaller places that sound best to you.

[jmacksgirl]

Kyle is a nice place also. My FIL lived there until a few months ago (lives in Round rock now) and his parents (the grandparents) live in Buda also a nice town, but it is a slow town IMO.. I liked Buda well enough, just seemed like I only saw elderly people there... These are about an hr with traffic w/o 20-30 mins south of Austin. The homes in these areas are beautiful and Kyle is being developed so alot of things are up and coming there. Both are also close to San Marcos, which has LOTS of things to do (it is south of Austin as well). Hope that helps!!

Jmacksgirl

[Rnelson]

Wimberly! One of the nicest small towns in the area. Cristal clear river and wonderful rolling hills. Its a 30min drive into Austin but what a drive. Willing to bet if you visited Wimberly their would be no comparison to the Texas feel that makes it so special.

[deeptrance]

re: jmacksgirl and Rnelson's posts ---

Kyle and Wimberley are both nice areas, and the space between them is REALLY nice!!! But I have to ask, is that a "tolerant" zone? I don't know.... Just today there's another story about some kid in Kyle who was planning to bomb something, and they've had that "Rebel" controversy where the white kids are all about representing the old Southern flag. Keep in mind who we're responding to and the racial politics of the areas. Wimberley, last I checked, was about as white as Norway, but it's also a more progressive place than other white southern towns with its artists, laid-back retirees and old hippies, so maybe it's a better bet than Kyle. Then again, Kyle is in transition faster than the polar ice caps, so it's hard to predict what it will be like in a year or two...

[southaustingal]

Originally Posted by deeptrance

But I have to ask, is that a "tolerant" zone? I don't know.... Just today there's another story about some kid in Kyle who was planning to bomb something

It's not just Kyle kids planning on bombing things. A few years back, a Bowie kid got busted with an arsenal and bomb-making supplies. And was it just in the last week that kids in Round Rock got busted for making a list of people to kill or something like that? It's these **** kids everywhere, not just in good ol' Hays County. Sure, they still like their rebel flag, but then, they are the Hays Rebels, so you can imagine where the flag comes from. Travis got rid of its flag, finally, and I'm sure Hays will follow suit soon.

I lived in Buda for about 10 years until about four years ago. Kyle has a significant Hispanic population. It's not as white as you'd think. Wimberley is likely whiter, but, as you said, it's got its share of artists, and the folks seem a bit more educated than what we might find if we ventured out into the more Deliverance-like areas of the state. We had quite a few interracial couples (black-white) in our neighborhood, too.

[jmacksgirl]

that is exactly right, Kyle does have a significant hispanic population. My FIL's gf is hispanic and she loved living in Kyle. They only moved to cut down on commute time to/from work. I visited Kyle several times in the last 7-10 years and the people there were friendly and I received nothing in the way of racism and never did I feel unwelcome. Buda like I said seemed mostly elderly from where I went and whom I visited (grandparents, that had elderly neighbors) so I dont have as much info about experience there. I can tell you that my husbands grandfather will be 90 in a few weeks, and he treats me and the kids wth love and respect and is proud to introduce us to everyone he meets on the walks he likes to take. Great people, great town IMO.