Traffic and commuting and suburbs and families (Houston, Dallas: new home, neighborhood)

[AustinTraveler]

In all honesty to your question about finding something like Austin in Texas but smaller, my answer is absolutely not. But, I still wouldn't rule out Austin. It does not have a big city feel to it at all and if you actually lived in the city in one of the older neighborhoods, you would have everything you are asking for. Do yourself a favor and come for a visit!

It would be the best of both worlds. You could work on your doctorate while your husband goes to work at one of the many wonderful hospitals here. Neither of you would have to worry about commuting because you would already be close to both the University and hospitals. Yes, most of the houses are small and older but the trade off is that the neighborhoods are great. I know all of my neighbors and they're all great. I certainly can't say that about my years in suburbia.

There are tons of little kids here and great schools, both private and public. People are always out walking their dogs and riding bikes. There are parks and public green spaces all over the place. There are always activities and festivals going on too. Grocery stores and all kinds of other shopping are within walking or short driving distances away. What more could you want???

Again, come for a visit!

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

In all honesty to your question about finding something like Austin in Texas but smaller, my answer is absolutely not. But, I still wouldn't rule out Austin. It does not have a big city feel to it at all and if you actually lived in the city in one of the older neighborhoods, you would have everything you are asking for. Do yourself a favor and come for a visit!

It would be the best of both worlds. You could work on your doctorate while your husband goes to work at one of the many wonderful hospitals here. Neither of you would have to worry about commuting because you would already be close to both the University and hospitals. Yes, most of the houses are small and older but the trade off is that the neighborhoods are great. I know all of my neighbors and they're all great. I certainly can't say that about my years in suburbia.

There are tons of little kids here and great schools, both private and public. People are always out walking their dogs and riding bikes. There are parks and public green spaces all over the place. There are always activities and festivals going on too. Grocery stores and all kinds of other shopping are within walking or short driving distances away. What more could you want???

Again, come for a visit!

I know that sometime people who live in NYC feel they have more "small town" life than people in suburbia because they know people in their neighborhoods. Our experience in our New England city is not like that. We have to make a HUGE effort to get to know our neighbors and we end up feeling very isolated. Part of that is New England culture, part of that is urban distrust, part of that is the busyness of people's lives.

The other thing we are looking for is affordable housing, and it seems to me from what I have been reading that living in Austin is getting pricey. We are looking to radically cut our cost of living and to buy a decent house with a yard and preferably 4 bedrooms (we have 3 kids) for the low 100s. I am thinking that is not possible in a safe city neighborhood...

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by Micah Girl

We aren't looking for a bubble to protect our kids

Sorry if I sounded like I was preaching. It's a pet issue of mine, the problem of how mass media and marketers portray issues dealing with crime, kids, etc. I don't know anything about you so there was nothing personal intended in my remarks, it's just my soap box.

Originally Posted by Micah Girl

I think Austin is too big a city for what we are looking for--but it's got the right feel. I am hoping for something like that on a smaller scale. If Round Rock is too suburban as you say, then would I find what I am looking for somewhere else in TX?

Austin Traveler summarized one perspective on this --- you can find villages within a city like this, neighborhoods where you do most of your living, shopping, socializing, etc. The University is very close to the main hospitals. There are several neighborhoods north, east and west of UT that are relatively affordable because they're not the ultra-hip 78704 zip code where everyone wants to live at the moment.

Hyde Park, north of UT and very close to medical stuff, is a very nice neighborhood and it's surprisingly cheap to rent there. Probably expensive to buy, but prices anywhere in central Austin will go up for a long time because there's a lot of very well-designed urbanization happening that will drive up demand. Hyde Park also has a single street corner where you can do a lot of your living, with a few cafes, a bakery/coffeehouse, a nice neighborhood grocery store, all on what feels like a residential street surrounded by lots of nice older homes and big trees. There are lots of kids living in the area, as there are in most of the older neighborhoods of central Austin (outside of downtown, of course.)

I wouldn't rule out other towns in Texas. This state will continue to change a lot over the coming years. It's urbanizing rapidly and there are long term plans for rapid rail transit between major metros. Many of the hick towns are being invaded by newcomers who are revitalizing them. The problem is that you have very exacting requirements. Have you looked into Athens, GA? It's a fantastic little town, very pretty! Surely they have a PhD program in just about every subject at the U of GA. Err.... but you don't want humidity? Oops. Scratch GA. Oh well, keep on searching!

[AustinTraveler]

I'm afraid the low 100's won't get you anywhere near Central Austin . I really wish it was more affordable cause it's such a great place to live. But, all great places to live end up becoming expensive.

I really do wish you luck in finding what you're looking for!! Sorry I can't be of more help.

[deeptrance]

Yikes, low 100s??? That won't even buy a decent 4 BR house in most of the suburbs! Wow.... and to be close to a major university? This is an impossible dream outside of maybe some places in the Dakotas or Iowa or one of those states where population has been declining.

The average and median prices shown for housing in ANY location are always lower than reality because they're skewed by being outdated and by including the turnover of junk houses. To get a good place in a nice neighborhood in central Austin that's at least a 3/2 is probably STARTING in the upper 200s for the less desireable locations and goes well over a million in the best neighborhoods. You can't find that info from stats, unfortunately.

[AustinGuy]

Originally Posted by deeptrance

Yikes, low 100s??? That won't even buy a decent 4 BR house in most of the suburbs! Wow.... and to be close to a major university? This is an impossible dream outside of maybe some places in the Dakotas or Iowa or one of those states where population has been declining.

Are you sure? I bet you can come close to this in the outskirts of Waco or San Marcos. Not sure if those colleges are considered 'major' enough though.

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

Are you sure? I bet you can come close to this in the outskirts of Waco or San Marcos. Not sure if those colleges are considered 'major' enough though.

"Major" for me means I could get a PhD in Ed. or Ed. Psych and that the college would have a positive cultural effect on the town.

A friend of mine suggested that Waco was an underrated place with potential, but he is the only one to EVER suggest that, so I haven't yet researched.

I am thinking of Lexington, KY because they are a college town and have cheap real estate. But of course that's not in TX!

[AustinGuy]

Check out San Marcos. It might meet your needs.

[AK123]

I can't think of any hospitals in Austin that qualify as "world class." Not sure what you mean by that --- Houston has a couple, and I'm sure Dallas does as well. Our best medical care is focused around Lamar and 38th streets, a few miles north of downtown and NW of the U of TX.

I'm not sure there are either... all I know is that I've found Houston is the place to be for the medical industry.... it has the largest grouping of hospitals in the country (Texas Medical Center) and several world-class hospitals like M D Anderson, Texas Heart Institute, Texas Children's....

You're boxing yourself into central-north Austin and going to UT, hubby working at Seton or Austin Diagnostic or something like that. San Marcos is back on the list, I said it wasn't so great for families but with your goals it might work if there's a decent hospital near there (doubtful.)

You're right there's not... I have a doctor friend in Austin who can testify to that (she said she was hesitant to call the hospital in San Marcos an actual hospital)...

[plaidmom]

I found myself nodding while reading deeptrance's post. There is nothing really ~wrong~ with Round Rock, it's just....soul-less.

As for small TX towns with quirky personalities, Alpine, Lllano and Kerrville spring to mind (although I haven't visited in over 3 years). BUT (and that's a big but) I don't think they'll meet all of your other requirements.

What the others said about "villages" hidden in big cities rings true for me. I feel that in Austin, in Chicago, in NYC and even in Pittsburgh (Shadyside) when I visit my daughter.

Good luck on the hunt!