Need help w/drive times and neighborhood suggestions from RR and CP to NW Austin (Round Rock: new home)

[gb0610]

Hey all -

My wife and I are moving to Austin in Jan 09 from California (yep, another one). To get to the point, we have narrowed our search for a home purchase down to Cedar Park and Round Rock. We will be traveling out to Austin in November for a house hunting trip with the realtor.

What I would like from folks here is a bit of local info on some of the communities we like so far.

We are looking to pay around 190-210K for a 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft house that is newer than 10-15 years old.

About us....late 20's, conservative values yet with many unique interests (don't look our values either ). We are looking for a young neighborhood with folks close to our age who either have very young or no children as of yet. We simply don't want to be the only young couple on the block. The community must have a community pool and some nearby trails to run on with the dogs. I'd like to have some good sports bars nearby if possible as well.The only other stipulation is what my drive time will be to work. I will be working near Parmer Ln and MOPAC. I would like to drive no more than 20 minutes each way.

At this point we really like Avery Ranch. We know its close enough for an easy commute. But there are a couple of other communities that I would like to know about.

Please let me know your thoughts on some of these neighborhoods, both their "vibe" and what my commute will be on the not so good times of the day.

May Field Ranch and Preserve at Stone Oaks (NW Round Rock....these seem to be very far out there. Is that true during traffic?)

Buttercup Creek (just west of downtown Cedar Park)

Brushy Creek (neighborhoods of Stone Canyon, Cat Hollow and Turkey Hollow)

Silverado West (In NE Cedar Park)

Hunters Glenn (In SW Cedar Park)


Thanks for your time everyone!

[springbean]

I don't know a ton about commute time, I'm a sahm and don't commute, but my DH works at Mopac and Braker so everywhere I mention is an okay (25 or minutes) commute to his office.

We are also looking for a new home in the same price range you're looking at and here's what we've seen:

Round Rock
The first 3 are very pretty, treed areas, west of I-35:
Cat Hollow
The Woods
Stone Canyon

East of I-35
Eagle Ridge
Settlers Overlook
Paloma Lakes
Ryan's Crossing

Cedar Park
Silverado Ranch
Forest Oak
Cedar Park Town Center
Block house Creek
Buttercup Creek
Anderson Mill West

Have you used austinhomesearch.com to look for homes? You should try it, you san search by subdivision, it makes house hunting much easier.

Good Luck!!!

[gb0610]

No, I have not heard of that website. I'll have to head over and check that out...Thanks!

[robino2001]

My thought is pretty much anywhere in CP or RR is about a 20-30 (maybe 35) minute drive in typical rush hour traffic to Mopac and Parmer. I live in NE RR and work between McNeil/183 and McNeil/Parmer... my commute is ~25 minutes - no highway at all though for me (not really a feasible option for you probably).

I would think NW RR would provide the longest commute - maybe 30 minutes because you'll probably have to deal with 35 unless you're far enough west you can take Parmer all the way in, but that would be lights the whole way and still a long commute. If you live in RR, your best bet is to take the toll road in - if you live in West RR, 35 to 45 to Mopac toll... east RR directly to 45 to Mopac toll. Same from CP... 45 eastbound to Mopac toll unless you are far enough south to maybe cut across on McNeil to Parmer to save time.

Now there are definitely ways to avoid the toll roads if you'd rather, but if you're looking for a commute time that short, that's about the only way to do it - especially if you're looking at the neighborhoods mentioned which are slightly further from the highways/tollroads.

[texasgirl1]

My husband worked at Mopac/Parmer area and we lived in Cedar Park so I think these are the commute times unless they have improved - ha!

May Field Ranch and Preserve at Stone Oaks - 25-30 mins in normal flowing traffic

Buttercup Creek - 18-25 mins

Brushy Creek (neighborhoods of Stone Canyon, Cat Hollow and Turkey Hollow) - not sure, probably 15-20 mins

Silverado West (In NE Cedar Park) - @ 20-25

Hunters Glenn (In SW Cedar Park) - @ 15-20

Anything off of Cypress Creek Road in Cedar Park in full of young families and lots of parks and trails.

Look into Ranch at Brushy Creek down the road from Avery Ranch

You might want to also look into Milwood. That is a great area for young couples, close to some new sport bars, and it would only be about 10-15 minutes from work. There are some homes in there that were built in the late 90's and they are easy to sell when the time comes. Our friends just sold theirs last Spring in 3 days for full asking price.

[gb0610]

Thank you for your post.

I checked out Milburn. Its in a great location, yet seems to be a bit old. Most of the homes also have pretty small lots for the price.

Thanks again...