Moving to Austin from Australia (Round Rock, Georgetown: fit in, real estate market, to rent)

[shell down under]

Hi all,

After many years of travelling back and forth, it would appear that my husband is being offered an International Assignment with us landing in Austin from Melbourne Australia in August.

I have spent many hours reading through other threads and have a general feel for things. My priority Is school districts. It would appear that the better ones are in Lake Travis area, round rock and Cedar Park. We would look for an area where it is a friendly neighbourhood, close to shops, parks etc. I like the idea of having neighbours close by, especially as my husband does travel a lot. I also prefer an established neighbourhood, where we currently live is full of period homes, parks etc with its own village feel.

We are very use to very hot weather in summer so the summers i have read about don't concern me. What I am mostly concerned about is my children settling into the new area. I have two girls who will be 13 and 11. they both love sport and dance so good clubs and swimming pool would be ideal.

I am also concerned about their transition into a completely new education system. They are both ahead of their grades already, although i was wondering if anyone had any idea of "books" that are study and curriculum based but not text books pursee. In australia we have books that have practise exercises that gives you an idea of areas they may need extra help in.....sounds sad i know but i want them to be able to concentrate on making friends and not worry about whether or not they will be behind due to the different systems. It will also give me a chance to look at the two curriculums and assess the differences myself, particularly in Math and Science.

any help is greatly appreciated
thanks in advance

[Westerner92]

I lived in Melbourne for the second half of last year, so I may be able to give some direct comparisons as far as which kind of neighborhood feel you're going for. That said, budget and commute details are important pieces of information that will help us point you in the right direction since Austin is a competitive real estate market and known for its terrible traffic.

Others are likely more qualified to speak to the quality of the schools (so others can correct me), but I believe anything in Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Eanes ISD, and certain schools within Austin ISD like Anderson, Austin, and Bowie and their feeder schools will be quite good. I'm pretty sure all of Austin's schools split into the standard three levels, and your daughters will most likely be in middle school (6th - 8th Grade). I can comment on the differences at the university level, but I'm not aware of how curricula differ for pre-tertiary education.

Also, Austin's summers are far more consistently hot and humid than Melbourne's. Melb might get some impressive heatwaves, but the heat is always dry and followed soon by days of 70sF/20sC, which is not the case in Austin, where there are months of 90s-100sF/upper-30sC, so be prepared.

That said, I found there is a certain familiarity between the two cities for me, and my Melbournian friends who have been here say the same, so hopefully you will enjoy it here!

[shell down under]

Thank you westerner92 for your reply. My husband will be working south of Round rock near the University research centre area. We are looking at 4 bedroom to rent initially, and as mentioned would like an established neighbourhood, one with its own vibe would be nice, and good schools the priority. We currently live in one of the older melbourne suburbs just out of the CBD, and as you probably found out while living here, many areas certainly had their own vibes. I was surfing Austin today on the net and came across "charter schools" are these like "alternative" schools? My girls would be going into years 6 and 8. As mentioned above they are ahead in their grades currently, however, arriving in August for the beginning of school means they miss the final few months of grades 5 and 7 and want to just make sure they begin on track. thanks again

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

I lived in Melbourne for the second half of last year, so I may be able to give some direct comparisons as far as which kind of neighborhood feel you're going for. That said, budget and commute details are important pieces of information that will help us point you in the right direction since Austin is a competitive real estate market and known for its terrible traffic.

Others are likely more qualified to speak to the quality of the schools (so others can correct me), but I believe anything in Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Eanes ISD, and certain schools within Austin ISD like Anderson, Austin, and Bowie and their feeder schools will be quite good. I'm pretty sure all of Austin's schools split into the standard three levels, and your daughters will most likely be in middle school (6th - 8th Grade). I can comment on the differences at the university level, but I'm not aware of how curricula differ for pre-tertiary education.

Also, Austin's summers are far more consistently hot and humid than Melbourne's. Melb might get some impressive heatwaves, but the heat is always dry and followed soon by days of 70sF/20sC, which is not the case in Austin, where there are months of 90s-100sF/upper-30sC, so be prepared.

