78744 ok area? (Riverside: home, living, shop)

[maiyen]

I live in 45 and have been here for about 8-9 years now after moving from N. Austin. I love 04, but didn't want to pay 04 prices, so 45 was a compromise and we enjoy living only 5 miles from downtown. We are within walking distance to the rapid bus route and although the night owl doesn't go so far south anymore, the rapid buses are running later.

The Yard is now open (St. Elmo Brewing Co, Still Austin Whiskey Co, Austin Winery, food trucks and various local businesses) with further plans to open an adjoining St. Elmo Market District soon. 512 Brewery is just down the street from there and Thirsty Planet Brewing Company will be opening on S. Congress where the Capital Area Food Bank used to be (sorry, I like beer). There's a Farmer's Market on Saturdays in Sunset Valley when you don't want to drink beer And I am an outdoorsy person so it's nice to be close to McKinney Falls State Park, Hike and Bike Trail/Zilker, Violet Crown Trail, etc and not have to get on any highways to get there.


There are pros and cons like any other area. Crime is higher here than more affluent areas, but for the most part it is usually robberies and petty crimes. I don't think any parts of Austin are really bad in comparison to cities such as Chicago, St Louis, etc. If you don't like fowl then this might not be the area for you...I open my front door every day to the sounds of a rooster off in the distance and the other day we heard ducks quacking from somewhere across the street. Some neighborhoods are better with their curb appeal and some aren't. Most of the people that I've met in the area are working class friendly folks just trying to make a living. I would not only recommend driving around neighborhoods that you are interested in, but possibly walking around at dusk/night as well (with a friend of course). I won't say that my area is perfect, it is far from it, but our priority was to get as close to downtown as possible and have walkable access to public transit, while still being well below our budget so we aren't house poor.

[pop251808]

Originally Posted by maiyen

I live in 45 and have been here for about 8-9 years now after moving from N. Austin. I love 04, but didn't want to pay 04 prices, so 45 was a compromise and we enjoy living only 5 miles from downtown. We are within walking distance to the rapid bus route and although the night owl doesn't go so far south anymore, the rapid buses are running later.

The Yard is now open (St. Elmo Brewing Co, Still Austin Whiskey Co, Austin Winery, food trucks and various local businesses) with further plans to open an adjoining St. Elmo Market District soon. 512 Brewery is just down the street from there and Thirsty Planet Brewing Company will be opening on S. Congress where the Capital Area Food Bank used to be (sorry, I like beer). There's a Farmer's Market on Saturdays in Sunset Valley when you don't want to drink beer And I am an outdoorsy person so it's nice to be close to McKinney Falls State Park, Hike and Bike Trail/Zilker, Violet Crown Trail, etc and not have to get on any highways to get there...

Most of the stuff mentioned above, with the exception of McKinney Falls, is not close to the area mentioned in the original post, which is not in the 45.
I have a fair amount of familiarity with SE Austin and I'd say the the big drawback is the lack of amenities needed or wanted for day to day living. It will really come into play if you have kids. Regardless, you will spend more time driving for the tiniest of reasons, more than seem warranted from just a glance at the map. Doctors, groceries, hardware stores, office products, etc. All of that stuff is a schlep across town and north; believe me.
That part of town is between the rest of Austin and Del Valle. And the big complaint about Del Valle is: no grocery stores (for starters). And the part of Austin that's next to Del Valle: more like DV than the rest of Austin.
I'd recommend that part of town for youngish, urban pioneers who happen to work nearby. But if you want a hassle-free middle class life you'll want to keep looking.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by pop251808

Most of the stuff mentioned above, with the exception of McKinney Falls, is not close to the area mentioned in the original post, which is not in the 45.
I have a fair amount of familiarity with SE Austin and I'd say the the big drawback is the lack of amenities needed or wanted for day to day living. It will really come into play if you have kids. Regardless, you will spend more time driving for the tiniest of reasons, more than seem warranted from just a glance at the map. Doctors, groceries, hardware stores, office products, etc. All of that stuff is a schlep across town and north; believe me.
That part of town is between the rest of Austin and Del Valle. And the big complaint about Del Valle is: no grocery stores (for starters). And the part of Austin that's next to Del Valle: more like DV than the rest of Austin.
I'd recommend that part of town for youngish, urban pioneers who happen to work nearby. But if you want a hassle-free middle class life you'll want to keep looking.

