Moving to Austin Texas from Syracuse (Round Rock, Cedar Park: foreclosure, daycare, houses)

[SUorange]

Hello -
My family will be relocating from Syracuse to Austin TX at the end of June.
My husband will be working in the Cedar Park area.
There are many locations that we have been looking at online, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander.

My questions are:
which one is the best to raise a family, 8 and 4 year old, I need great school. Not just elementary- but middle and HS as well.
Is there an area to avoid? - known for drugs and crime
Any recommendations on Pre-School? Looking at Primrose school?

Is there such a neighborhood where I can get kids playing and running all around-grocery stores nearby, schools close enough to get to in case of an emergency?

I also see that you guys have toll road. We have a toll road it's our thru way we jump on it for distance travel is that the same for you guys? or is this a road that we will take on our daily travels?

Please give me all the information that you have, we get 7 days to look at houses but if I can narrow locations down then it will be helpful!

Thank you to everyone in advance

[CarnivalGal]

Where will you be working? What's your budget?

[SUorange]

My husband will be working in Cedar Park, - House budget $250,000

[Trainwreck20]

Eh, live in Cedar Park then. Pretty much cross Austin proper off the list due to price. RR and Leander could work, but CP and Leander are same school district and all have good schools. Depending on what you mean by 'great', you may have difficulty getting into a 'great' school attendance zone in that price range. If really, really good is 'okay', then no problem. If you want the 'best' in the area, then no.

Primrose, btw, is a very well regarded daycare/preschool.

[eqshadimar]

Hello there! Can't really help you out with the housing stuff but I did grow up in VT, went to college at RIT, and spent 2 quarters as an intern at Carrier. All I can say is I hope you are ready for the heat!

[Jimmyp25]

Originally Posted by SUorange

My husband will be working in Cedar Park, - House budget $250,000

250k? Cedar Park? I live in Cedar park and bought our house as a foreclosure for 172k with HUD paying our closing costs.

Fast forward two years later. Someone with our same house sold down the street for 240k a couple months ago. It will be become very competitive and HARD to find a house at that price soon. I wish you the best of luck. We were sometimes going against 20 people with bids . I would buy before summer hits.

[SUorange]

What exactly is Austin proper?
And if Cedar Park and Leander the same district is it a big district?
A really really good school is good for me.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by SUorange

What exactly is Austin proper?
And if Cedar Park and Leander the same district is it a big district?
A really really good school is good for me.

By Austin proper, I believe they mean within the municipal boundaries of the city of Austin. Which isn't strictly true for your budget, but given your other wants/needs, probably so.


School districts in Texas are independent from the city and other government boundaries, so they usually/never align with cities directly (for instance, parts of the city of Austin are in 3-4 or more school disricts, only one of which is "Austin" ISD).

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...649999999&z=10

[mesmer]

Go orange.

Cedar park and Leander are different cities, but they are both under the Leander school district. School districts don't follow city lines. Austin/Cedar Park/Leander along 183 is analogous to Syracuse/North Syracuse/Cicero along 81, except on a much larger population scale (and much prettier than 81 is, honestly). So LISD (Leander ISD) covers most of both areas much like Cicero-North Syracuse does.

Part of the city of Austin is in the Round Rock school district, and part of it is in Pflugerville school district. Always check your school boundaries when house shopping.

When people say "Austin proper" they mean within the city of Austin. Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Leander are separate cities from Austin. You can't tell by driving from one city to the next.

Housing is more expensive here than in Syracuse, and there are more HOAs. Be prepared for that. I would recommend sticking to looking in Cedar Park and Leander only.

[mesmer]

PS There are no basements here, and the garages are small. Adjust your square footage needs accordingly.