Hi, My husband is applying for a job in NW Austin (Round Rock: rentals, HOA)

[moderngnome]

Where would you recommend a family live? Our kids are early elementary age right now.

Our priorities are good schools, safe, short commute, family friendly...

We're also hoping to save on housing - live in a middle class area with reasonable housing prices. Our ideal house would be in the $160,000-$240,000 range.

Is this doable in the Austin area?

We live in a pretty expensive Chicago suburb now, and want to live more frugally, so we can build wealth.

I'd love to hear of neighborhood/zip code recommendations!

Thank you!

[centraltex_sara]

Definitely doable. Where in NW Austin will the job be located?

I'd suggest checking out Forest Oaks, Silverado Ranch, Carriage Hills, and Heritage Park in Cedar Park, and Anderson Mill, Milwood, and Avery Ranch in Austin.

[shankaupas]

My husband works in NW Austin and commutes to work from Round Rock everyday. We live in zip code 78665 (some sites still recognize it as 78664). His commute is roughly 20 minutes each way. The Round Rock ISD is highly rated. You can look at various school ratings here:
GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

You can find homes in your price range in Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, and Leander. The further away from Austin you get, the more you can get for your money. What is your maximum commute time that you will accept? How big a house are you looking for? How many bedrooms/bathrooms? Do you want a newer home with an open floor plan or do you want an older home? Do you want a neighborhood that has pools and parks (i.e. master planned neighborhood)?

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by moderngnome

Where would you recommend a family live? Our kids are early elementary age right now.

Our priorities are good schools, safe, short commute, family friendly...

We're also hoping to save on housing - live in a middle class area with reasonable housing prices. Our ideal house would be in the $160,000-$240,000 range.

Is this doable in the Austin area?

We live in a pretty expensive Chicago suburb now, and want to live more frugally, so we can build wealth.

I'd love to hear of neighborhood/zip code recommendations!

Thank you!

how large of a house, what age and any kind of community amenities?

In NW austin you can get houses from 90/sq ft to 200/sq ft+

[moderngnome]

Some answers: I was wrong, the job is on the North East side of Austin.

Housing: We have three kids - so if we could get four bedrooms, that would be wonderful (or three with one of those cool game rooms upstairs would work). We'd prefer new construction (but we're somewhat flexible on this, we don't want a house that is more than 10 years old). We live in an older house now, and have no desire to live in an older house again (ours is 50+).

A planned community? If we can do it on this budget - great! Honestly, we are not happy in our current home at all - it is tiny (1200 square feet) and old. I'm certain we can find something bigger and newer in the Austin area! Do most people in Austin go to public pools (thus the planned neighborhoods?) or is it typical to have public community pools? Everywhere is a little different Where we currently live, we have two wonderful public pools that most people join (of course, here, summer is 10 weeks long).

My husband doesn't want to commute for more than 30 minutes (less would be better). I don't need a ton of square footage. Just a nice, middle class neighborhood. Honestly, going from 1200 square feet - anything will feel huge. I'd guess 2,500 would be really comfortable as a four bedroom.

[CarnivalGal]

You don't want to live in Northeast Austin. Check out Round Rock. Very kid-friendly. Lots of great communities and good schools, and your commute will be pretty short.

[moderngnome]

Originally Posted by mm57553

You don't want to live in Northeast Austin. Check out Round Rock. Very kid-friendly. Lots of great communities and good schools, and your commute will be pretty short.

Perfect! Thank you!

[capcat]

Originally Posted by moderngnome

Do most people in Austin go to public pools (thus the planned neighborhoods?) or is it typical to have public community pools? Everywhere is a little different Where we currently live, we have two wonderful public pools that most people join (of course, here, summer is 10 weeks long).

I don't know how it is in Round Rock or in planned communities, but if you lived in Austin, you'd have two options....public pools where you can buy a summer pass or pay admission each time, or neighborhood pools which are free. Public pools are larger, but neighborhood pools are good-sized pools. All either have free parks associated with them, or they are built on a public school property. Anyone can go to the free pools, you don't have to live in the neighborhood. Just so you'll know how it works here.

There are also affordable options for family memberships that include a private pool, such as the Jewish Community Center. Anyone is welcome to join there. There are private membership pool facilities in some older neighborhoods as well.

I think Round Rock is a nice community with lots to do, and it is a straight shot down IH 35 to Northeast Austin. With the game room, etc. that you mentioned, that might offer the type/size of home you're looking for. Time-wise, it shouldn't take all that long, but you will have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic on the interstate during the commute. At least, that's the way it appears, looking down on the interstate as I cross over at rush hour on my way to visit my in-laws. They live in northeast Austin, and I agree with another poster, I would avoid living in that part of town. They built their home in 1967 and their area has deteriorated. Lots of rentals now, so it's been a revolving door of neighbors (at times, that's been a blessing).

You won't find much in Austin proper that's desirable in your price range. However, since you live in an expensive neighborhood now, I wouldn't count living in the city limits out if you can stretch it a bit. Some homes in 78731, 78757 and 78756 would involve a short commute to northeast Austin, depending upon where your husband will work. Those areas funnel into schools that perform well, depending upon the boundaries. Highland Park and Gullett elementary schools, McCallum and Anderson High Schools are all good schools, but there are many, many others. Family-friendly neighborhoods are everywhere and there are some new construction/remodels that might appeal to you in Austin. Wouldn't hurt to take a look, just to be sure whether living in the outlying areas is something that suits your style as well as your financial goals. Good luck, and welcome to the Austin area.

[neddy]

Most neighborhoods that have pools within the neighborhood are supported by HOAs so you would need to belong to that neighborhood. The actual City of Austin does run its own pools that you don't have to belong to to go and pay to enjoy. Just be sure to ask if its an HOA pool or city pool. These HOA run pools are in Austin, RR and everywhere else.

[HappyTexan]

There's also Pflugerville and they have older subdivisions with optional HOA's for the pool and two public community pools as well. Good schools and close to Austin.
I prefer the older subdivisions closer to Main Street as they have trails leading to the parks and schools and are not gated and have bigger lots. I rented there for 2 years before I moved out to the county.