Austin Downtown Living (big house, maintenance, property taxes)

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by Komeht

I'm sure it's about number 38 on your very very long list of reasons why you wouldn't live centrally.

Uh, you must have me confused for someone else. I live West/Central. I can walk to Zilker/ACL, and I run around Town Lake and/or East Austin several mornings a week?

If you mean "Central" as in SoCo/78704, I did live there in the 1990s but I'll pass on the current mess and all the faux hipsters. If I was 20s/30s again, maybe. Some empty-nesters like it, but I think it's for a different demographic than me now.

But I do think for someone wanting downtown/central, the houses in the close-in central neighborhoods surrounding downtown within a 3-8 mile radius offer a lot of the same benefits at a better price and without the logistical issues.

Steve

[scm53]

Originally Posted by Komeht

I think every resident in the high-rise Spring has a dog and does just that. Never once been in an elevator there that didn't have at least one dog in it. No one seems to think it's any big deal.

Most highrises downtown also have suites that can be rented for guests.

Once again, projecting your wishes onto someone else. I said it didn't work for us. That should be enough for most. Obviously not for you. But, what's new?

[LiveUrban]

I'd look into renting one of the apartments going up along South Lamar or Barton Springs. Not smack dab in the middle of downtown but extremely close to it. You'll have easy access to all of the hike and bike trails as well. See if you like living there and decide if you'd want to look into buying a condo or smaller house in the area.

While doing so, you could try renting out your house.

[petro]

I'd like to hear more reasons why you are considering a move downtown. So far you've only said "[we] like the the trail at town lake" and nothing else. Instead, we have a long list of things you don't like about downtown. I'm not being critical, I'd just like to get a better understanding of why you're considering the move. I get the downsizing aspect, but you can downsize and not move downtown.

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by tom331

We are going to down sizing. One of the option is to live at Downtown Austin.

We have been in Austin for a long time and have lived at NW Austin for 25 years. We currently occupy a 4,000 sqft house at a nice neighborhoood. All our kids are either out of state or have their own place in town. We visited Downtown once in a while, but we are not sure whether it fits our life style. We cook most of our food at home and do not care about the restaurants and bars at downtown area. But, We do like the the trail at town lake. We have a nice canyon view in our current home, but we are willing to trade it for a downtown view. The main concern is a smaller living space at downtown. We don't want to pay the high HOA fee and currently consider a small one bedroom unit at one of the downtown high risings.

We would like to know your experiences of downtown living especially from those who has down sized.

Thanks!

Tom

Hi Tom,

When I arrived in Austin in 2001, I looked at downtown and found it sorely lacking. It has improved exponentially in the last decade or so. I like city living - the only other cities I have lived in in the U.S. were Chicago and NYC. Until Austin, I had never lived in a house in America. In 2008, we sold the 2200 square foot house in Wilshire Woods and moved into a barely 1100 square foot high rise condo downtown. I think you are getting good advice on this thread. The paring down of the stuff is both traumatic and liberating and I don't really miss anything we got rid off. For me, the things I miss about more suburban style living: I miss having a yard. I like to grow things. I miss that in a house you can entertain on a bigger scale. My kitchen is way smaller so cooking for more than 10 people is a pain. Some friends ***** about parking when they visit. The closure of streets downtown for events is annoying.

Things I love. The town/ladybird lake trail is fantastic. I am on it nearly everyday. I like kayaking on the lake/river too. The proximity to real nature in downtown Austin is very rare for urban living in my experience. I love NOT having a car in my everyday. I can walk to everything I need from work to groceries to movies to restaurants to dry cleaners etc. The only thing downtown lacks is a hardware store. I like that I can bike or run to Zilker , Barton Springs etc. I travel a lot so I like the lock up and go and no worries thing too.

But you are not me: you said you did not care for the bars and restaurants downtown, which for me is the BIGGEST plus of downtown Austin living. I like being able to walk to 150 plus bars and restaurants. I have seen a ton more live music since living downtown. My actual living space is small, but the charm of urban living is that the city becomes your living room. If you are a home body, I think you would be better off in a larger more comfortable home. The cramped quarters and the price premium you pay for downtown living are only worth it if you ENJOY the increased amenities and accessibility of those amenities. For me the bars, nightclubs and restaurants along with the outdoor recreational opportunities ARE what makes downtown Austin a pretty delightful place to live. I LOVE it that if I don't feel like cooking, there are 50 plus places that I love to eat within an easy ten minute walk. I LOVE it that I can drink as much as I like without having to worry about getting behind the wheel of a car. There are many other things to love too. YMMV.

[tom331]

Thank you for sharing your experiences of downtown living.

The main reason for us to consider Downtown is the view and the trail in town lake. We live at NW, but we often drive to downtown walking on the trail. For us, the waterview is the must when we select a place to down size. Dowtown (first and second street), Lake Austin, and Lake Travis are three places that meet our requirements. The almost empty of Lake Travis discourage us from picking up a property near it even though the view is still reasonably nice. Lake Austin is very nice. But, there are not many smaller size properties with the lake view. You either on the lake or you can not see the lake. The properties at 2222, West Lake, Parscal are some of the examples. We don't want to have a waterfront property which will be costly and it could be high maintenance also. There are many nice places that near downtown such as Terrytown and Hype Park. But, there is no waterview from these locations and we will not consider them. The another reason that we consider the high risings near town lake is that there are so many people on the trail every day and they energize and motivate us when we walk on the trail.

Many people like downtown because of the restaurants and bars but not us. We make our dishes daily and go out for dinner no more than once in a week.

The last reason we consider high rising living is that we could travel for weeks without worrying the lawn and landscape. I might get bored without the yard work, but I am willing to give it a try if we could get a unit with nice lakeview.

Thanks!

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Wow, another minus for me. Big time.

I don't have pets, don't want pets, and dislike other people's pets. Not meaning to start a "pet debate" on the merits of having one, etc., but if I had to share space with and small other people's mutts every time I got in the elevator, that'd be a deal breaker for me.

While I'm on the topic, the next time a pet owner says "he's friendly" as the dog puts its nose on my pants, I'm going to say "so am I, but you don't see me wiping my nose on your clothes do you?".

Steve

It is interesting that some people I know are almost violently opposed to living in an area where a stroller might be seen. It is as if small children carry a plague. And these people scream that they must live in a diverse area. Families are part of "diverse."

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

It is interesting that some people I know are almost violently opposed to living in an area where a stroller might be seen. It is as if small children carry a plague. And these people scream that they must live in a diverse area. Families are part of "diverse."

The exception to that should be the Las Vegas Strip.

However, if Texas ever passed casino gambling and that proposal to build one somewhere around the lake & Shoal Creek, then that would be interesting for downtown residents.

[madrone2k]

This is an interesting thread for me, also. I already live in a high-rise (well, mid-rise) building in Houston, so I have some experience on which to base my comments. I like my place a lot for the convenience, safety, views, and also in terms of simplifying my life.

Eventually though, I will retire to either Austin or southern California (have family there). But, I'm trying to decide whether to continue the high-rise lifestyle or not. I too, am drawn to the access to Town/Ladybird lake, the trails there, Zilker Park, etc. I also like having a variety of restaurant choices, but clubs, not so much. Anyway, in the interest of raising a new issue, I'd say that it may make a difference which DT Austin high-rise one choses. Some (say, 360) remind me more of a college dorm. The Austonian seemed, well, kinda empty but maybe it will take longer to fill up since its more expensive. Spring was nice, I understand it's pretty full and has lots of young professional folks.

[ScoPro]

Then there's the W Residences - also expensive.