Recommendations for family friendly neighborhoods - Dallas to Austin (Houston: transplants, 2015)
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We spent the last two years in Dallas (Frisco/McKinney area) and personally we really like it here in regards to the school district and the neighborhood full of kids. But, before I settle somewhere, I would like to try Austin and Houston before I pull the trigger on a home. Since, Houston is probably a bad idea for a few years... Im thinking of relocating to Austin for a couple of years to see if we enjoy it as much as Dallas.
A little about us:
We are a mixed family of Hispanic/Chinese-Thai with two young children in our mid-40s. (2nd and K) I work from home and she is stay at home. We are from the SoCal (Orange County) area previously and of course housing is just crazy there... so my move (due to my work) planted us in Dallas. But, since Im 100% work from home now... we thought about trying out Austin.
My wife would like to be "close enough" to some Ranch 99 markets (similar to H Marts but more Chinese markets and not Indian markets) and be able to drive to some Thai Buddhist temples.
I would prefer to have some access to some bike lanes (as in road cycling) and to be able to take my children out camping without driving 8+ hours away.
What I like about Dallas:
Great schools. Great suburbia and people here are overtly friendly which is a good thing.
What I dont like about Dallas:
Everything looks the same! In regards to biking, its FLAT and WINDY! The diversity is leaning heavily towards Indians in which is sometimes hard to be friendly with the older families. I think its cultural but younger Indian families are "normal" but "older" Indian families become very introversive to outsiders other than other Indians. For example, where we live now, there are 12 houses (3 houses left and right and including across the street) and the only people we talk to are the one family of younger Indians and the Kenyan family and two white families. But, I do see all the other Indian families hanging out with each other all the time. When I tried to integrate by letting the kids play with each other, they slowly told the kids to go inside in which I thought was messed up but the white families told me that was the way they were. So, Im just writing that off as a learning experience albiet a singular one hopefully.
What Im hoping out of Austin:
Diversity! Good schools for my children! Better asian food than Dallas! I would love for my kids to be able to play with the other kids on the street or on the front yard and that would be a regular thing. Im sure like what we used to do when we were kids.
In summary:
What neighborhoods would you recommend for us to look into for great suburban living? We definitely dont want to be near college kids or downtown but I would love to be near parks. We do plan to take the next 4 day and spend some time in Austin to give it a nice scouting trip so if there are any recommended "must see/do" things... we would appreciate it!
Shoot, some of the best Asian food I've had in Texas has been in Plano. Don't think you will find better here.
No Ranch 99 Markets in Austin at all! Although one (1) is supposed to be coming to north central Austin, plans have been made but I've seen no progress at all on the dormant strip mall where it is supposed to go.
There is also just one Thai Buddhist Temple in Austin but it is located in SE Austin, Del Valle, far from Round Rock and Northwest Austin which has the greatest concentrations of Asians.
Definitely visit first, I am not at all sure that you will find what you are looking for.
We have a Chinatown near Lamar and Braker and there are several Asian supermarkets and specialty stores there and in N Austin. They aren't Ranch 99s but they are large and decent. We won't have nearly as many Asian restaurants as California but we have plenty that don't suck here. Asia Cafe, Sichuan Bistro, Sip Saam Thai, Titaya's, Thai Lada, about a zillion great Vietnamese places... We also have a Taiwanese ice cream/snow monster place which I LOVE. Most of these are on the North side of town or Northwest/Northeast, depending.
We have two Buddhist temples I know of (one off 360 and one off North Lamar near Walnut Creek Park) but I don't know if they are Thai Buddhist specifically. Both of them are large, seem well-attended, and gorgeous. I used to live right by the one on North Lamar and drove past it daily.
I feel like maybe the people saying we don't have much Asian presence here aren't living or venturing out often in the part of town where most Asians are, which is North and Northwest Austin and suburbs for sure.
Personally, I feel like we are getting a more diverse and vibrant Asian community here than we've had previously. I work with Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai people are many are recent transplants from California as well. My next door neighbors on one side are Chinese and there is a mixed Japanese/white couple down one side of my street and a mixed Chinese/Hispanic couple down the other side.
I live and work in Northwest Austin and see people bike commuting to work often. Most of Austin is relatively flat but it doesn't take long to get outside into the Hill Country and get some nice hills and beautiful scenery for biking. We have a pretty big community of recreational and fitness cyclists here and also lots of great mountain biking.
I think you would like Austin, OP, and I encourage you to come visit.
Shoot, some of the best Asian food I've had in Texas has been in Plano. Don't think you will find better here.
No Ranch 99 Markets in Austin at all! Although one (1) is supposed to be coming to north central Austin, plans have been made but I've seen no progress at all on the dormant strip mall where it is supposed to go.
There is also just one Thai Buddhist Temple in Austin but it is located in SE Austin, Del Valle, far from Round Rock and Northwest Austin which has the greatest concentrations of Asians.
Definitely visit first, I am not at all sure that you will find what you are looking for.
Lol... sad to hear that! Well, fortunately, food isnt our first priority but it does give us an idea of the presence of the types of diversity. (At least IMHO) thx for the reply.
