Pflugerville Stigma – please help me understand (Austin, Round Rock: real estate, crime rates, cheap home)

[needmoreoutoflife]

[SIZE=3]Hi All,[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Can anyone help me understand the stigma associated with Pflugerville?[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]I’m from NY and have been considering the Austin area for relocation. We recently had taken a trip to Austin and had seen some homes in Pflugerville, Round Rock, and Cedar Park.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]I’ve seen a few comments in the past on this forum like “I’d never live in Pflugerville” and when I was in Texas I was chatting with a girl and mentioned the areas we looked in and she was like oh yeah Cedar Park and Round Rock are more middle class.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]What am I missing?[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Granted, in Pflugerville we did look more in subdivisions like Falcon Pointe and Blackhawk – but when I look at where Pflugerville is located physically, I would think with the growth continuing to take place in greater Austin that this would be a great area. It seems closer to downtown Austin than Round Rock and Cedar Park, its closer to the airport… And right now you seem to get more for your buck – so what’s the catch?[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]So your honesty here would be greatly appreciated.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]BTW - I’ve enjoyed reading this forum and thank you, especially to the regulars who post lots of useful insight.[/SIZE]

[needmoreoutoflife]

Hi All,

Can anyone help me understand the stigma associated with Pflugerville?

I’m from NY and have been considering the Austin area for relocation. We recently had taken a trip to Austin and had seen some homes in Pflugerville, Round Rock, and Cedar Park.

I’ve seen a few comments in the past on this forum like “I’d never live in Pflugerville” and when I was in Texas I was chatting with a girl and mentioned the areas we looked in and she was like oh yeah Cedar Park and Round Rock are more middle class

What am I missing?

Granted, in Pflugerville we did look more in subdivisions like Falcon Pointe and Blackhawk – but when I look at where Pflugerville is located physically, I would think with the growth continuing to take place in greater Austin that this would be a great area. It seems closer to downtown Austin than Round Rock and Cedar Park, its closer to the airport… And right now you seem to get more for your buck – so what’s the catch?

So your honesty here would be greatly appreciated.

BTW - I’ve enjoyed reading this forum and thank you, especially to the regulars who post lots of useful insight.

[1mintjulep]

I didn't know there was a particular stigma attached to Pflugerville - I lived there for over a year when I first moved to the Austin area. It's considered a suburb of Austin (but so are Cedar Park & Round Rock) and it's pretty far from central Austin. When I lived there, it didn't seem so far out of the way, but now that I've lived closer in for several years, my perception has changed.

I would never live there again, but then I would never want to live in Cedar Park or Round Rock either. Culturally, they are just different areas from central Austin. For people with children in school or who otherwise want to live kinda out of the way from central Austin, I imagine it would be great.

[CptnRn]

I'm not familiar with Pflugerville, but I love the name! Really, I want to go visit there because I have heard so many positive things about it in this forum.

Traditionally anything East of I-35 has been frowned on because that is where most of the industry, airport noise, air force base, and poor neighborhoods were located. Also soil conditions (clay) and the flat terrain was not as attractive. Today some of that is changing. Its definitely not true anymore up NE of Austin. Round Rock has a good reputation for family oriented life styles.

That same prejudice used to exist towards South Austin. After the Civil War South Austin housed the prison camps and quarantine camps during epidemics were set up in S. Austin, access across the river was controlled. When the state capital was built, the prison camps that quarried some of the stone for it were set up at Convict Hill in Oak Hill. Now the Oak Hill (SW Austin) area has become one of the most desirable neighborhoods.

Until TXDOT gets around to fixing the intersection at the Y in SW Austin. NE and far SE Austin may be the next big growth areas, given their proximity to the City.

[austin-steve]

Granted, in Pflugerville we did look more in subdivisions like Falcon Pointe and Blackhawk – but when I look at where Pflugerville is located physically, I would think with the growth continuing to take place in greater Austin that this would be a great area. It seems closer to downtown Austin than Round Rock and Cedar Park, its closer to the airport… And right now you seem to get more for your buck – so what’s the catch?

Your observations are correct. Pf is not an area I'd tell people to avoid, but like other parts of Austin, you have to pick your specific area carefully.

