Austin relocation advice (Spring, Cedar Park, Wells Branch: apartments, for rent, condos)

[Valerie21]

I will be moving to Austin in the next month (from Chicago). I will be working about 4-5 miles north of downtown Austin. I have only been to Austin once for the interview, so unfortunately I haven't been able to check out places to live yet. I am 25 years old and would like to find an apartment that is cheap but also nice and safe. I liked downtown and loved the area by Lake Travis (but I think that would be too far of a commute). Any advice would be much appreciated.

[jobert]

welcome to Austin!

I would look north around Wells Branch, the Arboreteum area or somewhere along 183/Cedar Park for affordable apt options. The area south of 183/Anderson is nice, but expensive due to competition between UT students/established households/downtown workers for a finite amount of central Austin housing. If you go north of that "line", the neighborhoods basically become rundown until you reach Wells Branch about 10 miles north of town. For your age group, I would recommend around the Arboreteum - it's the closest option to downtown on the northside that's safe, affordable and with proximity to hill country and "Lake" Travis.

[inthecut]

enjoy Austin, fellow chicagoan!....

[crl826]

Hey Valerie...jobert gave a pretty good answer. I would also add you can check out the Far West area. Little bit closer to downtown, but still relatively cheap.

The one thing I would add is if you think you are going to be enjoying the nightlife downtown with some drinks regularly cabs can be very expensive back up to the Arboretum and other areas up north.

You can go south and be closer to downtown without really paying anymore to live way up north. The answer could get more complicated based on where you are going to be working. The benefits of living close to nightlife could be overwhelmed by driving through traffic every day.

This is a map of Austin apartments. You can see exactly what it costs to live in various parts of town.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by crl826

Hey Valerie...jobert gave a pretty good answer. I would also add you can check out the Far West area. Little bit closer to downtown, but still relatively cheap.

The one thing I would add is if you think you are going to be enjoying the nightlife downtown with some drinks regularly cabs can be very expensive back up to the Arboretum and other areas up north.

You can go south and be closer to downtown without really paying anymore to live way up north. The answer could get more complicated based on where you are going to be working. The benefits of living close to nightlife could be overwhelmed by driving through traffic every day.

This is a map of Austin apartments. You can see exactly what it costs to live in various parts of town.

That website looks like a useful tool. Sadly it is far from complete, has huge gaps in it, but perhaps it will get better with time.

[Valerie21]

Thank you very much for the advice. I am going to go down to Austin again soon to look at apartments, this gives me a good start.

[arpee]

Lots of apartments in 2222 and Spicewood Springs will give you a Lake Travis feel (canyon views, without the lake, of course!). They are newer too vs most of the Far West, Arboretum and Wells Branch apartments. They could be 20 minutes commute though.

[arpee]

BTW, if you're into Fri night outs, there is 1 apt in the Anderson Mill area that actually provides a bus to their residents every Fri to and from downtown!

[rdking647]

as a former former Chicagoan moving to austin from wisconsin next week welcome.

[orbius]

Definitely live near downtown and west of I-35. You can hit traffic on the major commute roads at any given time and rush hours are a nightmare. Also I wouldnt limit myself to apartments, theres a ton of condos that have recently been built and I'm sure there will be plenty for rent at reasonable rates. Might want to get where you're going to live checked out by someone though. Building codes in Austin are non-existant.