Pls. tell me about Round Rock and Cedar Park... (Austin: how much, houses)

[CathieArms]

...or any other suburb of North Austin that you feel worthy of consideration.

I'm investigating the possibilities available near Austin. I *think* I'd like to live just outside of Austin-proper, but I'm not totally sold on that...so I'd be open to thoughts on better places to live in N. Austin.

Two children, ages 6 and 14. Price range for house would likely be $250K-$325K, depending upon what's available in that price range.

Would like a very good neighborhood with good and "safe" schools. With dd starting high school, I'm a bit intimidated by the HS environment.

Would like the HS to offer gymnastics (if possible), but also orchestra and plenty of other extracurricular options.

Can you give me your opinions on RR versus CP, as well as anything else you consider worthy of considering and why?

Thanks in advance.

[FalconheadWest]

Round Rock schools consistently rank higher than Cedar Park schools (Leander ISD), but many parts of Cedar Park properties fall into the Round Rock school system. With that, don't narrow your search to "city" but to schools.

Leander ISD still ranked well. It just covers a very large area and has many more schools to rank. Steiner Ranch might be a good option for you. The high school is brand new which means higher(est) technology available, and Steiner has 3 elementary schools and a middle school directly within the community. There also are no city taxes.

There are many communities within each city that are good, but another consideration is newer verse older and how much home you're looking for.

[CathieArms]

4+ bedrooms
3+ baths
Prefer 3 car garage
Larger bedrooms
Good-sized kitchen

Is there a website that allows you to search based upon school?

[TexasHorseLady]

Do you mean a website that allows you to input a specific school and search for it, or a website that rates schools? If the former, Austin Home Search (http://www.austinhomesearch.com/Static/homeset.aspx - broken link) will allow you to search by school district. If the latter, Great Schools is a resource where you can get information on individual schools, including parental feedback. Remembering, of course, that a school that is great for one kid might be a disaster for another, and vice versa, so you'll need to check out the schools yourself with your own child in mind. Ratings are only the beginning, and you want to look at the reasons BEHIND the ratings. For example, in junior high/high school, the school I attended was rated one of the top ten in the country. I went there with a passion for learning, and they pretty much destroyed it because they were so determined to keep their rating that we were firmly taught NOT to think about what we were being taught and to regurgitate it on the tests so they would get a good rating. That was my first experience, some 45 years ago, with "teaching to the test", though it wasn't called that then. These days, some schools will be rated lower than others by a hair that has to do with attendance or with demographics.

A quick check of the MLS shows that no houses currently on the market in Steiner fit your basic specs and price range. There are 46 houses available that do fit your basic specs in the Leander and Round Rock school districts. Six of those are in Leander, so eliminating those, you're still left with 40.

You didn't mention age of house that you're interested in. Also, what else do you like to do? That would help in pointing you in the right direction.


There are some very good schools and neighborhoods in Cedar Park (Leander ISD).

[CathieArms]

Thank you. I meant a website that would sort houses based upon school location, i.e. Round Rock only, or McNeil only.

Age of house isn't all that important. That is to say, I guess I'd prefer a home younger than 10 or 15 years.

As for what else I'd like to do, I honestly don't have a clue. Easier access to 183 (?) would be preferable, rather than jumping on 35.

[TexasHorseLady]

You can do that with Austin Home Search.

The question regarding what else you like to do what mainly geared towards your interests. Do you like to go out to eat? Are you all about hiking and biking? Do you love the lake? Want to go into town for plays, concerts, etc? That kind of thing.

Might as well be close to what you like to do, if it's possible!

[FalconheadWest]

Most of the burbs have trails built into their communities for walking, running, biking and such. The main issue you would have with your list, is the 3 car garage. You'll always find a few here and there, but they are not that prominent in this price range. And newer will not be an issue as these are new communities.

[TexasHorseLady]

Yeah, that's why there were only 46 in Leander and Round Rock school districts - I included the 3 car garage in the search (might as well go for it all and then if there's nothing to suit, adjust the parameters according to what's important to the individual).

Most HOA's have trails (but not all houses are in HOA's). Some communities have them that are open to the general public. Some have hike and bike trails, some have nature trails, some have parks, some have pools, some don't. It's a matching game!

[woodinvilleguy]

I have heard differing results regarding the school districts. My neighborhood is split along both RRISD and LISD. Both districts are good, But the high school that my kids would go to (Vista Ridge) is better than the High school they would go to in the RRISD. Basically the newer schools in LISD tend to be better than the older LISD schools. LISD is the top in music locally currently(they have recently won a lot of state awards). I'm not sure about gymnastics.

You may want to check out the Ranch at Brushy Creek subdivision, that is split across both school districts. From your criteria, I think you can find a resale house that fits. You may also want to check out Avery Ranch. Steiner Ranch is on the other side of the district, it is very nice as well. (you can see lots of old threads about that). So it matters where work is. If your are working n Round Rock, I personally would rather live in RR or Cedar Park than Steiner because of the commute.

[hound 109]

Where are you going to work (in other words....what about the commute)?

& i agree with Falconhead. Look at SCHOOLS not the district. LISD & RRISD are both HUGE & both have Great, Good AND Average schools. Got to look at the school path....not the overall district.

Based on your preferences & your price range, I'd be looking at Steiner, the Avery Ranch area & Canyon Creek.....but they're pretty far apart, so the commute question (& answer) might play into your selection process.