Moving to Austin from Boston with kids - good towns near husbands work? (Spring: 2009, daycares)

[mimigirl]

Our family is highly considering moving to Austin. We live outside Boston and simply cannot afford it anymore especially if we ever want to retire!

My husband would work on 1100 Lost Creek Blvd in Austin zip is 78746. We have a four year old and a baby on the way. We don't want to live too far away from my husbands work (no more than 1/2 hr in traffic if possible). We would love to live in a suburban community with affordable homes in the low to mid 200s, great schools and daycares, parks, sidewalks, shopping nearby, hopefully activities for kids like gymnastics, dancing or sports nearby. I'm not sure if this kind of place exists near my husband's job. How far away would we have to live from his work location to have these amenities? We just started researching housing and towns and appreciate any and all opinions!!

Thanks!

[MJinAustin]

Perhaps try Circle C - large suburb in South Austin with lots and lots of amenities and has some homes in your price range. Drive would be about 8 miles...maybe 30-45 min at rush hour...someone from South Austin could speak to the traffic situation. Here's the link for the community:
Welcome to Circle C Ranch

[atxrsn]

mimigirl, have you moved yet? If not and are still planning to move here I can recommend several neighborhoods as well. I agree with MJ that Circle C is good for what you're looking for. On another note, if you're looking for a place to go watch the Red Sox, the official Red Sox Nation group in Austin meets at Third Base, 1717 W. 6th street. Check out our Facebook page, AUSTIN TX RED SOX NATION for more details. Our next meet-up is 6pm Wed, Sept. 2nd. We'd love to see y'all there.

[gunga16]

My husband and I also live outside of Boston and we are seriously considering relocating to Austin (have been for years!) for the exact same reason. It's just so darn expensive here in Boston and our future is pretty bleak if we remain. My husband is in software and although we had previously heard that Austin is a good place for programmers, after doing some research, it definitely does not have the job inventory that Boston offers.

I was just wondering how your husband got a job in Austin. Is he moving within his current company or did he get a brand new job offer altogether? I am asking because my husband and I are scratching our heads as to how to apply for jobs across the country. As you may guess, we have never relocated before.

[Trainwreck20]

Well, the original post was a year and a half ago, and the economy may have changed a wee bit since then . However, you can try searching through this forum, and I am sure you will find some answers to similar questions.

[soccert]

there are some nice areas around lost creek, kids could go to St Stephens school or westlake. You have some nice areas like the Greenbelt trails that are close. Or you can go out a little further to Lake Travis but that does add a bit of time to your commute, I have a place on Lake Travis but I don,t mind the drive and I work down town been doing that since 1976

[readymade]

Meanwhile, I currently live in Austin and I'm moving BACK to Boston. Let me know if you have any questions. Finding a job is pretty tough, now-days. And don't forget... yeah, you can buy a house for about $250K here (try Oak Hill) BUT you'll also be making $15K+ LESS here per year than you would in Boston. I have re-located twice in my life (from Boston to LA and from LA to Austin) and I've NEVER been able to find a job from across the country. I know it can be done... but it's never happened to anyone I know. I found a decent job after 3 months of living here (and sending out resumes 1 1/2 months before I moved as well). My husband never found a decently paying job. It's one of the reasons we're moving back to Boston (among many others).

There's a lot of talk about how affordable Austin is. I've only found that to be true in regards to the house prices. Food seems to be about the same. And stuff like subs & pizza are actually a bit MORE here than in Boston.

In regards to where to live, being from Boston, you might not be familiar with planned communities. I was pretty horrified when I discovered them, myself. Circle C (which some people above mentioned), Western Oaks, etc... are all planned communities. You might LOVE it! And you might not. So, be sure to check them out to discover which it is. When I looked at some of them online (from LA) I was pretty excited about all the amenities & the affordability. Then I drove through one and realized it wasn't for me.

Good luck!

[llkltk]

Readymade, where do you live? I don't think you should knock areas like Circle C or Western Oaks. The OP is also looking for homes under 250K so I don't think the houses off of 360 would work for them. All communities are planned communities in some sense.

You don't even know what the OP is looking for, so your two cents on your taste isn't good advice!

[readymade]

Originally Posted by llkltk

Readymade, where do you live? I don't think you should knock areas like Circle C or Western Oaks. The OP is also looking for homes under 250K so I don't think the houses off of 360 would work for them. All communities are planned communities in some sense.

You don't even know what the OP is looking for, so your two cents on your taste isn't good advice!

I know you don't think I should knock areas like Circle C. You've mentioned that before. In Boston, we don't really have anything that looks like Circle C except the projects (where very low-income people live, and it can be kind of dangerous). So, I do believe my advice was very valid. I mentioned that they should drive through the area before getting too excited about it, is all... you know... to make up their own mind? Again, good advice.

You're very prickly about Circle C. Not everyone has your taste, you know, and someone from Boston is probably less likely to since we're not used to houses being that new. California was the first time I saw whole neighborhoods with the same (or similar) house, and it really freaked me out. Austin has WAY more than California. Extremely homogeneous.

Also, back when I was house hunting, I looked quite a bit in the Oak Hill neighborhood at several houses in the $250K range. Almost put an offer on a really nice one for $235K.

Maybe prices have increased since then (Spring 2009, I believe).

Oh, and I live just east of 35 in a very nice, quiet neighborhood. Not that I recommend living on the east side. Where I am is very nice, but go down 2 or 3 streets... and not so much.

[llkltk]

Originally Posted by readymade

I know you don't think I should knock areas like Circle C. You've mentioned that before. In Boston, we don't really have anything that looks like Circle C except the projects (where very low-income people live, and it can be kind of dangerous). So, I do believe my advice was very valid. I mentioned that they should drive through the area before getting too excited about it, is all... you know... to make up their own mind? Again, good advice.

You're very prickly about Circle C. Not everyone has your taste, you know, and someone from Boston is probably less likely to since we're not used to houses being that new. California was the first time I saw whole neighborhoods with the same (or similar) house, and it really freaked me out. Austin has WAY more than California. Extremely homogeneous.

Also, back when I was house hunting, I looked quite a bit in the Oak Hill neighborhood at several houses in the $250K range. Almost put an offer on a really nice one for $235K.

Maybe prices have increased since then (Spring 2009, I believe).

Oh, and I live just east of 35 in a very nice, quiet neighborhood. Not that I recommend living on the east side. Where I am is very nice, but go down 2 or 3 streets... and not so much.

Give me a break! You said you haven't seen areas like Circle C in Boston except where the projects are, you are so rude. SW Austin residents don't consider their houses to be at the poverty level. You should try looking in Circle C at the 550K homes or the 650K homes in Meridian. Go back to Boston!