That said, I found there is a certain familiarity between the two cities for me, and my Melbournian friends who have been here say the same, so hopefully you will enjoy it here!

Not all schools are good in round rock.

I would stick to the canyon vista - westwood track. Westwood also has an International baccelaureate program which could help when you go back to australia.

I wouldnt send my kids to grisham (middle), mcneil (high school) or stonypoint (high school).

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by shell down under

Thank you westerner92 for your reply. My husband will be working south of Round rock near the University research centre area. We are looking at 4 bedroom to rent initially, and as mentioned would like an established neighbourhood, one with its own vibe would be nice, and good schools the priority. We currently live in one of the older melbourne suburbs just out of the CBD, and as you probably found out while living here, many areas certainly had their own vibes. I was surfing Austin today on the net and came across "charter schools" are these like "alternative" schools? My girls would be going into years 6 and 8. As mentioned above they are ahead in their grades currently, however, arriving in August for the beginning of school means they miss the final few months of grades 5 and 7 and want to just make sure they begin on track. thanks again

charter schools are an experiment and are highly variable in quality. They basically take government money, but get to be run like private schools.

[PrimusPilus]

Based on your husband's workplace, I'd suggest you research homes feeding into Canyon Vista Middle School (arguably the best middle school in Austin) and Westwood High. Your kids will be able to fit in nicely as it has a lot of diversity. I should warn you of it's competitive nature, though.

Also, there's a decent community of expatriate Aussies living in Austin. I guess a quick google search should provide you with some links.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by shell down under

Thank you westerner92 for your reply. My husband will be working south of Round rock near the University research centre area. We are looking at 4 bedroom to rent initially, and as mentioned would like an established neighbourhood, one with its own vibe would be nice, and good schools the priority. We currently live in one of the older melbourne suburbs just out of the CBD, and as you probably found out while living here, many areas certainly had their own vibes. I was surfing Austin today on the net and came across "charter schools" are these like "alternative" schools? My girls would be going into years 6 and 8. As mentioned above they are ahead in their grades currently, however, arriving in August for the beginning of school means they miss the final few months of grades 5 and 7 and want to just make sure they begin on track. thanks again

The Canyon Vista/Westwood track is, without a doubt, the best option for schools, though Westwood is known for being wildly competitive, which has the potential be a bit of a culture shock. It's likely more suburban than what you're used to.

Austin is a newer city than Melbourne, so it's much more spread out and never developed the streetcar suburbs. That said, Allandale or Rosedale might be a good options. It's close to your husband's work, and the Burnet Rd. area has pretty good vibes in my opinion. I don't know much about the schools, though.

[TexasHorseLady]

There are some nice older established neighborhoods in Round Rock that you might like. Not sure which schools they track to, off the top of my head, though.

Georgetown is another option; several nice established neighborhoods and not that far to where your husband will be working - lots of Dell folks live in Georgetown and work at Dell in Round Rock. Are you talking about the Jake Pickle Research Center on Burnet/Braker? If so, my husband's business, before he retired, was right across the street from it, and it took him between 45 minutes and an hour to drive to work from our ranch 15 miles north of Georgetown, depending on traffic. That was before Parmer Lane opened up all the way to I35. Took me 45 minutes to drive the same drive (to a class at the Research Center) just the other day, during rush hour.

[shell down under]

thank you so much everyone, you have been really helpful. Now to contact the school districts to see how we enrol for schools, especially that we may only be arriving a few weeks before school officially starts in August...AAAHHHH so much to do ;-)

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by shell down under

thank you so much everyone, you have been really helpful. Now to contact the school districts to see how we enrol for schools, especially that we may only be arriving a few weeks before school officially starts in August...AAAHHHH so much to do ;-)

All you need to do is move into the school zone and register once you're in the house, so no worries. You don't need to 'hold a spot' or anything... they essentially have to accept all students who live within the zone even if they move there the day before school starts or half way through the year but you DO have to have proof of address.