East Austin Neighborhoods (Cesar Chavez, Manor, Chico: low income, apartments, to rent)

[KittyToy]

I hear that one doesn't want to live east of 35 but the rent is a lot lower that way...I'm moving from out of town and would really like some imput...

Is East of 35 really all that bad?
Are there zip codes or neighborhoods that are better?
I would like to live as close to the freeway as possible, to make commutes better....
And close to downtown...cause I like 6th street.

It's just me and my boyfriend and our 2 dogs...mid 20's sorta "Hipster" - but can totally dress 10 times better than them...and our music taste is cooler, but that's neither here nor there

Thanks in advance

[CptnRn]

If I had to pick one close to downtown, I'd pick the East Cesar Chavez area rather then the East Riverside Drive area. The triangle area North of Manor Rd. and South of Airport Blvd is pretty decent also.

[ammonman]

Whoever told you that the East Side was bad? And why? Because dark skinned people live here? Whatever they said, it's rubbish.

The Eastside is my favorite part of town. I live in the triangle area of which CptnRn spoke, and it really is lovely. Lots of housing stock from the 40's and 50's, but it's really dense and more and more people are renting. Manor road is getting hipper and hipper all the time; if I had more money and ambition I'd open a neighborhood bar and make a killing.

East Cesar Chavez and the area called Holly is also very nice. Don't live East or North of Airport Blvd, that's a pretty good dividing line between the real Eastside and the suburbs. Welcome to the neighborhood!

[CptnRn]

Crime in Austin, decide for yourself...

//www.city-data.com/forum/austi...available.html

[SmartGXL]

I am very familiar with the hipster crowd (I live in Wicker Park, in Chicago) and from what my brother down in Austin tells me, that crowd seems to be moving to the area that is east of I-35, along east 6th street, as well as what other posters mentioned (Holly, etc)

For a while, I think that crowd lived down off of South Congress, but they have migrated over to the east side.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by SmartGXL

I am very familiar with the hipster crowd (I live in Wicker Park, in Chicago) and from what my brother down in Austin tells me, that crowd seems to be moving to the area that is east of I-35, along east 6th street, as well as what other posters mentioned (Holly, etc)

For a while, I think that crowd lived down off of South Congress, but they have migrated over to the east side.

They are over here, it may even be the epicenter of that crowd around East 11th, Cesar Chavez, East 6th, Manor Rd., etc.

So what you basically have on the Central East side north of the river and south of Mueller are several distinct groups. The old guard of low income minorities (e.g. the guy who dug a tunnel under his house) who live in older mostly unrenovated homes and a smaller group that lives in public housing. Hipsters many of whom are students or recent grads that rent old apartments and unrenovated homes. Next are the gentrifiers who are mostly made up of white professionals with a high proportion of gays, artists, childless couples, and (that's me--->)new urbanists. They either fix up their homes preserving the original architecture or tear them down and build some modern "fishbowl" monstrosity. Last is the smallest group of low income caucasians who have stuck around even after the gentrifying decade of 2000 to 2010.

Hipsters can be fickle so don't expect them to hang around forever. That and the generation in back of them may not care as much for living car-free and going to local dives every other weeknight. It's also quite possible that some of these areas might gentrify so much that the hipsters are pushed eastward past Airport Blvd. They may deal with it but they probably won't be as happy there. If that happens many of the trailers and bars they previously went to will go upscale and be replaced with cafes, eateries, and more eclectic healthy fare.

I live in the Holly area myself. Some of the changes I'm encouraged by but others I lament. Thankfully my favorite neighbor is old enough to get the senior property tax freeze so at least she won't be priced out of here. For others it will probably be a matter of 5 to 10 years. Most of the older local businesses are actually doing pretty well so no you don't have to spend $13 for an enchilada plate if you don't want to. Looking to the future and from what I know of city plans is that none of the roads in Central East Austin will be upgraded to 6 lane mini-highways (much of the reason I left South Austin). That means the walk and bike friendliness of the area will only get better as roads like E. 7th are upgraded and as new businesses keep on coming in.

[KittyToy]

Sweet. Do you think that the east side is cheaper to rent? Like around 11th and 6th streets?

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by KittyToy

Sweet. Do you think that the east side is cheaper to rent? Like around 11th and 6th streets?

Check it out here //www.city-data.com/zips/78702.html

[Nighthawks11]

I don't live on the east side but I spend quite a bit of time there and I'm a huge fan of the place. It has a really cool look and feel to it. At first I was a little freaked out to see college kids walking through places like 12th/ Chicon after dark, but after watching it for a while and only seeing a relatively small percentage of these newcomers being beaten or robbed I am about 70% sure that the average person is safe there after dark and 70% was a passing score on any test I ever took!

[ImOnFiya]

Originally Posted by Nighthawks11

I don't live on the east side but I spend quite a bit of time there and I'm a huge fan of the place. It has a really cool look and feel to it. At first I was a little freaked out to see college kids walking through places like 12th/ Chicon after dark, but after watching it for a while and only seeing a relatively small percentage of these newcomers being beaten or robbed I am about 70% sure that the average person is safe there after dark and 70% was a passing score on any test I ever took!