Smithville Question (Houston, Austin, Lubbock: real estate, to rent, buying a house)

[nicole evans]

Hello,
I am a 25 year old single mom, my daughter is 7. We are looking at buying a house in Smithville, but I wanted to get some info about the town first. Does anyone live there that could answer a few questions.

1. Is there a high Drug problem there? The reason I ask is because I moved out to the highland lakes area (llano, marble falls, burnet, kingsland) several years ago and found that the town was crippled by meth heads, now I have a fear that this is how all small towns in the area are. Please put my mind at ease. I am going to be raising a little girl and I don't want her to have to deal with that kind of stuff.
2. The school ratings aren't very good, but I was wondering if anyone had first hand info on the elem. School? Also I am confused, are k-2 in one school and 3-8 in another? I am not used to that so I had to ask if I was correct.
3. Are there any areas I should stay away from in town. The house I am planning on putting an offer on is on Hudgins...Good or bad?

Ok last question.

What are the chances of finding a man out that way...LOL I don't want to be single for ever, I just can't keep waiting around though!

Thanks!
Nicole

[austin-steve]

Well, without knowing you, I can only make assumptions about what would be best for you and your daughter with regard to schools, availability of social interaction, employment prospects, grocery shopping, places to have a kid's birthday party, etc. I assume that your own needs are secondary to those of your child.

I'm not sure how Smithville would rise to the top of anyone's list of unless you have some specific niche wants and needs that can only be met in a small, isolated town. Nothing against Smithville, which for all I know might be a Mayberry RFD for kids, but it's way far out there and you would be repeating what you did previously in Highland Lakes, and hoping for a different result. That's like rolling the dice on your kid's life.

A better probability for a good outcome exists in Austin with your daughter attending a good public school. There she will find a bigger pool of potential friends, mommy/daughter book club, invites to playdates and bday parties, activities, etc. And you have a higher probability of meeting other moms (forget about men until your daughter graduates high school - just my opinion) and creating a social support system for yourselves.


Steve

[achtungpv]

Building on what Steve said, you can't overlook how the boredom of a small town will affect a kid. Drugs are more rampant in small towns for a reason, kids are bored out of their minds. Small towns are not idyllic, especially in Texas. I grew up in a small but well-to-do isolated small town (the closest major city, Austin, was 90 minutes away). Looking back on it, the degree of alcoholism, abuse, under-education, under-employment, drug use, general dangerous activities, etc. was much higher there than I've seen in Austin. Just thinking back on the things we did out of boredom it is amazing we didn't get killed...riding on car hoods at 80MPH, jumping off roofs with a shotgun to see if we could hit a target while falling, jumping from truck bed to truck bed while driving, etc...and we were the non-drinking, non-drug using, NHS kids.

[nicole evans]

Thanks for the info, but neither one of you actually live or know Smithville, am I right? My reasoning behind moving out to Smithville isn't simply because of the small town feel, it is more about affordability and settling down somewhere. I am completely devoted to my daughter, and I would NEVER roll the dice on my childs life. I was born and raised in Austin, its a wonderful city, I love my home, but my home has outgrown me. I can't afford more than about a $115,000 house. Buying here would be impossible!!!! That is unless I wanted to settle down on Chicon and Springdale...I understand that the east side is being revitalized, however I am not going to be the first to test the theory. I am purchasing a home so my daughter and I don't have to rent for the next 11 years. Rent goes up every year. When she was born I Paid 550.00 for a 2 bedroom in a great part of town. Now I pay 950.00 and the neighborhood is getting sticky. I believed buying even outside of austin would be more beneficial than renting forever. Anyway again thanks for the info. I am really looking for someone with first hand knowledge.

Oh and Steve...Wait till she is out of High School???? LOL I know that sounds like a great idea, but really...if I really put everything on hold for her I would go crazy. My daughter is ALWAYS first with EVERYTHING I do, but that doesn't mean I can't come in second every once in a while.

Thanks guys!

[Trainwreck20]

I don't live in Smithville, but I hear more negative things about the school district than a lot of other small towns. Bastrop may not have the best ISD, but it sounds to be better than the smithville schools district.

I don't know what your housing requirements are (or where you will be working), but I would try to locate in a different district, if possible. Cheap land/housing correlates, in general, very closely to poor performing schools. There may be some areas in the Hays ISD or Bastrop ISD, or even north of Austin in Jarrell/Georgetown area.

[nicole evans]

I will look into Georgetown...maybe that would be better.

Thanks for the info!

Nicole

[love roses]

You could also repost this to the main Texas forum, and probably get a different set of replies. I believe there are several posters over there who live near or in the Smithville area. I have no personal knowledge of Smithville, but find it a pretty place. Funny, I grew up in a very small town as well and never did any of the goofy stuff achtungtv did Maybe it's just what the boys do.

You could do what Trainwrecked says and look at other small towns a little closer in. Elgin is the only one who has some bad performing schools. Otherwise, many of them are just fine. For example, I live in Hutto. I know, not the most exciting place in the world, but the schools aren't bad and the High School has just been moved up to a 4A and is rated Acceptable I believe. It has been Exemplary in the past, but there's been a lot of growth and rating change year to year with any school (or so I've heard here on the forums ). Plenty of stuff to do for kids here, but it still retains its small town charm and not soo far from Austin that you couldn't go there from time to time to do things. My daughter is in a local playgroup that is now Williamson Countywide. There are parks all around the area. We are getting a bounce house here now and we have a splash pad park. There are also other things for kids like dance, karate, soccer, softball, baseball, and who knows what other kinds of sports.

Georgetown is also a nice, pretty little town. San Gabriel park is pretty and there's even a stream for kids to splash around in. Take a look at some of these places as I'm sure you could find something in your price range out this way as well. The Hutto News has a website and lists real estate on it and it's not limited to Hutto. It lists other towns as well.

[wrtlcarver]

Well, no place is perfect, but..........My husband and I graduated from Smithville in the early 80's. We couldn't wait to get out. We went to college, graduated and lived in a number of places in Texas (Lubbock, Houston, Austin, College Station), but when our daughter was entering kindergarten we investigated returning to Smithville. This same daughter went from kindergarten through graduation in Smithville schools. She graduated in the top ten percent of her class and received a great scholarship package to attend college. More importantly than that, however, she felt a part of a community. She was active in sports, community service, school activities and she has a sense of "roots and wings" that many students who are members of a class of 1000 do not have. I would not trade the occasional boredom we feel without the activities of a larger city for the sense of belonging she felt for anything. Your child can do any activity she wants and people watch out for each other's child in a smaller town. I am not ignorant to drugs in our community, but these are present in any town in the state and the country for that matter. If a child wants to be part of that, they will find it. Do what you think is the best for your child, and that will be the right thing!!!!

[jimmyjack]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

A better probability for a good outcome exists in Austin with your daughter attending a good public school. There she will find a bigger pool of potential friends, mommy/daughter book club, invites to playdates and bday parties, activities, etc. And you have a higher probability of meeting other moms (forget about men until your daughter graduates high school - just my opinion) and creating a social support system for yourselves.
Steve

Hoooweeee! Give up men for 10 years? I think you know more about real estate than you do about women - just my opinion.