What's the difference? Steiner, Circle C, SW Austin (West, Point: house, buyer)

[hound 109]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

Great Schools == much more than just SW Austin/Steiner. There are tons of great schools around.

Agreed.

I'd add Lakeway, Canyon Creek & parts of Avery Ranch & Great Oaks to your mix. (given your criteria)

(& fwiw....you won't find much "weirdness" in any of the neighborhoods on your list. Probably an expression that's past it's prime.)

[texastrigirl]

I would factor in commute and need to be located near certain things (such as airport) when choosing between the two. From SW Austin it's easy to get downtown, get to the airport, to Barton Creek Square. Loved cycling on the veloway, walking or biking to Escarpment Village. Schools are great too. I think Steiner is beautiful as well. I don't know if there is a huge difference in terms of what your family life would be there so I would visit both but location of job would make a difference to me.

[CATXTransplant]

You have described Steiner to a "T" I actually just came in from drinks in the cul-de -sac, our weekly 4 square game with the 21 kids in teh cul-de-sac. Oh, and we'll be on the lake in the morning. The only thing Circle-C has to offer is proximity to downtown.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by CATXTransplant

You have described Steiner to a "T" I actually just came in from drinks in the cul-de -sac, our weekly 4 square game with the 21 kids in teh cul-de-sac. Oh, and we'll be on the lake in the morning. The only thing Circle-C has to offer is proximity to downtown.

I agree (and I live there). My neighbors and I are currently planning our 4th of July bash, and it's not unusual for an impromptu kickball game to start in the cul-de-sac. We can also walk to convenience stores (one a small grocery), ice cream parlor, coffee shops, 3 restaurants, 2 nail salons, dentists (pediatric and adult), pools, playgrounds, and more. And NONE of the businesses in Steiner are chains. There is a Pak Mail, but even that is a franchise owned by a Steiner resident.

We also have 18+ miles of hike and bike trails and are a stone's throw from the lake. Steiner even has a private park area with picnic tables and boat launch actually on the waterfront.

And all the elementary schools and the middle school are rated exemplary. A new high school will open in the fall.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by mjwhmoving

Greetings! We may be moving later this summer, waiting on the job offer, and I need some help.

We are a family of 4, looking for great schools (elementary for now) with an "easy" (30-40 minutes) commute downtown. My husband needs a decent commute to the airport a couple times/month. Budget $250-300k and would like newer construction with 3-4 bedrooms, active neighbors (ie drinks on the porch, kids running around the backyard, bikes, hiking & boating), near lakes and if we can get it, walking to non-chain restaurants, bakery etc. We are pretty liberal and currently live in an inner ring neighborhood where we walk to a lot of places and the idea of a "cul de sac" neighborhood scares me a bit but think that's where we are headed as the kids start school.

Can someone help me understand the big differences between Steiner Ranch, Circle C and SW Austin as I see those most often mentioned? Are there after school programs available & does anyone use them? Where's the best place to live to be near water? Should we add Lakeway to the mix?

I know that's a bunch of questions and I'm trying to paste together the answers from other posts, but any direction would be helpful.

Thanks! And we'll do what we can to "Keep Austin Weird" once we get there.

Even in a neighborhood where the people sit out in front (or neighbors sit in their driveways not their porch) it can vary a lot by cul de sac and by how old the kids are. As the kids get older it seems like people sit out a lot less because they are doing activities. One family with 3 boys moved out of our cul de sac (replaced with a family with a boy and a girl) and now hardly anyone sits outside anymore.


There are areas in the NW that would fit your criteria, you dont need a master planned community with a ton of amenities to get what you listed.

A lot of the corridor along 183 betwee around duval to anderson mill rd feeds into the best round rock schools. The houses are from the 80's or 90's and I believe are in your price range. They dont have strong neighborhood associations, but they are walkable to all the stuff along 183.

[CptnRn]

There is nothing easy about commuting to the airport from Stiener Ranch, Lakeway or NW Austin.

It is an easy commute, 20-25 minutes, from SW Austin (Circle C, Legend Oaks). Legend Oaks is a slightly older community directly North of Circle C. Built 1986-1992 or so, very similar in ammenities to Circle C, green, wooded, lots of oak trees, neighborhood pools, hike and bike trails. But a little less expensive. It is in your price range. This area also has good access to downtown and to the Lake Travis and the hill country for recreation.

[TexasHorseLady]

You could also consider Georgetown and parts of Round Rock, as those are an easy commute to the airport via SH130 (I live 15 miles north of Georgetown and it takes me one hour from my front door to the front door of the airport using 130).

[austin-steve]

The only thing Circle-C has to offer is proximity to downtown.

That's an over-simplification.

I know of at least three personal friends who sold and left Steiner because it was too far, and I know of gobs more, including actual clients I've helped. I don't know anyone who has ever sold and left CC because of location.

People in SW Austin go to the lake also, have culdesac parties, etc. Both have tons of non-residents driving in and parking for halloween because the trick or treating is so superior to wherever they live. Both have smart kids attending good schools.

Sure, there might be micro-level differences in the exact set of amenities, available shopping (CC wins easily on this one), etc., but in a general sense, a planned unit development is a planned unit development and I don't think there is a measurable level of happiness that can be achieved in one over the other if commuting factors are removed.

Oh, I forgot, you do get to pay about $0.50 of a higher percent in property taxes in Steiner. That's about a $1,500/yr difference for the exact same $300K house built by the same builder with the identical floorplan. Personally, before I'm going to accept that additional permenent ownership cost ON TOP OF a very distant location, I need a really compelling reason to draw me out there. For me, and many others, no such reason exists.

Steve

Steve

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

That's an over-simplification.

I know of at least three personal friends who sold and left Steiner because it was too far, and I know of gobs more, including actual clients I've helped. I don't know anyone who has ever sold and left CC because of location.

People in SW Austin go to the lake also, have culdesac parties, etc. Both have tons of non-residents driving in and parking for halloween because the trick or treating is so superior to wherever they live. Both have smart kids attending good schools.

Sure, there might be micro-level differences in the exact set of amenities, available shopping (CC wins easily on this one), etc., but in a general sense, a planned unit development is a planned unit development and I don't think there is a measurable level of happiness that can be achieved in one over the other if commuting factors are removed.

Oh, I forgot, you do get to pay about $0.50 of a higher percent in property taxes in Steiner. That's about a $1,500/yr difference for the exact same $300K house built by the same builder with the identical floorplan. Personally, before I'm going to accept that additional permemnt ownership cost ON TOP OF a very distant location, I need a really compelling reason to draw me out there. For me, and many others, no such reason exists.

Steve

Steve

I have no dog in this hunt, but I think the views are something that has drawn my friends to Steiner. Also the fact that there are hills and it's seconds to the lake. I would think those are the things that distinguish it from SW Austin.

[jobert]

I say - Enjoy Lake Travis while it lasts. The lakes downstream are constant level and a source of drinking water for the city of Austin. When the pop. of the SA/Austin metro area doubles in the next 20 years, and the climate get drier, which lake do you think is going to get the shaft? I've often wandered how you get a 100ft yacht out of a dry lake bed. Point being: buyer beware

Proximity to downtown will always be proximity to downtown. I would vote for CC. The views in Steiner are nice. an extra hour commute each way to downtown nice? no. An extra 200K tacked on to the price of the home above and beyond the construction cost+cost of land? no.