Somewhere around Austin with some elbow room (Houston, Lockhart: for sale, 2014)

[Robb44]

Hi,

I am looking to relocate to the Austin area. It will be my wife and two children, ages 6 and 8. We are looking to live in a place where we can be outside the city and still within a short drive to businesses and shopping, etc. But ideally we are looking for a quiet community where the lots are not smack one on top of another, preferably a simple family home on about 1/2 to 1 acre lot. We are avid road cyclists, so living somewhere near some good country roads would be great if possible. Again, we dont mind a short drive to live outside the city, and hopefully something like this exists on the east or southeast sections of Austin. please if you can help with any info, leave comments!

Rob

[TexasHorseLady]

Bastrop and Caldwell counties will have what you're looking for. Bastrop or Lockhart in particular come to mind; you might be able to find a place there or just outside of those communities that would fit the bill. Are you saying east/southeast because of commute to work?

[Robb44]

Hi TexasHorseLady.. thank you.. Actually I am not familiar with Austin yet, but one of the considering factors with this move unfortunately is going to be my monthly trips to MD Anderson in Houston.. So if I can cut even 30 minutes off the drive by being on the east/southeast side of the Austin area, that would help. Our work office is in Austin but I wont need to go into the office but once or twice a week.. so to me that is not as much of a factor as is getting on the freeway and getting to Houston without alot of commuting through Austin. I will look at Bastrop and Caldwell counties... Thanks

[Uberguber]

Southeast side is expensive and limited with that criteria. Between I-35, SH130, SH45E, and SH71, there are onlly 4 properties available that are over 1 acre, and they range from $330,000 to $800,000. If are looking for 1/2 to 1 acre, there are only 2 houses for sale, and they are 414,000 to 565,000 and they are both in the same neighborhood.

[Robb44]

Ah.. thanks for that info.. no if it comes down to it, then we will look at the entire surrounding area of Austin. Those prices are higher than what we can afford. Another half hour or so on the road once a month to get to MDA will be worth checking out the other side of Austin too.. We are coming from the west coast, where you are lucky to have a lot with any yard at all.. everybody fenced in with good neighbor fences.. Definitely want to get AWAY from that kind of living, and have some room, and a large yard for the kids. It does not need to be an acre of course, but some elbow room without houses one on top of another.

[TexasHorseLady]

Wow, I'm going to have to go check that on the actual MLS, because that's not what I usually find southeast at all, and I was just looking in those areas three or four days ago!

[TexasHorseLady]

Now, I wasn't looking in Southeast AUSTIN, because that didn't sound exactly like what the OP was looking for, but a quiet community in the Austin area, something very different these days.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by Robb44

Hi TexasHorseLady.. thank you.. Actually I am not familiar with Austin yet, but one of the considering factors with this move unfortunately is going to be my monthly trips to MD Anderson in Houston.. So if I can cut even 30 minutes off the drive by being on the east/southeast side of the Austin area, that would help. Our work office is in Austin but I wont need to go into the office but once or twice a week.. so to me that is not as much of a factor as is getting on the freeway and getting to Houston without alot of commuting through Austin. I will look at Bastrop and Caldwell counties... Thanks

Look at Bastrop. It's on the way to Houston and would be much cheaper than Austin.

[TexasHorseLady]

Okay, quick and dirty MLS search, house, 3-2, on an acre or more, in Caldwell and Bastrop Counties, turned up 30 hits for less than$300,000, ranging in age from built in 1895 to built in 2014 (new build still under construction). Lots of options out that way. With 130, if you were in or just outside of Lockhart you could take 130 down to I10 and a straight shoot to Houston. Up further north, you could take 290 to Houston.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Uberguber

I opened up the search to include raw land and found 15 properties with a 1 acre minimum. I didn't realize the Southeast side of Austin had become that expensive. The OP might be better off sticking to the SW side for more affordable land.

Uberguber, that search is for the SE portion of the MLS, which is in Austin proper. \

If you look at the OP:

Originally Posted by Robb44

Hi,

I am looking to relocate to the Austin area. It will be my wife and two children, ages 6 and 8. We are looking to live in a place where we can be outside the city and still within a short drive to businesses and shopping, etc. But ideally we are looking for a quiet community where the lots are not smack one on top of another, preferably a simple family home on about 1/2 to 1 acre lot. We are avid road cyclists, so living somewhere near some good country roads would be great if possible. Again, we dont mind a short drive to live outside the city, and hopefully something like this exists on the east or southeast sections of Austin. please if you can help with any info, leave comments!

Rob

you'll see that they are saying that they want to be outside the city, not in it, which is where you're looking.