I’ll be working at slaughter and mopac. I found a great-ish complex on east slaughter, I’m just not 109% on it yet as getting in and out looks tough and there will be even more people moving that way with good night and Easton park getting built up. I guess I’m looking more in the South Park Meadows area than anything right now.

[CT_ATX]

Originally Posted by maiyen

I live in 45 and have been here for about 8-9 years now after moving from N. Austin. I love 04, but didn't want to pay 04 prices, so 45 was a compromise and we enjoy living only 5 miles from downtown. We are within walking distance to the rapid bus route and although the night owl doesn't go so far south anymore, the rapid buses are running later.

The Yard is now open (St. Elmo Brewing Co, Still Austin Whiskey Co, Austin Winery, food trucks and various local businesses) with further plans to open an adjoining St. Elmo Market District soon. 512 Brewery is just down the street from there and Thirsty Planet Brewing Company will be opening on S. Congress where the Capital Area Food Bank used to be (sorry, I like beer). There's a Farmer's Market on Saturdays in Sunset Valley when you don't want to drink beer And I am an outdoorsy person so it's nice to be close to McKinney Falls State Park, Hike and Bike Trail/Zilker, Violet Crown Trail, etc and not have to get on any highways to get there..

It's funny. I live in 47, but I was going to make a joke about going to 45 to drink (except for Little Woodrow's). 44 is definitely for nature with Onion Creek being the largest metro park in Austin and McKinney Falls Park, although I live in between them in 47.

[DMfan]

I'm still right on the 44/47 line and agree with the others. I love the nature offered nearby, but everything else is a bit of a drive and traffic is just getting worse with all the new developments. There are only so many roads out and they're pretty clogged at the usual rush times. Hopefully those developments bring in some good restaurants or coffee shops nearby, but I'm not holding my breath.

Some streets or blocks are worse than others but overall I'm not concerned about safety in the area. Based on Nextdoor, petty crime seems high with mailbox and car break-ins, but I really couldn't say if it's much higher than any other area.

If you can spring for 45 do it, but no biggie if not.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

That is a pretty decent area. I would not hesitate to live there if that worked for me. Definitly check the flood plane maps. The fact that lots of properties in that are have flooded in the past is probably holding property values down below what they could be. That will probably be true in the future as well, so please recognize that. However its proximity to down town also makes it promising.

Moderated

[DMfan]

Those are the current but soon-to-be updated FEMA maps. The City of Austin has remapped the Onion Creek floodplain and FEMA is expected to adopt them in 2019. Some areas in that thumbnail are now in the floodplain (along Bixler) and some are out (most homes east of Salt Springs).

Onion Creek Floodplain Study | Watershed Protection |

It'll be interesting to see the evolution of this floodplain; how the proposed wall in the Onion Creek Country Club area will affect things along with additional development in Dripping Springs (Austin has already accounted for their full development).

[maiyen]

Originally Posted by pop251808

Most of the stuff mentioned above, with the exception of McKinney Falls, is not close to the area mentioned in the original post, which is not in the 45.

I included this info about 45 in response to ashbeeigh since he/she mentioned this zip code in a previous post.

[cBach]

I wouldn't move there unless I elevated the house 5 feet above ground. That zip code has flooded numerous times, almost yearly.

[ashbeeigh]

Thanks for the continued insight, y’all. I’m starting to settle a bit more of an area west if Brodie and east if 1826 and oak hill. It will be a big change from where I’m at I. Windsor Park, so I haven’t 100% settles on actually moving or not.