Relocating to Central Austin, TX - Need opinions on neighborhoods (Allen: apartments, houses)

[ManaMist72]

Hello!

A quick overview - we have been looking to move out of state for over a year now, and explored many areas out of State including Boulder, CO, parts of the East Coast, and we finally settled on moving to Austin, TX.

We almost settled on Boulder, but on our 2nd trip, we were just not as bought into it as we originally hoped. We felt that Austin had way more in terms of activities & would be more suitable as a long-term move, and when we visited Austin about a month ago, it sealed the deal for us.

Fast forward to now, we have looked at various neighborhoods, and due to our choice in schools, we have narrowed down our search to Central Austin.

Some neighborhoods recommended to us by friends who grew up in Austin are: Hyde Park, Allendale, Tarrytown etc.

So we are basically wanting an area that has great walkability to restaurants, cafes, and the grocery store, well maintained homes that are kept up (for the most part) by neighbors, friendly and down to earth neighbors who aren't keeping up with the Jones's types, lots of kids, families etc. and parks nearby would be a bonus!

Tarrytown seemed to be at the top of our list from the short time we spent looking at various listings in Central Austin. Loved the tree-lined streets, homes seem very well maintained, yet the neighborhoods have a nice organic feel with varying styled homes, and also seems very family oriented.

Hyde Park was a neighborhood that never had a chance to look through, but I've heard good things about that area too. Only concern is are there any frat houses or a lot of college kids living in that area? We prefer family oriented vs a neighborhood with a lot of college kids and potential late night parties on weekends.

Allendale we know nothing about, so I thought I would throw that one in there!

Any help or advice is very much appreciated. I did a quick google search, and read up on some of the neighborhoods mentioned above, and that data has helped as well, but I wanted to get a bit more info if possible to see the varied responses, as well as any up to date info on those areas as of this year.

Thanks so much to everyone for the help!

[centralaustinite]

No frat houses at all in Hyde Park and very few students outside outside of the multi-family apartments tucked into Hyde Park, mainly law students and grad students. Hyde Park has great walkability and good schools. Allandale is also a great neighborhood, quarter acre lots, NW district park and pool, new restaurants on Burnet,

What is your budget? Tarrytown has a very different price point from Allandale.

[AustinTraveler]

Allendale is a great neighborhood. Look into Rosedale as well. You need a good realtor who knows these areas well because houses get snapped up right away. Hope you have a healthy budget. Also, keep in mind that property taxes are outrageous. I just looked at the taxes for my old house in Rosedale that I sold four years ago and they have gone from $11K to over $15K. Let me know if you need a realtor recommendation and I will send you a private message.

[Aquitaine]

and due to our choice in schools, we have narrowed down our search to Central Austin.

Just curious what you mean here. There are some good schools in Central Austin but it isn't typically the biggest draw. Do you mean that you have individual schools you've picked out and want to live nearby, or you ruled out schools in other neighborhoods?

The neighborhoods you mention are fantastic provided you are comfortable with a smaller or older house. There are exceptions here, too, but they're mostly recent rebuilds or renovations and very expensive. We wanted to live in Hyde Park but as I work from home we had trouble finding anything in our price range with the extra room and we ended up in Mueller. But Hyde Park is one of my favorite neighborhoods in town!

[FalconheadWest]

The Neighborhoods you have listed are vastly different in age, size, and price. Allandale is the cheapest (least expensive) by far. Many older homes, under 2000 sqft. Many have been updated, but even updated you can get something under $600k. Hyde Park is much older. Many of those homes have had additions to make them larger. It's hit or miss on updates, but you can usually find something that needs work around $500-700k.

Tarrytown is going to cost you well over $1M, for the most part. That might not even be updated. I had clients by an original at $850k 3 years ago and completely redid the house for another $750k. That same house would sell in its updated form at over $2M.

It's going to be hard to decide when comparing Apples to Kiwi.

[clarksvillemom]

All great neighborhoods. I'd add Highland Hills

[ManaMist72]

Just to clarify, our budget is around 1.3-ish - but with property taxes being so high, we would ideally like to be in the high 900's to low 1 mil if possible.

@centralaustinite: Thanks for the feedback! What is the difference between Hyde Park and Allendale? Is Hyde Park a bit more o the artsy side? We are defo more into either contemporary style homes or a very clean, rustic look, and not so much eclectic.

@AustinTraveler: We have a great realtor, thanks for the feedback! I've read about the property taxes! I was shocked, but moving from CA, I'm sure even then, we will still be saving a lot.

@Aquitaine: We are good with 2,500 sq feet on average, give or take! Even a 2,200 sq foot home would suffice! We picked Central austin based on the school we will be sending our kids to, so it lessens the commute time since the school is in that location. (We originally were looking into Westlake for Eanes, but ended up changing our minds on the school, and picked one in Central Austin)

@FalconheadWest: I heard Tarrytown is very expensive, esp for a full remodel. I am hoping we can find something that has smaller square footage that is updated, but we can add onto later. That may or may not happen though, so that's why I wanted to expand the neighborhoods a bit and get a feel.

