tell me about Round Rock! (Houston, Austin: real estate, sex offender, fingerprints)

[Campbell21]

My husband and I are looking to relocate. I have family in Houston, but I don't want to live there. We were also looking at North Carolina...but Austin and the surrounding areas are very high on our list. A friend of mine suggested looking at Round Rock.

I'm interested to know about the school system(s), the town itself...access to restaurants, shopping etc. Are people generally friendly? Is it a "safe" town? I know these are general questions, but we are just beginning our research. I'm honestly scared to death. I want to find out as much as I can so we can make an informed decision.

thanks in advance!!

[mickey65]

I live in Round Rock and it's a nice town. I don't know anything about the schools since I don't have kids.

Hopefully you don't mind Gay people, since I've noticed A LOT of them living in Round Rock in the last two years I've been here - including the few that live in my neighborhood (including me!).

[Campbell21]

The only people I "mind" are people who do not have manners. I like friendly, I like fun, I like everybody. Just please...be civilized!

thanks for your insight!

[F&N]

Moved to Houston area from Pacific Northwest to escape the rain & crazy real estate prices over 2 years ago. After visiting the Austin area a couple of months ago, we decided to move over from Houston to escape the humidity. We're currently awaiting our house to be finished in the Teravista community in Round Rock. So far we LOVE it here! I just commented to my husband the other day, everytime I've been out driving I always see a lot of Round Rock Police out, I like that type of presence. So far we've felt very safe everywhere we've been around here so far. So far we are very pleased with Teravista Elementary. Let's just say, when we first moved here from the PNW, I wished we would of skipped Houston & came here to Round Rock! Goodluck with your move!

[mickey65]

Also, if you have kids and are concerned about sexual predators in the neighborhood you are interested in, this website is handy...

National Sex Offender Registry

[Campbell21]

thanks all for the information...this decision is so insanely difficult. I had no idea it would be this hard once we had made the decision to move. It's good to know that people are enjoying Round Rock in comparison to Houston. That must mean that the humidity isn't nearly as stifling. I've always loved Austin...though the traffic is nearly as ugly as New Jersey traffic...maybe even worse in some ways.

I appreciate any and all information I can get to aid in this fact finding mission!!!

[Austindmbfan]

Hi there, we too have just moved from the PNW and are currently living in Cedar park, we have just bought an amazing house in Round Rock, The Oaklands, and love Round Rock. We are currently looking for pre schools for our children there. Having searched all over Austin for a great neighborhood we are certain RR is the place to be for us. I have no info on schools or safety as I am new to the area too but we are thrilled about it and have heard nothing but great things and another bonus is being 3 mins from Ikea unlike in Seattle where it is so far south! We have eaten at Friar Tuck's and the cajun restaurant next door in down town RR and they were great(except for thre salads at the cajun place-rotten lettuce) We have friends in Houston and every time we go there I get massive migraines from the humidity, I am amazed at the difference in weather just two hours drive makes! I am finding the weather hard as in Seattle in would be cold, crisp beautiful autumn days unlike the humid 70's here but hopefully I will acclimatize soon! Welcome to Austin!

[pbnj07]

Two years and counting here in Round Rock and loving it more every day. Plenty of reading on Round Rock if you do a forum search (including the infamous East vs West Round Rock threads).

As for safety, here's a story:

We had three guys try to break into a car in a nearby neighborhood about a year and a half ago and when they were caught in the act, they took off running, cutting through people's property. You would have thought there was a terrorist attack based on the police response, i.e., helicopters, police officers with assault rifles, etc. The police are really on top of things here and it made me feel so safe. It just reinforced our decision about moving here.

FYI, they caught the bastards. As a comparison, in my old town back in the Northeast (near Newark, NJ), the cops would have shown up 30-45 minutes later and just filled out a police report. Car break-ins are about as common as rain there. Someone once tried to break into my car in my driveway there, but they were unsuccessful. The ripped off the door-handle in the process. I put it in a zip-lock bag and tried to give it to the police (you know, maybe some fingerprints there?), but they said it wasn't necessary...what a joke.

[hound 109]

Since Round Rock ISD is a HUGE district, it's best to look at schools & not just the district.

Here's a map I found helpful:

Texas School Performance Maps

After identifying a few schools I like to look at greatschools.net for additional info on demographics, teachers & comments etc.

You don't mention what you are looking for in a school or if ES, MS or HS are more important at this time. Also it would be helpful to know what price range you are look for and what your interests are.

[shankaupas]

We have lived in Round Rock for the last 10 years. We moved here from the Clear Lake area south of Houston. I love living in Round Rock. We chose Round Rock because it was close enough to our jobs in Austin and we could get so much more for our money here than in most other areas around Austin. We moved into a new master planned community 6 years ago on the east side of I35 and have absolutely no complaints. I have 3 young kids and I was thrilled that the elementary and middle schools are at the entrance to our neighborhood. We also have a new high school being built about a mile away. The growth in this area has been dizzying. Round Rock was ranked as the fastest growing town in the US in 2008. You used to have to venture into Austin to go shopping but several large shopping centers including the Round Rock outlet malls have been built in the last few years. I have a brother in law on the Round Rock police force and I know quite a few of the officers. They are all extremely friendly and take great pride in keeping Round Rock safe. My kids are all very active in sports and Round Rock has fantastic youth sports leagues. Round Rock was calling itself the sports capital of Texas a couple of years ago. I don't know if they are still claiming this but we appreciate the opportunities that this area provides to participate in all types of sports. My husband works in north west Austin and with the addition of the toll roads, he is able to travel to work in under 20 minutes. It used to take 45 minutes. Definitely take a look around. Round Rock is not the quiet sleepy town outside Austin that it used to be, but it is still very charming and inviting. I don't plan on leaving this area anytime soon.