your opinion on Crestview (Austin, Cameron: house, transfer, neighborhood)

[gpurcell]

Crestview for a long time suffered in value from the Huntsman chemical plant at Airport and Lamar. I think it's a great area now. Access to the Red Line stop also opens up some interesting options.

[Vangov]

Originally Posted by austinnative69

I have lived in Crestview and i now live a few blocks south in Brentwood. Oddly enough i have also lived in Northwest Hills.

Crestview and Brentwood or as we like to say -- Brentview and Crestwood are both going through a lot of change right now. The original houses are being knocked down left and right. The original home owners are sadly starting to die off, and if it wasn't for the efforts of some very good people, we might have lost a lot of that history for good. The good news is that young families are moving in with lots of kids. Brentwood Elementary had to add two more portables this year.

We have our own neighborhood grocery store that my kids aged 10 and 13 walk to all the time. My kids walk to and from school and i feel completely safe. There is a ton of public transportation (the metro-rapid on Burnet and Lamar and the 5 bus on Woodrow. There is also the Train at Crestview Station.

I know what you mean about the houses. They were built as 2-1s in the late 40s to accommodate GIs as one of Austin's first suburbs. They are slowly getting makeovers or completely torn down and replaced. Neighbors still talk and care for one-another -- and we are concerned with the new look -- but we also know that change is inevitable.

I think there is still a lot of value in these two neighborhoods. If you have any other specific questions i would be more than happy to answer.

thank you for the response.
If you had to choose between NW hills and crestview, where would you live if you got kids and money is not an issue? thanks!

[austinnative69]

Northwest Hills has the better Schools. As you saw, it's certainly a higher-end area. Better trees, better views, bigger lots. If money is not an issue I'd have to give that one the nod. My parents and Grandparents still live there. It is VERY established. Friends of my kids live there in million dollar houses.

But i will say that if you are younger and want to be closer to cultural diversity (i know i'm going to get yelled at for that) I think Brentwood/Crestview would be a great fit. Burnet and Lamar will be unrecognizable in 10 years. There is a ton of value still in Brentwood/Crestview/Highland and to some extent Wooten.

As i mentioned earlier -- i do have kids, but money is an issue. If money isn't a problem -- Rosedale and Allandale would also be great places to own. I also love the Highland Park area if you just like being west of mopac.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by austinnative69

Northwest Hills has the better Schools. As you saw, it's certainly a higher-end area. Better trees, better views, bigger lots. If money is not an issue I'd have to give that one the nod. My parents and Grandparents still live there. It is VERY established. Friends of my kids live there in million dollar houses.

But i will say that if you are younger and want to be closer to cultural diversity (i know i'm going to get yelled at for that) I think Brentwood/Crestview would be a great fit. Burnet and Lamar will be unrecognizable in 10 years. There is a ton of value still in Brentwood/Crestview/Highland and to some extent Wooten.

As i mentioned earlier -- i do have kids, but money is an issue. If money isn't a problem -- Rosedale and Allandale would also be great places to own. I also love the Highland Park area if you just like being west of mopac.

If money were no object, I'd chose Rosedale over either of them.

Certainly NW Hills has better schools than Crestview, but there's a certain level of uber competitive keeping-up-with-the-Jones and emphasis on material things culture that is rampant there. This has been the current experience of multiple friends' children at the grade, middle and high school levels. Personally, we prefered to expose our kids to a lot more diversity -- and that includes economic diversity.

[Topaz]

Two of my friends with young children live in Crestview and love it. People might move away as children grow into tweens because they say there aren't as many families with older children living there.

Many of the houses in Crestview are on the smaller side but both my friends ruthlessly decluttered/minimized their stuff to live in this neighborhood because they consciously chose location over size of house.

[orngkat]

Although I like the appeal and convenient location of Rosedale, I don't like the narrow streets clogged with parked cars. I think Crestview is losing some of its "charm" due to the haphazard housing going up but I know a number of young families who live there and like it.
I am kind of excited to see what happens to Burnet Road in the Crestview and Brentwood area - it could be great or it could be more of the same kind of impulsive development going up all over that doesn't address the big picture or long view.

[JT-3]

Crestview is great, but there are definitely other choices out there should really be considered. I feel like it was "rediscovered" 8 years ago and agree with the other posters about homes maybe needing work or being on the smaller side.

NWHills on the other hand, is in another league and priced as such. At least from what I've seen.

Although the school issue would need to be dealt with, I'd recommend some of the pocket hoods surrounding Mueller.

G/L and let us know the outcome.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by JT-3

Crestview is great, but there are definitely other choices out there should really be considered. I feel like it was "rediscovered" 8 years ago and agree with the other posters about homes maybe needing work or being on the smaller side.

NWHills on the other hand, is in another league and priced as such. At least from what I've seen.

Although the school issue would need to be dealt with, I'd recommend some of the pocket hoods surrounding Mueller.

G/L and let us know the outcome.

That's more than something that needs to be "dealt with." Those are among the grimmest school tracks in Austin.

[RoadWarrior12]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

That's more than something that needs to be "dealt with." Those are among the grimmest school tracks in Austin.

They won't be that way for long. Too much $$$ moving into the neighborhood. One of those "if you build it, they will come" scenarios.

[austinnative69]

Half of Mueller is tracked to McCallum the other half to Reagan. It will be VERY interesting to see how that plays out.