Commuting from Dripping Springs

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by jcorfry

my wife and i just bought a house in highpointe. i guess the commute may be sort of long, but i live near baltimore and it takes an hour and a half to get to work.

Where are you commuting to? From Highointe you have two choices.

Take 290 down through the Y, or turn left coming out of Highpointe and head down to 1826, then 45 to MoPac. There are also some back road routes that will get you around the traffic at the Y.

Welcome to Dripping.

[jhwest]

I fell in love with Highpointe, but my husband ended up getting a job near the Arboretum as well. He drove the commute a few times before we bought a house and hated it. So we ended up buying in Cedar Park. We found a house we liked a lot better for about $80,000 less. Still on half an acre. The amenities in the neighborhood aren't as nice, but I must say it is wonderful having everything within 10 minutes. Who wants to drive half an hour to get to Target (or a decent grocery store, or the movie theatre.)

Our property taxes are less up in Cedar Park too.

Unfortunately my husband's job ended up getting transferred downtown, so he's doing a 45-60 minute commute after all. We both hate it!

All I can say is honestly assess the situation. We like to be in civilization, but we kept telling ourselves that DS would be fine. Now that I can see objectively, I realize that I wouldn't have liked it for long.

Steiner does have a ton of kids. As do Deer Creek Ranch and Bella Vista (but not Twin Creeks) in Cedar Park.

[michelepayne]

Hate to hi jack someone else’s post but also interested in the commute situation. Lived in Austin/Lakeway til 02. Now coming back and we want to live in DS on acreage. We both will work in Downtown Austin , however we are in hospitality and work from 10 ish am - 8 ish pm. Can anyone given insight on what to expect?

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by michelepayne

Hate to hi jack someone else’s post but also interested in the commute situation. Lived in Austin/Lakeway til 02. Now coming back and we want to live in DS on acreage. We both will work in Downtown Austin , however we are in hospitality and work from 10 ish am - 8 ish pm. Can anyone given insight on what to expect?

AT those times you should not have much problem coming in from DS. While the Y does stay somewhat congested most of the day, the heavy volumes on the rest of the route will have eased off.

[jcorfry]

pulte homes-ok?

[drippingbigmomma]

We moved here 12 years ago because we have boys and wanted them to experience a little bit of country living and just be boys. We also were very attracted to the conservativeness and small-town feel of Dripping Springs and, of course, the great schools.

I have to say I take issue with your comment regarding the "offensive Christian bible class" taught at Dripping High School. You may not know, but a local pastor donates his time to teach the class and the students who CHOOSE this ELECTIVE come in at "zero hour" (before school) to take the class in a portable at the back of the school. If there is any cost to the taxpayer, it's probably $5 a month for air in the hot months. They are not indoctrinating students (like college professors are indoctrinating our 18 year olds), but giving them an opportunity to check out other views and ideas.

We need to give our high school kids the opportunity to hear the information and then let them formulate their own opinions. We shouldn't be afraid because our almost-adult kids are hearing things that differ with our own beliefs - they will hear it all soon enough out in the world.

Originally Posted by X-Valkyrie

Seriously? If you're going to commute (time+money+wear on car) then why move to another subdivision? Your house butted up against another house... sounds just like Any-Place, USA.

I don't live in a subdivision in D.S., I live on 20+ acres with my hubby, daughter, 3 dogs, 30+ chickens, donkey and 2 (good-for-nothing) goats. I have a fantastic vegetable garden and a peach orchard. We are working towards alternative energy sources and living off the grid (except our beloved wireless internet service, of course!). (No, we're not hippies, we just love living this way.) However, I do have a 9-5/M-F job as a VOIP Engineer and my commute is over an hour one way (hubby works as a software engineer in town).

We would never move, though. Hubby and I sometimes carpool into Austin, but we love where we live! The green drive home through the hills is (nearly) free therapy for staring at a monitor for 40+ hrs a week and for all the bovine excrement we put up with at work. It's perfection! No one tells us what color we can paint our house and barn (not that it's some strange color, but we could paint it purple if we wanted to). No one tells us what we can and can't do on or to our own property (no nasty letters from the Subdivision Nazis after a heavy rain ordering us to cut our still wet grass). And we don't have to put up with inconsiderate neighbors blasting some horrific Christian Rock or country music through our windows while their ill mannered offspring invade our property ("Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!").

Daughter is in the high school and this school is of a higher standard than most anywhere. If your child is not used to doing homework and studying, he/she WILL fail (something) the first semester. But give him/her some support and keep in touch with the teachers and things will go smoother for your kid after they learn that this school isn't so tolerant of slackers. (Oh, and Mr. Raimond is a horrible math teacher... have your kid moved if he/she gets him for any math class whatsoever.) One unfortunate addition to the curriculum this year is an offensive Christian Bible Class (we're not Christians) that my tax dollars are paying for. Hello? Isn't that what Church Sunday School is for? (Any lawyers out there want to make a few bucks?!?)

To answer your question about commuting... from HighPointe/Belterra. My suggestion is to alter your work schedule to leave very early or very late (depending on how much time you want with your family when you get home). I live north and west of the town of D.S. and with no traffic I get to I-35/183 in 45 minutes without traffic, and worst traffic scenario: 1:15 hrs.