Neighborhood pros and cons (Austin: best neighborhood, apartment, lease)

[Jaymay89]

Hey everyone. My family and I are thinking of moving to Austin, and I had a few questions!

Can anyone point me in the direction of someplace that gives a good breakdown on the pros and cons of different neighborhoods in the area? We have never been before and are having a hard time figuring out the best place to look into living.

My husband owns his own online business, so we do not need to be close to any particular part of the city for a commute. Which opens up our options a lot and makes it a little more difficult.

Better yet - anyone have any personal recommendations? My husband and I are in our 20's and we have a son who is 2. We are looking for a 3 bedroom under 2000 a month to rent. An area near a park or library would be ideal. It doesn't have to be super close to downtown. Within an hour would probably be ok. Safety is a big concern.

We are heavily leaning towards Austin for numerous reasons, one being that the people who live here seem to be really friendly. So thanks in advance for your helpful tips!

[Moonlady]

I suggest you start here. There is a wealth of information in that thread that will get you going in the right direction and maybe narrow down your options for us to do a better job of guiding you.

[Jaymay89]

Thanks! I don't know why I haven't checked that thread out before! I think I've opened it a bunch (along with a million other tabs) and it just kept getting lost. Checking it out now for sure!

[CarnivalGal]

That's kind of hard to address because what one person considers a pro, another may consider a con. Can you give more information about where you are coming from and things you want or don't want?

[Roadking2003]

You might be better off moving to an apartment for six months while looking around. You get a much better feel for the various areas when you are here in person.

[MedicalPartisan]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

You might be better off moving to an apartment for six months while looking around. You get a much better feel for the various areas when you are here in person.

This is exactly what I plan on doing when my time comes.

[Jaymay89]

Originally Posted by Roadking2003

You might be better off moving to an apartment for six months while looking around. You get a much better feel for the various areas when you are here in person.

This is a great idea and I can't believe I didn't think of it! We were just thinking we didn't want to stay in an apartment for a whole year. I never thought about a short term lease.

Thanks for the advice! We've already found an apartment and were approved for it for 5 months (strangely, five months was cheaper then 6). As soon as we get the details finalized with the apartment we should be moving out to Austin in March! That gives us five months to find the best neighborhood for us from first hand experience and actually see places in person.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[txtroubadour]

Originally Posted by Jaymay89

Hey everyone. My family and I are thinking of moving to Austin, and I had a few questions!

Can anyone point me in the direction of someplace that gives a good breakdown on the pros and cons of different neighborhoods in the area? We have never been before and are having a hard time figuring out the best place to look into living.

My husband owns his own online business, so we do not need to be close to any particular part of the city for a commute. Which opens up our options a lot and makes it a little more difficult.

Better yet - anyone have any personal recommendations? My husband and I are in our 20's and we have a son who is 2. We are looking for a 3 bedroom under 2000 a month to rent. An area near a park or library would be ideal. It doesn't have to be super close to downtown. Within an hour would probably be ok. Safety is a big concern.

We are heavily leaning towards Austin for numerous reasons, one being that the people who live here seem to be really friendly. So thanks in advance for your helpful tips!

Check out move-to-austin.com. There's a neighborhood guide explaining various neighborhoods in detail, and even a quiz you can take that will tell you which neighborhoods might suit you best. I used it when I moved here and found it very helpful. Good luck!

[scm53]

Originally Posted by txtroubadour

Check out move-to-austin.com. There's a neighborhood guide explaining various neighborhoods in detail, and even a quiz you can take that will tell you which neighborhoods might suit you best. I used it when I moved here and found it very helpful. Good luck!

That "quiz" is BS. Does ANYONE choose a neighborhood over something as irrelevant as the "political leanings" of your likely neighbors?

PLEASE NOTE: This is a general breakdown of Austin neighborhoods by price range and by the typical political leanings of people who live there. I’m making sweeping generalizations here folks, and certainly you can find exceptions everywhere. When a neighborhood is mixed politically (or has a wide price range) I have included it in multiple places.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by txtroubadour

Check out move-to-austin.com. There's a neighborhood guide explaining various neighborhoods in detail, and even a quiz you can take that will tell you which neighborhoods might suit you best. I used it when I moved here and found it very helpful. Good luck!

This quiz is a mixture of fact and biased opinion. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who cannot tell the difference.