Visiting Sunday - need help with route to tour neighborhoods (Austin: hotel, home)

[mjwhmoving]

Greetings - I'm flying in next Sunday and have plans to tour around until the sun goes down. I'm in interviews all day Monday and then fly out, so will have to try to see "everything" in an afternoon/evening.

My goal will be to check out the neighborhoods I often see mentioned. On my current list are (no particular order other than the map) Round Rock, Cedar Park, Steiner Ranch, Dripping Springs, Buda, Circle C.

We are family of four, young kids (great schools important), 3-4br, 2ba, $250-300,000 (recognize we'd be searching for a bargain in Steiner Ranch & Circle C), community pools & activities, commute downtown daily & to airport occassionally (1-2 month).

Questions:
1. Any place I "must" see that isn't mentioned above?
2. I'm intrigued by the lake near Steiner. But will the commute downtown "kill" me? I won't get to experience a true test of the commute and I'd like to hear from someone that does it daily.
3. What's the best route to visit my list? North to Round Rock from airport and then circle around to the west & south or the reverse - hit circle c first make my way north & east (I get that Buda & Dripping Springs are outside of that curve but will throw them into the mix)

Thanks for any & all advice as I head down there to check things out!

[TexasHorseLady]

Where are you likely to be working? (In other words, in what part of town are your interviews?)

Looking at your list, you might also want to consider Georgetown (easy commute to the airport via 130, with some neighborhoods that would meet your specs above just moments from the entrances to 130).

I'd take 130 up to Round Rock (or Georgetown), head over 1431 to Cedar Park from either one (1431 is between RR and Georgetown), from Cedar Park take 620 to Steiner, then 620 to 71, east on 71 to 290, right on 290 to Dripping, then from Dripping head east on 12 to 150, 150 to 1826, 1826 to 967, 967 to Buda, then back up to Circle C. Then back to your hotel and collapse! (After dinner at either the Salt Lick in Driftwood or Azul Tequila (Ben White and South Lamar, northeast corner next to the Target).

Make for a long day, but that would probably be the best way to do it.

[mjwhmoving]

THANK you! I'd be working downtown.

[llkltk]

Try Meridian which is 2 miles South of Circle C. You can get a home in your price range, brand new here. There are great deals to be had. The commute downtown during rush hour is about 25 minutes. It's gorgeous down here in SW Austin. Without traffic, it's about 15 minutes to downtown. Let me know if you need more info.

[TexasHorseLady]

You might also want to look at Villages of Western Oaks.

[Jennibc]

If you are commuting to downtown daily I would stay away from Steiner Ranch. It is going to be at least 45 minutes or more during rush hour, although I would say you will find something easily there for around the 300K mark. Circle C is much closer to town but finding a four bedroom for under 300 is a challenge. Although, the wildflower park section you can easily find 3-4 bed 2 bath for under 300K, in fact some are listed closer to 260K.

[Cat Thomas]

We moved to Austin last year, though we have friends here and visited often, fell in love with the City... I work downtown and live in the N.W area- We moved to the Anderson Mill area, that is now a part of Austin. It's a bit closer than Cedar Park and a very family atmosphere - pool is round the corner from me.. W/O traffic it's about 22 min drive to our friends that live more downtown, - however with traffic it can be up to an hour driving. 183 and 35 are both nightmares and MoPac is not any better. Truthfully, the traffic is some of the worst i've seen, and i grew up in NJ. How i work around it, is i drive "off times"- 10-7 rather than 8-5. Nice thing about Anderson Mill is that it's minutes away from Lake Travis - without the huge price tag. Our home is about 1900sq ft. for 164,000 with a fairly large back yard. Hope it helps .. Blessings on your travels.

[love roses]

One thing to remember as you look around the lake. It is extremely low right now with much of the boaters going to other Lakes in the chain. There are only 2 ramps open right now, with one of those about to close.

[CptnRn]

Here is a tour I recommended for getting the real flavor of Austin.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...ur#post8570172

[mimimomx3]

Be sure to look at Travis Country and Travis Country West, off Southwest Parkway. It will be close price wise, but it's super convenient to DT and very family friendly. I was there this morning and thought it would be a fun place to live.