Cedar Park vs Brushy Creek vs Leander TX (Austin, Round Rock: houses, established neighborhood)

[vzgblues]

Did not find a way to delete this post. Just realized I posted a duplicate thread. Apologies.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by vzgblues

Hi

We are new to Austin area and recently took up jobs in Round Rock area. We have a toddler and are trying to zero in on a property purchase. We drove around the neighborhood and like Travisso for the beauty. Nothing seems to be close though (min 15 min drive which coming from a small town seems like a lot). Cedar Park and Brushy Creek have more access to everything, but the traffic is more and not as scenic. Our budget is around 7-800K. Good school district is a must, but all these areas seem to have good school districts. We really love the look of Travisso, but again, not close to anything. Can you please put some sense into my mind? If you can rate schools, resale value, proximity to Austin UT, airport, downtown etc (considering traffic) that will be of great help. Realtors just want to make a sale, but I know you guys are local and honest

So I personally am not as knowledgeable as some here are about the school systems. It would be my guess that Cedar Park would be okay. Meanwhile however about scenery. I'm not sure where you're moving from or what you consider scenic but the best you will probably get in that department is West Lake Hills area... but if you think 15 minutes is a long commute, you ain't seen nothing until you try to commute from there. (I highly dis-advise moving there if you have to commute ANYWHERE outside of the immediate West Lake Hills area).

Is scenery an absolute must? If so, Cedar Park and maybe Round Rock are about the best you're probably going to get within a reasonable commute to Round Rock.

[innovator82]

You may want to look at: subdivisions in Brushy Creek (like Behrens Ranch, Hidden Glen, etc.); along Ronald Reagan Blvd and the parallel 175 in Cedar Park/Leander in the mile or two north of 1431 (such as Caballo Ranch); and also Avery Ranch. All of these areas would put you closer to the shopping and amenities as well as closer to work in Round Rock. Travisso is really nice in that price range. People living there just have to accept the trade-off of being a little more set away from stuff (but not far) and instead getting the scenery and planned community. Another option you may like is Crystal Falls - especially further back (west) in the neighborhood you get a somewhat similar feel as Travisso and you are in a great similar-type neighborhood but closer in to stuff. Also other neighborhoods in that Crystal Falls area such as Mason Hills may be options.

[Tex90]

I would highly recommend the Brushy Creek area and many portions of West Round Rock. There is a ton of variation in housing stock, lots of trees, parks, and it is extremely family oriented with excellent schools. In your price range, Brushy Bend Park, Great Oaks, Tonkawa Springs and Brushy Creek North are all more established neighborhoods with large lots, trees, and creek frontage in some spots. I also highly recommend innovator82 suggestions for Hidden Glen/Wood Glen and Behrens Ranch along with Walsh Ranch and Sendero Springs if you are looking for a bit newer area with on average a bit younger family demographic. These houses can range anywhere from $400k-$1mil and feed into Cactus Ranch and Chandler Oaks Elementary, Walsh Middle School, and Round Rock High School, all of which are ranked highly. Plus you are less than 10 minutes from any of the shopping or entertainment you would likely need.

Also if you haven’t considered it, Forest Creek, Lake Forest, and Forest Grove are all beautiful neighborhoods in East Round Rock which would be a very easy commute to Dell, plus have tons things to do nearby. The schools are also great, the only deterrent would be that Cedar Ridge High School is not rated as highly as RRHS, but still the newest and state of the art campus in the district! You also don’t have as many hills or trees East of 35 but the neighborhoods mentioned were designed to preserve trees and have beautifully maintained natural areas.

Good luck!