Need suggestions on where to build a house (Houston, San Antonio: condo, good schools)

[centralaustinite]

Are schools a factor? you are planning on building this home yourself? Your budget really won't accommodate 5-8 acres within an hour of Austin -- there is probably some raw agricultural land available but that is not the same.

I agree with CarnivalGal that you seem to be expecting some sort of utopia. I would temper your expectations. For lack of prentension, I would definitely look east of Austin, Elgin, Bastrop, Smithville. But the terrain won't be what you are seeing on videos and it is farther from most swimming holes. And there is some hiking but the trails aren't endless, public land is not common. I think that reality won't meet your expectations.

[serpent_of_old]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

I am looking to build with 1/2 million max
- If that includes land and house, it's never going to happen within an hour of downtown.

I am looking to leave pretentious NE culture behind
- There's plenty of pretension in Austin. It's just a different kind of pretension.

For about 7 years i lived in cali and did a lot of camping un AZ. i am ok with 105 and 110 heat. I would be coming there to embrace everything texas culture...bugs, snakes, heat, apparel, norms
- Camping for a short while is a lot different than dealing with it every single day for months on end. Yes, Texas has the air conditioning thing down, but it's still a bit oppressive.

I am done with soccer mom pretentious culture and rat race culture.
- Plenty of that here. Again, you are not getting away from that. Some areas it's soccer, some it's football, some it's academics. But again, there's lot of pretension in Austin too.

I am moving to texas bc i am done with the NE, i am not interested in the deep south nor in the pacific west. I grew up in western culture actually, but its not obvious
- The further out of Austin you go (which is what you are looking for), the more deep south you're going to get. I don't know what you consider too much, but realize that there are still confederate monuments on our state capital grounds and such.

I think you are expecting Austin to be a sort of utopia that it's not. It's not a bad place, but it still has its issues.

This is a great example of the self serving heavy ego stuff that i am looking forward to leaving behind. No doubt youre from philly. I came here for guidance and suggestions, instead of this empty picking apart my desires. Its utopian of me to expect genuine assistance on city data. And its beautiful that i am excited to get my needs met. We all cannot hold such love in our hearts. I have already made it clear that with weeks on end in cali...i know what heat is....that i am looking to live in a non mainstream area...not prime real estate. Its convenient to overlook this in order to meet ones own agenda, yes?

Well, if someone else here is able to be helpful and provide direction as to me getting my needs met, its much appreciated. I was very clear, that the facets i stated were my desire for where i build, not for the city nor downtown of austin. I am ok with heat. I am not trying to be more than 2 hours from the ocean, part of why austin instead of dallas

[riaelise]

You can find "wanna get away" acreage properties to the north and west of Austin - Liberty Hill, Leander, Georgetown, or to the south/east - Manor, Bastrop, Cedar Creek, Buda, Kyle. You may not get 5-8 acres, though, and I'm not sure how wooded the lots are.

From a commuting standpoint, Leander is the better choice since it has the train to downtown. I wouldn't rely on it though, much of your transport will still involve a car. The closer in to Austin, the smaller the house is going to be. Georgetown is a very nice option, quintessential Texas, with a nice town square. Lots of development, so you're not leaving behind too many creature comforts. It's a suburb that still retains small town charm. Liberty Hill is the farthest out, but you may find your acreage property there.

[Austinite76]

Are you stuck on custom build or would rehabbing a property be within scope?

And does the one hour drive have to be anytime of day, or would a Saturday AM that doesn't have one of the major events work?

http://m.austinhomesearch.com/mobile...f4aa62&first=1

Holy cow. There is a purple squirrel out there!

[iamwayne]

Closest would be dripping springs... Better get in before the new subdivisions starts going, movie theaters and shops open up driving up prices. Oh and the new elementary and middle school opening soon... Depending on where you live, it'll be about 45min to 1hour drive in rush hour to get to Barton creek mall during rush hour... tip: right lane is somehow faster than left lane if you're on 290w and get stuck at oak hill during rush hour... :/

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by serpent_of_old

This is a great example of the self serving heavy ego stuff that i am looking forward to leaving behind. No doubt youre from philly. I came here for guidance and suggestions, instead of this empty picking apart my desires. Its utopian of me to expect genuine assistance on city data. And its beautiful that i am excited to get my needs met. We all cannot hold such love in our hearts. I have already made it clear that with weeks on end in cali...i know what heat is....that i am looking to live in a non mainstream area...not prime real estate. Its convenient to overlook this in order to meet ones own agenda, yes?

Well, if someone else here is able to be helpful and provide direction as to me getting my needs met, its much appreciated. I was very clear, that the facets i stated were my desire for where i build, not for the city nor downtown of austin. I am ok with heat. I am not trying to be more than 2 hours from the ocean, part of why austin instead of dallas

What you want is totally doable. You will be able to do it. All the people saying it isnt possible dont know what they are talking about.

For example I managed to scoop up 100 acres of conservation land in austin for under 400K *last year*. It cant be built, hence the low price. You also will be closer than 1 hour to downtown without rush hour. You can be 15 minutes away from downtown if you go east to manor/del valle/elgin. For 500K I would expect to get 20 acres or so.

leander/liberty hill are solid choices. 71 is too small of a highway so I would stay away from dripping springs and further west.

[eirenecat]

Manor, Del Valle, and Elgin are solid choices for what you want, but there are few of the swimming holes in those areas. Prepare to drive 1+ hours to get to those.

[mesmer]

What I want to know is the roads that will get me to the coast in two hours instead of four. I am highly interested in this knowledge.

[austinnerd]

Originally Posted by mesmer

What I want to know is the roads that will get me to the coast in two hours instead of four. I am highly interested in this knowledge.

Many roads are capable, if you're right foot is willing

[mesmer]

Originally Posted by austinnerd

Many roads are capable, if you're right foot is willing

LOL. I'm sure the cops would have something to say about that.

I was just checking on google maps and the fastest I could get to water was a two hour forty minute jaunt if you leave from downtown late at night and head to port lavaca. Corpus or galveston are over three hours even without traffic and easily pushing four if you travel at normal times.