Commute from Brushy Creek to Duval Rd & Mopac (Dallas: apartment complex, how much)

[FusiveR]

Hello Austinites,

I will be starting full time at a new job located around Duval Rd & Mopac later this summer. I will be moving to Austin from Canada.

I have looked at apartment complexes and so far Park at Brushy Creek has caught my eye. http://www.theparkatbrushycreek.com/...apartments.asp The a3 - 853 sq ft unit for $850 / mos seems to be a great deal.

1. What will the commute be like from this apartment complex to my workplace. Google says between 11 and 17 minutes depending on the route. http://g.co/maps/nd47y Is this accurate or will traffic conditions severely affect this estimate. Also if I do take the toll route option how much will the tolls cost me?

2. Any opinions or comments on the Brushy Creek area? Is this area even considered part of Austin or is it more or less Round Rock?

3. I am concerned that I am living too far away from the fun things and in general the central areas of the city. I am a city boy in my early 20s and living in a suburb seems too tame. I want to be close to work but at the same time be in a central area. Should I be looking elsewhere?

4. Any opinions on the apartment unit or the complex in general are more than welcome.


Edit: Seem to be having trouble with my url tags. Any tech support is welcome.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by FusiveR

I am a city boy in my early 20s and living in a suburb seems too tame. I want to be close to work but at the same time be in a central area. Should I be looking elsewhere?

Those apartments are at very south end of "Brushy Creek" so it isn't what most people think of when they hear Brushy Creek because it's a fair distance away from Brushy Creek trail. With that said, you are correct that it probably isn't the right place for you from everything that you've stated. About the only thing that it has going for it is that you could walk across the street to Mesa Rosa for Mexican food/margaritas.

With that said, for working at Duval/MoPac and for your age and your wants, you should look at a place like Riata. They have some apartments in your price range in their ArrowWood section.

http://www.riata.com/

I'd also look in the Arboretum/Great Hills area. There are a ton of apartments in those areas. Here are a couple examples.

Austin Texas Apartments - Home - Great Hills

Apartment Floor Plans Austin, TX | Marquis at Ladera Vista

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by FusiveR

Edit: Seem to be having trouble with my url tags. Any tech support is welcome.

New users aren't supposed to be able to use urls. It's a spam control thing.

And yeah, Arboretum area. You'll be near shops, restaurants, signs of life. Then when you want to get into the downtown area you can just scoot down MoPac (Loop 1)

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by FusiveR

Hello Austinites,

I will be starting full time at a new job located around Duval Rd & Mopac later this summer. I will be moving to Austin from Canada.

I have looked at apartment complexes and so far Park at Brushy Creek has caught my eye. The Park At Brushy Creek Apartments in Austin TX | North Austin Apartments The a3 - 853 sq ft unit for $850 / mos seems to be a great deal.

1. What will the commute be like from this apartment complex to my workplace. Google says between 11 and 17 minutes depending on the route. 15510 Ranch Road 620 N, Austin, TX 78717 to Duval Rd - Google Maps Is this accurate or will traffic conditions severely affect this estimate. Also if I do take the toll route option how much will the tolls cost me?

2. Any opinions or comments on the Brushy Creek area? Is this area even considered part of Austin or is it more or less Round Rock?

3. I am concerned that I am living too far away from the fun things and in general the central areas of the city. I am a city boy in my early 20s and living in a suburb seems too tame. I want to be close to work but at the same time be in a central area. Should I be looking elsewhere?

4. Any opinions on the apartment unit or the complex in general are more than welcome.


Edit: Seem to be having trouble with my url tags. Any tech support is welcome.

the commute wont be bad, traffic on mopac starts backing up a little further south at rush hour.

However, you should look to live more central. I would say even further south than riata as traffic is counter to rush hour. Maybe more in west campus where all the students are. Apartments there arent that nice, but they are pretty cheap. You might even get roommates for a year so you can quickly meet new people. If I were you I wouldnt live further north than about 51st street to be close to people your age and all the fun austin has to offer. to ease your commute I probably wouldnt go south of the river.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Austin97

the commute wont be bad, traffic on mopac starts backing up a little further south at rush hour.

However, you should look to live more central. I would say even further south than riata as traffic is counter to rush hour. Maybe more in west campus where all the students are. Apartments there arent that nice, but they are pretty cheap. You might even get roommates for a year so you can quickly meet new people. If I were you I wouldnt live further north than about 51st street to be close to people your age and all the fun austin has to offer. to ease your commute I probably wouldnt go south of the river.

Sorry, I disagree. Gas prices are going higher, and time and money spent on a daily commute are wasted. Your shortest drive should be the one you do everyday, not the one you do once a week.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Sorry, I disagree. Gas prices are going higher, and time and money spent on a daily commute are wasted. Your shortest drive should be the one you do everyday, not the one you do once a week.

. 45th and mopac to duval and mopac is a 7 mile drive against rush hour traffic. Enfield and mopac is a 10 mile commute. It isnt about being close to the bars, it is about being close to a high density group of 20 somethings that will be everywhere in the apartment complexes. The coffee shops, restaurants and the area outside your apartment that you go to everyday will have single 20 somethings instead of single 30 somethings or married people.

I stand by my recommendation to live as central as possible for an easy commute counter rush hour traffic on mopac.

[OpenD]

Arboretum is less than 4 miles, Far West is 5. Both have beaucoup to do, and Far West is awash with mid-to-late 20s. West Campus is noisy, expensive, congested, short on parking, and mostly popular with UT students who need to live close to campus, despite the inconveniences.

I stand by my recommendation as well.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by FusiveR

I have looked at apartment complexes and so far Park at Brushy Creek has caught my eye. The Park At Brushy Creek Apartments in Austin TX | North Austin Apartments The a3 - 853 sq ft unit for $850 / mos seems to be a great deal.

To give a second look at this detail from the original post, I'm not sure what attracted the OP to this particular complex, but yes, there are some pros to the area that should not be dismissed without further investigation. A lot depends on what someone actually enjoys spend their free time doing.

There's not a lot except convenience businesses along that stretch of FM620... supermarket, drugstore, pizza and fastfood places, etc. but it is convenient to Round Rock to the east, with tons of restaurants and shopping, and a good Community Center/Gym. To the west is Lakeway Center, ditto., possibly moreso. And while 620 itself is not good for bicycling, as soon as you get a block off the main drag you have lots of area to ride safely, access to greenbelt areas, etc.

What's hard to factor is drive-times on 620 since it can be quite congested at rush times, but it is good to know you can usually get over to I-35 or to 183 fairly quickly. Most of the people who live in that area tend to work in North Austin or Round Rock.

[10scoachrick]

The prices at the Domain might be a touch higher; but it would virtually eliminate the commute and put the OP in an area of some activity, albeit not 'central' Austin 'vibe'. I wouldn't be surprised if there were plenty of folks in the same age range in those complexes. Easy enough to get 'downtown' when needed and very central to the main traffic arteries on the north end of Austin.

I know it's too 'Dallas' and 'suburban' for some folks, but cutting out that drive time twice a day can mean a lot!

[ScoPro]

One thing about that complex the OP mentioned.....it's pretty tough to make a left turn into its entrance drive when approaching from the west during rush hour.

My oldest son lives in the Woods of Brushy Creek about one block north of said apartments. They are one of the newer complexes in the area and seem to be pretty nice.

But I agree that the rush hour commmute overall to your workplace will be fairly easy if you use the tollway. 15 minutes tops to MoPac & Duval, more likely 10 minutes.