West Austin (Dallas, Highland Park, Lost Creek: 2015, high school, subdivision)

[Trainwreck20]

I think that most Austinites (even if they have been here a long time) think you are referring to areas west of MoPac when you say 'West Austin'. I guess it depends on who is saying west Austin. If it is someone in OWANA, then they very well probably do mean OWANA and west. If you hear it from most of the rest of Austin residents (regardless of how long they have lived here), they probably mean west of MoPac.

I really don't think there are any official boundaries to West Austin, so if someone is talking about specific neighborhoods, you would know better where they are referring to.

[Biscuits]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I really don't think there are any official boundaries to West Austin, so if someone is talking about specific neighborhoods, you would know better where they are referring to.

You could do a lot worse than using the USPS zip codes to define the official core boundaries of Austin.

God knows very few are going to dispute 78704 - and their precious bumper stickers - as being the most exact definition of 'South Austin' even though some could call Travis Heights 'Central' based on it's proximity to the Capitol (practically as close as OWNA).

[TexasHorseLady]

Well, long before that neighborhood association existed, I suspect (maybe before some of the members were born), it was Central Austin to me.

Of course, I still think 19th Street and 1st Street on occasion, traditionalist that I am.

[chickenfry]

Clearly Westlake and Rollingwood are not even Austin. If you speak of them as West Austin, your are certainly revealing that you have not made Austin your home for long.

[jeffari-al-texani]

What is Four Points? Super Extreme Westerly Austin?

[Biscuits]

Western Travis County.

[TexasHorseLady]

Westlake and Rollingwood aren't Austin in the same way that Highland Park isn't Dallas.

Four Points is Austin, according to the post office. Not so much according to those of us who were here when it was the boonies (or, heck, when 2222 and Mopac was the boonies and a railroad and Ben White was purt near the edge of town).

Central is, indeed, north of the river.

[Biscuits]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Westlake and Rollingwood aren't Austin in the same way that Highland Park isn't Dallas.

Four Points is Austin, according to the post office. Not so much according to those of us who were here when it was the boonies (or, heck, when 2222 and Mopac was the boonies and a railroad and Ben White was purt near the edge of town).

Central is, indeed, north of the river.

The Four Points intersection at 2222 & River Place is officially "in" Austin but the entire River Place subdivision is not. To consider it West Austin is a stretch but, then again, I also feel the same way about the part of incorporated Austin that magically appears at Barton Creek Country Club.

Regarding Central, here may be a good test: if you can walk to your job at City Hall in the middle of July, then you most likely live in Central Austin. If you can ride your bike, then you probably live in the central part of Metro Austin.

And let me add this, I lived in Lost Creek in the mid 80's and never in my wildest dreams would have described my location as West Austin. I may simply say Austin to those who weren't familiar with the city, using the fact that my mail was addressed "Austin" to back me up, but I knew damn well that Lost Creek was not in Austin. I further knew what was meant when someone familiar with Austin specifically referred to West Austin (78703). The correct description at that time, as it is today, was simply Lost Creek. Not West Austin, not West Lake Hills/Westlake, simply Lost Creek.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Biscuits

And let me add this, I lived in Lost Creek in the mid 80's and never in my wildest dreams would have described my location as West Austin. I may simply say Austin to those who weren't familiar with the city, using the fact that my mail was addressed "Austin" to back me up, but I knew damn well that Lost Creek was not in Austin. I further knew what was meant when someone familiar with Austin specifically referred to West Austin (78703). The correct description at that time, as it is today, was simply Lost Creek. Not West Austin, not West Lake Hills/Westlake, simply Lost Creek.

Surely as a long time resident of Austin, you do know that Lost Creek has lost it's prolonged fight against annexation, and will begin to be part of City of Austin as of Dec '08... right? So although many people would already refer to it as west Austin, it will be technically correct in about 6 months.

Also, there are other areas which are west of Lost Creek (to the north and south) which are also within the city limits of Austin (think Apache Shores, Oak Hill) that are not Barton Creek Country Club.

I'd say there are at least 3 acceptable definitions of what "West Austin" is. Since it isn't a neighborhood name, you could use any one of them and most likely no one will dispute it.

1. Classic definition, pre-Mopac Austin -- Basically, the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association boundaries (OWANA) detailed at OWANA - Old West Austin Neighborhood Association - History (http://www.owana.org/history/index.htm - broken link)

2. Current accepted definition -- There is a reason OWANA is called the "Old" West Austin. The definition of west Austin for the couple of decades I've lived here has included Westlake, Rollingwood, and the unincorporated areas east of 360 but south of the river, and north of the greenbelt / 2244. Areas such as Davenport Ranch, etc. North of the river, it becomes NW Austin.

3. Realtor definition -- Includes everything in the "current" description, plus areas off 2244 west of 360... areas such as Barton Creek, Rob Roy, Senna Hills, etc... all the way up until the actual city of Bee Caves (basically the galleria)... west of that, it's Bee Caves or Lakeway, even by the loosest definition of west Austin.

