Be honest - if you live outside of Central Austin, how often do you go there? (Round Rock: apartment complex, city hall)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by campbetc

I'm with you, but I have to balance everyone's wants/needs. My husband will be working in Cedar Park. His only must-have for a house is somewhere to keep a wood shop (he's into woodworking as a hobby), but I know there aren't any basements, so he might need space to put up a shed or something. And while I know standardized testing isn't the greatest measure of a school, I want to make sure my girls are getting a good education.
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I do miss our basement(shop) and garden shed(10 x 12 w/ceiling fan). UNfortunately, outbuildings of any decent size aren't usually allowed in master planned communities like Avery Ranch. That will limit your search a bit. There are plenty of areas with outbuildings, but it might take a little more 'doing' to find them. One of the advantages of s-p-r-a-w-l is the ability to have such amenities...detached garage, shop, garden shed...just have to dig a bit more. There are some homes just north of Brushy Creek, east and west of Parmer(Ronald Reagan) that were built with outbuildings in mind. The area around Sam Bass Rd. south of 1431 is another. The three and four car garages 'out here' are another possibility for a workshop. I'd love to have a separate garage bay for a workshop!(But then, I would be expected to actually complete some of my projects!) (Now that I think about it, an neighbor down the street has an entire garage bay dedicated to cabinet building. )

Heck, even in these horrible burbs, within one mile, we have 3 banks, 2 pizza joints(more on the way), two large drug stores, smoothie shop, coffee/yogurt shop, fitness center, Z Tejas, Waterloo Ice House, meat house, golf course, liquor store, swim, tennis,etc. etc. etc. Even my crummy wheels could walk to any of those. Guess you don't have to live in town after all!

[campbetc]

Thanks! I think part of it is that we are coming from Fairfax County schools in VA (and cousins also came from there) - they are widely regarded as some of the best in the country, so I'm sure there's some bias there.

My older daughter goes to an elementary school that is one of the lower-ranked in the county, though, and we love it. Great new principal, fantastic teachers, tons of diversity (which is what brings the scores down - there are 46 different languages spoken amongst the student body, so it skews the standardized tests). So I know better than to take scores as representative of anything much.

[mesmer]

Your kids are young enough that my alternative advice wouldn't work (there's a neighborhood that's north central/walkable that feeds into Anderson High, but a crappy middle school). Anyway. NW Hills is a great spot for you to start with. Enjoy your visit in a few weeks!

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

I do miss our basement(shop) and garden shed(10 x 12 w/ceiling fan). UNfortunately, outbuildings of any decent size aren't usually allowed in master planned communities like Avery Ranch. That will limit your search a bit. There are plenty of areas with outbuildings, but it might take a little more 'doing' to find them. One of the advantages of s-p-r-a-w-l is the ability to have such amenities...detached garage, shop, garden shed...just have to dig a bit more. There are some homes just north of Brushy Creek, east and west of Parmer(Ronald Reagan) that were built with outbuildings in mind. The area around Sam Bass Rd. south of 1431 is another. The three and four car garages 'out here' are another possibility for a workshop. I'd love to have a separate garage bay for a workshop!(But then, I would be expected to actually complete some of my projects!) (Now that I think about it, an neighbor down the street has an entire garage bay dedicated to cabinet building. )

Heck, even in these horrible burbs, within one mile, we have 3 banks, 2 pizza joints(more on the way), two large drug stores, smoothie shop, coffee/yogurt shop, fitness center, Z Tejas, Waterloo Ice House, meat house, golf course, liquor store, swim, tennis,etc. etc. etc. Even my crummy wheels could walk to any of those. Guess you don't have to live in town after all!

I do woodworking and the easy solution was to park in the driveway and convert my 3-car garage into a shop.

[Trainwreck20]

to park in the driveway

Is that allowed in Avery/Steiner?

[campbetc]

There are places that don't allow you to park in your own driveway?? Or are you being tongue in cheek?

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Is that allowed in Avery/Steiner?

Originally Posted by campbetc

There are places that don't allow you to park in your own driveway?? Or are you being tongue in cheek?

