Young Professional Relocating to Austin (rent, travel, lease)

[honeyNUTichiros]

Thanks for taking a look into this. I just graduated from school and I am planning on moving from the Seattle area to Austin. I've heard many good things about the city and about its younger Seattle like atmosphere. I was wondering if yall have any suggestions about certain zip codes (rent.com uses this to search for apts) or areas to live for a person my age (23). Here are somethings that I was looking for:

*My future employer is in Southeast Austin in zip 78744 and I was hoping to live in a newer area between 10-15 mins away.
*I think I'll be able to spend between $600-725 on a one bedroom.
*I am looking for an area with either grad students or young professionals like myself.
*I am also looking for an area that is considered pretty safe (if there are areas I should avoid please tell me!) and within walking distance to urban/upbeat places (ie. shopping areas, coffee, etc.)

Thanks a lot for helping me out

[honeyNUTichiros]

Also, whats the commute like traveling from downtown to southeast austin? Is it pretty rough or would I be traveling in a counter direction of the traffic? I've been looking into some places in downtown and it seems like this might be my best fit...what do yall think?

[Trainwreck20]

You would likely be travelling opposite to rush hour traffic, and downtown is the area that would seem to meet your criteria. Cost may be a factor, depending on how nice a place you want.....