What happened way back though was that Pf started blossoming as "bedroom community" of affordable cheap homes in the 1980's. It became top heavy with homes and no commercial tax base. After the real estate bust in the mid/late 1980s, it started booming again in the 1990s with affordable homes, but also developed a reputation for decent schools. Also, there wasn't enough economic distribution in the demographics, so we ended up with a sea of cheap homes with no close or convenient shopping, and really bad traffic bottlenecks ensued.

I forget what year is was that Walmart came to Pf (200?), but the headline cracked me up because it said something to the effect of "city leaders and residents cheer arrival of new Walmart" at a time when Walmart had many high profile anti-Walmart fights going on around the country due to NIMBY mentality.

Pf has grown out of the past and attracted a lot of commercial and retail to the tax base and also developed some medium and mid/upper quality planned neighborhoods. It still boasts some good schools and the location becomes relatively better each year.

There is nothing wrong with Pflugerville. It's a pfine town.

Steve

[love roses]

It's just a perceived stigma. Little to no truth about it. There are lots of decent, hardworking people in Pflugerville. Like THL says often, some people just have to have a "right side of the tracks" mentality. Just going by these boards most people would think there were only 2 neighborhoods in all of Austin...Steiner Ranch and Circle C and after that only a section SW of Austin...Everything else is a dark, empty void. If going by certain opinions, the only school district in Central Texas is Eanes. I can respect that people have their preferences, and many just like different geographical differences and can afford the higher prices in those areas or like something about that area, which is fine and they usually state it without slamming or discounting other parts of town. But there are definitely the ones who harbor some kind of dislike and go above and beyond just saying they don't like someplace and then call all the people who live there undesirable, lowlife, hillbilly or some other such nonsense. Some of those people have probably never gone anywhere East of 35, or not actually gotten off of 35 and driven all around those areas and then judge the whole place by what it looks like from the freeway.

From what I know, Pflugerville has good schools and right now is growing and getting some new businesses in town. Not to mention, your two points. Closer to Austin and close to the airport, two things I know to be benefits and sometime after the economy straightens out and things start booming again, will be a bonus. HappyTexan lives in Pflugerville. Maybe he'll chime in and give his point of view.

[mm57553]

Pf suffers because of its location. Take a short drive down Dessau Lane, and you are in an area with one of the highest crime rates in the area. And that seems to be spreading North. It's also fueled by the abundance of inexpensive homes in Pflugerville. I think that it is one of the areas that is getting worse rather than better.

[711mum]

Every town I've lived in has locals that look down, for whatever reason, on one part of town or the other. Sometimes areas can't shake a stigma from years back, other times it may be a caveat worth checking, but more often than not, it seems there is always someone who has to put down another area so theirs just seems better. :-) No matter what, there seems to be a pecking order. If you're comfortable/happy with a specific town or subdivision, and it meets your criteria, then make yourself happy. Check the towns and subdivisions out carefully then do what is best for you and yours. I've never lived anywhere and found that everyone I meet thinks I live in a "good" area...someone always wants to be better! And to tell the truth, there are always a number of areas in cities where I lived that I didn't consider to be as 'good' as mine. <grin> Human nature - just don't bend to a few opinions if you're happy with what you find. Good luck!

[love roses]

I disagree(with mm57553). But, I do agree with Austin-Steve. It is seeing some medium and mid/upper quality home construction. Dessau/East Braker are questionable areas but those are very near the airport and actually almost on the Austin line, not far North Pflugerville.

[HappyTexan]

The area you speak of mm57553 has been there forever. The older part of town is full of affordable middle income homes but only if you think $140K is middle income. Most people today think $250K and above is the bare minimum.

Been here since 1996. I don't like what it's become but I loved what it was. Then again I moved out in the county for a reason and the fact that Pflugerville didn't have a lot of big box retail didn't bother me one bit as I shop local whenever possible and don't need retail within a 5 minute drive.

The sad ironic part is the Wallymart is on part of the town namesake's land
But most of the prime Blackland Prairie farmland has been bulldozed and cemented over and the gentle rolling hills of Pflugerville are dotted with asphalt shingles as far as the eye can see.

Even back in 1996 Pflugerville had a stigma and RR was "the place" to be for family. Sorry Love Roses, but back then Hutto wasn't even talked about