What part of Austin do you call home and why? (Houston: rental, houses)

[sunshine85]

I'm planning to relocate in December and just want to hear people's opinions. Do you live in a suburb of Austin? An area or neighborhood in Austin? What do you love or hate about it?

[TheHarvester]

I live in SxSW Austin. My "home" is central Austin. I loathe the suburbs and see no reason to live in them because they are not much different from suburbs of Dallas, Oklahoma City or any other generic place.

Austin, like any complex city, has a lot of districts and subcultures. Ten people can come here and experience 10 different versions of the city, and none of them will agree. That's a signal that you cannot get to know this city very quickly.

One of the biggest complaints you'll hear about Austin is that "it isn't like it used to be." I get so weary of hearing this from old-timers, but I'm becoming one of them and am trying not to join in their pity party. Rapidly growing dynamic cities change a lot and people who don't like change will always complain. But if you embrace change and look for the changes you like while avoiding those you don't, you can find a city emerging that is every bit as wonderful as the one you miss.

But there are universal negatives with respect to Austin's growth:

1. Traffic --- horrible, I dread going anywhere between 7 AM and 7 PM.

2. Prices (it's become virtually impossible to live in central Austin unless you've got serious cash)

3. Dilution of the "roots" of the local culture from all the materialistic "I want everything now" Californians who are moving here. I'm from California but I moved here because I wanted to embrace what I loved about Austin, not because I wanted to create a Texas version of a California city.

4. Transient population --- I've found it difficult to maintain a stable base of friends here because people stream through this city like it's a conduit to some other destination. It doesn't seem to be a "final destination" for the type of people I enjoy being around most.

5. Overpopulation and pollution --- the trademark symbol of natural beauty in Austin is Barton Springs and the Barton Creek Greenbelt. It's still gorgeous, but the clock it ticking as developers find ways to skirt environmental ordinances so that they can profit from the pristine beauty of the Barton Springs watershed. The pollution has already damaged the aquifer and the creek, and eventually it will shut the whole thing down to swimming as the liability increases. Money wins, nature loses. And I will leave this city eventually because of this tragic trend that is aided and abetted by our ostensibly green city council.

[satanoid]

I grew up in south central austin - a neighborhood called Travis Heights. This is *the* epicenter of the SoCo/trendy section of austin.

The last 10 years have seen this area explode in terms of popularity/stuff to do - it truly is an awesome place to live.

That being said, it is *insanely* expensive. Unless you're able to spend 300k+ - you can't get even the tiniest of houses here. Once you go east of 35, south of oltorf, it gets more reasonable.

I just sold my house in north austin (where I relocated because it was my first home, and the only part of town I could afford) and bought a house off of south 1st. This area is not 100% gentrified *yet* so if you move fast, there are still reasonably priced, awesome houses available.

Why the hell would anybody move to austin - just to live in Round rock? Anything that far north is just so soulless and homogeneous.... why not just live in houston, or dallas - or any other stripmall/big box part of america?

southcentral austin has unique character, wonderful older homes, and tons of cool stuff to do.

[malarkey]

Originally Posted by satanoid

Why the hell would anybody move to austin - just to live in Round rock? Anything that far north is just so soulless and homogeneous.... why not just live in houston, or dallas - or any other stripmall/big box part of america?

southcentral austin has unique character, wonderful older homes, and tons of cool stuff to do.

See, now THAT is where I would choose to live. If I can frickin' get in there. Suburbs that consist of nothing but chain stores and strip malls are not my idea of fabulous.

[jwb123]

why not just live in houston, or dallas - or any other stripmall/big box part of america?

Wow, could either of the previous posters be more offensive to those of use who choose to live here in the "hellhole" we call Round Rock?

First, I have to believe that neither of the first two have ever set foot in a suburb outside of Texas - because Round Rock is very different from most other suburbs I have lived in, in both Virginia and Washington state.

Second, both are likely not married with children, and thus can't appreciate things like quality school districts or any of the other plethora of reasons someone chooses to live in a suburb of a city.

Perhaps some of us live here because we work here? Everyone complains about the traffic. Live where you work... and this household happens to work at Dell.

Finally, embrace diversity. Isn't that what Austin is partly about? Live and let live? Some people like the suburbs. Some people are different than you.

[johnrex62]

I live in the county west of Austin toward Bastrop. It is a rural subdivision on acreage tracts. It is almost country living with the conviences of the city within easy driving distance. I love the peace and quiet, the distance from my neighbors and the wildlife around me. I hate the lack of cable and pizza delivery.

