Central Neighborhoods and Commute Times (Austin, Victoria: best cities, renting, houses)

[godinlg]

Hi all,

I'm living in Minneapolis at the moment, but the company I work for has an opening in Austin and they would like me to move. I'm trying to figure out whether I would like it there. One big consideration for me is figuring out which neighborhoods I would be able to live in without having too long of a commute. I currently have a 30-35 minute commute to work (I work in a suburb, but live in the city). If I move to Austin, I would like to shorten it to at most 25 minutes, preferably less. I've read terrible things about the traffic in Austin, so I'm looking for some input on what neighborhoods I could live in and have a reasonable commute.

My workplace will be near the intersection of Anderson Mill Rd and Pond Springs Rd. I would like to live in a walkable, central neighborhood with access to bars, cafes, restaurants, etc. and some historic charm. Two of the neighborhoods that have come up as good locations in my searches are Hyde Park, North Loop, and South Congress. According to google maps, the commute time from any of these locations to my workplace would be around 20-25 minutes. Is this accurate? Do you think it would be a reasonable commute from these neighborhoods, or should I look elsewhere? Where else would you recommend?

Thanks you!

[mayfair44]

Originally Posted by godinlg

Hi all,

I'm living in Minneapolis at the moment, but the company I work for has an opening in Austin and they would like me to move. I'm trying to figure out whether I would like it there. One big consideration for me is figuring out which neighborhoods I would be able to live in without having too long of a commute. I currently have a 30-35 minute commute to work (I work in a suburb, but live in the city). If I move to Austin, I would like to shorten it to at most 25 minutes, preferably less. I've read terrible things about the traffic in Austin, so I'm looking for some input on what neighborhoods I could live in and have a reasonable commute.

My workplace will be near the intersection of Anderson Mill Rd and Pond Springs Rd. I would like to live in a walkable, central neighborhood with access to bars, cafes, restaurants, etc. and some historic charm. Two of the neighborhoods that have come up as good locations in my searches are Hyde Park, North Loop, and South Congress. According to google maps, the commute time from any of these locations to my workplace would be around 20-25 minutes. Is this accurate? Do you think it would be a reasonable commute from these neighborhoods, or should I look elsewhere? Where else would you recommend?

Thanks you!

Staying north of downtown is a great start.

13 miles counterflow to traffic from 51st/Duval in less than 30 seems doable in the morning. From South Congress, not so much, especially getting north of downtown. Coming home after 5pm, I would think 183 is moving and I-35 mostly starts to stack up just south of US-183, so you'll be right on the cusp of it in those hoods. There's alternatives to linked route:

E 51st St to Pond Springs Rd - Google Maps

[ankey]

Hyde Park and North Loop estimates seem right since you'll be going counter to everyone else. If you take 183 home in the afternoon, you will likely run into bad traffic in the Mopac area but there are routes to avoid that. South Congress is way too far for you. You may want to look a little further north in the Allandale and Crestview neighborhoods.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by godinlg

Hi all,

I'm living in Minneapolis at the moment, but the company I work for has an opening in Austin and they would like me to move. I'm trying to figure out whether I would like it there. One big consideration for me is figuring out which neighborhoods I would be able to live in without having too long of a commute. I currently have a 30-35 minute commute to work (I work in a suburb, but live in the city). If I move to Austin, I would like to shorten it to at most 25 minutes, preferably less. I've read terrible things about the traffic in Austin, so I'm looking for some input on what neighborhoods I could live in and have a reasonable commute.

My workplace will be near the intersection of Anderson Mill Rd and Pond Springs Rd. I would like to live in a walkable, central neighborhood with access to bars, cafes, restaurants, etc. and some historic charm. Two of the neighborhoods that have come up as good locations in my searches are Hyde Park, North Loop, and South Congress. According to google maps, the commute time from any of these locations to my workplace would be around 20-25 minutes. Is this accurate? Do you think it would be a reasonable commute from these neighborhoods, or should I look elsewhere? Where else would you recommend?

Thanks you!

All the areas like crestview, hyde park, etc. while they do have areas to walk to, those areas are urban and gritty. There is no "historic charm" there at all. The density of bars, cafes and restaurants is very low. Use google street view to actually see what they look like

[godinlg]

Originally Posted by Austin97

All the areas like crestview, hyde park, etc. while they do have areas to walk to, those areas are urban and gritty. There is no "historic charm" there at all. The density of bars, cafes and restaurants is very low. Use google street view to actually see what they look like

Hmmm...well, I read in several places that Hyde Park is one of the few Austin locations with old Victorian houses. I'm coming from an area of the country that has lots of old houses, and I've never lived in a house built after 1920. One of my worries with moving to Austin is that I will be surrounded by all new/recent development and no old buildings and houses. I'd like to clarify that where I live, anything built after about 1935 or 1940 is considered new-ish. I am fine with urban, although gritty maybe not.

