Greenary in Austin, and faimly fun (Spring, Bastrop: appointed, house, to live)

[bepell]

My wife and I just visited for 4 days from Vegas and first of all Austin is very nice and the people that live there are world class citizens. Food is awesome and West Lake is awesome! However, one thing that disappointed me was that the parks grass areas weren't kept up and the city looked run down a bit.

I figured that the parks were like this because of the winter time. Do the parks in Austin have a lot of green grass in the Spring and Summer months? Or are they like this all the time?

Also, my wife and I wondered what do families do in Austin. Is it more outdoor activities or is it indoor activities? We are looking to move there but we need to find areas that are close to the city but not all the way in the suburbs, something in the middle. We live in the suburbs of Las Vegas and if you're familiar with this area, then you know what we are looking for.

I don't want to live so far from the action, but not in a million dollar area either.

[centralaustinite]

We are in the middle of a severe drought! You will not see lush green grass in the parks any time soon. Everything looks a bit dusty because of the drought.

What do families do in Austin? Humm . . . I'd have to stay more outdoor activities: visiting parks, hiking, playing sports, gardening (my kids anyway), swimming.

I've never been to Vegas outside of the airport, so I have no help for you there.

[HappyTexan]

We do get somewhat of a winter here and the grass does go dormant.
Perks up again come mid to end March when the wildflowers start blooming.

[Trainwreck20]

Depends on the age of the kids in the family, I guess. We have a toddler, and we spend a lot of time at the park (weather permitting), the zoo has become a semi-regular visit, and a lot of time out on the sidewalk/street in front of our house riding the trike-thingy and trying to find more doggies .

Older kids will need something a bit more engaging, but we have a few years to discover all those.....

[love roses]

Much of the brown grass is due to it being winter right now, so it's gone dormant. You aren't going to find a lot of homeowners here who are too concerned about having a perfect green lawn year around, especially with the drought we've been in. Lot's of areas are on water conservation.

Austin is a more outdoors oriented city. So much of what there is to do is going to be parks, zoo, caverns, spring fed pools or other pools, lakes, ponds, rivers, etc...

[mimimomx3]

Xeriscaping is a big thing here in Texas, especially Austin. that means that we are trying to get away from growing things that are not native to the area and that require artificial amounts of watering, fertilizing, etc. It's maybe a more natural look that might look 'unkept' if you're not aware of what's going on .

[TheDynamicMan]

Austin's really known for its greenery...I would check again in spring and see how things have shaped up. As far as family fun, my girlfriend, her 6-year old daughter and I have explored some great destinations. I'd recommend the following:

-Dino Park (Welcome to The Dinosaur Park - Bastrop County, Texas)
-Ghost Town (J. Lorraine Ghost Town Manor Austin)
-Cathedral of Junk (Cathedral of Junk, Austin, Texas)
-Austin Duck Tour (Austin Duck Adventures: Land and Lake Tours of Austin)
-GattiTown (Gatti's Pizza : Gattitown)
-Snake Farm (http://www.exoticanimalworld.com/)
-J&M Aviaries/The Sanctuary (http://www.expertvillage.com/video/1...m-aviaries.htm)
-Blue Bell Factory tour (http://www.bluebell.com/The_Little_C...Blue_Bell.aspx)

Some great places to get started. Most are less than 30 minutes away if not right in town. Enjoy!