[malarkey]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Wow, could either of the previous posters be more offensive to those of use who choose to live here in the "hellhole" we call Round Rock?

Sorry Jenbar, I didn't mean to offend anybody, I spoke (wrote!) before thinking.

But you are right. I'm single, I don't have kids and I don't care about schools. And I've not been to Round Rock. (At least, I don't think so, I was in some suburb 2 yrs ago when I was there but I don't think it was RR.)

The homogenous quality of surbubia in general is a particular hot button of mine. It's that lack of uniqueness that bugs me. I don't want every town to look the same, I don't want all the stores/restaurants to be the same. I tend to patronize locally owned, because I want to support the local economy. It's not that I never shop at huge national chains, after all I do shop at Whole Foods!

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by satanoid

I grew up in south central austin - a neighborhood called Travis Heights. This is *the* epicenter of the SoCo/trendy section of austin.

The last 10 years have seen this area explode in terms of popularity/stuff to do - it truly is an awesome place to live.

That being said, it is *insanely* expensive.

Don't remind me. I used to live on Newning Ave. and could have purchased my rental house for $150K in 1991, but I thought that was way too expensive. The same house is now worth about $600K (maybe more!)


As for it being the "epicenter", I think that's shifting a bit westward. Travis Heights will remain the most beautiful of South Austin neighborhoods for its topography, trees, landscapes, architectural mix, etc., but the trendiness is spreading rapidly to the south and west of that area, especially west. Take a slow drive down South Lamar and look at the store signs. It's non-stop funky groovy local businesses sprouting up amidst the auto body shops and service stations. And South First is extremely trendoid. I'd say Bouldin now represents the heart of "Austin Cool" --- especially if you look at voting patterns from that precinct.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Wow, could either of the previous posters be more offensive to those of use who choose to live here in the "hellhole" we call Round Rock?

First, I have to believe that neither of the first two have ever set foot in a suburb outside of Texas - because Round Rock is very different from most other suburbs I have lived in, in both Virginia and Washington state.

Howdy, old friend. It's George, we've corresponded. You'll recall how shocked I was to learn that you were living in Round Rock.

I don't think there's any need to feel defensive about your chosen place of residence. There's nothing offensive about people hating Round Rock. I hate the place too. Why would that offend you? There are lots of people who hate the area where I live off of South Lamar. We all have different tastes.

I've been to suburbs in Virginia and Washington State and I'd take both of them over most of Round Rock in a heartbeat. Sorry. But if it's working for you on a pragmatic level and you're happy then that's the only thing that matters. We're all looking for the same thing, just to enjoy life. So I'm glad you're satisfied with where you are. Perhaps there's a weakness in people like me that makes us need to be in certain places, unable to cope with suburbs. You should feel proud of your ability to embrace the funky side of Austin AND to enjoy living in RR, there aren't a lot of people who have your ability to transcend those geographical differences and experience them all as a part of what they call "home."

[love roses]

Jenbar, I'm with you on those points. I've lived in City Centers before and am comfortable with my ability to morph. I lived in Downtown Denver 3 years ago, and before that, in Rice Village in Houston. Houston, as I said in another post, is totally generic suburbia. Any of the small surrounding towns there destroyed any vestige of their history long ago w/the exception of Old Town Spring. I'm not sure some of the people slamming the dickens out of towns that are outside the epicenter of downtown Austin have spent any time anywhere else, or not much. Hutto, believe me, was not our first choice. But having a sister nearby w/2 kids, and we have an only, we decided it would be a good idea to have her live near her cousins. In my opinion, Cedar Park is a boring suburb. But I haven't really explored it too much, but all I see are Big Box stores and neighborhoods. All the "Suburbs" of Austin have been around since at least the mid 1800's, mainly because of farming, Railroad, or Ranching. They were their own seperate entities away from Austin proper. The population of Austin has grown so that lots of people have just started to "fill in the blanks" between them and Austin. That's my opinion, though. You might be surprised to know that some of the bands you hear in downtown Austin actually play at places around Austin. And to hear it said, it sounds like people would have to drive for hours and hours to get to Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, etc..when in reality, in most cases it's no more than a 1/2 hr. in regular traffic. And vice versa. Just because I live somewhere I can afford, and where a backyard comes in handy, doesn't mean there's something wrong with me wanting elbow room and wanting to enjoy central austin, s. congress, etc...O.K rant over!