Nice Small Town Near Austin: Smithville? (San Antonio, Georgetown: home, school, moving to)

[lesliegrace]

I am interested in moving to a nice small town near Austin, but not so near that traffic would be crazy. My loved ones are fearful of Austin's size and traffic, as we are from Orange, Texas, with a population of about eighteen thousand. I want to grad school at UT, and I love Austin. Do you all have any suggestions? Is Smithville a nice place?

[mrsengle]

I've never been to Smithville, but I think Georgetown would fit the nice small-town environment you're looking for. The commute to UT would be crazy if you had morning classes though - I'm not sure how Smithville would compare in that regard. I LOVE Georgetown, and it's worth looking in to. Good Luck!

[lesliegrace]

Thanks for replying to my first post, mrsengle. I was wondering whether I should have asked about Smithville in a different forum; I posted it to the Austin forum because I think Smithville is fairly close by, so I thought that Austinites would be more likely to have an opinion about it.

I'm afraid I have a typo in my original message; it shoud read "I went to grad school at UT" rather than "I want to grad school. . ." Sorry about that!

Thanks for suggesting Georgetown. I will try to learn more about it.

[Trainwreck20]

Smithville is a very small town, not sure on the exact size. My acquaintances in Bastrop consider it backwater, if that means anything. I second G'town (my hometown from years ago) and would recommend checking out Bastrop, as well.

[lesliegrace]

Thanks for the input, Trainwreck20. It looks as if Georgetown is slightly larger than Orange (my hometown), and Bastrop is quite a bit smaller. I hope I'll get a chance to check out both places!

[lolligrump]

Just moved from Austin to Cary, NC 3 weeks ago. I love Austin, and I really like Georgetown. Bastrop is so much farther away from all the great stuff happening in Austin, although it's a nice town. Good luck on your move - and enjoy Austin! I really miss it.

[Premont]

The downtown scene in Smithville is a Dairy Queen. Pretty country though. You might want to check out Wimberley.

[lesliegrace]

Originally Posted by lolligrump

Just moved from Austin to Cary, NC 3 weeks ago. I love Austin, and I really like Georgetown. Bastrop is so much farther away from all the great stuff happening in Austin, although it's a nice town. Good luck on your move - and enjoy Austin! I really miss it.

Thanks for the good wishes, lolligrump! I am going to need all of the positive energy I can muster to persuade my husband to move away from here. It probably won't happen until after at least he retires.

I've never had the opportunity to visit North Carolina, but I always imagined it to be a green, pretty place. I hope that Cary is beginning to feel more like home to you and your husband.



Thanks for your suggestion regarding Wimberley, Premont. I have been through it, but I've never really explored the town. You have given me another suggestion to check out.

You mention that the land around Smithville is pretty; do you think that it looks much like the Austin area?

[southaustingal]

You might also check out Johnson City or Llano. They're smaller than Georgetown, which is a fast-growing bedroom community, but they're close enough to Austin, and Johnson City is also convenient to San Antonio.

[Trainwreck20]

Smithville is pretty country and near/in part of the 'lost pines' area of central Texas. It is not very hilly, though, so in that regard it is not like Austin.