Where to Live in Round Rock (Austin, Cedar Park: apartments, crime, how much)

[crazy8s]

After many other posts about moving to Texas from Las Vegas(Which my Wife wants more then me), I am interviewing for a position in Round Rock off the I35 and Mays St. What side of Round Rock is better to live...East or West, North or South of I35. I want to buy a new house for no more then $225,000 with a family of 4. I googled new homes in Round Rock Texas and found a few that build here in Vegas. Now I have a basic idea of what I am getting myself into, now if I could just get some feedback on what side and where in Round Rock is better to live with good schools close by and safe. I am not worried about commute to much as I travel 45 miles a day in all the time traffic. Oh and somewhere with not so many bugs...can you hear the sarcasm...I have read to many bug posts that sends chills down my back.

I will be coming out to Round Rock next week and plan on looking around for about 2 hours before my flight.

Side Question

How is traffic from Austin Airport to Round Rock...how much time should I allow to get there at 1:00 in the afternoon.

[mr&mrs_k]

You should consider the neighborhood of Sonoma, on the East side of Round Rock. There is a highly rated elementary and middle school within the neighborhood and you should be able to get a house in your price range here. There are 2 pools with a slide and splash toys, a pond and trails. My husband and I have lived in Sonoma for several years and really like it here. Good luck!

[FromCalitoSteinerRanch]

Originally Posted by mr&mrs_k

You should consider the neighborhood of Sonoma, on the East side of Round Rock. There is a highly rated elementary and middle school within the neighborhood and you should be able to get a house in your price range here. There are 2 pools with a slide and splash toys, a pond and trails. My husband and I have lived in Sonoma for several years and really like it here. Good luck!

What do you consider highly rated? Both Sonoma schools are simply Recognized. We moved from Sonoma to Steiner Ranch, and there is a big difference between the Exemplary school my girls go to, vs. Blackland Prairie.

On the other hand, Sonoma is a great neighborhood, so if you can pick up the slack at home with your kids and give them extra homework, etc, then Sonoma is a good choice.

[mr&mrs_k]

I knew Blackland isn't rated Exemplary, but I'd say it's still highly rated as Recognized.

[newrrmom]

I used to live in Summerlin in Vegas and saw where I lived go down hill quick in just a few years, even though we got out just in time and more then doubled our money. (had to put that in since talking Vegas)
Generally people are friendly and nice here, not like Vegas, were you barely make eye contact with most.
It took me awhile to get Vegas out of my system and realize people are genuinely nice and so much happier being around happier people overall.
So I would say Round Rock is similar in the sense of house after house, but there are fences, not cement blocks.
There is grass not just rocks.
Houses look different even though they are in same neghborhood. And if you walk in they don't all have same interior.
I bought a home on the W side, just due to schools and living on E. side for a few months gave me a bad taste of it over there. But- that is apartment living. And right by the 79 & HEB is where apartments are popping up quickly and I talked to a teacher in school that feeds into that area and she did not have many positive things to say and I saw it first hand in apartment living with kids.
We almost bought in Sonoma, but backed out, due to lot availble, we wanted new. But I would stick in that area, if you want more for your money from a home.
We bought in a very nice neigborhood (new) for the price you want to spend. It's like anywhere if houses are cheaper there is a reason......

PS-The bugs are overrated, they are not too bad, just get a service and your fine

[newrrmom]

OH and with the new toll road getting to airport is a breeze and living a E. side would make you even closer to it. I believe the toll road is 45.

[jwb123]

simply Recognized

Simply recognized? Recognized and Exemplary are indistinguishable if you ask me... ask schools frequently filter through both from year to year. One school having high turnover, one year, could mean the difference between recognized and exemplary - and have nothing at all to do with academics.

In my opinion, perhaps the "difference" you are seeing is related to 1) You being happier in your current neighborhood and 2) Being in a brand new school.... as RRISD has the same curriculum, and hiring practices no matter the school rating. I have seen really run down neighborhoods on both sides, and on the flipside I have seen upscale golf course neighborhoods on both sides... and everything in between. The only difference is that the east side is much smaller - the length in miles from 35 to Hutto is tiny compared to the west side of RR. The landscaping, e vs w, is slightly different, with the east being more old ranch land (still you will have hills and trees - it's not barren, dusty flatland). A small area of the west is very hilly and tree filled... but areas of Cedar Park and North RR are no different from East or anywhere else.

The east vs west exists only in peoples minds... there is no "bad" area of RR. Further, all the recent newsworthy crime has happened on the west side (the problems in Cat Hollow the other day, several recent abduction attempts, teenage fatal drunk driving in Avery Ranch)

[OntheMoveAGAIN]

Toll road from the Airport is 1-30, it connects to the 45 in pflugerville just outside Roundrock and continues through Roundrock and onwards to west Austin (Cedar park etc..)

Here is a map of the toll roads:
scroll down to view the map
http://www.txtag.org/centex.php

[TexasHorseLady]

Actually, it's 130, not I-30 - which makes no difference unless you're new to the area and trying to find things by road signs!

I agree, a lot of the difference in east versus west is in people's minds - some folks just have to have a "right" and "wrong" side of the tracks to feel comfortable. There are good and not-so-outstanding, new and old (and which is "better" depends on your personal preference) neighborhoods on both sides of IH35 in Round Rock.

Also, having attended decades ago a school that was one of the top ten in the nation and knowing the awful damage that was done to students in order to keep that rating, and having seen similar experiences by students since then (having children of my own, my experience isn't 40 years out of date ), as well as highly rated schools that were, indeed, excellent for the students, I'd say that a high rating can be a good indicator or a bad indicator - you really do have to talk to the school and to the parents and to the students to get a good idea of how good a school really is for the students. Or, for that matter, for your particular student - my own two went to different schools, each of which was perfect for that child, but would have been a disaster for the other one.

[Rose Red]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Simply recognized? Recognized and Exemplary are indistinguishable if you ask me... ask schools frequently filter through both from year to year. One school having high turnover, one year, could mean the difference between recognized and exemplary - and have nothing at all to do with academics.

In my opinion, perhaps the "difference" you are seeing is related to 1) You being happier in your current neighborhood and 2) Being in a brand new school.... as RRISD has the same curriculum, and hiring practices no matter the school rating. I have seen really run down neighborhoods on both sides, and on the flipside I have seen upscale golf course neighborhoods on both sides... and everything in between. The only difference is that the east side is much smaller - the length in miles from 35 to Hutto is tiny compared to the west side of RR. The landscaping, e vs w, is slightly different, with the east being more old ranch land (still you will have hills and trees - it's not barren, dusty flatland). A small area of the west is very hilly and tree filled... but areas of Cedar Park and North RR are no different from East or anywhere else.

The east vs west exists only in peoples minds... there is no "bad" area of RR. Further, all the recent newsworthy crime has happened on the west side (the problems in Cat Hollow the other day, several recent abduction attempts, teenage fatal drunk driving in Avery Ranch)

Good Post!

Since, I do get tired of the East/West and the Recognized vs. Exemplary mentality. When at the end of the day, it all is the same. Thank you for an eloquent post you did that much better than I could have.