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Old 11-11-2006, 02:26 PM
 
458 posts, read 2,284,318 times
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When people complain about Austin traffic, what do they mean? Is it like Atlanta? LA? Boston? NYC?

How long do people typically commute for work?

Is Austin itself a good city for families or mostly for the young and single?

How are the burbs of Austin? How does that affect the commute & traffic?

Are there any burbs of Austin that are also college towns?

Thanks!
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Old 11-11-2006, 08:58 PM
 
Location: Austin TX
1,207 posts, read 6,264,521 times
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I've lived in downtown Chicago, downtown San Francisco, Orange County, CA, Phoenix, AZ and now Austin. I would say for its size, Austin has pretty bad traffic. What I noticed last night, however, is that by 6:00 or 6:30 on Friday night, both on I35 south of downtown and on the western highways (360,2222) the traffic was much improved than it would have been in other large cities I've lived in at that same time of day. In San Fran, for example, you were still in the height of traffic at 6 p.m. Not sure if that's the case on Mopac and I-35, but it was noticeable to us.

I'm sure some people who've been here longer will have better input, but my impression so far is that if you're single, better to live in downtown Austin than the burbs, if you're looking for nightlife and a happening vibe. Probably true in any major city, though! What's nice here about Austin compared to the other large cities I"ve lived in is that even in some of the "burbs" the city is still very accessible by car. We went downtown tonight from the NW part of town and got there in 25 minutes no problem. Very enjoyable. We never went to downtown LA when living in OC! and even living south of San Francisco at one point, we'd never gear up to make the drive into the city for fear of getting stuck in a 3 hour one way traffic jam (height of dot com era). I was pleasantly surprised tonight!

Good luck!
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Old 11-12-2006, 07:45 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
944 posts, read 3,946,053 times
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When people complain about Austin traffic, what do they mean? Is it like Atlanta? LA? Boston? NYC?

No. Austin traffic is really bad compared to what it was a few years ago. But Austin is much smaller than any of the cities you listed. We're 1.5 million metro, only a third as large as the smallest of the 4 cities above.

How long do people typically commute for work?

If you work downtown, don't live in the suburbs. Otherwise, you won't see your family much. I have friends who have done the city-to-suburb move, then returned to the city because they were so miserable being out in generic suburbia and coping with long commutes. But read on...

Is Austin itself a good city for families or mostly for the young and single?

It's a GREAT city for families! The main reputation you hear about in mass media is the entertainment scene and the university. But that's only one part of the city. If you're family-oriented and don't have to work in central Austin, then choose the suburb of your choice and enjoy!

How are the burbs of Austin? How does that affect the commute & traffic?

Are there any burbs of Austin that are also college towns?

The burbs are many and varied. Georgetown and San Marcos are college towns, both completely different from each other. I don't recommend SM for families, it's about half students and not as family-friendly as G'town.

Most burbs have major Austin City College (ACC) campuses within or nearby, so if you just want access to classes then you can find them in a variety of areas.

If you're relocating a family and seeking employment, then you've got a lot of choices and a lot of research to do. School districts, cultural amenities, employment opportunities, prices, etc. --- you've got your work cut out for you! If you can give more specifics about the type of employment, the number of kids, what amenities you want to be near, and price range, then we can give you more specific suggestions.
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Old 11-12-2006, 08:42 PM
 
Location: Brushy Creek
806 posts, read 2,876,791 times
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My commute went from 45 to 30 minutes with the new toll roads that just opened. Yipeee!


I'd rave about it and include the mathematical formula and analysis that go into my gleeful mode, but it would be wasted and only exciting to other number crunchers, so I'll restrain myself.

Let me just say that even when they start charging, as long as the traffic flow remains what it is now, I'll gladly pay.

In answer to the commute question, it's mostly an annoyance. You can pretty much get from anywhere to everywhere in 45 minutes or less outside of rush hours.
Something about people trying to get home to feed their pets that makes them totally unreasonable around here though!

Last edited by Spookmeister; 11-12-2006 at 08:56 PM..
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Old 11-13-2006, 05:45 AM
 
458 posts, read 2,284,318 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deeptrance View Post
If you're relocating a family and seeking employment, then you've got a lot of choices and a lot of research to do. School districts, cultural amenities, employment opportunities, prices, etc. --- you've got your work cut out for you! If you can give more specifics about the type of employment, the number of kids, what amenities you want to be near, and price range, then we can give you more specific suggestions.
My husband is a Nurse Practitioner and would probably like to work in a world class hospital. I would like to get a doctorate in Education or Educational Psychology, so need to be close to a university. We have 3 kids 8 and under. We are a bilingual family (English/Spanish) We currently homeschool, but would like to consider our other options as well. I am drawn to Austin because it is supposed to be so progressive and with so many options. I think my husband would like to try out a smaller community where we could really get to know our neighbors and have a sense of belonging and not anonymity in a big city. Are there good areas like that just outside the city? Are there city neighborhoods that have that small town feel because everyone knows everyone?

Thanks!
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Old 11-13-2006, 06:04 AM
 
458 posts, read 2,284,318 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spookmeister View Post
My commute went from 45 to 30 minutes with the new toll roads that just opened. Yipeee!


I'd rave about it and include the mathematical formula and analysis that go into my gleeful mode, but it would be wasted and only exciting to other number crunchers, so I'll restrain myself.

