Personal (South) Austin neighborhood advice needed

[llkltk]

Originally Posted by writeonedown

is this site for local area advice or for judging others on their preferences?

please note that i said i don't ONLY want to be around couples and young families. and i believe i said i want to surrounded by many different types of people... this includes married couples, unwed couples, those with kids, etc... my only discriminating note was that i don't want to be fully surrounded by conservative people. to each his/her own, right?

of course i want my daughter to be around other kids and people in general... ideally from varied backgrounds and lifestyles. i don't see how it would do either of us any good to be surrounded only by 2 income households.
it would be nice to have some other working single mothers around... not a difficult or "strange" request i don't think.

at our previous residence, we lived in a 6 unit building with a same-sex couple with a baby, a hetero couple with dogs, an interracial couple, a slightly militant vet, and two recent college grads (east indian & black).

my daughter is used to being around many different types of children of varied nationalities, economic ranges, and spiritualities. she has started learning mandarin chinese. she will also meet other children through school, dance class, and other activities. they don't have to live next door... a few in the same neighborhood would be sufficient.

maybe this takes some of the strange out of my initial post. i am going to continue to be fully honest about my preferences though.

i can give up on the turn of the century building... i thought it was a long shot anyway.

i have noticed plenty of places within my price range in south austin on various websites... most of them being larger apartment complexes. but some were duplexes. ??

i ruled out East Austin at the beginning of my search... seems to be "block-by-block" around there. a bit run down. heard it's beginning to be gentrified. if there are nice areas that i am not aware of, please let me know.

thanks and additional input would be very helpful.

Not judging, just thought you obviously have a certain opinion about conservatives and couples with kids. What's with the single Mom mantra these days? If you choose apt. complexes, I'm sure you will find plenty of what you need.

[writeonedown]

many thanks to jennibc and texashorselady!!

that helps and gives me a ton of hope. i know Austin is where my daughter and i can be comfortable and ready to stop moving around!

oh and... i'm sorry for the confusion about public & independent. where i am from, independent is similar to private and opposite of public. so am i right, now, in thinking that AISD is the public school system for the city?

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by llkltk

From what she said about not wanting to be around all couples. I mentioned in my post that I understood that she wanted variety and thought she could find that. Perhaps you should read my post more throughly before responding. "I don't need a lot of conservative types around", she doesn't want to be around all couple families. I mean, what if she found all of her criteria but there were all couple families in the neighborhood, egads, could she not survive.

Conservative, as I understood her post, means what it usually means - politically conservative. That has nothing to do with couples with children or not - there are liberal couples with children and conservative couples with children, though, I grant you, in Austin it's often hard to tell because that's usually just not such a big deal for most that people tend to know the politics of their neighbors without a sign out front during an election. Lots of things that are more important.

I really think that you were stretching to try to come to that interpretation of the OP's post (and her clarification made it clear how very far off the mark you were). Just because you want to live in a neighborhood that is almost exclusively couples with kids doesn't mean that (a) everyone wants to raise their kids that way or (b) that it's the best way to raise kids.

In fact, the neighborhood she describes was, until very recently, the way most people raised their kids in Austin (over the 30-odd years that I was raising kids in Austin, anyway). Planned communities with almost everyone at the same stage and economic status in life are a relatively new innovation here. Not that there weren't always some, but in nowhere near the numbers there are now, nor were they the norm for young couples with children.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

In fact, the neighborhood she describes was, until very recently, the way most people raised their kids in Austin (over the 30-odd years that I was raising kids in Austin, anyway). Planned communities with almost everyone at the same stage and economic status in life are a relatively new innovation here. Not that there weren't always some, but in nowhere near the numbers there are now, nor were they the norm for young couples with children.

The Gerrymandering of the school attendance zones with AISD has also contributed to this phenomena - especially in the overcrowded Austin/Crockett/Akins/Bowie area of SW Austin. That's become a complete mess.

When it finally gets sorted out, millions of dollars worth of equity will switch hands overnight. That's why we've had such a problem with it - the "haves" know what's at stake.

[writeonedown]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Conservative, as I understood her post, means what it usually means - politically conservative. That has nothing to do with couples with children or not - there are liberal couples with children and conservative couples with children, though, I grant you, in Austin it's often hard to tell because that's usually just not such a big deal for most that people tend to know the politics of their neighbors without a sign out front during an election. Lots of things that are more important.

I really think that you were stretching to try to come to that interpretation of the OP's post (and her clarification made it clear how very far off the mark you were). Just because you want to live in a neighborhood that is almost exclusively couples with kids doesn't mean that (a) everyone wants to raise their kids that way or (b) that it's the best way to raise kids.

In fact, the neighborhood she describes was, until very recently, the way most people raised their kids in Austin (over the 30-odd years that I was raising kids in Austin, anyway). Planned communities with almost everyone at the same stage and economic status in life are a relatively new innovation here. Not that there weren't always some, but in nowhere near the numbers there are now, nor were they the norm for young couples with children.

i am glad that i am making some sense to someone.
"Planned communities with almost everyone at the same stage and economic status in life are a relatively new innovation here."
and exactly what i am trying to avoid.

once i am settled into the city and know the different areas, i know who to come to when i'm ready to buy!

[llkltk]

I'm glad that planned communities have come about in Austin. Austin is better for it. This city has enough of the Keep Austin Weird vibe.

[Trainwreck20]

As long as you avoid brand-new developments (which are pretty rare at the moment anyway), you are not too likely to run into the 'uniform' life-stage progression. Anything over 10 years old will have begun to blend older and newer residents.

So much 'discussion' on here that I have forgotten the original criteria. My guess is that you would also be looking for a non-HOA neighborhood, although there are some much less invasive ones that probably are not a problem at all.

[TexasHorseLady]

I'm guessing the OP would not be happy in most HOA neighborhoods. Could be wrong, but it doesn't really fit in with the rest of her criteria. Fortunately, there's a LOT of the non-HOA (or very minimal HOA) variety in Austin - you just have to know where to look.

[rhino5]

If you live in south Austin, you can check out Primavera Montessori and Parkside Community School (also Montessori). I've visitied Primavera and it's terrific (owner is a single mom too). I've heard good things about Parkside, and it's closer in. Both are pre-K to 6th. (Primavera is adding a sixth grade soon.)

[nina_online]

We attend Primavera. It is very community oriented. Director is a single mom. There are a few black families, including 1.5 teachers. Sad to say that is unusual for Austin, therefore worth mentioning. It does have a waitlist, though. It is in a less expensive part of town, on Manchaca south of Ben White. There aren't very many Montessori's that go beyond primary, only Primavera, Parkside, Austin Montessori School in S. Austin and Cedars in Oak Hill.

Nina