What's BAD about Cedar Park? (Austin, Round Rock: construction, good schools, subdivisions)

[amyer77]

I can't seem to find anything negative about the area. Does anyone have any input?

[txgolfer130]

Um...."CEDAR" Park. And there you go. But seriously you'll find it everywhere, but I mean dang. If you get it bad, why would you put yourself into the middle of it. Other than that...nothing really, unless you're gonna work in far S. Austin.

[atxcio]

It used to be considered (still is by some) "way out there", but now there are farther burbs. A lot of that was because main access was limited to HWY 183, which back in the day was a nightmare full of lights, construction, and endless traffic. Now you still have the traffic, but it's all big open highway (and part toll) all the way through Cedar Park.

Also, it's a bedroom community -- it doesn't have the major employers in it like Round Rock or Austin. So, everyone commutes... and as mentioned, if you are commuting to somewhere south of the river, it can be a really nasty trip.

Finally, it's got more than it's fair share of cookie-cutter subdivisions. That would really apply to any burb that's been mostly built out during the 90's and 00's, though. So not really a drawback to Cedar Park only.

Other than those things, it's good -- it's got a little bit of hills, plenty of trees in places, great schools, and close to Lake Travis.

[mark311]

Cedar Park is a great place to raise a family and keeps adding more conveniences.

I guess for some people the fact that it doesn't really have any night life could be considered a "bad". I wouldn't really recommend it to somebody who is 22 and single. They would at least have to head into North Austin to get to any real clubs or bars. I also agree that traffic getting into Austin could be considered a "bad" for some people, but with the addition of the toll road even that can somewhat be avoided.

[Scott Wood]

Cedar Park opted out of paying Capital Metro taxes (diverting it to roads instead), so your only options to catch a bus are park-and-rides in Leander or North Austin.

If you work in the area, and are looking for typical boring, car-dependent suburbia with toll roads, it may be what you're looking for.

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by Scott Wood

Cedar Park opted out of paying Capital Metro taxes (diverting it to roads instead), so your only options to catch a bus are park-and-rides in Leander or North Austin.

If you work in the area, and are looking for typical boring, car-dependent suburbia with toll roads, it may be what you're looking for.

Which I think is good, considering that the subdivisions are set pretty far from the main roads and getting to the buses would really be a pain. The park-n-ride train stations aren't far.

I personally think that bus systems outside of the densely populated cities are mostly unused. I do think park-n-ride locations do work though. I'd rather ride my bike to work than drive.

[jco]

If you're moving to Austin because you like the Austin vibe, you are going to lose this by moving to the suburbs. If you would like a suburban, safe, community-minded city with good schools, then Cedar Park is for you! Certainly you can find those things in the city, don't get me wrong. We chose to go to South Austin because we just love Austin, the quirkiness, music/art scene, etc., but we couldn't afford to live centrally.

[amyer77]

Thanks everyone! It sounds good to me. We have small kids. and generally don't care about "night life". So would the commute to central Austin be bad for work?

[carolinajack]

im considering Cedar Park and Leander, which will be on the light rail line for my commute into downtown

[texastea]

Originally Posted by amyer77

Thanks everyone! It sounds good to me. We have small kids. and generally don't care about "night life". So would the commute to central Austin be bad for work?

So did you get a job downtown? If not, you don't have to assume that any job you get will be in central Austin b/c there are plenty of places to work that are located elsewhere. Just FYI. It seems a lot of newcomers think we all commute central when this just isn't the case.