Where to stay for a month long "look-see"? (Austin: extended stay, transplants)

[KentuckyMama]

Hi! Like many on this forum, my family is thinking of relocating to Austin (from Kentucky). We have 3 kids, ages 7, 4, and 3 months. We are looking at visiting for about a month this summer (June/July). Ideally, we'd like to be centrally located for exploring all different areas of the city. Perhaps even more importantly, being able to walk to a restaurant or two & a park would be great. I realize we'll be there in the dead heat of the summer, though, so does anybody really walk anywhere in June/July? Maybe in mornings and evenings, at least.

We will, of course, rent a car, but it seems like traffic is a big problem. I'd like to be able to put the baby in the stroller and kids on scooters & grab breakfast and/or dinner often. Also, I'd like to have a pool nearby for the kids. It's their summer break, so I'd like to sprinkle as much fun & adventure in as possible amongst the "looking and seeing."

With my dream list, do any areas come to mind? Thanks in advance for your help.

Oh, and we will be moving for my husband's job. He will be looking at establishing an office space while we are there, so we literally have no frame of reference as to where we'd like to live. That's why I say "centrally located."

[centralaustinite]

Travis Heights in 78704 might work, very central, nice green belt in the neighborhood with a pool and playground at each end (Big Stacy pool and the Little Stacy wading pool) lots of kids and families. Plenty of VRBO and AirBnB in the neighborhood but it won't be particularly cheap.

Shipe Pool is closed this summer in Hyde Park, otherwise I'd suggest it. Allandale might work, NW district pool and plenty of restaurants on Burnet but fewer vacation rentals to choose from.

[ClaraC]

May I suggest Penny Lane, off of Burnet Road? The whole Beatles vibe.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/abbey-road-apartments-austin

This is in central Austin, a little to the northwest. There are apartment complexes and houses in this area - look around here.

[capcat]

I don't know about the availability of vacation rentals, but the Rosedale neighborhood south of 45th St and Burnet Rd would fit other things on your list. Central Market, Ramsey Park, Upper Crust Bakery are all really nice. Its pretty expensive here though, and not quite as walkable nor have the abundance/concentration of closeby, affordable restaurants and shopping (centrally) that you may be used to in Kentucky. I'm from Lexington, and enjoy that aspect of the city when I go back to visit. I try to make the trip several times a year. Good luck to you all, though. Hope you have a nice stay and enjoy Austin very much. You'll get maybe 10 degrees more of the heat than a Kentucky summer, but miss most of the humidity.

[ashbeeigh]

I'd check the Mueller area. There are several Airbnbs in the area.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by KentuckyMama

We will, of course, rent a car, but it seems like traffic is a big problem. I'd like to be able to put the baby in the stroller and kids on scooters & grab breakfast and/or dinner often. Also, I'd like to have a pool nearby for the kids. It's their summer break, so I'd like to sprinkle as much fun & adventure in as possible amongst the "looking and seeing."

Splash pads are very popular here for the kids. Check out the link below. The Quarry Splash pad (technically in Leander, but almost borders Cedar Park/Georgetown/Round Rock is a favorite of my kids).

https://freefuninaustin.com/2017/05/...016-schedules/

I wouldn't worry about traffic when you're here. It lightens up a lot during the summer when all the schools and Universities are on break.

While it's great to explore the best walkable areas that the city has to offer, most transplants (or native Austinites) can't afford to live in those areas within Central Austin so I would suggest exploring areas that fit within your housing budget as well. Circe C to the South and Avery Ranch/Cedar Park to the North would be good places to start. Housing costs have skyrocketed here over the past few years and property taxes which are based on those higher values increase with them.

I would try to spend a couple weeks in one place and a couple weeks in another place.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by KentuckyMama

Hi! Like many on this forum, my family is thinking of relocating to Austin (from Kentucky). We have 3 kids, ages 7, 4, and 3 months. We are looking at visiting for about a month this summer (June/July). Ideally, we'd like to be centrally located for exploring all different areas of the city. Perhaps even more importantly, being able to walk to a restaurant or two & a park would be great. I realize we'll be there in the dead heat of the summer, though, so does anybody really walk anywhere in June/July? Maybe in mornings and evenings, at least.

We will, of course, rent a car, but it seems like traffic is a big problem. I'd like to be able to put the baby in the stroller and kids on scooters & grab breakfast and/or dinner often. Also, I'd like to have a pool nearby for the kids. It's their summer break, so I'd like to sprinkle as much fun & adventure in as possible amongst the "looking and seeing."

With my dream list, do any areas come to mind? Thanks in advance for your help.

Oh, and we will be moving for my husband's job. He will be looking at establishing an office space while we are there, so we literally have no frame of reference as to where we'd like to live. That's why I say "centrally located."

I'd start at what your housing budget would be if you moved here. There's no sense directing you to stay in a part of town that would be very different from what you can afford.

[fminogue]

I know a few people that have short term rentals. VRBO can be more expensive than going with a short term rental. I agree it would be helpful to have a rough idea of where you wan to live before you come, and that may be driven solely by budget. Since prices of homes can vary widely throughout the town, you may want to talk to a lender to get a thumbnail sketch of what you might qualify, then figure out based on that, where you want to make your base station. Traffic can be bad, and there would be a delay in getting from one side of town to another if you found out you could not afford the area where you were staying in your short term rental. We stayed in an extended stay hotel, which is cheaper the longer you sign up for, but with three children, I am not sure that would be a great option. They can be smaller. Some do have larger units, but most are pretty small. For us, we got a studio, and it was a lot cheaper than a short term rental. Hope this helps!!

[Austin97]

i met someone recently that started a company called homads (play on nomads?) that specializes in 30 day + rentals and all the ancillary services during a rental.

Might be useful to look there.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

I'd start at what your housing budget would be if you moved here. There's no sense directing you to stay in a part of town that would be very different from what you can afford.

This right here. You need to be staying in a place where you could afford to live in the neighborhood so that you can get a real feel for what it would be like.