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We also settled in CP after moving from Toronto. For kids we found Nitroswim - the best swimming club I've ever seen and its owner coach Mike. My kids love it. Gymnastics, soccer, art, guitar, dance - it's all here.
Cedar Park is not liberal by any means. It is in Williamson County which is one of the most conservative counties in Texas. Although Cedar Park is very accepting of people from all places. The schools are not as diverse as what you would find in Austin ISD but they do have a mix of students from all walks of life and from all over the world. The thing I notice that Cedar Park is missing most of all, is a good festival. They just don't have a good big festival for the town to rally around and come together as a community. For that people here go to Austin. We don't have public transportation here in Cedar Park because the Austin Capital Metro system and the city of Cedar Park could not agree to a deal but we will have the commuter train travel through town. And a train station is built on the edge of Cedar Park and Austin near Lakeline Mall. This train will take you downtown to the convention center. Just keep in mind that Cedar Park is mainly centered around families with children. Almost everything you do here will have kids involved in some way. I enjoy it for it's family atmosphere and it's close proximity to Austin. Come and take a long look and see if it fits you because Cedar Park is not for everyone.
Thanks everyone who has answered so far. Would love to hear more if people have more to add.
I am from TX originally and know there is nothing resembling Brooklyn, especially if one leaves downtown.
I suppose we are trying to wrap our heads around a radical change of lifestyle (cars vs. walking, space vs. population density, less racial diversity) so I'm trying to get a sense of what day-to-day life would be like. Given our current kid-centric lifestyle, I don't expect things would be TOO different -- today we hung out in the back yard and drove out to NJ for a 9-year-old's birthday party. Oh, and Austin97, one of our other regular activities is to go to the local playground, where there is a water spraying thing. Kids make water balloons and chase each other around with them, etc.
But I worry a little that I will miss things that I'm not considering, or that I'll be bored. I'm not so thrilled with chain stores, restaurants, etc. but am trying to reconcile myself with the idea, given that we have other considerations (financial + starting a business) for wanting to have a home on a larger lot.
I guess I'm also a little concerned about meeting people and making friends. Currently, we have neighbors upstairs in our building that have kids, and families are out on their stoops every afternoon/evening with kids playing on their scooters, playing chase, etc. That said, for much of the year (WINTER!) we are stuck inside and can be very isolated. And the school issue is a huge pain.
When I think about moving, I also wonder about politics. I am fairly liberal, as is my husband, and my experience of TX (except in college, when a lot of people get more liberal) has been of a pretty conservative place. I'm from Houston originally. I know Austin has a reputation as a liberal haven, but is that for real, outside of the college kids? And is liberalism tolerated in places like Leander/Cedar Park? When I scan real estate listings online, I see a lot of crucifixes on the walls in the pictures of the homes, and, to me, that says Bible Belt, not bastion of tolerance. (Nothing against religion, mind you, just wondering if this doubter will fit in.)
Ok, so now I've spread the questions much wider than my original post. Hope people have thoughts. This forum has been a great resource for me so far, so many thanks in advance.
It's ironic, the least tolerant people I know are liberals. For the most part the conservatives I know just want to be left alone by the govt and are fine with people living their lives the way they want to. The style of conservatism is probably slightly more libertarian than the southern conservative that you might imagine. You will find tons of californians in austin, but many places in california are also conservative (i.e. southern california).
We live in a cul de sac and everyday there are kids outside (15 boys in our cul de sac) plus we live on a green belt so the kids are always playing in it.
It seems like as the kids get to 8-10 years old they all have a ton of planned activities so you see them a lot less just hanging out.
My neighborhood feels about 40% asian (great hills) and it feeds into one of the best school chains in the city - laurel mountain, canyon vista, westwood. Laurel mountain is about 40% asian, canyon vista like 25% and westwood maybe 16% asian, 10% hispanic and 3.5% african american.
You can go here to see the ethnic breakdown of various schools.
I suspect there will be more opportunities for outdoor activities and sports because land is cheaper so you can simply have more sports fields. So the tradeoff is lots of restaurants and high culture vs. outdoor activities.
As a former NY'er who grew up in upstate NY, went to college in Manhattan, lived on the upper west side, Riverdale and yes, Brooklyn - (Bay Ridge - Shore Road in the 90's), I must say leaving NY was the best move I ever made. No, Cedar Park (I live in Travis County) is nothing like Brooklyn. There are no fancy restaraunts (don't like steak so never was a Peter Lugers fan anyway), but there are some good restaurants downtown. You won't find Pizza like at Angelos on 18th avenue, but then again, you'll only find that kind of pizza at Angelos in Brooklyn. Pizza in Sicily didn't compare to Angelos. So be it though.
As for things to do ... you can have a lot of outdoor fun here. Here, you can swim and boat in the lake unlike in Bk'lyn. I'm not a fan of swimming at Coney Island except when I was in my 20's and it was during the Mermaid Parade or hiking it out on the jitney to hob knob in the Hamptons. In my case, I can swim in the backyard although home pools here are not common but community pools certainly are. Here in Austin our family has stay-cations. There is a fabulous gym here in CP that even surpasses the one at Chelsea Piers in my opinion. It's like a vacation everytime I go to work out.
In CP, you can hike and bike and enjoy the outdoors. I used to love to run along Shore Road, but honestly, that was about the only outdoor activity I miss in Brooklyn (except riding the Cyclone).