@clarksvillemom: thanks for the tips!

Overall, we are looking for the look and feel of Tarrytown, but don't necessarily need to buy or live there. Prefer to have homes on a street that are mostly well cared for and not so hit or miss in terms of the maintenance. Tarrytown seemed to have that going for it, but it seemed like our affordability falls within homes on busy streets, or street corners vs more tucked away streets (without any crazy traffic or main thoroughfares)

We really loved Westlake, and found a few homes there in our budget that were nicely updated and move-in ready, but it's too far for us to commute to the school of choice in Central Austin..

Does anyone feel that in Tarrytown, we could get a home that's move in ready and within our budget or should we look elsewhere?

Our non-negotiables are that we prefer not to be on a busy street, no pool in the backyard, and some updating is fine, but prefer not to gut and remodel if we can avoid it.

Any other feedback you have is appreciated, but this helps tremendously, thanks everyone!

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by ManaMist72

Just to clarify, our budget is around 1.3-ish - but with property taxes being so high, we would ideally like to be in the high 900's to low 1 mil if possible.

@centralaustinite: Thanks for the feedback! What is the difference between Hyde Park and Allendale? Is Hyde Park a bit more o the artsy side? We are defo more into either contemporary style homes or a very clean, rustic look, and not so much eclectic.

@AustinTraveler: We have a great realtor, thanks for the feedback! I've read about the property taxes! I was shocked, but moving from CA, I'm sure even then, we will still be saving a lot.

@Aquitaine: We are good with 2,500 sq feet on average, give or take! Even a 2,200 sq foot home would suffice! We picked Central austin based on the school we will be sending our kids to, so it lessens the commute time since the school is in that location. (We originally were looking into Westlake for Eanes, but ended up changing our minds on the school, and picked one in Central Austin)

@FalconheadWest: I heard Tarrytown is very expensive, esp for a full remodel. I am hoping we can find something that has smaller square footage that is updated, but we can add onto later. That may or may not happen though, so that's why I wanted to expand the neighborhoods a bit and get a feel.

@clarksvillemom: thanks for the tips!

Overall, we are looking for the look and feel of Tarrytown, but don't necessarily need to buy or live there. Prefer to have homes on a street that are mostly well cared for and not so hit or miss in terms of the maintenance. Tarrytown seemed to have that going for it, but it seemed like our affordability falls within homes on busy streets, or street corners vs more tucked away streets (without any crazy traffic or main thoroughfares)

We really loved Westlake, and found a few homes there in our budget that were nicely updated and move-in ready, but it's too far for us to commute to the school of choice in Central Austin..

Does anyone feel that in Tarrytown, we could get a home that's move in ready and within our budget or should we look elsewhere?

Our non-negotiables are that we prefer not to be on a busy street, no pool in the backyard, and some updating is fine, but prefer not to gut and remodel if we can avoid it.

Any other feedback you have is appreciated, but this helps tremendously, thanks everyone!

You keep going on about the importance of this "school of choice," but continue to be vague about it. It would be helpful if you'd elaborate on the specifics of that school.

If you're looking for people who aren't trying to keep up with the Jones, Tarrytown and Westlake are among the best examples of those things Austin has to offer.

Hyde Park has many nice historic homes, but among those homes are many older apartments, run down older homes, students and quite a bit of transience. We lived in Hyde Park for years but moved to Rosedale when our kids were getting to school age because there were more school aged kids there and less transience. We've lived there ever since.

I'd also look at Highland Hills, Allandale, Crestview and Northwest Hills. All within your budget and a lot of young families.

[ManaMist72]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

You keep going on about the importance of this "school of choice," but continue to be vague about it. It would be helpful if you'd elaborate on the specifics of that school.

If you're looking for people who aren't trying to keep up with the Jones, Tarrytown and Westlake are among the best examples of those things Austin has to offer.

Hyde Park has many nice historic homes, but among those homes are many older apartments, run down older homes, students and quite a bit of transience. We lived in Hyde Park for years but moved to Rosedale when our kids were getting to school age because there were more school aged kids there and less transience. We've lived there ever since.

I'd also look at Highland Hills, Allandale, Crestview and Northwest Hills. All within your budget and a lot of young families.

It's not necessarily the importance of school choice than just avoiding a long-ish commute. I prefer not to divulge the name of the school we are sending our kids to in a public forum, just a personal choice.

The school is well within the commute area of Central Austin. Any further out toward Westlake for instance would be 20-25 minute commute time, so that's why we've narrowed our search down to Central Austin only.

We also don't need to live 2 blocks from the school or walking distance, so that's why we decided Central Austin would be the best bet, even though it seemed easier to find a home within our budget in Westlake, it would be too far to commute every day.

Hyde Park being transient may not be the best choice for us, we will check out Rosedale and other areas you mentioned, thanks for the feedback!

[centralaustinite]

Look at Highland Hills and NW Hills too. I also second Rosedale, Hyde Park sounds like less of a fit to me with your subsequent posts, unless you could find a place south of 38th street, but those houses hardly ever come on the market.