If those locations have no historic charm and have low density of bars, cafes, and restaurants, what neighborhoods would you recommend that I look into instead?

I also enjoy nature and hikes, if that helps narrow down neighborhood choices.

Thanks for the feedback!

[alwaysmiling]

I think Austin97 has misled you... What you are looking for is Hyde Park, North Loop, Brentwood, Rosedale areas... Very convenient access to all areas of Austin. Your commute time will be less than you specified. Austin is young and vibrant, charismatic and different, all in all a bit weird but certainly not gritty. These neighborhoods have mature trees and great people, established places to eat and drink including workhorse, foreign and domestic, hyde park grill, asti, the flying saucer, flightpath coffee, and honestly the list goes on and on and on... I'm certain it would not disappoint.. cheers! thread complete...

[Trainwreck20]

Hyde park is a very interesting area, but remember that Austin itself is not really that old a city. From wiki

"Hyde Park's greatest building boom occurred between 1924 and 1935."

so although Hyde Park was officially started pre-1900, it mainly developed after that. Not too long ago, Hyde Park was considered a bit rough - quite a few neglected properties and lots of renting out to college students; recently, however, it has become a pretty 'hot' area. It sounds like you are familiar with the houses of that era, so there should be no surprises in architecture or design. There are some very nice examples of turn of the century homes there, there are also quite a few smaller, less interesting homes. Again, from wiki:

"By the late 1890s and early 1900s, however, the tone of Hyde Park's advertisements began to change. No longer was it promoted as an affluent residential area; instead, the suburb was described as an ideal place for the "working man or woman" to invest his or her earnings by purchasing a lot and building a residence. The key phrase in these promotions became affordability."

The main attraction today (imho) is its proximity to downtown, the 'ramshackle' design (odd alleys, no quite consistent street layout), and the mature tree canopy.

It is not entirely 'walkable' in the true sense, in that there are a few commercial places in the area, but it could be quite a walk to get to some necessities (groceries, schools). The streets are easy to cross for the most part (low traffic) and you can often walk in the shade (a big plus here in Austin summers), and you will have good bus access, if you want it. I do recall that Sundays were a royal PITA due to the traffic caused by Hyde Park Baptist Church, so unless you plan on attending that church, I would try to stay a bit away from it .

[hillcountryheart]

The neighborhoods that have been recommended to you are great. You'll be pushing the commute - yes, it's contraflow compared with most commutes - but there are some traffic lights that will be timed to favor the flow. The good part about living central is that if you change job locations, your commute will still be reasonable within the metro area. The Anderson Mill area is neither scenic or vintage/walkable. I am curious though why you would move - Minneapolis is considered one of the best cities for livability. You have intercontinental flights from your airport, your population is not exploding, and the jobs are there. Summer here is as brutal as winter there. Your houses have charm and even basements sometimes. Anyway - visit here often before you decide.

[hillcountryheart]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Hyde park is a very interesting area, but remember that Austin itself is not really that old a city.
The main attraction today (imho) is its proximity to downtown, the 'ramshackle' design (odd alleys, no quite consistent street layout), and the mature tree canopy.

Yup, yup and yup. The moontowers come from that era. The even older stuff is downtown and has been largely converted to business use.

[godinlg]

Originally Posted by hillcountryheart

I am curious though why you would move - Minneapolis is considered one of the best cities for livability. You have intercontinental flights from your airport, your population is not exploding, and the jobs are there. Summer here is as brutal as winter there. Your houses have charm and even basements sometimes. Anyway - visit here often before you decide.

The job in Austin would be a promotion for me, giving me substantially more income and a better opportunity for career growth. I work for a small company headquartered in the twin cities. Since this is the main office, it is harder for me to move up very quickly because there are many more qualified and older employees. Our office in Austin has only three employees, but we a do a good percentage of our work in Texas. Most employees here in MN don't want to move because they have homes, families, churches, etc. I am only one year out of college, so I'm not too tied down yet. I am also curious to see other parts of the country -- I've spent most of my life in MN.

But yes, MN has a lot of old Victorian charm, which I will miss if I take this job. I'll also miss the snow, although I usually don't care for it after the first month of winter.