Good news is that because you are a family person, Cedar Park has a lot to offer. Cedar Park, Leander is very family friendly. The schools (loved the preschool my 5 year old attended) in Leander ISD have been so far so good. The public schools are excellent compared to the trials and tribulations of most public schools in the NY City area. Sports are a big draw. There are lots of activities to involve your kids in. That's where you will meet your friends. As with anywhere, some folks you will be drawn to others not. Afterall, I'm a liberal yank and I live here... who knows, you may run into folks like yourself and you may make friends who are very different from yourself. I've experienced both.
Cedar Park is not Brooklyn. If you want Brooklyn, Cedar Park is not it. But the benefits far outweigh But, the cost of living doesn't compare. For the same price I paid in rent on Shore Road, I could live in a 4 Bedroom, 3 bath house on an acre of land in Leander. Yes, it is different here. Yes, folks are more conservative. I had a discussion about religion with my neighbor yesterday (big mistake and duly noted) Unlike my neighbor, I do not interpret the bible as historical fact. Nor would I presume to tell anyone that I am going to be saved because I know "the way." She proceeded to tell me that she deals in absolutes ... I explained to her that I do too. I have "absolute"-ly no desire to debate religion. I accept her choice to believe as she does and accept our differences. I then realized that some topics are off limits. My other neighbor and I discuss travel and careers and foreign policies (she lived in the Middle East for a time) etc and are more alike then different. For me religion is a private matter that's between me, my family and my G*D, not my neighbors.I've learned its best not to bring neighbors into the mix. People are religious here. But, when I lived in Riverdale (Bronx) the other moms in my building wouldn't talk to me because I didn't speak Hebrew. So, conservativism and exclusionary mindsets are everywhere, including NY and not just in the Christian "bible belt." So, yes there are conservatives here in Cedar Park, but then there are those like me who has had the privilege to experience the views of a Muslim roomate in college, a Jesuit priest as a mentor, a business partner who is Jewish and a best friend who is a conservative southern Baptist, I realize that I can get along with just about anyone so long as I take from each the good they have to offer and come to my own conclusions about life, religion and politics privately. I'm not here to change the world. If you instead accept people for who they, you have the choice to go down the friendship path or not.
But if you are looking for open minded liberal folks like yourself, they do exist. I am one of them. I live in Cedar Park, my husband is from Queens, we are both highly educated not overly religious (but very spiritual) and we get along just fine with our neighbors both conservative and liberal. Acceptance and the understanding that we are all different and have different outlooks, upbringings, opinions and values is what makes the world go round ... yes even here in Cedar Park.
As for being bored ... that word is forbidden in my house. If you're bored in my opinion then you must be boring (that's what I tell my kids). Here, it's all about family, sporting events (my kids play lacrosse and soccer, basketball and swim). If you have a one and four year old, chances are you haven't been bored for quite some time.
No, there is no Broadway here ... but they do have national tours with Broadway actors. I saw Rent on Broadway in NY when it first opened years ago and two of the actors who starred where just performing here in Austin. I have enjoyed the Symphony here. It's not Lincoln Center but it was pleasureable. Plus, from what I understand, Austin has the best live music around. I highly anticipate partaking in that experience. But, haven't had the opportunity ... yet. So, as for boring ... well, I like Cedar Park. Its safe here. After standing in the streets of Manhattan during 9/11, I'll take boring Cedar Park anyday. Plus, I'll take safety for my kids.
Cedar Park is a good place ... with a little space (acres available) and you can live life at your own pace. So, Welcome ... as for Brooklyn ... well one day you might just ... Forgeddaboutit. I did.
Wow, JLO! I just read your whole post aloud to my husband, and it was really reassuring. We are looking forward to a trip down to take a good long look -- we have a few other things going on right now which have prevented this so far. This whole thread has been really helpful in helping us understand more clearly what we are getting into. I just want to make sure we go in with eyes wide open and don't move in -- especially because we anticipate buying property -- only to find there are important aspects of life that we didn"t consider. Of course, I'm sure there will be surprises, and every place has its pros and cons, but I'm feeling pretty good at the moment that it is the right choice.
Oh and don't forget it's hot here. Damn hot! Whatever the temperature you remember in your mind from when you lived here before is, times that by 10 and you will not be surprised.
Oh, yes, I forgot to say it's hot. But, it's a dry Texas heat. Sorry folks, but the humidity here in TX is nothing like NYC. As for the heat, we NY'ers know what it's like to be crammed in a NYC subway on a 90 degree day and dare I say ... there isn't anything hotter, stinkier or more miserable anywhere in Austin... guaranteed.
Hey Brooklyn - I have a great resource for you to check out what's happening and many resources for the Cedar Park / Leander area. We get a monthly publication call Community Impact Newspaper. It's jammed full of info on the area, planned development, kid/family activities and resources, retail and medical facilities, real estate listings, schools, etc. I highly recommend calling them and asking for an issue to be mailed to you ($3.50 per issue, or you can subscribe). Their website is Community Impact Newspaper.
Go to the contact page and call the number at the Pflugerville location. You can get some information on the website about the area, but the newspaper has a whole lot more and will give you a much better feel. There's A LOT of kid/family recreation info there that i'm sure you'll appreciate and maps of planned development and retail activity for the community. I wish I'd seen this while making my decision to move here. It's a good snapshot of the area from afar.
No wait a minute -- don't. If you live in Cedar Park or Leander, you are getting what you deserve.
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