Commuting b/w Round Rock and West Lake Hills (Austin: for sale, low crime)

[whatsthe411]

Hi all I may be moving to the Austin area and am wondering what kind of commute this would be. Is it long and is there a lot of traffic b/w the two points?

Also, is there any part of Round Rock that's most highly recommended (e.g., safe neighborhoods, good schools, and close to shopping and other conveniences)? I see there's a big difference in housing prices in RR versus homes for sale in the EANES school district, so I'm also wondering if RR schools are good in the event I need to sell one day. Thanks!

[Moonlady]

Yes, it's long and yes there is a lot of traffic during normal commute hours. Your two main roads going into Westlake are Mopac and Loop 360. I drive the reverse commute each day and I can tell you I would not want to be on either of those roads going south in the morning and north at night. There are tons of wonderful places to live south - unless you have some other compelling reason to be in Round Rock it really doesn't make sense.

[whatsthe411]

Originally Posted by Moonlady

Yes, it's long and yes there is a lot of traffic during normal commute hours. Your two main roads going into Westlake are Mopac and Loop 360. I drive the reverse commute each day and I can tell you I would not want to be on either of those roads going south in the morning and north at night. There are tons of wonderful places to live south - unless you have some other compelling reason to be in Round Rock it really doesn't make sense.

OK--thanks for letting me know.

[shankaupas]

Yes Round Rock is safe. It has very low crime and very good schools. The best schools strictly by performance numbers are in the Westwood High School area. But I don't think any of the homes are actually in Round Rock. They are in North West Austin. There are new master planned neighborhoods as well as older neighborhoods. You can find homes in Round Rock from the low 100s all the way up to close to 1 million. As far as resale in the future, one thing to consider is that Round Rock has been one of the fastest if not the fastest growing city in the US in the last 5 years.

[tongpa-nyi]

I had a nightmare about commuting from Round Rock to Westlake one time.
I'm feeling better now after being treated for PTSD.

[shankaupas]

To the OP, in a previous thread, you said you were looking at homes in the 600K range. If you are looking in Round Rock, you might want to consider Arbor Place. This is a brand new community with some gorgeous homes.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by Moonlady

Yes, it's long and yes there is a lot of traffic during normal commute hours. Your two main roads going into Westlake are Mopac and Loop 360. I drive the reverse commute each day and I can tell you I would not want to be on either of those roads going south in the morning and north at night. There are tons of wonderful places to live south - unless you have some other compelling reason to be in Round Rock it really doesn't make sense.

Yeah I think 78704, 78745 or Oak Hill would make more sense. West Lake or Rollingwood are lovely little "cities" (they are incorporated I believe) to live in themselves if you have the money.

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

Yeah I think 78704, 78745 or Oak Hill would make more sense. West Lake or Rollingwood are lovely little "cities" (they are incorporated I believe) to live in themselves if you have the money.

Actually, West Lake Hills, Rollingwood and Oak Hill all have Austin addresses. They did not incorporate as their own cities, so while they have boundaries and separate communities, they have Austin mailing addresses.

[whatsthe411]

Thanks, everybody!

[atxcio]

I believe West Lake Hills and Rollingwood are incorporated. They have their own city councils, own PD, and don't pay Austin city taxes. They do have Austin addresses, even though the 78746 post office is NOT in the city of Austin. Oak Hill is different in that did not incorporate (as I understand it), and got annexed by the City of Austin.

And I agree with the other posters about the commute. It would be terrible. You've got terrible traffic crossing the city from the south to north, PLUS getting from the west side to the east side. Probably one of the worst commutes you can have in the city. In fact, some years ago Michael Dell moved his office (as well as other Dell top executives) to 360 so they could be closer to where they lived! That only lasted a year or so, after which I guess they could not justify the expense of the Westlake office.