Why would you rather live in a house in a suburb than a house in a neighborhood of Austin of the same price? (Round Rock: insurance, appliances)

[Jaipur]

I am just wondering, after reading these threads and such for so long why so many people would rather move to Round Rock, or some place like Steiner Ranch, Circle C, when they can find a home for the same exact price they are looking for in a community of Austin that is much more varied and has a lot more character than any of these newer subdivisions? I understand if you have children that schooling could be part of it, but there are quite a few acceptable public schools in Austin and there's always private school which would be affordable to the type of people I'm speaking of. It really does not make much sense to me because I live in a nice home in Brykerwood that I purchased for around $400,000 just a few months ago and it was not a fixer upper. In fact it was remodeled not so long ago.
I don't know, maybe some people actually like the look and feel of these newer communities and I am completely unaware of it?
Also along with this even more wealthy people, why would you rather live in a 3 million dollar house in Barton Creek or Steiner Ranch, when you could get alot more for your money in say, Tarrytown?

[AustinTraveler]

Because a majority of the people posting here don't have a budget of $400K. I totally agree with you about living in the city and, in fact, I live very close to Brykerwood, but it is not a realistic goal for most people. The houses are smaller and the prices are higher. That is why people end up in Round Rock, etc.

[texastrigirl]

When we moved back to Austin in July 2000 (at the height of the market at the time) we chose Circle C for the overall feel of the community, and the access to nature in terms of the Wildflower Center, the Veloway and Hill Country. The $ per sq ft was much lower than Central Austin and the elementary schools are particularly good. Circle C has a lot of amenities and is a quick, straight shot to downtown and the airport and is not congested. It has big yards and lots of sidewalks and bike paths for kids to safely ride their bikes and play. Most importantly, being surrounded by families all in a similar life stage was great for us. We had 12 kids roughly the same age within 4 houses on each side of the street that all grew up together. We could have a social life with our wonderful neighbors even when our kids were babies. Circle C has a great sense of community and I suspect Steiner, Lake Pointe, etc. all do too. We moved to Seattle in July 2007 and I will always treasure our time in Circle C. Our friends that live here that moved from Lake Pointe feel the same way about it...and they sold a house in Central Austin to move to Lake Pointe to raise their family.

[llkltk]

Can I ask you how large your home is? A lot of people are not looking to pay 400K for less than 2000 square feet. Everyone has their own tastes, I wouldn't knock other people's choice of where to live. Also, I know someone who lived in Brkyer and they had a huge rat problem in the neighborhood.

[Jennibc]

Because you can find a reasonable sized house in Round Rock for $250K. Schools are big issue as well.

[Trainwreck20]

It is a money issue, for the most part....we have a 2,300 sf house in SW Austin that is appraised at ~60% of what you are listing. In addition to the initial cost/monthly payment/insurance, you are paying an additional $4,000 or $5,000 in taxes per year. I would also assume (though maybe incorrectly) that the house is <2000 sf.

There are other, more indiviudal reasons, too, I am sure. I have lived in old and new houses, and I kind of like the new ones. Our house is 9 years old and still under builders warranty - which we used last year. I like the energy efficiency, I like the higher ceilings, I like the large closests.

Schooling: yes, we could afford private school, but, again, you are talking, what? $10,000/year? Per kid? I am not sure, since we are within walking distance of an excellent public elementary and will be within walking/biking distance of the new Jr. High. We can (and do) walk to a great HEB and several restaurant (Waterloo, Satellite, Mangeri's), as well as bike to a nice park with a free city pool, and we also can bike to the Library. Generally speaking, I would have to give up some or most of that convienence to live central....

As far as character goes, yes, the inner neighborhoods are pretty nice, and some day we may end up in a place like that, not sure. But our neighborhood has a lot of characters (if not character). I really like our neighbors - from the guy the brews beer in his garage on the weekend, to the family that does halloween skits for the kids each year, to the lady that works at a bar and is married to a lawyer. There is also the 'redneck' family that has a 'deer hunting' pickup in the driveway and a Lamborghini in the garage. They are a fun and interesting group of people and I think it makes up more of a neighborhood's character than the houses/streets.

