Cedar Park to Downtown Commute: Am I Die?

[janineg]

The apartment complex behind Silverado Ranch development looks nice: The Allure - Luxury Apartments in Cedar Park, Texas You can search their availablity online, too. This would put you in Reagan elementary, Henry middle, and Vista Ridge High. The middle and high school are just down the street and are easily walkable. My daughter loooves Henry.
Then, when you moved out, you'd want to look for homes in Silverado Ranch, Creekview, and parts of Forest Oaks. I think they'd be in your price range.

[Dabroncos1]

Ghetto areas in the north burbs? Where this is news to me-

Plus I don't care about f1. If you said the nfl stadium, or an actual zoo then I'd be like okay that's true but nothing that's close to downtown is anything I care much for. I go into downtown only for work and briefly. Other than that it's rare. The cedar park center has concerts and has an actual good hockey team that wins which is much more enjoyable than watching some cars race around.

Open spaces? Hills? You realize Leander/Jonestown are on the border to the hill country right? I'll let you think what you want but if you're happy down there and I'm happy up here- who cares? Different strokes for different folks.

[tickledpink]

I live in north Cedar Park, pretty close to Leander. I love it here. Out of all our friends we are the only ones who don't have an Austin address (we're 28 years old just to give you an idea) but honestly our traffic is better than theirs. 9 times out of 10 I get to places just as quick if not faster than they do because I don't have to drive 10 minutes just to get onto 183.

I can get downtown when there's no traffic in 20-25 minutes. If there's normal, rush hour traffic it takes me 40-45 minutes. If it's especially bad it can take an hour or even a little more.

[sojourner77]

Originally Posted by Dabroncos1

Ghetto areas in the north burbs? Where this is news to me-

Plus I don't care about f1. If you said the nfl stadium, or an actual zoo then I'd be like okay that's true but nothing that's close to downtown is anything I care much for. I go into downtown only for work and briefly. Other than that it's rare. The cedar park center has concerts and has an actual good hockey team that wins which is much more enjoyable than watching some cars race around.

Open spaces? Hills? You realize Leander/Jonestown are on the border to the hill country right? I'll let you think what you want but if you're happy down there and I'm happy up here- who cares? Different strokes for different folks.

You say "who cares?" But you obviously do, because you keep posting back-handed comments against South Austin.

and Leander and Lago Vista are 25-30 miles away from downtown. You mean to tell me that someone has to drive OUTSIDE of the city of Austin for green space on the north side? You're talking about northern burbs, I'm talking about the actual city of Austin on the south side - McKinney Falls State Park 5 miles south of downtown, Zilker Park, Slaughter Creek, Guerrero Park, Violet Crown Trail, Barton Creek Greenbelt, Onion Creek greenbelt, Bauerle Ranch Park, Circle C Metro, Latta Creek, Mary Moore Seawright, Williamson Creek, Battle Bend, etc. and if you want to get to the countryside or Hill Country, you only have to drive 1/3 the distance from downtown. FM1626 is the southern boundary and edge Hill Country on the southside, compared to Jonestown on the north side.

Cedar Park has concerts?... umm so does the 360 Ampitheater (F1 track) that pulls in big (or bigger) acts - and we also have a little thing called ACL that happens at Zilker Park in South Austin once a year.

We actually have a zoo (two zoos, actually) south of the river, and an exotic wildlife ranch. Perhaps if we had a cut-rate aquarium in a strip mall like they do in North Austin, we would be worthy then?

[Dabroncos1]

Yeah Austin as a whole doesn't offer a whole lot of things to do in general. I've been here for over 2 years and have gone to Austin for leisure only a few times. So the fact that your "closer" to downtown- means nothing to me. I was merely saying that i have to 35 to Caesar Chavez across to lake Austin 3 times a week at 7am and it's really not that big of a deal as everyone says it is. Traffic sucks everywhere in Texas. That zoo you claim to be closer to is the saddest excuse for a zoo I've ever seen.. It's a great cause but hardly worth a trip. I never embraced the strip mall aquarium. In fact I'm the one who realized how many things I left behind in Chicago after moving here. Love where I live and my job but trying to argue that south Austin is so cool and so much better than north Austin is stupid. Everyone here acts like you have to live next door to your job or where you hang out. If I want to go to the Colorado river to kayak I can be there in 20 minutes down 183 to mopac. I don't have to overpay for a house, condo or apartment to live closer to it.

Every time I've been to south Austin I've seriously disliked everything about it. It seems dirty. It seems to be filled with run down areas. It's completely unimpressive to me personally and does nothing for me. North "austin" isn't any more impressive to be honest either. Norwood area, rundberg and Lamar, ... I mean about the only areas in Austin city limits that I actually don't mind are near 620, far west area has some alright areas although becomes pretty boring/sterile, arboretum area, domain area.

But that's not the point of this thread. Original poster asked if it's insane to drive from cedar park to downtown. And the answer is quite simply no. Are there closer areas.. Yes. But it's still not nearly as bad as its made out to be. Cedar park literally borders Austin.. anyways good look

[ScoPro]

Am I the only one here who uses Rand-McNally paper maps?

[Tams here]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Am I the only one here who uses Rand-McNally paper maps?

Funny you mention this! We drove from Austin to Maine a few weeks ago. Can't believe we forgot our well worn Rand-McNally paper map book. We had been plotting our route for a few weeks beforehand and overlooked taking it with us. We really missed having that map book! Even with all the modern mapping conveniences on hand, we stopped at WalMart in PA and bought a new Rand-McNally map book!

[Denver303TJC]

I know some people who live in the Slaughter Creek area, but not sure if that's too crowded, or still a good area to be in.

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Originally Posted by ScoPro

Am I the only one here who uses Rand-McNally paper maps?

lol
Yes, you are much smarter than I am. I keep thinking (when I'm lost) I WILL find it!! Stubborn to a fault.

[South_ATX]

I grew up in Cedar Park going through MS and HS and have now moved to SW Austin. Depending on what you for CP or SW Austin may be the place for you. I went to UT and have lived in multiple areas of the city including South Lamar, Hyde Park, Far West, and West Campus.

If you want to be close to the city and plan to take advantage of all of the entertainment options, highly acclaimed restaurants, beautiful greenspaces, and be no more than 10-15 away from Downtown, SW Austin is the way to go. The schools highly rated. It is also affordable to use UBER to ride in and out of downtown for an evening out. It's also a quick drive towards Dripping Springs or Driftwood to enjoy the local craft breweries and wineries.

Living in CP is like being a bubble, disconnected from many of the unique qualities that the city of Austin has to offer. If you plan on making your life only about your kids, taking school Athletics seriously, and getting a newer larger home, LCP may work for you. The District overall is better than ISD, but it really matters how your individual schools are versus the district overall. There are more dining options now versus when I lived there. You will still see the typical chain restaurants like Applebees, Chillis, etc. I go back every couple of weeks to visit my mother who still resides there. Every time I make that drive I always tell myself, I am glad I don't live here anymore.