Thoughts on Lago Vista? (San Antonio, Austin: rental homes, crime, mobile home)

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by CameraGirl

Please help! We have spent the past 3 years in an extremely difficult situation- we moved from Denver, Co to an extremely small town in South Carolina on the coast. It has been a disaster. We got taken badly on the real estate deal, the townspeople are hateful to outsiders and basically it is "the exact opposite" of what we had moved here for & hoped it would be. Now, I am scared- big time. We are planning a move to the Austin area- we own our own business- that we will be marketing from Austin & it's suburbs to San Antonio and all the area's in between. The nature of our business is mostly home-based though and any commuting will be done at times when traffic should be low. I am trying to be far more careful with this move- I have found a couple of houses in Lago Vista. I'd love to know people's thoughts on that area. We have no kids, nor plans to have any- so that also doesn't fit in to the equation. Is there shopping in Lago Vista- grocery stores, fast food etc? Is there restaurants? I've tried to google it and I don't find really "anything". How far is it to all that stuff? Is it a safe area, a nice area? What is the collective perception of that area? After all that we have been through- failure this time around is not an option. Help shed some light.

Housing in Lago is pretty inexpensive unless you are right on the lake. The value is all in the house and almost none is in the property. However it isn't just a retirement community it is a resort community so there are a lot of weekenders. I have looked at lakefront property out there for the last few years. Up until this last year you could have gotten a lakefront house for 350-400K over there. I dont think it is as bad as others are saying, I quite like it.

That being said it is too far from austin for me to be my primary home.

Maybe give more info about what you are looking for. Country feel, lots of stuff to do, shopping, older neighborhood, tract home master planned community, etc etc

[CameraGirl]

Hi Austin 97:

I want to be nearer to things. I would prefer a house with a pool, but not a huge house s.f. wise. I'd want to be w/i 30 minutes of most shopping, restaurants etc... We're artists so we like eclectic and inspirational places. Moving from Denver to a small southern town of 8,500 was a shocker, I don't want to repeat that experience. Looking for a single family home, nice kitchen, nice master and we have a dog & cat. We do like Wimberly and had made a contract on a house there, but didn't get it. I lived in Denver proper and I think that I like that best, but we now live in the country/ small town. A lot of duality here. Sometimes to much to be able to pinpoint us. I have a hard time finding houses in Austin proper- it might be the pool thing.

[CameraGirl]

I'm glad to hear someone out there likes Lago Vista. Since everyone else was so down on it- my interest in the area has significantly cooled. I may go out there the next time we come to Austin, but I will be concerned about being too far removed. We live 45 min. from the nearest movie theater and in Denver I use to be a film critic- so this has been hard. It's tough though cause I think I might be wanting something impossible- I like a house with some land (an acre or so). A nice environment, with aestetic stimulation- we're artists. But, close to things to do. Close to grocery stores and restaurants. We work from home and our work keeps us really monopolized- most the time, but I don't want to have a free day and have to face driving an hour everytime we want to do "anything". That's the predicament were in currently. I'd love to find a nice 3 bedroom for around- $350.

[iguanas4]

Originally Posted by CameraGirl

It's tough though cause I think I might be wanting something impossible- I like a house with some land (an acre or so). A nice environment, with aestetic stimulation- we're artists. But, close to things to do. Close to grocery stores and restaurants. We work from home and our work keeps us really monopolized- most the time, but I don't want to have a free day and have to face driving an hour everytime we want to do "anything". That's the predicament were in currently. I'd love to find a nice 3 bedroom for around- $350.

Hi CameraGirl,
Have you considered Georgetown? We moved here about 5 months ago. I can't say that we love it (we still miss Los Angeles, yes, we're in the minority here!), but it's working out ok.

For a small town, Georgetown has a surprising number of restaurants, grocery, big box retail, etc. right in town. There's also a brand new 12? screen movie theater. Round Rock is close, and has even more shopping and restaurant choices. Plus, we can get to the Arboretum area of Austin in usually less than 30 minutes. We rarely go downtown Austin, but I think it would take maybe 40 minutes (non-rush hour)?

As for aesthetic stimulation... uh... not sure about that around here! I personally don't care so much for the overall rural, flat landscape with scrubby trees look, but that's of course a very personal opinion. The lake and river areas are more interesting, though.

