Possibly moving to Austin for a new job. (West: apartments, leasing) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

JMABirdUNC · 10-16-2009, 06:55 PM

Long story short, I am 2 years removed from college graduation and I am "possibly" getting a job with the IRS office (which is in the southern part of Austin, TX). I was just there a few days ago getting fingerprinted and getting my paperwork filed. I am looking for a place that is fairly cheap, but close to downtown (I hear Sixth Street is where the popular bars are). Can anyone give me any suggestions on apartments to look at, locations to look at, and places to avoid? Thanks in advance!

WillysB · 10-16-2009, 07:55 PM

Take a look at Austin's Small Planet Guide. It'll give you some descriptions of neighborhoods.

RowdysMom · 10-16-2009, 08:36 PM

If I worked south of the river, I'd live south of the river.

JERiv · 10-17-2009, 08:52 AM

Same here! Unless you plan to ride a bike to work or something. Traffic during rushhour in the city is the same as any other city. It sucks.

JMABirdUNC · 10-17-2009, 09:20 AM

So it I'm working south of the river, I should find apartments south of the river as well to avoid the horrible traffic...

CptnRn · 10-17-2009, 10:16 AM

Yes and stay WEST of the I-35 freeway, the East side has a lot of problems. Look in the neighborhoods around South Congress Avenue and South First Street. That will give you easy access to work and the SoCo neighborhood, an up and coming area. There are some nice new apartments in that area as well as many older ones so you should be able to find something to fit your price range.

love roses · 10-17-2009, 10:36 AM

Don't totally count out East of 35. It's got it's good points nowadays, just depends what neighborhood.

TexasHorseLady · 10-17-2009, 10:58 AM

Please don't listen to the folks who have the "right and wrong side of the tracks" mentality and think everything east of IH35 is questionable. There are some very nice areas east of IH35; you just have to do your homework.

Is living near work and bars your primary criteria, or are there other things you like to do that we could consider when making suggestions? What price range are we talking about?

You might want to consider the area around Ben White/South Lamar and Ben White/Manchaca.

JMABirdUNC · 10-17-2009, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Please don't listen to the folks who have the "right and wrong side of the tracks" mentality and think everything east of IH35 is questionable. There are some very nice areas east of IH35; you just have to do your homework.

Is living near work and bars your primary criteria, or are there other things you like to do that we could consider when making suggestions? What price range are we talking about?

You might want to consider the area around Ben White/South Lamar and Ben White/Manchaca.

Living near work and bars would be a huge plus, because I would probably be hitting up the bars on the weekends. As for price range, as cheap as possible; I've done some investigating and I've seen 1 bedrooms (I prefer a 1 bedroom) range from $600 to over $1,000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Yes and stay WEST of the I-35 freeway, the East side has a lot of problems. Look in the neighborhoods around South Congress Avenue and South First Street. That will give you easy access to work and the SoCo neighborhood, an up and coming area. There are some nice new apartments in that area as well as many older ones so you should be able to find something to fit your price range.

Any recommended apartments in this area? And what are the "good" apartments east of I-35?

TexasHorseLady · 10-17-2009, 11:51 AM

You might check out Barton's Lodge on South Lamar. They appear to have apartments in the upper $600's - I checked them out with my daughter once and they seemed nice. She ended up leasing a place nearer to UT, which is another option, just not quite as close to work for you. If you do look near UT, since you'll be working and not a student, look just north of UT. Slightly quieter for folks who have to go to work in the morning.

Others I've heard of but haven't actually seen are Rivertree on Manchaca just off South Lamar, and Treaty Oak, also on Manchaca off South Lamar. There's several others in the area, but the names aren't coming immediately to mind.

Benefits to this location are that you are walking distance to a lot of things (groceries, shopping, restaurants), a straight shoot up Lamar to 6th Street, and a straight shoot east on Ben White to IH35 and the IRS (which is just north of Ben White/IH35).