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Old 08-25-2008, 10:13 AM
 
33 posts, read 135,629 times
Reputation: 19

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I would like to thank everyone on this board who helped us learn about Austin - your help has been invaluable. Thought I would try to "pay it forward" by sharing some thoughts from someone who has relocated recently.

Background: Moved from central VA, family of 4 with school aged kids. Narrowed our search, finally, to the Eanes district because of the schools (seemed like we would have no regrets), the proximity to the city, the gorgeous geography, and the relative safety of resale.

Thoughts in no order:

- We love, love, love Austin.

- So far, I have not found Westlake snobby, but we haven't spent much time here. This board seems to think Westlake and its schools are so rich/snobby, but so far, we've not found that to be true. Obviously there is money, but from a people perspective, everyone seems nice. Kids are kids. Granted, very little diversity, but not what we feared either as far as being snooty. We didn't buy it for the "cache" or whatever, but rather that we can get into the city within 10-15 minutes or so. This summer, we went in town 3-4 times per week and think it is loads cooler than our suburb. BUT, I think the hills and canyons in Westlake are unbelievable. For topography alone I'd want to live here. My mouth still drops open when I turn a corner and see some amazing view.

-If we could have afforded/found a house to live in 8E, we'd have loved that, rather than 8W, just to be closer to the city. Beecave Woods seems like an "accessible" neighborhood that we really liked. Parts of Westlake seem really far away from the city (Senna Hills, etc.). I wasn't expecting that. Lakeway seems WAY out there. Again, just looking at maps, etc. I wasn't expecting that.

-Every single person we have met here (thruout Austin) has been laid back and friendly. Including Westlake, but even in some of the funkier places we've gone, the funky people don't look down on us un-funky people. Really, really great people.

-Bikers are amazing people, I cannot believe the hills they climb along 360. Motorcycle riders scare me as there is no helmet law.

-Traffic here is tough on 360, Mo-Pac, 35, etc. I'm originally from Boston, and while not that bad (everyone here drives very politely), it is bad. Bummer going anywhere during rush hour. I'm still not used to the highways/roads!

-"Weirdness" - this is what we love best. Why we've tried to explore as much of the fun stuff in the city as possible. Our kids are 9 and 12, and they love the city more than where we live. But, if you tend to like the suburbs more and keeping your kids out of the city/funkiness, I think the outer suburbs would be good.

-Outer suburbs: wow. For me, and me only, I get totally bummed when we leave the city or the hills where we live. It is like you could be in Anywhere, USA. Home Depot, Best Buy, etc. etc. If you didn't know where you were, there's no geography to see, just big boxes and flat land and suburban neighborhoods. I know this sounds judgemental, and I guess it is, but I don't mean it to be bad. I know many people WANT to go to the burbs, and there are many here to choose from. Maybe it depends on kids' ages, etc. (ToyJoy is more my kids speed, rather than ToysRUs).

-Before you think it, no we didn't spend a fortune to live in the Eanes District. We live in Lost Creek, in the lowest end of the price range. Lucked out and got a 1/2 way updated house with private backyard/pool. What we paid would have bought an amazing house in the outer burbs but for us was not worth it. We downsized our sq. footage a lot too to be here.

-Restaurants here ROCK. We're in heaven. Yelp.com has been a great source to find cool places. So.Congress has been our favorite place to go, and Barton Springs Rd. Finally went to Alamo this weekend - so fun!!

-Barton Creek Greenbelt is amazing. We live at the end, so the "Hill of Life" is the coolest hike I've done. Town Lake is really nice, but lots of peopole and can't let dogs off leash. At the end of BCG I rarely see more than a handful of people and everyone is very cool.

-Groceries are expensive. Granted, I've just gone to the HEB and Randall's in Westlake, but my grocery bill has gone up a lot. Do appreciate there are more organic options.

-Heat this summer was a million times better than summer in Central VA. No humidity made a gigantic difference.

