Pros/Cons of these subdivisions (making decision today) (Austin, Round Rock: power lines, houses)

[Indigoblue]

Hi We've been house hunting this past week and are down to houses in the following neighborhoods. I'd love feedback on any of the following: schools, amenities, shopping convenience, area traffic, and sense of community (are there lots of small child families, community events, etc). Any pro or con you can think of would be most helpful. My hubby's work is by 183/McNeil in NW Austin so the drive is a consideration as well.

Subdivisions are:

Pflugerville
Blackhawk (Meadows)

NW Austin
Milwood

Round Rock
Stone Canyon

Cedar Park
Red Oaks (Section 3)
Oakwood Glen
Buttercup Creek

Thank you in advance

[Annie05]

I can answer Stone Canyon questions...I live there!
Stone Canyon has many families with children. In fact, without children you may feel a bit left out. Many people in Stone Canyon love this community and love their neighbors. Very little crime...Fern Bluff elementary has an exemplary rating (families here tend to love this school) and it is conveniently located near HEB, LaFrontera and I35...183 pretty darn close too. I would prefer this area to Pflugerville. Buttercup Creek in Cedar Park is suppose to be pretty nice too and this would be REALLY close to your hubby's work....but Stone Canyon is not far from there...and he could simply take 620 to Parmer to McNeil...about 15-20 minutes. One thing to consider about Stone Canyon...there is a lot of new development going on right now on 620, and a possible road extension from Brightwater to Sam Bass road. People in this community are very upset about this project, so you may want to investigate that. I don't think it will be too big of a deal, but just be informed. Not familiar with Milwood, but NW Austin is always nice due to the close proximity to the downtown area.
Let me know if you have any other questions about Stone Canyon. Good luck.

[bobbatoo]

I am a homeowner in Red Oaks, and it's a beautiful development. There are plenty of kids and there is an active homeowner's group that plans events for both children and adults. Section 3 is a nice secluded area with larger homes and lots. Red Oak's location is great, near all types of shopping (HEB, Target, Walmart, Lakeline Mall) and it is very close to your husband's work (no tolls required).

[texastea]

I'll tell you what little I know:

Milwood is of course right there...he could walk/bike to work. I have lots of friends that live there and we used to. (Rattan Creek) Schools are good and neighbors are great. I would say that there are A LOT of teens, but don't know about young kids. The homes are older and the builder wasn't a great one, so they may need work. This also applies to Anderson Mill--but it has even better schools. Lots of shopping and restaurants in the area...most people that live in the area don't leave it to eat out, shop, go to Alamo Drafthouse. There aren't community events unless the neighborhoods themselves have movies in the park, pool parties, Easter egg hunts, etc. Milwood didn't when we lived there.

Blackhawk in Pflugerville would be really far, but the homes are nice and the builder we knew about there (Scott Felder) was a good one.

The Cedar Park homes would be in LISD so the schools are good...Faubian is exemplary. Lots of young kids in the area and most of the CP community events are right there in Elizabeth Milburn Park.

[Salgal1113]

This is a nice area with mostly new development; there is a large shopping area being built very near here. It will have a Super Target, JC Penney, Home Depot (which is already open), and many other stores. The schools are Murchison Elementary, Kelly Lane MS, and Hendrickson High. We have kids in KLMS and HHS, and love both of the schools (especially HHS! Go Hawks!). P'ville has some nice parks, fun small festivals, and a nice mix of original residents and newcomers.

I would stop and think twice about the drive, however. My husband works at Parmer/620, and takes the toll road (45), which makes the drive somewhat less painful time-wise, but then there is the cost of gas and the cost of tolls to consider, which is not insignificant.

We'd love to have you in Pflugerville, but I'm probably going to recommend you live closer to employment.

[Indigoblue]

Thank you everyone for the info so far. Please keep it coming. Going to get our last look at our favorites today!

One more subdivision if anyone knows anything:

Pflugerville
Highland Park

We will definitely be mindful of the drive!

[Trainwreck20]

On a strictly LOCATION basis, I would go with Milwood. There are many areas of Milwood, so I am not sure which ones you are looking at. The area that I am most familar with is the area around Amherst/Adelphi, which is generally an easy (and safe) walk to Summitt Elementary (a very good elementary school) with a new public library across the street (which is not in a strip mall ). Your hubby will have easy acess to work, there are lots of amenities/shopping in the area, and it is a relatively quick jaunt to downtown or further south. I think Summit feeds to Murchison JH and then Anderson HS, but there may be some areas that feed elsewhere, so you would have to check.

Other than location, though, you will have to look at the houses, which will generally be older than the other areas that you mentioned but will still probably cost about the same (maybe a bit more? dunno...).

Not sure on the other areas of Milwood, but I looked quite diligently in this area about 12 years ago when I was buying my first house in Austin. I could not find what I was looking for in my (miniscule) price range, but I did end up across the tracks (literally) in Angus Valley to the west of Milwood.

Edit: Just looked up Adelphi and Amherst, and they do feed to the schools listed above. I know this is on the site elsewhere, but it is a great tool - https://access.austinisd.org/school_...ries/index.php

Davis Elementary is also a possibility for some addresses in this area, too. Both Summitt and Davis are 'Recognized' and have bounced up and down from Exemplary once or twice. The child 'density' may not be as high in Milwood as the average population 'ages', but I think the schools are less strained and the student to teacher ratio is also improving. As for HS, Anderson is one of the locations around the area with an IB program...

[jwb123]

I really like what's going on in Pflugerville lately. A lot of interesting development - not just commercial... but also lake and park areas. Didn't they just vote to either add a rec center, or add onto their library? It's a great time to get into what will soon be a city of it's own, and less dependant on Round Rock and Austin... while still kind of having that small farming town flair....

That's not addressing your commute options though. For sure, there are subdivisions closer.

[Salgal1113]

The new rec center was voted down (several reasons for that), but we did vote to build a new library. The thing that I like about Pflugerville is the fact that it existed as a real, thriving town with a town center and residents long before it was a 'burb of Austin. Many families around whose ancestors settled the area!

Trainwreck is right about Milwood and its location, though. Close to everything, and good schools to boot.

As I said earlier, my only (possibly major) hesitation with any recommending any of Pflugerville would be the commute to anywhere north of the 183/MoPac interchange.

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by bobbatoo

I am a homeowner in Red Oaks, and it's a beautiful development. There are plenty of kids and there is an active homeowner's group that plans events for both children and adults. Section 3 is a nice secluded area with larger homes and lots. Red Oak's location is great, near all types of shopping (HEB, Target, Walmart, Lakeline Mall) and it is very close to your husband's work (no tolls required).

The problem we had with Red Oaks was all the power lines. I personally hate seeing them.