Retirees Moving from Houston to Austin -Need to Meet People (Waco: apartment, to rent)

[Bestyears]

Wow, this is exactly what I was hoping for -real information from real people living in Austin. Lots to digest. I'm going to go through each post carefully -thank you. Some of you mentioned neighborhoods I've never even heard of, and some mentioned places I've heard of, but don't know anything about. Just a huge help to get this real info.

The reason we don't want to move into the lake house is that it's just so far from everything I know I wouldn't enjoy life there. We've owned the Hollows house for about four years and haven't met anyone. True, we only go up once a month or so, but so do many residents. Of course we might meet a few people, around the pool, if we lived there, but it really doesn't meet my needs for some regular daily activity. Sometimes I just want to go browse the fabric store and grab a coffee. Or meet a friend for lunch, or spend a few hours in a bookstore or the library. Since it's all just five or ten minutes away now, I can clean up the kitchen after breakfast, head down to the fabric store, come back and putz around the house, and then meet a friend later, or head out to the library or whatever. I like the spontaneity and ease of that. At the lakehouse, I'd have to drive at least half-an-hour to get to these places.

[Swizzle Stick]

Originally Posted by Bestyears

Wow, this is exactly what I was hoping for -real information from real people living in Austin. Lots to digest. I'm going to go through each post carefully -thank you. Some of you mentioned neighborhoods I've never even heard of, and some mentioned places I've heard of, but don't know anything about. Just a huge help to get this real info.

The reason we don't want to move into the lake house is that it's just so far from everything I know I wouldn't enjoy life there. We've owned the Hollows house for about four years and haven't met anyone. True, we only go up once a month or so, but so do many residents. Of course we might meet a few people, around the pool, if we lived there, but it really doesn't meet my needs for some regular daily activity. Sometimes I just want to go browse the fabric store and grab a coffee. Or meet a friend for lunch, or spend a few hours in a bookstore or the library. Since it's all just five or ten minutes away now, I can clean up the kitchen after breakfast, head down to the fabric store, come back and putz around the house, and then meet a friend later, or head out to the library or whatever. I like the spontaneity and ease of that. At the lakehouse, I'd have to drive at least half-an-hour to get to these places.

I thought you meant Rough Hollow, but your house is at "The Hollows" which is out in Lago Vista? If that's the case, no wonder you don't want to keep it. That's waaaaayyy far out - about a 2 hour drive to-or-from South Austin during rush hour.

[Bestyears]

Yes, sorry I didn't make that clear. It's in The Hollows, out on 1431 between Jonestown and Lago Vista. So you can see it just wouldn't work to give us a taste of living there.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Bestyears

We are considering moving from the Houston area to Austin for a few reasons, one of which is to be closer to our young adult children. They are encouraging us to do so, so of course that makes us happy. We're fairly familiar with the city because our daughter graduated from UT Austin and for the last few years we've maintained a home in The Hollows on Lake Travis, which we rent out and then use ourselves once a month or so so that we can visit with the kiddos.

We'd like to stay under $450K, which I know isn't much in the Austin area. One of my main concerns is the opportunity to meet other people our age. I don't want to feel desperately lonely except for the times we are with my daughter. My husband is a bit shy, so going places to meet people doesn't work as well as being in a neighborhood where he sees the same people day after day. I've read about Sun City in Georgetown and it sounds wonderful in so many ways, except that I think it is further away from our daughter than I would like. She lives in 78704 (roughly 36 miles from Sun City) and ideally, I envision doing things like having her over for an occasional mid-week meal, picking up her dog for the day while she's at work, meeting for an occasional lunch, etc. According to Googlemaps, this will just be impossible during the week, with an hour to an hour-and-a-half average travel time.

We are Democrats, liberal-to-moderate, I'm 62; he is 77. We love the outdoors, kayaking, hiking, etc. But we can also enjoy a nice meal out, etc. I have lots of hobbies such as reading, sewing, quilting, writing, etc. My husband likes to bike and read. We also have a dog we love to walk. We do not attend church. I wouldn't mind going to a small place to listen to live music from time to time, but we are not big drinkers who want to go out to bars or wineries every weekend.

Given our concern about wanting to meet people our age, people like us, where should we be looking? Am I right that Sun City is just too far away with travel time?

I've also looked (online only; not in person yet) at newer neighborhoods like Easton Park because they seem more affordable than older neighborhoods.

Thank you so much in advance!

I personally would try to find a smaller house on the east side. You would be a lot closer to 78704 and close to a lot of in town cool stuff. Look for a bigger lot so you can add on if you really need more space.

use austinhomesearch.com (the austin board of realtors MLS site) to narrow your search with the most accurate inventory.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Bestyears

Yes, sorry I didn't make that clear. It's in The Hollows, out on 1431 between Jonestown and Lago Vista. So you can see it just wouldn't work to give us a taste of living there.

Makes sense, I honestly forget about Lago Vista and Jonestown simply because it is such an impossibly long commute to central Austin... and not because it's that far away, just because access is so limited and difficult. It's beautiful out there but if you don't like what is available day-to-day nearby, I can see how it would be a non-option.

Have you considered a condo in/near 78704? 450K is a pretty good price point for one of those, and it checks off a lot of the other boxes. Onion Creek is also an intriguing option.

[Bestyears]

I'm definitely intrigued by Onion Creek. I've been ruling out condos and townhomes because I just love sitting outside (with a cup of coffee, glass of wine, Macbook, etc.) We also have a dog, and we play in the yard at least once a day. Right now we have the typical large, suburban lot (with a pool), and we don't need or want all that. But I'd like a bit of yard. Our son made an interesting point to me just the other day. Our daughter lives in a townhome and it has a really good sized yard, so I may be unfairly eliminating a whole category.

[rangergrit]

One thing to consider if living in 78749 (close to 78704) is Austin has two Senior Centers that are an excellent place to meet friends. While a mix of people, many are highly educated retired folks. Take a look at their program schedules.

http://austintexas.gov/sites/default...2_FEB_2020.pdf
http://austintexas.gov/sites/default...de_Feb2020.pdf

[blakely]

Originally Posted by Bestyears

I'm definitely intrigued by Onion Creek. I've been ruling out condos and townhomes because I just love sitting outside (with a cup of coffee, glass of wine, Macbook, etc.) We also have a dog, and we play in the yard at least once a day. Right now we have the typical large, suburban lot (with a pool), and we don't need or want all that. But I'd like a bit of yard. Our son made an interesting point to me just the other day. Our daughter lives in a townhome and it has a really good sized yard, so I may be unfairly eliminating a whole category.

The one thing to be careful with Onion Creek is that much of the area is in a flood zone. To address this, many of the homes in the flood zone have been bought out by the COA and the US Army of Engineers, but be super careful where you buy if you decide upon it. Just Google Onion Creek & Flooding and you'll find a lot of information.

[Bestyears]

Oh gosh, blakely, thanks for that. I'm sure we'd have uncovered it eventually, but having lived through Harvey, we wouldn't choose a flood zone, so we'll be watchful.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Bestyears

Oh gosh, blakely, thanks for that. I'm sure we'd have uncovered it eventually, but having lived through Harvey, we wouldn't choose a flood zone, so we'll be watchful.

I’ve stopped at a few open houses in Onion Creek for my parents. The further back you get the closer to the flood plain you get, but that’s not a guarantee that it isn’t in the flood plain. A neighbor was at an open house that I was at and he said he bought his house because it was one of the only that was not in the flood plain when he was buying.