SW vs S suburbs? (Austin, Spring: houses, established neighborhood, good schools)

[thedogatemyhomework]

I'm still in the process of house-hunting and am wondering if anyone would mind giving me their take on the difference between SW and South suburbs?

I have two small children. Consider myself fairly liberal (of the meat-eating, swearing and drinking variety). I want good schools for my children and all the amenities that the burbs would afford. If I had all the money in the world, I'd love to live in central Austin with a gorgeous weekend retreat in the Hill Country. I like older neighborhoods... I'm new to town and am interested in meeting people. Hope that's enough info.

Thanks in advance

[jobert]

Originally Posted by thedogatemyhomework

the difference between SW and South suburbs?.....I like older neighborhoods.

Thanks in advance

Austin is a really new town compared to anywhere else in the country - anything from the 60's onward is "historic" when referring to the suburbs of Austin. There are small towns outside of Austin that would qualify: Kyle, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, but we're getting "out there" now. I would look in Cherry Creek or Shady Hollow if you want the oldest (and somewhat nice) neighborhood in S/SW Austin. These two areas straddle South/SW Austin.

[shankaupas]

What do you mean by older home? There are homes in Western Oaks that date back to the late 1970s and there are homes in Circle C that date back to the late 1980s.

[TexasHorseLady]

What, to you, is an older neighborhood? For example, we own a home (used to live there) in Barton Hills, and the houses there were built from the 1940's to 1960's. However, you're not going to find suburb amenities in an older, central neighborhood - you're going to find more urban amenities.

So, could you spell it out a bit more so that we can point you in the right direction? What amenities, specifically, are you looking for? What constitutes "older" - is it an established neighborhood that's been here for a few decades, or just something that has trees taller than 10 feet and isn't still being built out? Paint us a picture of what you're looking for.

[thedogatemyhomework]

I really like 70s ranch houses.

By older neighborhoods, I guess I just mean older, established ones and not a master planned community that sprung up 3 months ago. Someone mentioned Shady Hollow - and that is where we nearly purchased a 70s home, but it fell through. But something along the lines of Shady Hollow, the older bits, is a pretty good match.

I may have this all wrong, which was why I asked, but it seemed that perhaps South Austin had older neighborhoods than SW and that maybe it had a touch more of a downtown/central vibe to it. Am I way off on that?

[TexasHorseLady]

Well, South Austin (Barton Hills, Zilker, Travis Heights, Bouldin, etc.) definitely have more of a downtown/central vibe and are older than SW, some of them much older.

What's your price range?

[thedogatemyhomework]

TexasHorseLady - I love those areas, but am priced out of them. (The top end of our budget is about 270k.)

[TexasHorseLady]

Okay, then, as mentioned above, Cherry Creek or Shady Hollow are possibilities. Do you need to be south? Also, what size home do you need?

[achtungpv]

Look right behind the South Lamar Central Market. There's a nice neighborhood there that has some recent remodels on the market for <=$300K.

[thedogatemyhomework]

thanks for the suggestions. will check out the area around central market - wondered what it was like down there...