-Youth hockey is NOT a big thing here!

-UT Longhorns insignia is EVERYWHERE. EV-ERY-WHERE.
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Old 08-25-2008, 12:14 PM
 
2,269 posts, read 7,332,510 times
Reputation: 1839
At Town Lake, dogs can be off-leash in the Auditorium Shores area (where the statue of Stevie Ray is).

And welcome to Austin! I love Lost Creek and we came really close to buying a house there a few years ago.
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Old 08-26-2008, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Warrior Country
4,573 posts, read 6,780,446 times
Reputation: 3978
Thanks for the objective & informative post.

Please post again after the kids have been in school a couple of months.

(fwiw...my kid played in a tennis tournament in lost creek a month ago & i liked the "old school" feel of it.)
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Old 08-26-2008, 01:45 PM
 
10,130 posts, read 19,876,700 times
Reputation: 5815
Great post. Glad you like Lost Creek. I think you will continue to be happy with your decision! We've been surprised at how friendly everyone is, even by Austin standards! When we moved to LC, it was initially because of the location, Eanes ISD, and the views... however, after nearly 3 years here.. we find that we like it most because of our neighbors, the lack of a mandatory HOA, the different lot shapes/sizes and the fact that all the houses look different. Not as important, but I love the fact that I can ride on the Barton Creek greenbelt all the way to Zilker and never have to get on a road.

The only drawback I can think of is that 360 is kind of a barrier against walking to retail or restaurants... although in the past year, with the new stuff on the south side of Bee Caves, we can walk/bike to places like the Grove and Zuzus.
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Old 08-26-2008, 04:32 PM
 
264 posts, read 1,001,180 times
Reputation: 132
Quote:
Originally Posted by braveheartwendy View Post

-UT Longhorns insignia is EVERYWHERE. EV-ERY-WHERE.
In case you didn't get the memo, UT and the alumni are really what have built this city into what it is today. Austin is becoming larger and larger, but it hasn't and won't lose it's roots and ties to the Longhorns. There are more alumni living in and around Austin than anywhere else in the country, obviously, and has always been that way. Take away the University of Texas and Austin isn't a fraction of the city it is today. You'll get use to seeing Longhorn insignia everywhere, it's what helps give Austin that "small town feel". You, like many others before you are realizing why native Austinites/Texans treasure this city so much. We have it so good here.........at least until the other half of California moves here. LOL!!
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Old 08-26-2008, 05:48 PM
 
648 posts, read 1,964,387 times
Reputation: 184
How is the morning and afternoon commute to/from down town?
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Old 08-26-2008, 08:13 PM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,333 posts, read 18,053,649 times
Reputation: 5532
You made a good pick with Lost Creek. My experience with Westlake folks has always been as you describe. Same with the kids.
Welcome!

Steve
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Old 08-26-2008, 08:41 PM
 
1,162 posts, read 1,884,730 times
Reputation: 1390
Glad to hear that you've enjoyed your new home. One thing to mention is that when we have a "normal" summer, the humidity will be pretty bad. It has been lower than usual this summer due to the drought. In a normal summer the humidity isn't as bad as just east of here, but it's still high and uncomfortable. We've been fortunate this summer in that respect.
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Old 08-27-2008, 01:47 PM
 
Location: Dallas, Texas
485 posts, read 1,959,055 times
Reputation: 135
Interesting that you say that groceries are expensive. Everytime I go to visit friends/family in Phoenix, Portland, and Seattle, I think they are paying outrageous prices for groceries. Randall's is going to be more expensive in general (they are Safeway - unionized - huge - pay for a lot of benefits, etc), but some people on the board have mentioned that certain things like their meat dept is cheaper. HEB is by far the cheapest, best grocery chain I've ever seen. I wonder if they increase their prices in Westlake?

For cheaper groceries, you might try Super Target. I have been pleasantly surprised by their selection, prices, organics, and store brand Archer Farms.
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