Advice on towns between Austin and Temple (Round Rock, Georgetown: rental, houses)

[WISTOMOVE]

Looking for some advice on towns between Austin and Temple and I'm really hoping someone out there can help. I would be working in Temple but my dh would probably be working closer to Austin. We're looking for something that has cultural and recreational opportunities (outdoor, water/lake), good schools, more liberal leaning and housing between 250 and 300,000. Would like to keep commute to a minimum (< 20 minutes). We're coming from a town of about 75,000 and Temple looks to be about as small and we were looking to move to a slightly larger area if possible. I've read a little on Georgetown but I'm a little concerned that it's mostly retirees which isn't bad it's just we're looking for an area with families with children. I haven't had time to do a lot of research and I don't mean to offend but it seems from what I've been reading here is that Temple/Georgetown are smaller towns and almost in the middle of nowhere. Are my perceptions incorrect? Is there anything that would fit "the bill"? Thanks for the help.

[TexasHorseLady]

Georgetown is not "mostly" retirees - it's just that Sun City is there and so there's a perception among some that Georgetown is Sun City - far from it, and it's been around a lot longer than Sun City - it was established in 1848. Southwestern University is in Georgetown; there are lots of families.

However, it IS smaller than 75,000 - about 50,000 - but it is so close to Round Rock and an easy drive to Austin that you get the small town feeling with access to the amenities of Austin. It's hardly "in the middle of nowhere", for that reason.

If I were going to be between Austin and Temple, for the reasons you give, Georgetown would be my choice. As it is, we live outside of Jarrell, perhaps a bit better located at 13 miles north of Georgetown and thus that much closer to Temple, but a LOT smaller (less than 5,000), and my husband commutes to Austin daily, and we occasionally shop in Temple.

Another choice would be Belton - closer to Temple, not so close to Austin - but it's only about 18,000.

Looking at your parameters, and thinking about the possibilities, Georgetown probably would be your best fit.

The one thing is, you're not going to get a town in between those two cities that is a >20 minute commute from both, because they're more than 40 minutes apart.

[Moonlady]

I would second Georgetown. Less than 20 minutes for both commutes would be close to impossible, but Georgetown in as close to the middle as you're going to get. When I lived there, I still went to doctors in Temple and we would go up to Stillhouse or Belton Lake on the weekends because it was an easier drive and less crowded than going to Lake Travis. My oldest stepson lived with us and went to school in Georgetown - it is most definitely not all retirees! Like THL said - it's a small town but you're very close to Round Rock and Austin so it kind of blends in with the whole metropolitan area.

[calel]

I think Georgetown splits the difference the best. Belton is really close to Temple, but not so close to Austin...used to visit my sister when she was attending Mary Hardin Baylor up there and it was always a long, long drive for me.

[WISTOMOVE]

What kind of shopping, ie Target, Home Depot, grocery etc. are there in Georgetown? Is there any farmers markets?

[love roses]

There's a Farmer's market, lots of cafes (including upscale) in the town square, Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, H.E.B for groceries....Movie Theatres, Stage Theatre (The Palace), Orchestra, Outlets nearby and Wolf Creek Shopping Center (has all kinds of shops), Coffee Houses, Ice Cream Parlor (w/Amy's Ice Cream), Independent Bookstore. You will not lack for anything there. Hospitals are also very close and also if you have kids, some of the best Pediatricians around.

[mark311]

Yes, there's a Target (not Super), Walmart, Home Depot, etc. Wolf Ranch has a ton of stores. A link to the Wolf Ranch directory is below.

Simon.com - Mall Directory

[TexasHorseLady]

Two farmer's markets on two different days. Also, a restaurant, Monument Cafe, that just moved into its new location in a renovated auto dealership that's planning on making the back of the building (much too big for just them) into a sort of all-week-long farmer's market that will carry local produce and such. A shopping center, Wolf Creek, that has Target, Best Buy, PetSmart, a whole lot of other shops that you find in your regular shopping center plus a few unique ones. Another shopping center, Rivery, that has a Super Walmart and a Home Depot, plus a lot of more local businesses. That doesn't count the downtown shopping on the square.

There's a major hospital in Georgetown (where my daughter was born when we lived in Austin - I chose to come out to Georgetown to have her because it was the best place to do so). Movie theater in Georgetown with a little restaurant inside the theater so you can go there and eat dinner just before the movie (really nice salmon there last time we ate there) and another theater just down the road at 1431 and IH35, and right there is an IKEA and a whole shopping center, too. San Gabriel Park, the San Gabriel River, Lake Georgetown are right there in Georgetown. Southwestern University has events that the public can attend. There's an upscale HEB and a regular HEB for grocery shopping, as well as the grocery in the Walmart and some groceries in Target.

I used to have to drive in to Austin to get some ingredients and items. As we've lived north of Georgetown, over the last decade, the trips I've had to make to get the things I need have dwindled away almost to nothing. (I still have to go to Austin to get my preferred brand of peanut butter, but that's about it, and I could order that online if I wanted, but my husband works in Austin and we own a rental there so we just pick it up when we're in town.)

[love roses]

Here's a good website for getting a feel for what Georgetown has to offer visit.georgetown.org

My husband commutes to Temple and I've made the drive before. I'd pick Georgetown over Belton, just more to do I think and it's closer to Austin.

[WISTOMOVE]

What would the average commute be from Georgetown to Temple?