relocation help. wanting country living near Austin for under $250K (San Marcos: for sale, how much)

[Bananas10]

Hi, I will try to keep this short. I have searched the forum but haven't found the answers that I am seeking. My family is planning to relocate to Texas; my husband will be working in Austin. Will you please advise me if what we are looking for exists and point me to the locations we should begin researching?
We want rural living with maybe 2-5 acres. I would love our budget to be $200K at the absolute max...although we can technically afford more. We don't need a palace, just a decent single family home. Our kids are young, just starting elementary school, so we want somewhere with good schools. My husband is willing to drive an hour to Austin for work. Right now I am not sure where in Austin he will be working. I know that will affect the commute time obviously. Are there places, possibly in hill country that we can afford? I have no idea what to expect land prices to be. my kids like to ride 4 wheelers and maybe want a horse or something, so the land doesn't have to be of amazing quality lol.


thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I appreciate any help. I am so hopeful that this move will not be something we will regret.

[Dynamoo]

You could buy a five acre lot for 150,000 outside of Johnson City or Elgin, and then live in a 50,000 used RV or trailer?

[TexasHorseLady]

Your budget is pretty slim for what you're looking for, but if he's willing to drive an hour, depending on where he ends up working, it's doable though you might have to accept a fixer upper. (I'm helping two sets of clients look for something similar right now). Best bets are east of I35 in the Taylor area east of Georgetown on out to Thrall or Elgin or out towards Liberty Hill/Brenham/Burnet or perhaps in Florence on the north side of Austin, and south of town you'll be looking at Lockhart/Bastrop/Smithville or perhaps near San Marcos. Schools is something you'll need to research yourself with your particular kids in mind. Understand that good school districts do raise the price of the properties in them.

At $250,000 or less you have a lot more options.

[Denver303TJC]

"Country roads...take me home...to the house...I belong! Outside of Austin, mountain mama! Take me home...to a home in the $250,000 price range, country roads!" :-)

[Axxlrod]

Just ask Chip and Joanna to find you the house and fix it up for you for $200K budget. It's look like a million bucks.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Bananas10

Hi, I will try to keep this short. I have searched the forum but haven't found the answers that I am seeking. My family is planning to relocate to Texas; my husband will be working in Austin. Will you please advise me if what we are looking for exists and point me to the locations we should begin researching?
We want rural living with maybe 2-5 acres. I would love our budget to be $200K at the absolute max...although we can technically afford more. We don't need a palace, just a decent single family home. Our kids are young, just starting elementary school, so we want somewhere with good schools. My husband is willing to drive an hour to Austin for work. Right now I am not sure where in Austin he will be working. I know that will affect the commute time obviously. Are there places, possibly in hill country that we can afford? I have no idea what to expect land prices to be. my kids like to ride 4 wheelers and maybe want a horse or something, so the land doesn't have to be of amazing quality lol.


thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I appreciate any help. I am so hopeful that this move will not be something we will regret.

You arent specific about size of house etc which makes it harder. We also need to know what side of austin he is going to be working. There are plenty of acreage lots that might meet your criteria out west but northwest would be good if he works northwest and southwest if he works south of downtown.

I dont think you will find anything with a house except towards the east and the schools are relatively bad that way.

However if you look west you can find lots in the 125K range which might give you decent budget to build.

For example there is an 2 acre lot in jonestown for 119K .

There are a few lots in dripping springs (south west) for around the same amount. There is a house in dripping springs (mfg) for 172K for 2.5 acres.

If you go east to manor/elgin/del valle (bad schools) then you can get around 10 acres for 110K



Septic will cost you about 10-15k, a well maybe 7K, and then you can do a metal building/barndominium house for another 50-75/sq ft. depending on how much work you do yourself.


There is a refine search options and a more options button which let you add more criteria like acres to the search.

