Leander (Austin, Cedar Park, Lost Creek: home, new construction, middle school)

[RoamingTX]

That’s simply untrue. 130 has 3 points at which it grinds to a halt during rush hour between leander and the airport.

[RoamingTX]

Originally Posted by Beachy26

We are relocating to Austin and are house hunting in North Austin. At this point, we are leaning towards building a home (3000 sq ft, 4-5 bd, no more than $450k) as we are not seeing any of the pre-existing homes having everything we are looking for. I see there is a big new community in Leander called Crystal Falls. Then I see another big new community called Mayfield Ranch (the part that is not Georgetown ISD). My fear is that they are too far up there with nothing around them (I haven't seen them yet in person, just Google Maps which I hope is outdated). Any insight on either of these? Are there other new communities I should be looking into (Leander or Round Rock ISD)? From my research, the areas like Brushy Creek, Avery Ranch, maybe even parts of Cedar Park look ideal but we would be spending the same $ for an older home or building a new home a bit north. For reference, I'll be working 2-3 days per week in the Domain. Our kids are in elementary school now and we need great schools all through High School as we don't want to move again. Thanks!!

Personally, I’d lean Mayfield Ranch. However, I’d strongly suggest that you rent for a year first. It’s not just “a bit north” in the real world.

[Antny12]

That’s your take. I don’t have a tough time getting around anywhere. I’m also from the 3rd biggest city in the country so I guess my experience and yours will be different.

Only reason driving in the suburbs or Austin is miserable is because of the awful drivers and the aggressive drivers to go with the horribly designed road grid which this region lacks. Everyone takes the same roads to get everywhere. The whole if we don’t build they won’t come worked out reallllllllly nice.

[spchtx]

If you build in either one of those communities you will be well within civilizations walls. Crystal Falls is going to add a bit more to your commute. Maybe up to 30 minutes during rush hour. Crystal Falls area has been building out for over a decade, so I'm not sure of the timeline for that neighborhood being done with building. Mayfield Ranch would be closer to the Domain, but I think they are pretty close to being built out there. At least last time I drove through that neighborhood it seemed almost built out. Both are nice communities, and both are have all the needed amenities close by.

There's a new Milestone Community going in at Parmer and Brushy Creek in Cedar Park. Leander School Districts. Not sure what price range or house size they will be, but Milestone's community right up the street just finished building out in the last few months. Seems like they had houses between 2300-3000 sq ft, and were high 200's to mid 300's when we were looking 2 years ago. So that may be an option. Great Leander school loop there as well. Regan for Elementary, Henry for MS and Vista Ridge for HS.

Traffic is all perspective. I drive the same commute as a friend, except his work location is about 15 minutes closer than mine. He was commenting the other day that it takes him 45 minutes to get to work during morning rush hour. I'm not an aggressive nor speedy driver, and I can make it to my work that is 15 minutes further away in 35-40 minutes. So I'm not really sure what he does to take so long to get there, but I suspect it is just his perspective, and not really how long the drive takes. When UT is out for the summer, I can make it 13 minutes.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by spchtx

There's a new Milestone Community going in at Parmer and Brushy Creek in Cedar Park. Leander School Districts. Not sure what price range or house size they will be, but Milestone's community right up the street just finished building out in the last few months. Seems like they had houses between 2300-3000 sq ft, and were high 200's to mid 300's when we were looking 2 years ago. So that may be an option. Great Leander school loop there as well. Regan for Elementary, Henry for MS and Vista Ridge for HS.

Great area, but those new Milestone homes there are going to start in the low $400’s for the ~2150 square foot model and go up from there. They will have 3000 square foot models starting at around $450k.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by RoamingTX

That’s simply untrue. 130 has 3 points at which it grinds to a halt during rush hour between leander and the airport.

I can attest to that, having driven that road during rush hour far too often recently.

[Antny12]

Yeah the only reason you’d be taking 130 past austin would more then likely be for the airport. And if that’s the case you should at all costs try to avoid rush 6-7 pm flights and 9-10am flights Monday-Friday. Unless your Work requires you to fly a few times a week during m-f during those hours then I can’t imagine why someone would have any interest in letting a drive to the airport dicate where they live their everyday life.

The original point was that if you absolutely have to go during rush hour there is potentially an alternative in 130 as 183 and 35 in that area are nauseating to drive on especially during rush hour.

[kjkw]

Originally Posted by Beachy26

I guess my question was more around those 2 specific new communities as we are looking at brand new construction. I know that Leander is not Downtown Austin or anything, and that's fine, but I also don't want to be in a very nice community, as I'm sure Crystal Falls is, and once I leave the community, the roads are surrounded by undeveloped land all over the place. I wish Google Maps was updated and I can actually visualize what Leander looks like before being able to visit it.

How long does it take to get to the Airport usually from Leander?

We live in Cedar Park but we are familiar with Leander.
Both of those communities are nice. Crystal falls land is prettier and we prefer the Cedar Park area to Round Rock for beauty and roads. WE use HW 183 where they use more I35. I do think the schools that Mayfiend Ranch are zoned for are better than Crystal Falls. However I know Mayfield ranch has split zoning so make sure you know the schools you will get. We looked at moving into CF ourselves but the schools were rated a little lower than we wanted. IF our kids were younger we would have been fine with it but they are already in middle school. I think the schools are improving up there as more people move into the area.

Both areas are fully developed.
From Leander it takes around 50-55 min to get to the airport.

I would look at homes around the Ronald Reagan area (several new neighborhoods going up). Basically right in the middle of the 2 you are looking at. Caballo Ranch is an existing neighborhood but houses are only a few yrs old. I would also look at Bryson (new community). It's farther out but right on the Toll so won't take longer to get around.
Good Luck

[Antny12]

Just went to Vince young downtown from our home in Leander. 30 minutes. 183a to Mopac to Caesar Chavez. The airport does not take 50 minutes. If you are driving during the week during 330-7pm or 7am-9am during the week then of course your drive time is going to be out of luck just like from anywhere in the area.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by kjkw

We live in Cedar Park but we are familiar with Leander.
Both of those communities are nice. Crystal falls land is prettier and we prefer the Cedar Park area to Round Rock for beauty and roads. WE use HW 183 where they use more I35. I do think the schools that Mayfiend Ranch are zoned for are better than Crystal Falls. However I know Mayfield ranch has split zoning so make sure you know the schools you will get. We looked at moving into CF ourselves but the schools were rated a little lower than we wanted. IF our kids were younger we would have been fine with it but they are already in middle school. I think the schools are improving up there as more people move into the area.

Both areas are fully developed.
From Leander it takes around 50-55 min to get to the airport.

I would look at homes around the Ronald Reagan area (several new neighborhoods going up). Basically right in the middle of the 2 you are looking at. Caballo Ranch is an existing neighborhood but houses are only a few yrs old. I would also look at Bryson (new community). It's farther out but right on the Toll so won't take longer to get around.
Good Luck

183 sucks just as much as 35. All of the major highways suck here.