Relocating from Puerto Rico (Austin, Spring: crime rates, home, unemployment)

[caribbeanppl]

Hi everyone!

We are a family of 3 and we're all set to come down to Austin on August. I'm a stay at home mom (formerly an Administrative Assistant) and my husband works overseas. Already rented in a nice neighborhood of North Austin. Though we've been there twice just visiting, we need to learn more about everything.

Can anyone give us advice on good after school activities to look for our 14 yr old daughter, fun places to visit on weekends, best places (not overpriced)
to buy furniture, what things we need to know about the area first overall. We've been told that Leander High School which is the one that our daughter's going to be assisting is a good one. Any insights?

Anything else we might be overlooking, thank you so much in advance for your comments.

[austinitelookingtohelp]

It would be easier to answer those questions I think if we knew what area you meant Are you going to be in Austin proper or in Leander?

[CptnRn]

If your daughter is going to school in Leander it seems pretty likely that you live near there.

Welcome to Texas, I just celebrated a family gathering in Puerto Rico the last New Years. We are not from there but we loved the great weather when it was cold here. We picked PR because we had found on a previous long layover while returning from the US & BVI's that the people were very friendly and the island had a vibrant lively economy compared to what we had experienced in the Virgin Islands.

I don't know much about that far northwest area, other then Lake Travis, I have had sailboats on Lake Travis for years and once I had one in the marina at Jonestown. Summers get far hotter in Austin then in PR, so to be comfortable, water sports are mandatory, preferably in places with shade trees near by. Spring and Fall are the nicest times of year here, so get out and enjoy the outdoors now before it gets too hot.

Since you are that far North you will have pretty easy access to the north shore of Lake Travis, so you can easily access places like the Campgrounds at Aransas Bend Park that most of us in Central or South Austin never go to, because it is such a long drive to get there. http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/arkansas_bend.asp

Camping is very safe here in Texas, crime rates are very low. The only problem we ever experienced camping was at a day picnic at Mansfield Dam park, when some cretin stole the hot dogs and cheese out of our cooler at the picnic table, while we were down playing in the water.

Camping is also allowed at the Bar-K Park at Lago Vista. It has some nice tree shaded and covered picnic tables with views out over the lake and access to the water. Bar K Park - Lago Vista - RecreationParks.net

The beach off of the end of Whispering Hollow Drive in Point Venture, on the north shore of Lake Travis, has one of the few sand beach areas on the lake, depending on how high the water is.

Sign up for the free Impact News paper Leander, Cedar Park Local News by Community Impact Newspaper (http://impactnews.com/leander-cedar-park - broken link) Leander/Cedar Park is one of the community areas it focuses on.

The Leander Chamber of Commerce website didn't have much on it. http://www.leandercc.org/index.htm (broken link)

But the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce website appears to be more useful. http://www.cedarparkchamber.org/

And the Cedar Park Center brings a variety of entertainment to the area, including ice hockey. There have been a couple of shows there I wanted to see, but wasn't willing to drive all that way and back from SW Austin. http://www.cedarparkcenter.com/

You can go for a ride on the Austin Steam Train to Burnet and back with a stop over for lunch in Burnet http://www.austinsteamtrain.org/

Check out http://www.cedarparkfun.com/joomla/

[caribbeanppl]

Originally Posted by austinitelookingtohelp

It would be easier to answer those questions I think if we knew what area you meant Are you going to be in Austin proper or in Leander?

It is Northwest Austin!

[caribbeanppl]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

If your daughter is going to school in Leander it seems pretty likely that you live near there.

Welcome to Texas, I just celebrated a family gathering in Puerto Rico the last New Years. We are not from there but we loved the great weather when it was cold here. We picked PR because we had found on a previous long layover while returning from the US & BVI's that the people were very friendly and the island had a vibrant lively economy compared to what we had experienced in the Virgin Islands.

I don't know much about that far northwest area, other then Lake Travis, I have had sailboats on Lake Travis for years and once I had one in the marina at Jonestown. Summers get far hotter in Austin then in PR, so to be comfortable, water sports are mandatory, preferably in places with shade trees near by. Spring and Fall are the nicest times of year here, so get out and enjoy the outdoors now before it gets too hot.

Since you are that far North you will have pretty easy access to the north shore of Lake Travis, so you can easily access places like the Campgrounds at Aransas Bend Park that most of us in Central or South Austin never go to, because it is such a long drive to get there. Arkansas Bend Park, Travis County, Texas

Camping is very safe here in Texas, crime rates are very low. The only problem we ever experienced camping was at a day picnic at Mansfield Dam park, when some cretin stole the hot dogs and cheese out of our cooler at the picnic table, while we were down playing in the water.

Camping is also allowed at the Bar-K Park at Lago Vista. It has some nice tree shaded and covered picnic tables with views out over the lake and access to the water. Bar K Park - Lago Vista - RecreationParks.net

The beach off of the end of Whispering Hollow Drive in Point Venture, on the north shore of Lake Travis, has one of the few sand beach areas on the lake, depending on how high the water is.

Sign up for the free Impact News paper Leander, Cedar Park Local News by Community Impact Newspaper (http://impactnews.com/leander-cedar-park - broken link) Leander/Cedar Park is one of the community areas it focuses on.

The Leander Chamber of Commerce website didn't have much on it. Leander Chamber of Commerce (http://www.leandercc.org/index.htm - broken link)

But the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce website appears to be more useful. Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce - Home

And the Cedar Park Center brings a variety of entertainment to the area, including ice hockey. There have been a couple of shows there I wanted to see, but wasn't willing to drive all that way and back from SW Austin. cedarparkcenter.com: Home

You can go for a ride on the Austin Steam Train to Burnet and back with a stop over for lunch in Burnet Austin Steam Train Association

Check out Cedar Park Fun - Travel and Tourism Site for Cedar Park, Texas - Home

I'm glad you had a good time in Puerto Rico. About our economy, well, not so vibrant anymore. Sadly lots of unemployment right now on the island.

Thank you very much for such a good info and for welcome us to Texas. I'll keep all that in mind and keep doing my research.