My wife and I are trying to move back to Austin ASAP. I work out of town, southeast of Austin and will commute 2-3 times a week. My wife is looking for a job, and has a few leads on some downtown. Once we move, I may start looking for something closer to home. I need recommendations on areas to live, both for commute times to downtown and lifestyle. I am thinking South Austin may be the place for us, but I really don't know anything about the area. We are going to rent, and I've seen some decent homes in the area within our price range. The only reason that I think the South or Southeast areas would be good is the price range and the reduced commute time for me to get out of town. Any help would be appreciated. I only lived around campus when I was there last (left in 2005).
Westgate. (South of 290/71, West of Manchaca, North of William Cannon, East of Brodie) Barton Hills Travis Country Circle C
I commuted from Austin to near Luling for 10 years and highway 183-South was clear driving going against traffic. You might look for something with easy access to 183-South, even as far south as Slaughter Lane or Kyle. I lived just a block southeast of I-35 and Riverside off Summit and I had an hour commute. It wasn't Travis Heights but it wasn't bad and close to down town. The neighborhood is bounded by I-35, Riverside, Parker and Woodland. I eventually moved to Travis Heights which is a great area but pricey. If you can find an affordable place in Travis Heights you would love it.
Puffer, What are the commute times from those areas near Mopac and 290/71 to downtown? I seem to remember Mopac being a parking lot in the afternoons.
NewGuy, What type of lifestyle are you looking for? What's important? Only place I'd want to live close to downtown/campus would be one of the older neighborhoods such as Hyde Park. Otherwise I'd want to be on the fringes of civilization - Pfluggerville is becoming too suburban for me, would love to get land out in Dripping springs area. I have friends who love living in the condos downtown to be close to the night life.
We are still pretty young (26 & 24), no kids yet, and I CANNOT stomach spending 2 hours a day in the car back and forth from work. We are still paying off student loans, so buying a house is still probably a year or more off. Honestly though, anywhere in the Austin area is going to be an upgrade over Houston, both in terms of proximity to family and the amount of social/outdoor activities. So we aren't going to be too picky . . . but we are trying to balance saving a little money on rent, with being relatively close to downtown (and the Austin I remember from college), and not spending our lives in the car on the weekdays. Basically, we want the city atmosphere without paying too much of the city price.
Due to the economy and the housing situation, there are rental houses everywhere. Just drive around a neighborhood you feel meets your requirements for price and location, and write down some lease phone numbers.
Onion Creek is a nice area, and easier on/off 1H35 than the others. There are no really good west-east roads in South Austin that get you to IH35 quickly. Maybe when they finish the flyover from Ben White to IH35 it will get better, but now traffic can really pile up at that intersection during busy times, and that's not a good way to get there from anything south of Ben White.
Ya, Mopac traffic sucks but it won't be bad for you if you're heading away from town in the morning and towards town in the afternoon. I've never had to commute from these areas to downtown, but here's my guess on times... Westgate, 25 min Barton Hills, 15 Travis Country, 35 Circle C, 40
I second the comment about Travis Heights, if it's affordable anymore. Lived there a couple years while in school and loved the neighborhood.
Check the east Cesar Chavez area. Things are still affordable and it would be an east commute to the south east b/c C. Chavez connects to 183.
Don't forget they now have the heavy commuter rail (often called light rail which it is not) that runs to downtown from up north. There are several stops and now it FINALLY runs all day until about 7pm. The frequency after morning rush is something like every hour once an hour but still, better than nothing. There are express buses that pick up at places like MLK and the downtown stations to take people throughout the downtown area to include the UT campus area. If she can get to one of the stations where they have ample parking since not many ride the train she is golden. Just something to add to the mix. Stay out of the East Side. There is nothing hip, cool, developing or fun about it.
