Moving to Waco (Dallas, Austin, College Station: for sale, crime rate, how much)

[hmoore04]

Can anyone tell me about Waco? I've lived in Texas my entire life and have probably been to Waco once. I even lived in Bryan/College Station for 4.5 years. My husband is looking to go to law school at Baylor & we are going to buy a house. Where are the good areas of town? Where should we steer clear of? We'd ideally like to be near the University. Thanks!

[Pipper]

I grew up 7 miles north of Waco acutally, in a town called Lacy-Lakeview, which is about 20 minutes from Baylor. Personally, I tried to stay out of Waco as much as possible, since I had some bad experiences there, but I know people who have lived there 10 years without any problems.
The Malls there (Richland is the big one, but they built another one that's pretty close, haven't been there though seeing as how I am in Alaska now) are pretty small comparatively, but they have most of what people want.
There are plenty of places to live around Waco that are OK from what I've seen (Hewitt, Beverly Hills, Bellmead to name a few), but if I had to say one place to stay away from is Sanger Ave. Lacy Lakeview might have houses for sale, my folks bought one for 52K, and it is in good shape. You might be able to find a newer one, though, since the city is still growing.
Northcrest and Elm-Mott are pretty cheap places to live, but places east of Elm Mott are mainly farm areas.
I know I am biased for places north of Waco, and near Hwy 77, but I liked it there while I lived there.
I don't know how much you are into outdoorsy stuff like fishing, but Lake Waco makes for pretty good boating and fishing, and me and my friends used to go shooting at the range they have there.
I can scrounge up some info from friends that still live there, if you want some specifics. Don't be afraid to ask.

[KewGee]

Baylor is a beautiful and wonderful Baptist University, but it is not in a very good part of Waco. My daughter received one of her degrees there and lived on campus for two years and off campus near the University for the other two. I worried constantly about her as things can and do happen on campus and near by.

There are homeless people and other undesirables that like to frequent the underpasses and streets near Baylor, so I would caution you to do much checking out in any areas which you're interested.

Waco does have many great neighborhoods, but many crime-filled areas as well. Somewhere I read that Waco is becoming one of the highest-rated cities for crime in the nation.

[madmann101]

I've lived in Waco...well...my whole life. I'm going to be straight with you, the city is steadily falling apart, crime rate is increasing, the schools around the area suck! (I would know I'm still in high school), your bound to run into an illegal every corner you turn, but the Baylor Campus is a very beautiful and big campus, it could be a city on its on lol.

Don't get me wrong just because you move here don't mean you'll be attacked and killed just stepping out your doorway, we have Lake Waco, which is a very nice lake (don't go there after dark, you'll most likely be raped,shot,or robbed) we also have Cameron Park which includes a spray park, picnic areas and a zoo (once agian don't go there after dark), but pretty much overall Waco is a ok city to live in, I wouldn't necessarily reccommend it, but if you do choose to move to Waco, I would definatly move over in the area by Richland Mall or in Hewitt.

[Wolf3214]

I've lived in Waco my whole life and loved every minute of it...Couldnt See myself livin any where else..Dont like what u see here get out... lol..

But dont listen to madmann.. School here arent the best but there not that bad...And but but there are alot of illegals but what can u do...??

This not true: "we have Lake Waco, which is a very nice lake (don't go there after dark, you'll most likely be raped,shot,or robbed)".. Its nothing like that it not the cleanest lake but ive spent plenty of weeks out there and not even been messed with..If i had to tell u to move somewhere i have to say move to chinasprings...Its not super far but its the best u get.. Hewitt got very active cops(pull u over just to see whats up + there powerr happy) and alot of small crimes..

Ive spent loads of time in Lacy-Lakeview..Its not all that great.. Dont get me Wrong it Waco then Lacy-Lakeview when it comes to who im down for but i just know alot of stuff that goes on there...Just not the best.. What any more info... just email

[madmann101]

Originally Posted by Wolf3214

I've lived in Waco my whole life and loved every minute of it...Couldnt See myself livin any where else..Dont like what u see here get out... lol..

But dont listen to madmann.. School here arent the best but there not that bad...And but but there are alot of illegals but what can u do...??

This not true: "we have Lake Waco, which is a very nice lake (don't go there after dark, you'll most likely be raped,shot,or robbed)".. Its nothing like that it not the cleanest lake but ive spent plenty of weeks out there and not even been messed with..If i had to tell u to move somewhere i have to say move to chinasprings...Its not super far but its the best u get.. Hewitt got very active cops(pull u over just to see whats up + there powerr happy) and alot of small crimes..

