Central, North Central, South Central - How do they compare? (Austin: real estate, cheap apartment)

[croatoan]

Hey all,

Planning to relocate to Austin and since I do not want to own a car I want to rent somewhere in Central Austin.

I was wondering how the Central, (N, S, E, AND W) areas compare with each other in terms of affluence, crime, public transportation.

Thanks,
C

[deeptrance]

It's hard to live in Austin without a car unless your life habits are accommodated by the bus system. Lots of people are getting scooters, that's a cheap alternative. But anyway, I'd say Hyde Park is one of the best bets --- you can find lots of rentals, walk to stores and interesting businesses, cafes, etc., easily catch buses to the University or downtown. If you're a mountain biker or hiker, try the Spyglass area off of South Mopac --- you can catch shuttle buses from there into downtown, but you can also hike and bike down to Barton Springs and all the way through downtown.

It really depends on what you'll be doing, whether you'll be a student, etc. If you just want to live in the midst of lots of cool stuff, then you'll want to be around South Congress or South First. But real estate prices are jacked way up there right now from all the hype of the 78704 zip code. Can't blame 'em for that, I'd live there too if I could afford it!

[roaring-rox]

Have been interested in Central Austin myself, if I do move to Austin in the future.

From what I can tell, the Hyde Park neighborhood has older, 1940s type of homes with nice sized lots, and has more of a real neighborhood feel (if one does not want to live in a zero lot subdivision), plus can walk to neat things, like Whole Foods, etc. Sounds wonderful to me...

Is this area a mix of age groups...students, young marrieds/single professionals, retirees? Guessing it is, but don't know. To me, that would be good if there is a range of ages, rather than any age group predominating.

But my main question is if there are house rentals in Hyde Park that allow a large dog? On Austin Cool properties, it seems they said something about to the effect that it was hard or impossible to find a rental in Central Austin that would allow dogs.

If I move to Austin, have to take my dog, Roaring Rox, to the Roaring Fork restaurant! Love that name...makes me think Austin is my kind of town...they really appreciate the dining experience!

[AustinTraveler]

It's hard to imagine any place around here not willing to rent to people with dogs!

I live in North Central Austin and it's great for everything you're asking about. I can walk to Central Market (better than Whole Foods for everyday stuff in my opinion), tons of new restaurants are popping up, and the bus is up on the corner. I would definitely recommend Rosedale, Brykerwoods or the surrounding areas.

I have to agree though, it would be tough to live in Austin without a car.

Give us a little more info about where you'll be working and how much you want to spend and I'm sure we can come up with some good places.

I'm editing as I realized I didn't answer the original question. The areas I mentioned have homes that were built around the 40's, crime is very low, and the bus is easy to get to. It is becoming more affluent because real estate is going through the roof. But, what I love most is that these are real neighborhoods and the people are incredible. Nobody cares what you do for a living or how much money you make. I've always lived in the burbs before moving here and I can't believe the difference. Even the kids here are nice and say hello to you when you walk by!

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by roaring-rox

From what I can tell, the Hyde Park neighborhood has older, 1940s type of homes with nice sized lots, and has more of a real neighborhood feel (if one does not want to live in a zero lot subdivision), plus can walk to neat things, like Whole Foods, etc. Sounds wonderful to me...

Is this area a mix of age groups...students, young marrieds/single professionals, retirees? Guessing it is, but don't know. To me, that would be good if there is a range of ages, rather than any age group predominating.

Yes, Hyde Park not only has a range of ages and lifestyles but also a wide range of types of housing. I'm not making any assumptions about the budget of our potential new neighbor, but he can find anything from a gorgeously landscaped street of renovated old homes to marginal streets with cheap apartment complexes, and they all kind of mix up in a way that works fairly well.

AustinTraveler's recommendations are VERY nice neighborhoods, higher prices, more single-family types of neighborhoods and I personally don't think they have quite as much non-auto access to things, but I've never lived there. There's a neighborhood between Burnett and Lamar called Crestwood (I think) that has more reasonable prices. Everything depends on budget. If you've got lots of money, a dog, want to be near everything, not have a car, and don't need a yard, then live downtown. There's a fantastic vibrant lifestyle there, I'd go for it in a heartbeat but it's way out of my price range.

If you want to live in an idyllic Mister Rogers type of neighborhood, then Traveler is right on the money, go with Brykerwood or Rosedale! And if you're filthy rich then skip all the above and hit Pemberton Heights or Clarksville!!!

[AustinTraveler]

HA!! That is too funny DT. Mr. Rogers would be more than welcome in our neighborhood for sure. In fact, that's what makes it so great. It's got all types of people and all income levels.

By the way, it's been a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

[deeptrance]

AT, have you seen the wild house on the corner of Glenview and... err... 30th, I think (?) The one with the metal mariachis on the garage roof, that used to have a polkadot lawn? I love that place! I love that neighborhood, are you anywhere near there?

Yes, it was a fantastic day in the neighborhood, and summer is finally over. Long term forecast looks like we might not even hit 90 again until next spring, and latest update on El Nino says that it's sticking around and we're in for some relief from the drought. Every time it rains in Texas lately, Austin seems to get about 0.08 inch of rain, while surrounding areas get much more

[AustinTraveler]

DT, that house is closer to Pemberton and Brykerwoods but I know just the one you're talking about. In fact, I took pictures of it last year for my Keep Austin Weird photo file. They had just painted the dots on the lawn for Halloween. Love it!!

I live in Rosedale which is defined as the area from 38th to the south up to Hancock to the north, and then Burnet/Lamar to the east and Shoal Creek to the west. The neighborhood basically looks just like the one down by the crazy house until you reach Pemberton. Then you get into the million dollar+ homes.

Have you seen the Pemberton castle? If not you need to check it out. It's at 1415 Wooldridge. It recently sold to Robert Rodriguez, the movie guy. There's an historical marker outside the house that you can read. Speaking of movies, they were filming Quentin Tarantino's (and Rodriguez's) new movie last week at the Omelettetry (sp?) on Burnet. I saw it one night coming home and it looked like aliens had landed.

I can't believe I had my windows open all day yesterday and again this morning!! After the misery of August, this is the best.

Oops, sorry to highjack the thread.

[croatoan]

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

It's hard to imagine any place around here not willing to rent to people with dogs!

I live in North Central Austin and it's great for everything you're asking about. I can walk to Central Market (better than Whole Foods for everyday stuff in my opinion), tons of new restaurants are popping up, and the bus is up on the corner. I would definitely recommend Rosedale, Brykerwoods or the surrounding areas.

I have to agree though, it would be tough to live in Austin without a car.

Give us a little more info about where you'll be working and how much you want to spend and I'm sure we can come up with some good places.

I'm editing as I realized I didn't answer the original question. The areas I mentioned have homes that were built around the 40's, crime is very low, and the bus is easy to get to. It is becoming more affluent because real estate is going through the roof. But, what I love most is that these are real neighborhoods and the people are incredible. Nobody cares what you do for a living or how much money you make. I've always lived in the burbs before moving here and I can't believe the difference. Even the kids here are nice and say hello to you when you walk by!

It might be had for you to live withoput a car but I have lived without one for most of 10 years. My job travels with me so I work where ever I stand so commuting is not a problem for me. I am only looking to rent for between $400 and $600.

From the looks of it Austin has a pretty good transit system.

[AustinTraveler]

You'll have to do a lot of hunting around to find anything for rent in that price range in Central Austin. You might try East Austin. It is definitely not affluent and there is more crime but you'll still have access to the bus.