Great school district & neighborhoods and close to downtown Austin (Houston: new home, gated)

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by sojourner77

...especially if taxpayers give those parents the ingredients and recipe for that cake, then yes, they should be more than able to bake their own cake

Whatever you say

[pop251808]

Smart kids can do well in most any adequate school. They might even become more well rounded adults if they spent some of their young lives rubbing elbows with children from less fortunate backgrounds. Dull kids need all the advantages money can buy, or a rich daddy.
Me, I'd fight like heck for that 15 minute commute; that's your life you're watching go by in stop and go traffic twice a day.

[JT-3]

Agreed and good points. Yesterday's rush hour sounded especially fun with a trash truck getting stuck under the 12th bridge.

[zhugeliang1]

Consider magnet schools within Austin ISD if you end up renting downtown. Now that I think of it I don't think there are magnet elems?

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by zhugeliang1

Consider magnet schools within Austin ISD if you end up renting downtown. Now that I think of it I don't think there are magnet elems?

Correct but there is Pease Elementary which is all transfers (downtown) and the dual language programs which require applications at many schools as well as regular elementary transfers and the Travis Heights ES charter.

[David WC]

Circle C is not perfect, but is my pick, based on your criteria. There are better areas for schools, but there is nothing in your price range there.


Circle C is, however, always one of the hottest resale markets in the Austin Metro area.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by David WC

Circle C is not perfect, but is my pick, based on your criteria. There are better areas for schools, but there is nothing in your price range there.


Circle C is, however, always one of the hottest resale markets in the Austin Metro area.

Circle C does not fit in their budget. Although I don't have up-to-the-minute MLS information, a web search of resale properties shows only four listings under $400K with one of those being $399,900 and another at $389K. The least expensive of the other two is $339K, $39K above their maximum budget and $89K above their desired budget. From what I understand, this is pretty typical of Circle C pricing.

OP, what you are looking for doesn't exist in Austin. Like others have said, pick your two highest priorities.

[butterflies105]

Thank you everyone! I m so touching for all your help!
I looked into CIRCLE C, contacted sale rép for new builder and I just wanted to cry when she told me 1660sf for $375k and no incentive, no blinds, no sprinkler system on back yard. Wow, so its 200/sq, ... sigh.. cant afford ít even i looked át old home they are way too expensive.

This is sad because where we live is 100/sf with exemplary schools from elementary to hs. Job relocated with no raise bút the housing is double so stressed

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by butterflies105

Thank you everyone! I m so touching for all your help!
I looked into CIRCLE C, contacted sale rép for new builder and I just wanted to cry when she told me 1660sf for $375k and no incentive, no blinds, no sprinkler system on back yard. Wow, so its 200/sq, ... sigh.. cant afford ít even i looked át old home they are way too expensive.

This is sad because where we live is 100/sf with exemplary schools from elementary to hs. Job relocated with no raise bút the housing is double so stressed

Welcome to Austin

[hound 109]

OP, you chose to listen to the Circle C cheerleaders.... instead of answering the necessary questions that would give those of us who are familiar with the Katy Schools to provide you with opinions.

(note - Bowie HS in SW Austin does not equal Cinco Ranch or 7 Lakes HS....& the home prices in that geographic area is higher than your budget....which is logical since Katy is 2-3 times further away from downtown Houston.... than CC is from downtown Austin.)

As I asked once before:

Originally Posted by hound 109

Where is the Job downtown?

What grade is/are the kid(s) in?

What's your rental budget?

What is it that you "like" about Cinco Ranch and the schools there?

There are many (like 7-9 HS's & their feeders) that are similar to Katy schools (& 2-3 are significantly better). But your requirement that the home be 300K or less AND less than 15 miles from downtown (& be superlative schools) was laughable.....as it would be in greater Houston or greater Dallas. But if you move out another 3-7 miles, you can find homes that might be a fit. There are neighborhoods that might fit your budget and will have schools superior to Katy. (& be closer to downtown Austin than Katy is to downtown Houston). Also, hubby (or you?) might even be able to ride a choo choo to work downtown.

But answer the (d*mn) questions above (especially the cross streets of the job location downtown). & stop trying to find a Unicorn home south of the river. Your original post and my answers to them still apply:

We are from Katy of Texas. (Which is how far from downtown Houston?). We are going to move to Austin soon due to job relocation. The job is located in Downtown of Austin. Where is your job downtown. Give cross streets.

If you could help us to find a great school district and close to downtown we would greatly appreciated! Kids don't attend "districts" they attend schools. There are great/good & average (or worse) schools in 4-5 districts around town. When you are ready to buy (a year from now) look at the school track, not the "district".

Our budget is below $300K. It would be great if around $250K. Doesn't matter of the size, 2000 sf is fine to us, with that budget, I would definitely rent first to get the lay of the land....you'll be looking at areas with lots of pros & cons at that price point. Would a condo or garden home be an option?

as long as it's family oriented, great place to raise kids. If you have any place in mind please do not hesitate to share with us.

We are living in Cinco Ranch in Katy and we are curious if could find something similar like this in Austin. With nice landscaping, scenery, close to parks. Lots & lots of threads that discuss good schools and neighborhoods that are 15-20 miles from downtown. & there are 8-10 HS tracks & 30+ neighborhoods that would fit the bill (actually more than Houston). But only a handful would be under 300K

Location should be less than 15 miles from downtown. I can't commute too far due to my health. Only one person commuting? & where is the job downtown? (cross streets !!)

P.S Or you could suggest nice apartments, we don't mind to stay in the apartment for about one year before we purchase. Either way would work for us! Renting for 6 months to a year is a GREAT idea. Answer the questions above & you'll get lots of opinions


OP, stop talking to realtors and stop looking at pretty pictures on the internet. Answer the questions and then narrow down 2-3 HS feeder patterns...THEN you can make an informed decision prior to looking at pictures or talking to realtors (or better yet, apartment locator services).
.