Ive spent loads of time in Lacy-Lakeview..Its not all that great.. Dont get me Wrong it Waco then Lacy-Lakeview when it comes to who im down for but i just know alot of stuff that goes on there...Just not the best.. What any more info... just email

Like I said, don't go to Cameron Park after night.

[samalex]

Hi hmoore04,

Despite what many have said in here, the Waco area is a nice place to live. If you have school aged children though, I would recommend moving to one of the surrounding areas, like Lorena, Robinson, Bruceville-Eddy, China Spring, or even West, Crawford, or Axtel. The Waco schools are honestly not very good. Also Midway is another larger school in the Hewitt/Woodway area... and in my opinion it's grown way too fast.

Outside of the school concerns, Waco has lots of good neighborhoods to pick from, but as with any larger city, it has some ghettos you want to avoid. Also some neighborhoods are really hit or miss as you might have one or two nice streets then one or two bad ones.

I personally live in Lorena, which is one of the smaller communities just south of Waco on I35. What's nice about living out in the smaller communities is you have the small town charm yet you're 10-15 minutes from about anyplace in Waco. I can be to Baylor up I35 in about 13 minutes from my house.

As for things to do, there's more now then there was 10 years ago, but it's not as robust as Austin or Dallas. However there's more to do in town then most people think. Cameron Park Zoo is an awesome place to hangout, plus they have LOTS of events there. Baylor and MCC have robust music departments, and each has concerts all the time. Waco has a Community Band plus a Symphony, each being great to watch (Community Band concerts are free BTW). We have three nice disc golf courses, lots of museums (Mayborn, Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, Dr Pepper, just to name a few), and there's many local coffeeshops around town which have fun events almost nightly... Beatnix and Common Grounds being the two I like.

And if you're feeling like getting outta town, Austin is about 75 minutes south of town (from Lorena anyway), and me and my wife have been known to head to Austin, RoundROck, or Georgetown on a weeknight for Dinner.

As for groups, there's lots of local clubs, like HOTARC (Amatuer Radio Club), HOTLUG (Linux User Group), CTAS (Central Texas Astronomical Society), Centex Genealogy Club, Rock and Mineral Club, and many more.

Waco does have its downsides though and political sides. One replier said not to visit Cameron Park after dark, and that is true... nor would I visit the Suspension Bridge after dark, which sucks as it's beautiful at night. But for the most parts, the smaller communities are safe no matter day or night.

I'll send you a PM with my contact info if you have further questions, and I don't mind helping you guys in anyway I can. My wife and I both grew-up in Waco (me in Lorena and her in Waco), and we know the town pretty well. Also speaking as a parent to be (wife is due in September), we're looking forward to raising our family here in the Waco area.

Take care --

Sam

[hmoore04]

Thanks for all your replies. It was shocking to hear about crime in a town the size of Waco. I pictured Bryan-College Station, except with a little less excitement (actually a friend of my father said this). I grew up in a small town (1200 people) so the idea of living on the outskirts in a small town are appealing.

[jetsfanlara]

ive lived in the villages since i was a little kid and trust me you dont wanna be anywhere near there. stay away from the inner city from 25st and below. go to the suburbs, lacy lakeview, hewitt, robinson, china spring, north waco by the mall.

[texasluver]

Originally Posted by Wolf3214

I've lived in Waco my whole life and loved every minute of it...Couldnt See myself livin any where else..Dont like what u see here get out... lol..

But dont listen to madmann.. School here arent the best but there not that bad...And but but there are alot of illegals but what can u do...??

This not true: "we have Lake Waco, which is a very nice lake (don't go there after dark, you'll most likely be raped,shot,or robbed)".. Its nothing like that it not the cleanest lake but ive spent plenty of weeks out there and not even been messed with..If i had to tell u to move somewhere i have to say move to chinasprings...Its not super far but its the best u get.. Hewitt got very active cops(pull u over just to see whats up + there powerr happy) and alot of small crimes..

Ive spent loads of time in Lacy-Lakeview..Its not all that great.. Dont get me Wrong it Waco then Lacy-Lakeview when it comes to who im down for but i just know alot of stuff that goes on there...Just not the best.. What any more info... just email

Well, like madmann said....the schools there are not that great, in fact horrible would still be an understatement as wolf has shown you.
crime rate is consistently increasing, I'm not speaking of just little old house burglaries either...being raped, robbed and murdered in Waco is becoming more of a risk with every passing day.
Outside Waco area (as said before) is a lot better!
Good luck to you both!