[Biscuits]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Surely as a long time resident of Austin, you do know that Lost Creek has lost it's prolonged fight against annexation, and will begin to be part of City of Austin as of Dec '08... right? So although many people would already refer to it as west Austin, it will be technically correct in about 6 months.

Also, there are other areas which are west of Lost Creek (to the north and south) which are also within the city limits of Austin (think Apache Shores, Oak Hill) that are not Barton Creek Country Club.

I'd say there are at least 3 acceptable definitions of what "West Austin" is. Since it isn't a neighborhood name, you could use any one of them and most likely no one will dispute it.

1. Classic definition, pre-Mopac Austin -- Basically, the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association boundaries (OWANA) detailed at OWANA - Old West Austin Neighborhood Association - History (http://www.owana.org/history/index.htm - broken link)

2. Current accepted definition -- There is a reason OWANA is called the "Old" West Austin. The definition of west Austin for the couple of decades I've lived here has included Westlake, Rollingwood, and the unincorporated areas east of 360 but south of the river, and north of the greenbelt / 2244. Areas such as Davenport Ranch, etc. North of the river, it becomes NW Austin.

3. Realtor definition -- Includes everything in the "current" description, plus areas off 2244 west of 360... areas such as Barton Creek, Rob Roy, Senna Hills, etc... all the way up until the actual city of Bee Caves (basically the galleria)... west of that, it's Bee Caves or Lakeway, even by the loosest definition of west Austin.

Yes, in December those Lost Creek residents who were kicking and screaming not to be annexed into the City of Austin can technically use the term 'West Austin' as a reminder of their failure to achieve otherwise. It will be used in the most general sense and not in the same vein that someone like Ben Crenshaw uses it.

A Feel for the Game by Ben Crenshaw - eBook - Random House

When you're six or seven there's no end to the fun you can have on a tree-lined Leave It To Beaver street like the one we grew up on in the Tarrytown area of West Austin. Rows of well-kept homes, trimmed hedges, and immaculate yards lined Bridle Path, where we lived in a cozy two-story home. The sprawling oaks in everyone's yard provided shade on a hot afternoon, and we even had a vacant lot nearby, the perfect place to build two forts about fifty yards apart and have all-world dirt-clod wars with your best friends. I can still feel the sting of those clods. Texas dirt has so much clay in it that dirtballs make unbelievable missiles.

If part of Oak Hill is in Austin then I am at a loss of what you would like me to acknowledge. It's either Oak Hill or Austin, take your pick. If people are including it into the term 'West Austin' then they are possibly schizophrenic.

Austin can annex little pockets here and there but it will not change the fact that 'West Austin' is a long used term that describes a specific set of Austin neighborhoods - period. I guess it may be coming less known as the metropolis grows and less knowledgeable people want to use it as a blanket description of the western half of Travis County but maybe I can help educate the unaware. If the final link of this post does not clear things up, then I give up.

1. Your classic definition would be close to accurate up until the emergence of Tarrytown, Brykerwoods, and Pemberton Heights (1940 at the latest). These neighborhoods also pre-date MoPac.

2. The reason it is called Old West Austin is because it is the oldest/first part of West Austin and they proudly choose to emphasize that fact in the NA name. Its geographic location relative to downtown has not changed because of the emergence of a boulevard/freeway that suddenly appeared along the existing set of train tracks.

Moreover, do you think the NA would choose the name Old WEST Austin if they were trying to proclaim that they are now the New Central Austin?
Is 4th & Waller not East Austin because it is significantly older and closer to downtown than 4th & Pleasant Valley? If you want to lump everything as Central then West "Austin" actually begins west of the City of West Lake Hills, Texas .

I have never met a resident of Rollingwood, West Lake Hills, Davenport Ranch, or Rob Roy who refer to themselves as living in West Austin. Senna Hills and the surrounding areas is a slightly different animal where I have heard individuals grasping for an identity which includes the claims of living in West Austin and - my personal favorite - Westlake (spelled like the high school, not the city).

3. The MLS definition is very liberal and one that requires the abuse of the the word Austin in areas that clearly are not in The City of Austin.


Quick question, is it ever correct to consider the western coast of British Columbia as part of The Northwest United States? After all, it is wedged between Washington and Alaska, so that would make it appropriately called the Northwest United States, would it not?

That is the same logic as attempting to include the City of West Lake Hills or Rollingwood as part of 'West Austin' based on Austin's annexation of surrounding land. It is not Austin and more importantly, it is the very reason that 'West Austin' had/has such a defined western boundary (Lake Austin).


Below is a business that seems to take their definition of West Austin quite seriously. Regardless of if they expand my 78703 definition to include Balcones and Northwest Hills (78731), they at least have sense enough to include OWANA and exclude all of the mess that is not firmly in the City of Austin.

west austin news (http://www.westaustinnews.com/index.html - broken link)

West Austin is a diverse community, including many of the city’s first and finest neighborhoods. West Austin communities include: Tarrytown, Pemberton Heights, Old Enfield, Bryker Woods, Highland-Park Balcones, Old West Austin and Northwest Hills.