Need advice on moving to Austin (Round Rock, Spring: rent, house, buy)

[agumuc2]

Sorry I posted the response earlier before I saw all the additional answers! Thank you all for some good places to look! I saw a few in Circle C that looked like they were in the low 200s which is a bit out of our price range but if the place is perfect we might be willing to go a little higher than what we have originally said. We aren't against more square feet but right now we live with my parents while waiting to move and we have 5,000 square feet and it is just ridiculous to try to keep that much area clean with 4 little kids!

I was mainly worried about what has happened to many people who have moved to our area. Builders built up these gorgeous homes so when everyone looks online they think they are moving into a nice, safe area.
What they can't see is that there is a terrible neighborhood with an insane amount of crime a few streets down (all section 8 housing).

I am so glad to hear that the homeschooling community is great everywhere! We have a very active community in MD and my kids would be really bummed if that changed. They are already not to happy about the move, while we are so excited not to have to deal with winter anymore, the kids aren't too thrilled about it!

I do think I need to start working with a relator, does anyone have one that they recommend?

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by agumuc2

Thank you for the advice! Do you know of any good areas South of Austin? Whenever I look up good places to live with families near Austin only Cedar Park and Round Rock seem to come up!

Look at all of the posts between your two postings of this identical question and there are several recommendations.

[hound 109]

Family of 6, you homeschool, hubby works at Airport.....& 200K tops.

- first off Rent for 6 months to a year to get the lay of the land (& to look for the best home).
- Look South & East of town....(it's closer to the airport & you're not traveling THRU town to get to work)

- Buda/Kyle.
- Bastrop.
- Lockhart.

Schools don't matter (since you homeschool) & WAY more bang for buck South & East of town than NW or W of town. & if after 6 months you end up in CP or RR, at least your husband will have avoided the commute from h#ll for 6 months.

[JT-3]

The budget is going to push you far away front the airport. I'd suggest renting first too. ^

[tom331]

Check the Colorado Crossing at McKiney Fall near HWY71 and HWY183. Lennar Homes is buiding some houses there at your price range.

[piccadilly]

Originally Posted by agumuc2

Thank you for the advice! Do you know of any good areas South of Austin? Whenever I look up good places to live with families near Austin only Cedar Park and Round Rock seem to come up!

You have options:

Staying under 200K:
In the South: You have Kyle & Buda
To the East: You have Bastrop (is closer than Kyle & Buda just not on the I-35 Corridor)
To the Northish...: In the North East you have Manor, and Elgin is there too, but this might require couple of plazas on the toll road.

**If you don't mind the toll road, then you can find something in Hutto, Pflugerville

I Live close to 130 toll road in Georgetown and can make it to the airport in about 25 minutes.

[agumuc2]

Thanks for all the replies! My husband actually got the call this afternoon and has 24 hrs to take the job or not. We were thinking it would take much longer!

I researched Kyle and Buda today but it looked like the schools were very bad there. My kids do homeschool but we do like ability to put them in school if anissue ever arose. Are there any areas south that have good school districts. They don't have to be the best bur the ones I was seeing in S. Austin were rated 3-4 out of 10 :/ Dripping Springs looks nice so I will try to look in our price range there.

I would love to just buy a house but I think a rental would really be the smart way to go. I just hate to move the kids twice! My husband might go down first since this is all happening so quickly so maybe he could narrow down the area when he gets there.

Would the commute from Cedar Park or*Round Rock be terrible at very off times? He generally goes to work at 4am and gets off around 1pm.

Also, would Pflugerville be closer?

Ahhh, my head is spinning!

[riaelise]

Rent.

Pflugerville is a family friendly suburb as well with decent and good schools. You can commute to the airport via the tollroad (which will be probably $12-16/day) or free road (connect to 183, but the commute is longer). At your price range, Pflugerville is the more attractive option because it offers good value for your dollar. Though I should mention that in the newer, shinier neighborhoods of Pflugerville that zone to the best schools, your $200k budget would get you a pretty small house. Even the starter homes in my neighborhood are at least $200k now.

[Rynldsbr]

Pflugerville (and Hutto) is a realistic option based on criteria given and should be doable in the price range, either rental or purchase.

I think the tolls would be less than that per day - I pay under $5 from Hutto to 290W if I use it.

OP - you can ask the hiring manager for a few extra days if not comfortable with the decision yet. Often they will grant a couple days if you simply ask. In the meantime you can research and check out arrangements for husband to come ahead and rent a room while searching for the future home. Unfortunately that may leave you with the fun task of packing everything up later. If you do this, find out what arrangements will they allow for husband to take time off later to come and get you and the kiddos.

[RoadWarrior12]

Definitely take a look at Pflugerville. The toll road route (getting on at 45, off at 71) is actually only $7/day with TXTag, or spend 10 more minutes and go the Dessau/183 route for free. This would build in some buffer if his schedule changes.

4AM - 1PM, you could live in Cedar park and get there in 35 minutes (183 straight shot), but if his schedule changes, that doubles at least.