No problems parking in the driveway in Avery Ranch. I believe River Place is one HOA that doesn't allow overnight parking in the driveway without a 'permit'.

[campbetc]

Good grief.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by campbetc

Thanks! I think part of it is that we are coming from Fairfax County schools in VA (and cousins also came from there) - they are widely regarded as some of the best in the country, so I'm sure there's some bias there.

My older daughter goes to an elementary school that is one of the lower-ranked in the county, though, and we love it. Great new principal, fantastic teachers, tons of diversity (which is what brings the scores down - there are 46 different languages spoken amongst the student body, so it skews the standardized tests). So I know better than to take scores as representative of anything much.

Fairfax County schools vary by campus just like other school districts around the country. It is a bit more consistent across the county than AISD. I attended W.T. Woodson for three years, finishing high school in San Antonio (Churchill). I think San Antonio schools were different, but not necessarily worse. There are many excellent schools in Austin, including some of the ones listed above.

Definitely investigate the tyranny of any HOA in an area you choose to live.

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by Komeht

What is "hip" about wanting shops, parks, cafes, restaurants, work all within a walk or short commute? This isn't a new concept of living, it's a very very old one. One that we as humans lived with our entire existence up until the post war period where we lost our collective minds and listened to traffic engineers tell us how to build communities.

New urbanism isn't new or hip, it's old and traditional, not in some retro-cool way but in a way that was tested by a millennial of human civilization in all parts of the world. There is a universality that is amazingly common throughout the world.

Poll your friends - ask then which cities they love to visit the most. I bet you the responses are more like San Francisco, New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Santa Fe and not Houston, Tulsa, Phoenix, Oklahoma City.

And when people come to visit Austin it sure isn't to see Cedar Park, Leander, Buda, Kyle and Hutto. It's to see 2nd Street and warehouse district, Soco, Sola. People love to go and be in great spaces surrounded by a mix of people with interesting things to explore and do. Single use planning, sprawl, big box stores, and highways are the antithesis of community.

I guess what you just don't get, or refuse to look at is that people have different needs and wants. Yes, people love to visit Chicago... Guess what happened to my friends that moved up there? Back in Austin within a year. Why? THEY MISSED HAVING A BACK YARD.

Also, you seem to lump all suburban growth, or really ALL growth, as "sprawl", wildly assuming that all of those people then spend hours on the roads. I've got a newsflash for you here. Nearly ALL of the employers that have moved to Austin recently and are really the ones fueling this growth have all moved in outside your narrow-minded definition of "Austin", thus, THESE PEOPLES COMMUTES WOULD BE LONGER COMING FROM YOUR CORE. Due to this, infrastructure and services are being developed nearby (your shops, cafes, restaurants), to go along with their SHORT COMMUTE. Is it possible for you to comprehend this?

Now, if someone buys in Cedar Park, but works downtown - they better have a flexible work schedule or take the train, otherwise they've just committed to spending too much of their life trapped in a 4 wheeled cage.

Now, let's get to the different wants part of this.

My personal version of hell is your life. Got it? I want a yard, my yard, a real one that has enough room for my 3 large dogs, kids, outdoor living space, smoker and grill. I want my mother in law to be able to live with us comfortably. This requires 5 bedrooms, minimum. I have two pre-teen girls that are 20 months apart - this requires an extra bathroom or earplugs. I went bathroom.

I want all this and be able to enjoy it, and have the money to travel, etc. So I'm not going to sink all my money into a house. I searched for quite some time before landing on Brushy Creek since it fit everything. Going central would have cost me 10 days per year in my car, a few hundred thousand dollars and some space. I also would not have 6 miles of parks that I can walk to without crossing a major street. I would likely have a neighbor behind me (I don't now, and never will).

I also love travel, even local travel. I don't care if it takes me an hour to get to a restaurant downtown - if I have fun getting there (i.e. bike to the train to a pedi-cab, etc.) But guess what, I get to enjoy all those same great spots in Austin that you do, and based on observations thus far, I'm willing to be I have a hell of a lot more fun, since I don't spend my time judging people for where they live, or relying on my location to provide my soul - I bring mine with me, wherever I go.

And, obviously, you've never been to Santa Fe.