I really have nothing against living central, but it does not offer what we are looking for (at least, not more of it), other than house/street character. It could easily cost us $30,000+ a year to live there (assume $12,000 for mortgage, $15,000 for two kids/private school, $6,000 taxes/insurance). Even without private school, we are talking 15-20k more. I would have to drive more,too (maybe unique to my situation), but I really like being in the car for 20-30 minutes max per day, and near zero on the weekend.

[Austinitegirl]

Originally Posted by Jaipur

I am just wondering, after reading these threads and such for so long why so many people would rather move to Round Rock, or some place like Steiner Ranch, Circle C, when they can find a home for the same exact price they are looking for in a community of Austin that is much more varied and has a lot more character than any of these newer subdivisions? I understand if you have children that schooling could be part of it, but there are quite a few acceptable public schools in Austin and there's always private school which would be affordable to the type of people I'm speaking of. It really does not make much sense to me because I live in a nice home in Brykerwood that I purchased for around $400,000 just a few months ago and it was not a fixer upper. In fact it was remodeled not so long ago.
I don't know, maybe some people actually like the look and feel of these newer communities and I am completely unaware of it?
Also along with this even more wealthy people, why would you rather live in a 3 million dollar house in Barton Creek or Steiner Ranch, when you could get alot more for your money in say, Tarrytown?

Would that $400K house be, say around 1500 sq. ft.?? Because for $400K, you can get like a 10 room mansion on 17 acres in the 'burbs. I spent about $170K on my 2000 sq. ft., 3 br, 2 bath brand new, never-been-lived-in, high-quality builder, all brand new stainless steel appliances included, all-wood slat blinds included, brand new garage door opener included, fully sodded, sprinkler system included, rounded corners, art niches, beautiful architectural elements inside, new tile and upgraded carpet, within walking distance of a highly-rated elementary, middle and high school in a quiet safe suburb. That's what I got for $170K. Oh, but it does look very similar to all the other houses in my neighborhood on the outside. That wasn't a deal-breaker for me. All of the other benefits out-weighed the cookie-cutter external appearance.

My husband and I honestly spent YEARS combing through a lot of neighborhoods in Austin proper - south, north, east and west. I ran a small petsitting business for years that gave me the benefit of being able to check out all kinds of neighborhoods all over town. And while I definitely agree with you that Austin neighborhoods have a lot more personality and distinctive appearance, they just can't compete with the full-package deals in the 'burbs. Why do you think so many people live north of Austin? Austin has a population of roughly 700K people. Well, there are almost half of that number living in all of the surrounding metro suburbs combined, so we're not talking about a couple of deluded or inexperienced home shoppers here - we're talking about a LOT of people who need more than a distinctive neighborhood appearance or the "cool factor" of being able to say they live in a 50 year-old remodeled home.

I also agree with some of the other responders that you're talking about a different "type" of person. Most of the people who live in the suburbs can't afford a $400K house... or a private school for their children... which is why they move somewhere where you can get a large family home relatively inexpensively and where their kids can walk to the top-rated public school.

[LoveATX]

I simply enjoy Round Rock more than I do Central Austin on a daily basis. Dont get me wrong, I graduated from UT and love Austin more than I do any other major city I have lived in. But when it comes to raising a family and all the things considered with that we chose to live in Round Rock. It may not have the personality and character that Austin has but I believe those things come with time and growth. Besides its not like Round Rock is devoid of character, its just not as prevalent as Austin.

[S6Sputnik]

I live in the western burb of River Place and I live here because:

1) It is beautiful.
2) Schools are awesome.
3) Very active sports area (not watching it on TV).
4) 10 miles to downtown
5) 10 miles to work (usually 20 minutes)
6) Safe (relatively speaking at least)
7) Close to a HEB, Rudy's, Oasis, County Line
8) We have two great parks in the sub
9) Country Club with Tennis, Pool, Weight room, spin classes, and Golf
10) We do a fair amount of stuff with others in the neighborhood

I have lived in downtown areas and with young children I prefer not to do that!

So there is my top ten!

Homes in this area start around $300k and go up in the millions from there
or $120 per sqft and up depending on factors I don't know!

Cheers

[newrrmom]

Because my husband and I have less then a 10 min. drive to work and my childs school is amazing. Our home was $225,000 and it has everything I could of imagined, BUT I would love to live downtown in the same house, same price
Actually my idea of living in the city is in a modern flat/loft and able to walk everywhere.