Recommend best area/neighborhood for our family (Austin, Round Rock: sales, mortgage)

[Idlewile]

We are seriously considering a move from the Denver/Boulder area to Austin -- new career opportunity for my husband. We are a young, professional family with a toddler and a second in the queue. Husband works in the creative sector, will likely be based downtown... want to be mindful of commute but we are originally from SF and NY so our expectations are fairly low .

Looking to spend 240K-280K on a home in a good location, at least one that is somewhat likely to hold its value. Priority #1: good schools (even good preschool options that are reasonably close by). Priority #2: lots larger than a postage stamp, neighborhood character and TREES. We built our house here in CO and while it's lovely, we're over the no-trees and tiny backyard thing. Realize we can't live in Austin-proper due to our price range but after combing this board for a day now, I'm not sure I really have a handle of actual neighborhoods or their individual vibes, nor, do I know which areas I should really avoid based on our requirements.

Lake Travis, SW Austin (is Shady Hollow here?), Eanes district (although, I don't know what specific neighborhoods this district encompasses) and Round Rock, of course, all seem to have good schools. How do these areas measure up as far as commute to downtown and access to shopping, etc.?

What's the overall flavor of these places?

Other specific areas/neighborhoods we should consider?

Will Round Rock be less expensive house-wise than other areas of Austin, i.e., SW or West Austin?

Also, in CO, most suburbs offer rec centers or YMCA's you can join so you really don’t' need to join a gym unless you live in downtown Denver. Does Austin or certain areas offer community rec centers or Y's?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input!

[Jennibc]

What do you consider a postage stamp size lot. When we lived in Seattle, there were lots that were under 4000 square feet so if you got one there that was over 6000 you felt fortunate. Here, many would consider 6000 a postage stamp. So what are your requirements in terms of dimensions.

Yes, RR will be less expensive than SW and the West area of Austin. $240-280K will get you something palatial in parts of Round Rock but you will be lucky to find a 3 bed 2 bath for that in the closer in neighborhoods that have recognized or exemplary schools.

The commute to downtown from Eanes is fine as is SW Austin, but your housing budget will likely not meet those areas. Although, there is a part of Circle C (Wildflower Park) where you can find a home in your budget. That part of the subdivision is about 10-13 years old so there are a good many trees and when they developed that area, they found a way to keep many of the old trees standing. You might want to check it out.

[shankaupas]

The further you get away from Austin, the more home you can get for your money. My answers are going to be slightly skewed because I've lived in Round Rock for the last 10 years. And just like most areas surrounding Austin, it has grown considerably. Like Jenni said, you can get quite a bit for 280K in Round Rock (i.e. 3000+ square feet home on about 1/4 acre plot). Now you don't really even need to go into Austin to shop and enjoy a day out on the town. Round Rock even has it's own Outlet Malls. Round Rock has 1 large Rec Center and another on the way and a recently renovated YMCA. I think the existing Rec Center is much nicer than most gyms. They even built a skateboard park behind the Rec Center. My 10 year old absolutely loves it. But there are plenty of gyms around also. My Husband commutes to North Austin every day and with the addition of the tollways, he is able to travel with almost no traffic. There are 2 major routes to downtown from the north and south. Loop 1 (aka Mopac) is usually only crowded during the rush hours. So if you can travel early or later, then the commute is pleasant. I35 is horrible all day including weekends. This is mainly because it is a main artery stretching from Mexico all the way up to Chicago.

[didadi]

If your budget is 400K+, checkout Eanes School District. I am told and have read that, every school in ESD is exemplary. They almost always top the local school rankings. If he works in downtown, with 400K+ budget, you are probably good to find something near BeeCaves / Cicrle C area.

In general, north of Austin is mostly tech dominated areas. IBM,Dell, Freescale etcetc.

[love roses]

I remember our postage stamp sized lot in Denver (Park Hill). Compared to that, our yard now seems like a football field I second shankaupas on RR, but you could find things in your budget South of Austin as well.

[atlanta hope]

Check out greatschools.net for school ratings.

We ended up in Granada Hills on a .75 acre lot with some awesome trees. Most house were built in the 70s. We're just West of Circle C -- which is also another neighborhood you might consider in SW.

[Idlewile]

Thank you, guys, for taking the time to comment, this information is really, really helpful.

I've been looking up the schools on greatschools.net and that's been great insight too.

I must say, I'm a bit put off by the property taxes... We were hoping to save A LOT by having such a low mortgage payment but at 260K that's going to add about $500 to our monthly payment (depending on the county, etc. of course).

Aside from a move from Denver/Boulder to Austin, we are currently a double income family but I am sick over what we are paying and will be paying for full-time childcare for the next six years until our kiddos are in 1st grade. If we move to a lower COL area like Austin, and can really bring our mortgage down, it could make more sense for me to become stay at home mom and not shovel out thousands of childcare dollars each month. BUT, our other bills will likely stay the same even though our mortgage would be way less than half. Appealing, but once you throw in the property taxes, it's a harder sell.

I am really trying to make this work; Austin seems perfect for us culturally. I think it would be a positive move for our family, even giving up half of our current income (though keeping our childcare dollars) but those property taxes do make a difference. What are your utility bills like?

We pay:
Water: $50
Xcel (gas and electricity): $180 (averaged annually)
HOA: $30
Comcast (cable and cable internet): $100

Thanks again.

[atlanta hope]

Property taxes gave us sticker shock too -- ours aren't quite as bad in our neighborhood since we're just outside city limits. Don't forget that there is no state income tax so maybe that'll help even things out.

Our utilities are up and down so I'm not sure what the average is. We have DirecTV and it's like $65. TimeWarner Cable Modem $55. Water probably averages around $30-40 if we're not watering our garden a lot. We don't have gas. Electric, I can't remember but it's not any higher than what we paid in Atlanta. It could very well be around $180... so I think the utilities are probably in line with what you're paying already.

[TexasHorseLady]

Remember that you won't be paying state income tax.

[atxcio]

.. and you can deduct sales tax on your federal income tax. So in Texas, you can deduct all your taxes (property & sales tax), whereas in states with an income tax, you can only deduct 2 of 3 (property, state income, sales tax).