Young, liberal couple buying house in NW Austin (Wells Branch, Anderson Mill: apartment, affordable houses)

[shanson]

My wife and I are in an apartment in central Austin right now and are looking to buy a house, and we need help finding the right area (yep, another one of those posts ). Our budget is about $400k. Only hard requirements are that the area have good (not necessarily the best) schools, and that it not be way too far from my wife's work at 183 and Braker. We're preferably looking for a 3/2 around 1500 sqft. and are not into box-looking houses in cooky-cutter neighborhoods.

I'm a software developer working for a startup from home, and my wife's a nurse. We're politically liberal and not into guns and trucks and typical Texas fare. We'd like to be in an area with like-minded, educated people if possible.

We've looked around in Brentwood/Allandale/Crestview area, and we love it, but we aren't finding too many affordable houses. So we've expanded our search out North and Northwest. We just looked in the Anderson Mill area on the north side of 183, and I really love the house, but I'm not sure at all about the area. Would love to get some insight from people who know the area better or hear any recommendations for other areas in Austin. Thanks in advance

[Weatherguy]

Allandale/Crestview/Brentwood is definitely the area for you. It's a real mix, with a lot of singles, couples with children, couples without children, lots of gay singles and couples, including many with children. I've lived in Allandale near Northwest Park for 24 years and couldn't be happier.

You can find homes in your price range, but they might be fixer uppers or smaller than what you'd like. But I think it would be worth it, and once you're in, prices in Allandale will only go up and up due to the location. I bought my small 3/2 in Allandale in 1992 for $107K and it would currently go for about $450K. It's only about 1450 ft2 but that' fine with me.

An interesting thing about Allandale is that, although it's politically liberal overall, folks are welcoming of everyone of all political stripes. On my street most of us are politically liberal, but some of our neighbors are not. Still, we all get along, look out for each other, have block parties, and are very friendly. That's just the spirit of this place.

Don't give up on this area quite yet.

[shanson]

Thanks Weatherguy! I'm feeling pretty jealous of you and your house right now hah. I think you're totally right that that area is what I'm looking for. What I didn't share as clearly is that my wife is a little less liberal and grew up in NW Austin. Though she likes the Brentwood area, she prefers the N or NW, so I'm trying to figure out if there's an area outside of the Brentwood area that could still be an ok fit for us.

[austin-steve]

Mopac/Duval area (millwood and Walnut Creek), or east of Mopac off Braker, if you don't mind an area still turning.

Your liberalism should be a factor at all. Leave that out of the equation as it's an impossibly subjective thing to have on a list of criteria.

[pop251808]

When buying a house NW, I would make sure that I didn't inadvertently wander into Williamson County, it dips very low along 183. That's probably about all you can do to exercise some caution about the prevailing politics.

[shmatbert]

Seriously, how could anyone enjoy living next to someone who drives a truck?

[shanson]

Thanks austin-steve and pop251808. Definitely not trying to make politics a central factor, but I feel like it was still helpful for me to share, to give a sense of what our values are.

[Austin-HomeGirl]

We are a very diverse city as are the surrounding towns. You will have no problem finding like minded people where ever you decide to live. In addition to NW Austin, you might look in Scofield, Wells Branch, anywhere along the Parmer Corridor or as Austin-Steve said, Mopac/Parmer still has some bargains if you don't mind a transitional neighborhood.

Good luck and Welcome to Austin

[shanson]

shmatbert: I wasn't saying I don't want to live next to someone with a truck. Was just trying to explain a little bit about us.

[shanson]

Thanks Austin-HomeGirl! I'll add those areas to my list to check out!