Looking to move to Falconhead West or Steiner Ranch- any suggestions? (Austin: hotel, big house)

[thekid3600]

Hello!

My fiance and I are planning on relocating to Austin for his job. We have looked at homes in Falconhead West and Steiner Ranch and are looking for some advice on which is best. Specifically we were wondering the following:

1. Which school system is better? Any pros/cons?
2. Which area has more room for home appreciation?
3. We have read on the forum that Falconhead West was planning on building a pool/hotel- is this still the case?
4. Are the areas comparable in terms of easy access to grocery stores, dry cleaners, eateries, etc?
5. How long does it take to get to downtown during the week?
6. Has anyone purchased a Drees home? Thoughts on the builder?

Thanks so much for all of your help and looking forward to moving to Austin!

[austin-steve]

I think it's a tossup on all of your questions. Yes, there can be subjective disagreement, and I'm sure you'll get some better feedback on that from people who live in either neighborhood, but it's like arguing "Camry? or Accord?" Sure, you might be able to dig into micro-stats for the individual schools, etc., but it's going to come down to your subjective personal preferences on all accounts as neither neighborhood can be "proven" to be "better" than the other from a statistical measurement standpoint on the items you listed.

That said, I'd look at the property tax rates. Falconhead West is 2.0336% and Steiner is 2.7724% (per $100 valuation). On a $400K home with all things being equal, are you willing to pay an annual tax bill of $2,956 more for the Steiner home than the one in Falconhead West? Do you like Steiner $246/mo more?

Maybe. Many people obviously do, for a lot of different reasons. Steiner is more built out and "completed" than FHW, and closer to the NW Tech corridor, but not necessarily closer to downtown.

Where will the job be?

Steve

[Gorfml]

just say no to falconhead...

they are really the same...big houses on tiny lots...schools are a little better in ltisd but both are fine...

biggest difference is Steiner has more amenities...

falconhead is a soulless neighborhood...

[CarnivalGal]

1. Which school system is better? Any pros/cons?
- I think they are both comparable and very good.

2. Which area has more room for home appreciation?
- It's s toss up. You will have better appreciation on existing homes (at least in Steiner) than in a brand new one.

3. We have read on the forum that Falconhead West was planning on building a pool/hotel- is this still the case?
- They have been saying this for years, but it has yet to happen. I'll believe it when I see it. Steiner on the other hand has 3 community centers with pools.

4. Are the areas comparable in terms of easy access to grocery stores, dry cleaners, eateries, etc?
- Steiner definitely has easier access. We have dry cleaners, restaurants, stores, etc. actually IN Steiner. Where we are, we can (and do) walk to them all the time. They are also building a Randalls and even more stores. We are also closer to HEB, Target, Home Depot, etc. than FH West.

5. How long does it take to get to downtown during the week?
- I would say the commute time is about the same, and both commutes suck.

6. Has anyone purchased a Drees home? Thoughts on the builder?
- I have heard very good things about them. But again, if you are interested in appreciation, I would not buy new or build. Existing homes will hold their value more and will probably have a better location / lot.

[lizbusch_kw]

austin-steve and mm57553 have great responses ...

I can say we use to live across from Falconhead and the commute downtown in the morning was about 35-40 minutes. Steiner Ranch has a bit farther commute with much more traffic to Downtown, at teh wrong hour it could take you an hour to get home.

[FalconheadWest]

Are you wanting to compare school SYSTEM or schools? The Lake Travis school SYSTEM is significantly higher rated than Leader's system. Lake Travis is an Exemplary district where as the schools are rated exemplary in Steiner, but the district is not.

FHW is very close to HEB and Target and other shopping, so not sure why mm57553 said it's closer to Steiner. It can take you 10-15 minutes to get out of Steiner, depending on how far you live down Quinlan. Target and Home Depot are less than 1/2 mile down 620 from Falconhead Blvd. Lowes and other shopping is across from the Galleria.

I'm still holding my breathe for the resort pool otherwise I would never have bought in a community without a community pool! Steiner has three and many more amenities that FHW.

As said above, the main reason we moved here and not Steiner were because of the taxes. We were able to buy more of a house and still pay less a month than if we lived in Steiner. To me, that's a huge difference. Why do I want to pay so much more in taxes when I can spend that money elsewhere. Nitro Swim center is right outside FHW on 71 so that takes care of the swimming pool. Also, we're 6 minutes from the Lakeway City pool and it's like $5 a person. Even if you go every single weekend, you can't make up the difference in what the taxes cost in Steiner with the pools as part of the HOA.

Either way, I have clients that buy in Steiner, and I have clients that buy in FH, and in between. To each their own. It's a decision you have to make for the type of lifestyle you're looking for with your family and not what other people were looking for with their families. I think these are apples to oranges communities, and not an apples to apples comparison.

[hoffdano]

I too do not understand why mm57533 says Steiner is closer to Target, HD, etc.. FHW is minutes from Bee Cave Galleria, the Shops at the Galleria (Lowes, Best Buy, Michaels, etc.), and Target and Home Depot are together a mile from the main Falconhead entrance. Whole Foods will open next spring.

Definitely are no shops IN FHW. And no pool though Lakeway's pool is close. Nitro Swimming is an indoor 50M pool oriented to competition and swim lessons, not recreation.

Schools? Leander ISD is very good. LTISD is just a bit better. But I would have no heartburn if my kids went to Leander schools.

[Moonlady]

Moderator cut: off topic

I'm with those who say you get more bang for your buck in Falconhead. Did you say where the job is? That might make a difference.

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Definitely are no shops IN FHW. And no pool though Lakeway's pool is close. Nitro Swimming is an indoor 50M pool oriented to competition and swim lessons, not recreation.

When I spoke with someone at Nitro a couple of months ago, they said they sell a punch card for free swimming. That isn't kids running around jumping in and splashing, but it's not competition or lessons. I was going to start in January.