need help matching family lifestyle to Austin and greater area (San Antonio: real estate, big home)

[emu742]

What would be the best fit for a family wanting these criteria: (we work from home)

-close to large homeschooling community (more on the crunchy, less religious end is the families/area we'd like to seek out)
-close to outdoor trails, parks
-$200,000-500,000 max (please no manufactured houses)
-ideally 1 acre if the top 3 are still met
-within 50 min max of Austin
-close to descent schools (spectrum children but academically ahead) if we needed to stop homeschooling

Most important is within close range of homeschooling/ alternative style kind of community. We DONT want to end up getting acreage/semi rural with people on a totally different path of life. Thanks for any thoughts!

(Austin seems to be a better fit than San Antonio from my research, but open to thoughts of San Antonio or San Marcos etc too.)

[ashbeeigh]

Why Austin? Have you been to Austin before? I haven’t heard much if the homeschooling community in Austin, but do know the Alamo Ranch area if SA has a chunk of homeschoolers. You’d be close to the Valero greenway and you’d probably be able to get a house within that price range, not sure about acreage, though. You’d probably have to go outside SA proper to get the land.

[RoamingTX]

Maybe some parts of Bastrop? Otherwise, I can’t think of a single area that meets that list.

[Trainwreck20]

There are home-schoolers everywhere, but I don't pay attention to much of the details so can't fill you in on specifics. I have friends in RR that homeschool as part of a network, and I know several people in Hays County that are part of a large network. I think that may be the easier part to check off.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by emu742

What would be the best fit for a family wanting these criteria: (we work from home)

-close to large homeschooling community (more on the crunchy, less religious end is the families/area we'd like to seek out)
-close to outdoor trails, parks
-$200,000-500,000 max (please no manufactured houses)
-ideally 1 acre if the top 3 are still met
-within 50 min max of Austin
-close to descent schools (spectrum children but academically ahead) if we needed to stop homeschooling

Most important is within close range of homeschooling/ alternative style kind of community. We DONT want to end up getting acreage/semi rural with people on a totally different path of life. Thanks for any thoughts!

(Austin seems to be a better fit than San Antonio from my research, but open to thoughts of San Antonio or San Marcos etc too.)

this is pretty much everywhere in the austin suburb cities in any direction at the top of your budget. You probably need to add more constraints for us to narrow this down at all.

50 minutes from austin is a *huge* area.

Im not sure why RoamingTX is saying this doesnt exist.

Here is a link to various homeschool communities. Maybe join some of those to find the best fit and to narrow down your area then come back when you have at least narrowed it down to a cardinal direction from austin

https://a2zhomeschooling.com/regiona...homeschooling/

[RoamingTX]

Originally Posted by Austin97

this is pretty much everywhere in the austin suburb cities in any direction at the top of your budget. You probably need to add more constraints for us to narrow this down at all.

50 minutes from austin is a *huge* area.

Im not sure why RoamingTX is saying this doesnt exist.

Here is a link to various homeschool communities. Maybe join some of those to find the best fit and to narrow down your area then come back when you have at least narrowed it down to a cardinal direction from austin

https://a2zhomeschooling.com/regiona...homeschooling/

It’s the last bullet point on the OP’s list. 1-3 acres under 500K zoned to public schools that are above average and could support children with an IEP/Spectrum issues... that would also have a big homeschool community with the “granola” flair the OP is looking for.

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by RoamingTX

It’s the last bullet point on the OP’s list. 1-3 acres under 500K zoned to public schools that are above average and could support children with an IEP/Spectrum issues... that would also have a big homeschool community with the “granola” flair the OP is looking for.

Yes, even setting aside the quality of the public schools, 1-3 acres with a house for under $500K is VERY hard to find within 50 minutes of Austin -- maybe in Elgin, Bastrop, McDade, etc but those schools aren't great and the area isn't very granola and the homeschooling community isn't large.



I live in Central Austin and there used to be a fairly large secular "unschooling" homeschooling community in my neighborhood but it has largely broken up now. And it would be hard to find a home of any size, even on a postage stamp size lot like mine for under $500K.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Yes, even setting aside the quality of the public schools, 1-3 acres with a house for under $500K is VERY hard to find within 50 minutes of Austin -- maybe in Elgin, Bastrop, McDade, etc but those schools aren't great and the area isn't very granola and the homeschooling community isn't large.



I live in Central Austin and there used to be a fairly large secular "unschooling" homeschooling community in my neighborhood but it has largely broken up now. And it would be hard to find a home of any size, even on a postage stamp size lot like mine for under $500K.

Obviously not in central austin, but within 50 minutes of austin is a huge area. It is a little disappointing when people give advice when they haven even spent the 2 minutes it takes to do the search to see if what they are saying is true.

Go to austinhomesearch.com

Put in under 500K
put in > 1 acre
put in SFH

I get a raw 480+ results (some are too far)

Select leander, lake travis, round rock, and dripping springs ISDs and you drop to about 40.

I think that is probably plenty to pick from.

Even AISD itself has 6, some in reasonably good school areas (by circle C)


For example beulah rd dripping springs, 5 acres, 1200 square ft, 36 minutes to downtown (without traffic). There arent hundreds of these, but there are plenty. 350K

This dripping springs home school group has 500 members
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DSAHA/info

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Obviously not in central austin, but within 50 minutes of austin is a huge area. It is a little disappointing when people give advice when they haven even spent the 2 minutes it takes to do the search to see if what they are saying is true.

Go to austinhomesearch.com

Put in under 500K
put in > 1 acre
put in SFH

I get a raw 480+ results (some are too far)

Select leander, lake travis, round rock, and dripping springs ISDs and you drop to about 40.

I think that is probably plenty to pick from.

Even AISD itself has 6, some in reasonably good school areas (by circle C)


For example beulah rd dripping springs, 5 acres, 1200 square ft, 36 minutes to downtown (without traffic). There arent hundreds of these, but there are plenty. 350K

This dripping springs home school group has 500 members
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DSAHA/info

Sure, but a family in 1200 sq feet! I did look at Austin Home Search but I was making different assumptions about house size. We will probably never hear from the OP again so it is likely all moot!

[emu742]

Thank you for the replies. Not sure why ^ assumes I won't be heard from? .. The area I give is large due to looking for acreage within driving distance of Austin, but not wanting to be out in some bible belt outskirt accidentally. It appears the west side has more of a nature/crunchy flare and more of the outdoor activities from what I gather?

Yes the most important part is 'feeling' out where like-minded people are. There is a massive homeschooling community in Austin but the whereabouts is what I'm trying to discover. And every city has its spot for certain like-minded people (thus the 'judgemental maps' for example) so trying to feel that out. Dripping Springs sounds like it may be our best fit. I have personally looked at real estate results and do find some results but again, not sure on the areas they're in (thus posting).

Would anyone be able to tell me the differences between leander, lake travis, round rock, and dripping springs? Whatever comes to mind, any little bit helps, thank you.