Moving to the Austin area in September and have some questions (Round Rock: 2015, rent)

[AverageJoe9]

In September myself (25) and my GF are going to be moving to Austin from Las Vegas and we are looking at Round Rock and Georgetown



Commute - my job is going to be in downtown Austin and how is the commute from Round Rock/Georgetown to downtown in particular how hectic is rush hour on I-35?


We're not overly concerned about nightlife but in terms of Parks, lakes, restaurants and amenities how does Georgetown compare to Round Rock?


Weather - how bad is the humidity because I heard it can be pretty bad in Austin and I would like to hear from first hand experience from residents on it. Also how common are Tornados, severe thunderstorms, flooding in the area?


Thanks for any feedback and I can't wait to visit Austin this summer and eventually move to the area

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by AverageJoe9

In September myself (25) and my GF are going to be moving to Austin from Las Vegas and we are looking at Round Rock and Georgetown



Commute - my job is going to be in downtown Austin and how is the commute from Round Rock/Georgetown to downtown in particular how hectic is rush hour on I-35?


We're not overly concerned about nightlife but in terms of Parks, lakes, restaurants and amenities how does Georgetown compare to Round Rock?


Weather - how bad is the humidity because I heard it can be pretty bad in Austin and I would like to hear from first hand experience from residents on it. Also how common are Tornados, severe thunderstorms, flooding in the area?


Thanks for any feedback and I can't wait to visit Austin this summer and eventually move to the area

Is your job already lined up and determined to be in Downtown?

Also what is your budget?

I personally wouldnt recommend living in Georgetown or Round Rock and commuting to Downtown. Its doable but it's not something I'd wish on anyone. I'd say it would probably be aprox an hour and some change in normal rush hour traffic (pre-covid 19 atleast).

If it were me I would try to consider Pfugerville. The commute would be a bit more bearable and it's still suburban and pretty safe.

As for humidity, Austin is far from the worst place I have seen for humidity but it is 'there' so to speak, and coming from a place as dry as Vegas you will definitely notice it.

[Austin97]

If it is 90 it is humid, if it is 100 it is not as humid, except right after it rains.

Tornados are rare, but that is subjective. I have heard of them on the news somewhere in the area once every few years.

lots of severe thunderstorms. Flooding is more of an issue of your property location

[ashbeeigh]

What is a bearable commute, OP? That drive sounds horrid.

[AverageJoe9]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Is your job already lined up and determined to be in Downtown?

Also what is your budget?

I personally wouldnt recommend living in Georgetown or Round Rock and commuting to Downtown. Its doable but it's not something I'd wish on anyone. I'd say it would probably be aprox an hour and some change in normal rush hour traffic (pre-covid 19 atleast).

If it were me I would try to consider Pfugerville. The commute would be a bit more bearable and it's still suburban and pretty safe.

As for humidity, Austin is far from the worst place I have seen for humidity but it is 'there' so to speak, and coming from a place as dry as Vegas you will definitely notice it.

The job is lined up and we are looking to initially rent with a renting budget around 1200




An hour commute does sound pretty harsh, how much time would I save from Pfugerville to Austin

[karpo1]

I would not consider Georgetown if need to commute to downtown Austin. Maybe edge of Round Rock of Pflugerville facing Austin. There is some choices with $1200 in Austin closer by, would start with those to choose.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by AverageJoe9

In September myself (25) and my GF are going to be moving to Austin from Las Vegas and we are looking at Round Rock and Georgetown



Commute - my job is going to be in downtown Austin and how is the commute from Round Rock/Georgetown to downtown in particular how hectic is rush hour on I-35?


We're not overly concerned about nightlife but in terms of Parks, lakes, restaurants and amenities how does Georgetown compare to Round Rock?


Weather - how bad is the humidity because I heard it can be pretty bad in Austin and I would like to hear from first hand experience from residents on it. Also how common are Tornados, severe thunderstorms, flooding in the area?


Thanks for any feedback and I can't wait to visit Austin this summer and eventually move to the area

The humidity makes things feel about 10-15 degrees hotter on average. For instance 90 in Vegas is like 80 here. 100 in Vegas is like 90 here, 115 in Vegas is like 100 here (at the extreme heat there's more of a noticeable difference). But this also means our sunshine isn't as strong, I remember the Vegas sun feeling extremely powerful. Here we have more clouds and more trees to more places to escape from the sun in the shade.

Round Rock is the "sports capital" of the central Texas area with RR Express baseball diamond and an extremely large park (Settler's Park) with many soccer fields, baseball diamonds, football practice areas, a mini water park, and other sports facilities. Georgetown has Lake Georgetown so maybe Georgetown is better as far as lakes but RR isn't that far from Lake Travis which is a far better lake than Lake Georgetown.

As far as restaurants there is no comparison, RR wins.

Hope that helps.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by AverageJoe9

The job is lined up and we are looking to initially rent with a renting budget around 1200




An hour commute does sound pretty harsh, how much time would I save from Pfugerville to Austin

From Georgetown? aproximately 20 - 30 minutes. From Round Rock, Approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

Anything on I-35 commuting to Downtown is an absolute tradgedy. I'm not really sure how close you can get to downtown on a $1,200 budget rent. I do think Pfugerville will probably be in range of that but probably not too much closer. Rents start to increase sharply the closer to downtown you get.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by VanillaBread

Search the forum. It’s been covered 1000 times already.

Let the record show, it was not me who suggested a search.

My first six months in Austin I commutes from shoreline/mopac to st.johns (just north of downtown). It regularly took me 45 minutes. Add another 15 to get to the center of downtown. And, this was 2015-16 so I imagine traffic is equal, if not worse now.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

From Georgetown? aproximately 20 - 30 minutes. From Round Rock, Approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

Anything on I-35 commuting to Downtown is an absolute tradgedy. I'm not really sure how close you can get to downtown on a $1,200 budget rent. I do think Pfugerville will probably be in range of that but probably not too much closer. Rents start to increase sharply the closer to downtown you get.

Without traffic or in peak Corona traffic maybe, but it could take 25-30 minutes to get from ikea to 45 even on a Saturday. I don’t even want to think of what it looks like on a weekday.

There are plenty of places along 35 between mopac to Cameron road within a $1200 budget. I lived in one and I see people rent them all the time. Further north 78753 and 78758/57 (But check the area crime maps) are areas within the $1200 budget and are far north Austin and a bit more bearable than RR.