I don't know if you mentioned that you're looking for new construction or resale? I'm not overly familiar with the GT real estate market, but it does seem there are a number of new developments going up. In fact, they're putting in a new upscale development (with 1-acre lots) right behind our property. I imagine that would give you enough room for a pool. (Though you'll have to blast though a lot of rock!) I think those homes are starting the low $300's but I could be wrong about that. You can get a lot more house (and land) for your money in Georgetown than you can in Austin.

Good luck!

[CameraGirl]

Hi Iguanas4:

I can understand missing L.A.- I love L.A.. I would go there constantly- almost 6 months out of the year. I also love Texas, even though most Coloradoans don't (it's a ski thing). Have you been able to make any friends yet? We did go out to see some places in G-town. I didn't find it to be ideal- for my tastes. I prefer hills and lakes too. I know that some find the praire serene and tranquil. I find it flat, with flat light ( I hate that most). But, I am keeping G-town as a possibility- just the same. The houses are nice and we even found an outrageously excellent bar-b-que place on the main drag that still has me lusting for their coleslaw, sausage & cherry cobbler. I also like it's proximity to shopping, hwys. etc...

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by CameraGirl

Hi Austin 97:

I want to be nearer to things. I would prefer a house with a pool, but not a huge house s.f. wise. I'd want to be w/i 30 minutes of most shopping, restaurants etc... We're artists so we like eclectic and inspirational places. Moving from Denver to a small southern town of 8,500 was a shocker, I don't want to repeat that experience. Looking for a single family home, nice kitchen, nice master and we have a dog & cat. We do like Wimberly and had made a contract on a house there, but didn't get it. I lived in Denver proper and I think that I like that best, but we now live in the country/ small town. A lot of duality here. Sometimes to much to be able to pinpoint us. I have a hard time finding houses in Austin proper- it might be the pool thing.

I dont really know the areas down south at all. Up north I would say leander/cedar park/volente/jonestown would all be ok. You can get housing for under 100/sq ft and on large lots. Those areas are about 15 minutes to the 620/183 area (lakeline mall) which has a tremendous amount of shopping. Lakeline is probably another 20-25 minutes to downtown austin.

[Salsared]

Hi CameraGirl!

I lived in Lago Vista for a couple years. We fell in love with a house and before we closed on it we kept asking ourselves, "is it too far?". But we went through with it anyway. Don't get me wrong...it's beautiful out there, but there is absolutely nothing out there. There are convenience stores, liquor stores and a few restaurants, but really nothing. The closest grocery is in Cedar Park....about a 35 min drive. Target is about 40 min...as well as the mall. Keep in mind too that the highway leading out there is one of, if not the, deadliest stretches of highway in Texas! The deer are everywhere and while they are pretty they become pests! They would come up on our porch and mow down all our potted plants/flowers. We had a horrible scropion problem that we never could control and yep, we had tarantulas. Our friends and family who came to visit loved it because we were so secluded and they felt like they were on vacation, but day to day it got really old fast.

Have you considered Dripping Springs? That's a pretty area right outside Austin headed toward the Hill Country. Lots of houses on land, yet still have the convenience of tons of shopping/restaurants in SW Austin.

Best of luck to you

[love roses]

I was pondering the "East of 35" being totally flat thing that people say on here, but while out driving the county roads the other day, I find that to not be the case so much. I do know that it is nothing like the west side of 35, but I would not call it prairie flat. The only parts I notice that are prairie flat are if you are close to 35 or 79. Now, Kansas....THAT is flat! Granted, there are flat areas this way, but there are also some slow rolling hilly places. Speaking of Jonestown, my husband is actually thinking of buying some land out there...It doesn't seem to be too far away from everything.

[CameraGirl]

Hi SalsaRed:

I am particularly happy to hear from someone with actual experience of living there. I had been pretty well convinced by all the others that L.V. was not a good choice for us, but this cinches it. Which is sad because the houses out there are FANTASTIC. But, it is more important to me to be near things and to be a part of a community.Where did you move to from L.V.?

[Salsared]

We moved to SW Austin off Mopac and Slaughter. There is tons of shopping & restaurants and they are still building! We certainly miss the beauty of Lago Vista, but don't miss that drive, not to mention we are saving a lot on gas! I still think Dripping Springs might be an area for you to check out...there are some great houses on land! In fact, we were looking there initially until we saw the house in Lago Vista on a disk we picked up at the grocery with houses for sale. We were sold..it was love at first sight