Newlyweds moving to Austin...help!! (Round Rock, Vega: real estate, apartment complexes, to rent) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

odd2007 · 12-16-2006, 12:16 PM

My fiance and I are getting married in April and are thinking about moving to Austin shortly afterwards. From what we can tell Round Rock is a nice place to live...is that true? How is the job market...I'm in Human Resources and he is looking to go into law enforcement? Also, we were looking to rent before buying...we currently pay $940 a month for 2 bedroom apt in Maryland which is not that great...will we be paying roughly the same for the same size? Any info I'd greatly appreciate!!!

AustinTraveler · 12-16-2006, 12:34 PM

Hi, and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

I can't help you with Human Resource job information but I can tell you that they are definitely hiring law enforcement officers here. I live in Austin and see banners all the time advertising for Austin Police Department. He would have a choice between APD, Travis County Sheriff's Office, Williamson County Sheriff's Office, and Round Rock Police Department, among others.

Is there some reason why you want to live in Round Rock and not Austin? Personally, I would think that young (I'm assuming here) newlyweds would enjoy living in Austin more than Round Rock. But, I don't know anything about you so I'm just assuming based on my personal preferences.

There are lots of very nice apartment complexes here so you'll have a number of them to choose from. You should not have a problem finding a 2 bedroom unit for under $1,000.

odd2007 · 12-16-2006, 08:27 PM

Thanks for responding...we're both 28 y.o....We are not set on Round Rock, just everything that we have read - it seems like Round Rock was a safe choice. We're not looking to live in Mayberry just yet

...so we would like to be where all the action is but still very safe...any suggestion for somewhere kinda "hip" to live in Austin?

Oh and just to speak to the kind of couple we are...our wedding consist of 25 people hopping a flight next year and going to Vegas for the weekend! It's like eloping and taking a few people along for the ride!!Thanks for the congrats!!

AustinTraveler · 12-16-2006, 08:58 PM

Hey Odd,

I like your idea of a wedding! Seriously, you don't have to be worried so much about SAFE in Austin. Austin isn't NYC; it is a very small big city, if that makes sense. Personally, I would live somewhere close to downtown. That way you have easy access to everything. I live just north of downtown and it is very safe. In fact, it is so quiet in my neighborhood you would never know you are just a block or two from restaurants, stores, etc.

Another major concern for me would be to live close to your job. With your husband to be it should not be a big deal if he is a patrol officer since they have take-home cars, but you should try not to commute too far. Traffic is a definite downer here and the closer you are to work, the better.

As far as Round Rock is concerned, it definitely comes across as Mayberry (just to use your word!) but it is by no means any safer than a lot of areas in Austin. Bazillions of people are moving to Round Rock every day which means more problems and more congestion.

Have you guys visited Austin yet? You definitely need to do that to get a feel for the place. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Again, I would recommend that you live somewhere just north of downtown, at least until it's time to buy a house. Housing is very expensive here but you should be fine with renting. It's also a great way to get to know the area. Best of luck to you both!! Let me know if you have more questions.

Dazed · 12-17-2006, 08:57 AM

My suggestion would be to live as close to where you are working as possible. The traffic here is terrible.

There are so many new apartments all over the area, so you should be able to get a nice one for a good price!

http://austin-blogatorium.blogspot.com/

Trainwreck20 · 12-19-2006, 08:12 AM

I second Dazed whole-heartedly....live close to where you work.

As for law enforcement, stay out of the Williamson County system. There are too many areas of law enforcement there that still operate under a good ol' boy system. Travis County is much more 'professional' and well regarded. I have good friends who have worked in both, and the difference is night and day. APD is pretty competitive, and the Travis county sherrifs department is probably, too, so make sure you check out what is needed and get a jump on the requirements.

jread · 12-21-2006, 10:42 AM

Austin is a safe city to live in... we're not talking Detroit here. Find a neighborhood close to work that is also within easy access of central Austin.

Round Rock is a sterile suburb with strip malls, chain restaurants and no culture at all. You could live anywhere in America and have that.

odd2007 · 12-22-2006, 03:36 PM

Thanks to everyone that responded!!! Yall are the best!!!

My fiance and I have decided to try our best to live in the city...but I have a question...what is considered a long commute or bad traffic for Austin...currently I work dowtown and live in a surrounding county and my drive should only take 15-20 minutes but instead it takes 45 minutes to an hour...that is and has always been my existence...is that considered bad there??? My other question is what is the going price for a started home...just asking for the future...here in Maryland, don't even look for a decent townhouse if you don't have over 200K and for that it will only be a two bdr, two bath rowhome!!

jread · 12-22-2006, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by odd2007

Thanks to everyone that responded!!! Yall are the best!!!

My fiance and I have decided to try our best to live in the city...but I have a question...what is considered a long commute or bad traffic for Austin...currently I work dowtown and live in a surrounding county and my drive should only take 15-20 minutes but instead it takes 45 minutes to an hour...that is and has always been my existence...is that considered bad there??? My other question is what is the going price for a started home...just asking for the future...here in Maryland, don't even look for a decent townhouse if you don't have over 200K and for that it will only be a two bdr, two bath rowhome!!

I would love to have a rowhome.

Anyway, your commute sounds almost exactly the same as what is average around here. I live 15-minutes from downtown but it usually takes closer to 45-minutes during rush hour.

You can get a starter home for around 170k-ish. It used to be a little less but real estate is perpetually gaining in value here. Our home is already worth 30k more than what we paid for it and we've only lived there for a year.