[Bananas10]

Originally Posted by Austin97

You arent specific about size of house etc which makes it harder. We also need to know what side of austin he is going to be working. There are plenty of acreage lots that might meet your criteria out west but northwest would be good if he works northwest and southwest if he works south of downtown.

I dont think you will find anything with a house except towards the east and the schools are relatively bad that way.

However if you look west you can find lots in the 125K range which might give you decent budget to build.

For example there is an 2 acre lot in jonestown for 119K .

There are a few lots in dripping springs (south west) for around the same amount. There is a house in dripping springs (mfg) for 172K for 2.5 acres.

If you go east to manor/elgin/del valle (bad schools) then you can get around 10 acres for 110K



Septic will cost you about 10-15k, a well maybe 7K, and then you can do a metal building/barndominium house for another 50-75/sq ft. depending on how much work you do yourself.


There is a refine search options and a more options button which let you add more criteria like acres to the search.

Yes I was vague, sorry for that. I have been lowering my standards daily in this relocation quest haha...so I was just trying to highlight the most important qualities. Unfortunately I'm not sure about the address of his work yet. The things that are of utmost importance to us are that it is rural, not right next to anyone, and under 250K total. 2-3 acres can be plenty of if that's all we can afford. And with good schools. They don't have to be like top 10 in the nation or anything, just good public schools. The house needs to have 3 bedrooms. Not falling down, not a trailer. I guess building is a possibility. But the land would have to be closer to 50-70K I think, if we were to build. The commute time to work is not incredibly important. Does all of that help any?

Thank you and thanks to each of you for your guidance! I am truly grateful! I don't want to make the move if we can't afford to live in a decent house in the country, unfortunately.

[FalconheadWest]

Buckle your seat belt because the time machine landing can be rough...

That's not meant to be rude, but your search is rather unrealistic today. Why on earth would your husband want a 1 hour drive to work? That's also an hour back each day. That's 2 hours in the car adding wear and tear and more gas and all that costs money. Put that money into something closer in and more realistic. All you're doing is having him away from family for longer, and what good is all that land if he's not home to enjoy it with you and the kids?

[Bananas10]

Originally Posted by FalconheadWest

Buckle your seat belt because the time machine landing can be rough...

That's not meant to be rude, but your search is rather unrealistic today. Why on earth would your husband want a 1 hour drive to work? That's also an hour back each day. That's 2 hours in the car adding wear and tear and more gas and all that costs money. Put that money into something closer in and more realistic. All you're doing is having him away from family for longer, and what good is all that land if he's not home to enjoy it with you and the kids?

Well, you DID sound rude. And presumptuous. Maybe 2 hours in the car is half of what he is driving now?? Maybe I didn't ask about any of what you are talking about. I politely asked for advice on locations to look into. I thought I was clear that the location of where we live is pretty much our top priority, along with budget of course.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Bananas10

Yes I was vague, sorry for that. I have been lowering my standards daily in this relocation quest haha...so I was just trying to highlight the most important qualities. Unfortunately I'm not sure about the location of his work but it would be at an Austin police department. The things that are of utmost importance to us are that it is rural, not right next to anyone, and under 250K total. 2-3 acres can be plenty of if that's all we can afford. And with good schools. They don't have to be like top 10 in the nation or anything, just good public schools. The house needs to have 3 bedrooms. Not falling down, not a trailer. I guess building is a possibility. But the land would have to be closer to 50-70K I think, if we were to build. The commute time to work is not incredibly important. Does all of that help any?

Thank you and thanks to each of you for your guidance! I am truly grateful! I don't want to make the move if we can't afford to live in a decent house in the country, unfortunately.

I just saw a parcel of slightly over two acres east of Georgetown (would still have a Georgetown address) yesterday that was priced at $65,000. There were other properties for sale along the county road it was on priced from $400,000 - $900,000, so it's not like it's a bad area, and it's in the Georgetown ISD. So if you were considering building, there are options out there.