Need suggestions on where to build a house (Austin, Georgetown: how much, houses)

[serpent_of_old]

My wife (38) is from ny and i (42) am from philly. We are excited about the idea of moving to austin and continuing to raise our children (4, 2, 6 months). Her family is originally from australia and i am 100% cherokee.
Her and i have lived in ny, philly, dc, boston, and LA.
I love the social and cultural differences that i have experienced in say dallas and dfw, than i have experienced anywhere else.
Essentially i want to live near austin for all of the outdoor activities that you can do there and for how progressive and modern it seems. However, when i go home at the end of the day, i want:
-a house that i was able to build on 5-8 acres
-my land to be as wooded as possible
-to live in a area whereas people are more genuine and less rat race/money obsessed/mainstream
-no more than an hour drive from downtown austin
-our children being biracial is not so much a concern to others....tolerance
Where should i be looking?
Thanks

[Austinite76]

Budget?
An "hour max" at what time of day, to what point in Austin?

You're screaming hill country-ish but that does run more libertarian than progressive. Unless you have a monster budget, then it gets fun.

[CarnivalGal]

First of all, why are you moving? You say you have been to DFW, but how much time have you spent in Austin? Have you been here during July and August? We've had heat indexes of 112 degrees. Not a lot of outdoor activities going on then.

The reason I ask is because people from the NE tend to have the hardest time adjusting after they move here. I am from Philly, and I think it's true.

We also really need to know what your budget is. What you are looking for is quite pricey. And an hour from downtown is relative. During rush hour, it can take an hour to get downtown from 5 miles away. And our public transportation system is horrible, so you don't have many options other than driving.

Without a budget, we can't really be of much help.

[Aquitaine]

I'm from (just outside) of Philadelphia and I can't say as I miss sports fans who boo Santa Claus. I miss proximity to New York a little but that's it. Oh, and the heat sucks, but you can't pretend surprise about that and Texas does AC real well!

Other posters are spot on that visiting in the Summertime is a must and also that DFW is pretty different from Austin. Some good ways, some not so good ways, and the balance likely depends on whether you're on their board or ours. DFW is huge and sprawling but also more cosmopolitan than Austin. This has changed a little with Austin's growth but really good museums and fine arts institutions don't spring up overnight. I compare Austin's cultural scene to the Gulf Coast: So long as you aren't expecting the Atlantic seaboard, it's "not bad." And I say that as a member of said scene (a stage actor). We have good stuff going on but we also have a bad case of the Emperor's New Clothes where some things have to be great just because Austin is doing them.

-a house that i was able to build on 5-8 acres
-my land to be as wooded as possible
-to live in a area whereas people are more genuine and less rat race/money obsessed/mainstream
-no more than an hour drive from downtown austin

5-8 acres is tough anywhere "in" Austin without millions of dollars or unless you're prepared for that hour drive, but frankly at that point you're not in Austin, you're an hour outside of Austin, which opens up a huge range of great places whose attributes chiefly consist of not being Austin. If you actually intend to commute for work (e.g. that's an hour during rush hour traffic) then that may not put you far enough out for 5-8 acres.

I'd check the first tier of the "outer burb" cities: Georgetown, Cedar Park, and Leander to the North; Buda and Kyle to the South; Lakewood (probably not 5-8 acres there) or perhaps Spicewood to the West; and Manor to the East (probably the cheapest). These are all very different areas and giving us a budget will suggest some starting points.

[centralaustinite]

Don't forget Bastrop! Nicely wooded and not too far out from downtown -- about 40 miles -- and that can mean a 45 minute commute or a two hour one depending on time of day and specifics.

[serpent_of_old]

Thanks for all of the replies
I am looking to build with 1/2 million max
I am looking to leave pretentious NE culture behind
For about 7 years i lived in cali and did a lot of camping un AZ. i am ok with 105 and 110 heat. I would be coming there to embrace everything texas culture...bugs, snakes, heat, apparel, norms
I am done with soccer mom pretentious culture and rat race culture. I am moving to texas bc i am done with the NE, i am not interested in the deep south nor in the pacific west. I grew up in western culture actually, but its not obvious

[serpent_of_old]

It is my understanding that younger groups are coming up with exciting and adventurous activities there, as being the new norm. Similar to portland...a thirst for life and a higher QOL. this draws me in. I have seen videos on the terrain and the watering holes...i want to hike these areas on a regular and i want said experiences to be a regular part of me raising my children

[CarnivalGal]

I am looking to build with 1/2 million max
- If that includes land and house, it's never going to happen within an hour of downtown.

I am looking to leave pretentious NE culture behind
- There's plenty of pretension in Austin. It's just a different kind of pretension.

For about 7 years i lived in cali and did a lot of camping un AZ. i am ok with 105 and 110 heat. I would be coming there to embrace everything texas culture...bugs, snakes, heat, apparel, norms
- Camping for a short while is a lot different than dealing with it every single day for months on end. Yes, Texas has the air conditioning thing down, but it's still a bit oppressive.

I am done with soccer mom pretentious culture and rat race culture.
- Plenty of that here. Again, you are not getting away from that. Some areas it's soccer, some it's football, some it's academics. But again, there's lot of pretension in Austin too.

I am moving to texas bc i am done with the NE, i am not interested in the deep south nor in the pacific west. I grew up in western culture actually, but its not obvious
- The further out of Austin you go (which is what you are looking for), the more deep south you're going to get. I don't know what you consider too much, but realize that there are still confederate monuments on our state capital grounds and such.

I think you are expecting Austin to be a sort of utopia that it's not. It's not a bad place, but it still has its issues.

[Austinite76]

You can find that. Just won't have the 5-8 acres.

[10scoachrick]

Yeah, 5-8 acres around Austin is called a sub-division...with three dozen houses