Let me just say that even when they start charging, as long as the traffic flow remains what it is now, I'll gladly pay.

In answer to the commute question, it's mostly an annoyance. You can pretty much get from anywhere to everywhere in 45 minutes or less outside of rush hours.
Something about people trying to get home to feed their pets that makes them totally unreasonable around here though!
A pleasant commute is a real quality of life issue for us. Thanks for the info.
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Old 11-13-2006, 10:27 AM
 
2,268 posts, read 7,308,470 times
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Default City Neighborhoods

Yes, there are great city neighborhoods in Austin. I live in one and have never had better neighbors or felt more of a sense of neighborhood. It's extremely quiet yet you can get to just about everything in 10 minutes or less.

Here's the bad part...these neighborhoods are extremely popular and thus have become very expensive. The lowest priced home in our neighborhood right now is around $310,000 and it is around 900 sf with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. It's definitely a great place for an investment though. We have seen our home increase in value by at least $100K in just one year.

Just north of our neighborhood is another great area that I'm sure will be the next big boom spot. It's called Allendale. The homes are not as old there and many are larger than here in Rosedale. You may want to check that area out as well. I think the zip code there is 78757.

Another reason why I would recommend these neighborhoods to you is that there are great hospitals within 5 minutes. Have your husband check out the Heart Hospital of Austin and Seton.

Good luck!!
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Old 11-13-2006, 10:32 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,242 posts, read 35,471,075 times
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If you are looking for the community feel, Buda, Kyle, and Georgetown come to mind....but, in general, the 'progressiveness' of Austin starts to wane around the city limits.

We live in the Western Oaks (and misc. name variations) subdivision in SW Austin, and have been really happy with the community feel of our 'street'. Many of the neighbors are out in the driveway almost every evening with their young kids, and there are several groups of older kids (junior highish) that play together. Our street is kind of a side street with no through traffic, and this definitely helps, plus I think we are lucky with the neighbors we happened to end up with. In any case, there is a preponderance of young families and an almost non-existent crime level (although one of the neighbors did have their house 'TP'ed a few weeks ago).

The commute from here is reasonable if not great. There is an ACC Campus very close by, and we do not have to go through the infamous 'Y in Oakhill' to get into Austin (I thought this was a YMCA for many years until I moved south).
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Old 11-13-2006, 07:16 PM
 
Location: Dallas
20 posts, read 49,800 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20 View Post
If you are looking for the community feel, Buda, Kyle, and Georgetown come to mind....but, in general, the 'progressiveness' of Austin starts to wane around the city limits.

We live in the Western Oaks (and misc. name variations) subdivision in SW Austin, and have been really happy with the community feel of our 'street'. Many of the neighbors are out in the driveway almost every evening with their young kids, and there are several groups of older kids (junior highish) that play together. Our street is kind of a side street with no through traffic, and this definitely helps, plus I think we are lucky with the neighbors we happened to end up with. In any case, there is a preponderance of young families and an almost non-existent crime level (although one of the neighbors did have their house 'TP'ed a few weeks ago).

The commute from here is reasonable if not great. There is an ACC Campus very close by, and we do not have to go through the infamous 'Y in Oakhill' to get into Austin (I thought this was a YMCA for many years until I moved south).
Looks like your neighborhood is about to take a serious quality of life hit, TW. We've just made an offer on a Wheeler Branch Trail home just off Cannon. Don't abandon all hope; the deal might fall through.

Bayou Bill
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Old 11-13-2006, 08:28 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
944 posts, read 3,946,053 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Micah Girl View Post
My husband is a Nurse Practitioner and would probably like to work in a world class hospital.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Micah Girl View Post
I would like to get a doctorate in Education or Educational Psychology, so need to be close to a university.
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.) Being bilingual helps a lot when you're south of Austin. Also, San Antonio, while nowhere near as "hip" as Austin, does have some really nice neighborhoods and culture but you'd have to go to that forum and ask the experts cuz I've only visited a few times.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Micah Girl View Post
We currently homeschool, but would like to consider our other options as well.
There's a supurb homeschooling network in Austin, completely free of ties to any particular orthodoxy. It's basically anarchistic and self-organizing although there are key people who do a lot of the coordinating and information dissemination. It's a great city for homeschooling because you can have your kids at many different locations during the week, getting exposure to lots of different types of people and experiences. I have several friends who participate in this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Micah Girl View Post
I am drawn to Austin because it is supposed to be so progressive and with so many options. I think my husband would like to try out a smaller community where we could really get to know our neighbors and have a sense of belonging and not anonymity in a big city. Are there good areas like that just outside the city? Are there city neighborhoods that have that small town feel because everyone knows everyone?
This is the hard part. You have a choice between a VERY LONG commute or else paying more and finding a neighborhood like AustinTraveler described, in the center of the city. I personally LOVE the central eastside, which is less expensive and close to everything with almost no commute hassles. The people are mostly very friendly and you'd have every imaginable type of neighbor. There are a lot of pockets on the east side that each have their own character so it's hard to pinpoint it, but it's mainly between Airport Blvd., I-35, and Town Lake. The deepest east parts of that realm aren't good for families, but as you get closer to I-35 most of it is pretty safe and has a wonderful mix of folks, including families with young children.
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