One of my questions is Austin "too much" of a college town? What I mean by that is everything based/centralized around the college itself? From my understanding, they say that its becoming a tech sector but Im in the tech sector and I dont hear much about companies wanting to go into Austin. I do see companies coming here into North Dallas though. So, the thoughts of staying in North Dallas are stronger but I have to admit N. Dallas is a bit too conservative for my liking. But, im wfh and politics dont really effect my "webex life" much.
Weather? Dallas was a dramatic change in weather, in regards to what Im used to. Extremely hot in the summers and then lows 20s in the winters. What is it like in Austin? More of the same? Or are there any significant differences?
Does Austin get effected by tornadoes? One of my wifes biggest concerns is Dallas getting hit by a tornado! But, I always tell her that we can get away from a tornado but getting away from an earthquake is much harder! Just curious on how to explain it to her.
Thx again for all the replies. I hope to hear more.
One of my questions is Austin "too much" of a college town? What I mean by that is everything based/centralized around the college itself? From my understanding, they say that its becoming a tech sector but Im in the tech sector and I dont hear much about companies wanting to go into Austin. I do see companies coming here into North Dallas though. So, the thoughts of staying in North Dallas are stronger but I have to admit N. Dallas is a bit too conservative for my liking. But, im wfh and politics dont really effect my "webex life" much.
Not at all re: the centrality of UT. UT football is HUGE here and lots of people work for UT but it is far from the only game in town.
Austin has been known as a tech and startup haven for years; not sure where you've been in that regard but there's a reason we are called the Silicon Hills. I work for a major Fortune 500 company and we are a large presence here in Austin and moving more of our tech workforce here. I also work in tech and have for the past 20 years. I have never had a problem finding a job here.
Weather will be similar to Dallas here except it doesn't get quite as cold in the winter. Lows in the 30s very rarely. No tornadoes here hardly ever.
We live in the Lake Travis are (Hill country). We are also mix, Spanish and my wife anglo from Michigan, we have twin daughters who are 12.
We are also entrepreneurs working from home.
WE love the area, people are really open and friendly. We have live here for 3 years.
This is bike country, lot of trails.
Schools? Amazing!!
Depending on your budget, homes can go from $400,000 to over a million dollars. The prices here are higher than many areas in Austin, but the communities, school and safety are really good.
It takes us 25 minutes to get to downtown, but there a lot of good eating places within 10 minutes, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Spaniard, French, Chinese, Japanese and of course great barbecue and southwest cuisine. We are 7 minutes from the Hill Country Gallery that has a great movie place, great food, and some cool stores.
Diversity maybe is not as big as other cities, but there is diversity, we have friends who are from Asia, Russia, South America and obviously many Americans.
I love our location, you can be in Dallas or Houston in around 3 hours, and in San Antonio in 90 minutes.
:-)
Quote:
Originally Posted by aythan
Hello all.
We spent the last two years in Dallas (Frisco/McKinney area) and personally we really like it here in regards to the school district and the neighborhood full of kids. But, before I settle somewhere, I would like to try Austin and Houston before I pull the trigger on a home. Since, Houston is probably a bad idea for a few years... Im thinking of relocating to Austin for a couple of years to see if we enjoy it as much as Dallas.
A little about us:
We are a mixed family of Hispanic/Chinese-Thai with two young children in our mid-40s. (2nd and K) I work from home and she is stay at home. We are from the SoCal (Orange County) area previously and of course housing is just crazy there... so my move (due to my work) planted us in Dallas. But, since Im 100% work from home now... we thought about trying out Austin.
My wife would like to be "close enough" to some Ranch 99 markets (similar to H Marts but more Chinese markets and not Indian markets) and be able to drive to some Thai Buddhist temples.
I would prefer to have some access to some bike lanes (as in road cycling) and to be able to take my children out camping without driving 8+ hours away.
What I like about Dallas:
Great schools. Great suburbia and people here are overtly friendly which is a good thing.
What I dont like about Dallas:
Everything looks the same! In regards to biking, its FLAT and WINDY! The diversity is leaning heavily towards Indians in which is sometimes hard to be friendly with the older families. I think its cultural but younger Indian families are "normal" but "older" Indian families become very introversive to outsiders other than other Indians. For example, where we live now, there are 12 houses (3 houses left and right and including across the street) and the only people we talk to are the one family of younger Indians and the Kenyan family and two white families. But, I do see all the other Indian families hanging out with each other all the time. When I tried to integrate by letting the kids play with each other, they slowly told the kids to go inside in which I thought was messed up but the white families told me that was the way they were. So, Im just writing that off as a learning experience albiet a singular one hopefully.
What Im hoping out of Austin:
Diversity! Good schools for my children! Better asian food than Dallas! I would love for my kids to be able to play with the other kids on the street or on the front yard and that would be a regular thing. Im sure like what we used to do when we were kids.
In summary:
What neighborhoods would you recommend for us to look into for great suburban living? We definitely dont want to be near college kids or downtown but I would love to be near parks. We do plan to take the next 4 day and spend some time in Austin to give it a nice scouting trip so if there are any recommended "must see/do" things... we would appreciate it!
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