If you followed my balcones country club thread, we're considering moving from central austin to a "suburb" for schools and for more house for the buck. We've looked in the Great Hills area, Balcones and other areas on 183 and yesterday we drove around Lakeway. Surprisingly, while a bit more expensive than the 183 area, the type of house we're looking for is affordable in Lakeway. The schools are solid (so it appears), so now we're checking out amenities. Any insight re: the golf club and/or the marina? I suspect the golf club is above $25,000, but I'm not sure. I don't want to call just yet. Also, I suspect the marina is on a waiting list and that the slips are quite expense. Anyone have insight on these amenities of the area? Also, what about the town of Lakeway, seems very kid friendly. The commute to downtown seems like about a 45 minute commute. Does that sound right? Any thoughts or insights?
You can put your boat in a few other marinas. Hurst Creek, Yacht Harbor and at least one other. Those will all be much cheaper than the Lakeway Marina and depending on where you live in Lakeway, could even be closer to you. For a Golf Membership, you can also look into Falconhead.
at least yesterday, the houses we looked at (no realtor, just driveby and flyer pulls) were close to the main Lakeway drive. I didn't realize there were others down there that were close. We basically want to be able to drive 5-10 minutes to the marina and jump in the boat, so if those fit the bill, great. Any idea on the costs of a covered slip with a lift? Does $300 per month sound right? As for falconhead, on the website, falconhead is included with a Hills membership (72 holes).
my mistake, I confused the two flintrock and falconhead. anybody know the price? mish -- I saw your post re: highschools interesting stuff, especially considering LT High is merely "acceptable" according to the state (if I remember my googling results last night). looks like we're moving out of austin or to eanes (personally, I want to stay away from eanes). So, if you have to be 45 minutes out, can't see how lakeway can be beat for what you get for the price.
that's funny about football -- I was googling the schools and found a comment that the only extra cirricular was football and that having the largest weight room in Texas high school football should net more Div I players and a better record. Funny stuff. The guy was very upset about it, but if he knew (and if it's like my HS), the weight room is for every sport team that needs weight training. We spent a good amount of time yesteday out there and there really are only three issues, all related to being in the suburbs (i.e. they would apply if we moved to North Austin as well). Will I be able to handle the commute? Will we miss the easy access to UT and downtown? Will our friends and family be willing to adapt? As for the first, I plan to be out of a downtown job within a year. As for the second, that will supremely suck as our son is at the UT child lab and he and we love it. That will be a big inconvenience if we try to keep it up. As for the third, mixed reviews so far, but the same review for moving north as well. The only difference is the idea of a boat, most are excited they may gain a friend with a boat. Figures, but I'm pragmatic, so we'll adapt. It may happen this summer or fall, it might happen next spring or summer, but we're moving out of central austin. It's too damn expensive and we're tired of speculating on prices (9 years and 3 houses into it). Today, Lakeway seems like the place.
DieUCLA98 -- what are your thoughts of LTISD? The elementary and middle schools are exemplary or recognized by the state, but the high school is merely acceptable. Seems like maybe quality is moving up the system? Also, my wife is a former educator and has tutored all subjects (including math and science) up through about 10th or 11th grade (AP/Honors track), so we're not worried about supplemental education -- either some home schooling in the summer, educational trips, or professional supplemental education (tutor, sylvan, etc.). Heck, we were thinking private school anyway, so only having to supplement would be a major savings to us.
My GF's family started off at WW but moved out to their lake house for her senior year. She finished up at WW but her sister and brother have to go through LT High school. I've tutored them both and both say the teaching is bad. A month before their AP exams for physics, they are doing some stupid doll house project where all they learn is how to wire a battery to a light bulb... Low and behold, they don't fair well on AP's. And every time they come to me with a calculus homework they don't understand, I explain it to them in 10 minutes and they are always baffled why their teacher can't do the same even in 1 on 1 sessions (and I'm not a good teacher...). Her sister in particular really hated the social aspects of LT. There are the lower class kids and then there are the really upper class kids. She said they were very snobby - the rich kids - (think stereotypical Westlake) and demeaning towards everyone else. She was one of the "rich kids" but she didn't have that attitude and ended up being on the outside of everyone looking in. She always said she really wished she could have finished up at WW. WW also has a reputation (or at least had a reputation) of being a very tough high school and schools like UT know this. For that reason, a student that is top 20% at WW vs. a student that is top 15% at LT will have a better shot of getting into UT just based on what high school you went to. Although now, if you're not top 10% you're probably being shipped off to summer school regardless of high school anyways, so that point probably no longer applies. It definitely use to back when UT wasn't bombarded by every top 10%'er in the state. I just have a very sour outlook on LT High School based on the experiences of my future SIL and BIL. I really don't have anything good to say about the school other than they spend a lot of money on their athletics (however, not enough to buy a portable defib device for their soccer team which could have saved one of their varsity player's lives a couple years back... ) Edit: Regarding boat slip access... If you live in Anderson Mill Estates (which is where I think you were looking), you aren't very far at all from Volente which has its own slips along with Anderson Mill Marina. Both are less than 10 minutes away from Anderson Mill Estates.
we just moved out of the Hills neighborhood in Lakeway. We had a great time there but we are building a house out in Spicewood. We loved the Hills and loved Lakeway Elementary and LTISD as a whole. The neighborhood, the area, the parks, the schools are all great and we could not have been happier. I havent had the same experience as some of the other posters wrt LTHS. It seems to be a great, great school and really does a great job of preparing its students for college and beyond. From what i have seen on all of the state tests and performance rankings, it rates only behind Westlake High School. commute is 30 minutes to downtown if you go southwest parkway. good luck with your choice. jason
I graduated from LT back in the early 90's and can definitely agree on the snobbery of the students. Relatives that have gone though since I left have painted a picture that sounds much worse than when I left. Racism and and stuck up attitude was, and still sounds, very common. I can't compare it to any other schools since I didn't go to those, but I'd say it would be similar at Westlake but much less at Westwood. I went to the semi-finals football playoff year before last (LT vs Lanier) and heard some pretty ****** comments. As far as the education itself, I thought it was OK to good. Nothing spectacular. I don't think many of the students when I was there really cared about their opportunities though. Just like in any situation, those that cared did really well. It was definitely NOT because we weren't given the right tools.
this is good information. I appreciate all of the perspectives. The snobbery and have vs. havenots issue is a real one, but I'd rather my son be around those who do not have and learn that they are as valuable as a person as he is. We're not super caught up in the materialism aspect of things, but I was a havenot growing up and my son will be a have, not at the top of the have food chain, but high enough to make me uncomfortable. I guess we'll just have to watch it closely if we move out there, but if the same issue is in Eanes, I'd rather be near the water. I think through sports, boy scouts, church and other activities, we can at least attempt to give our son (and other children) the opportunity to learn that snobbery is wrong.
A few comments: - I believe that the initiation fee for The Hills+3 is running about $50K? I think you can get just Live Oak+Yaupon for much, much less based on a retiree I played with at Yaupon last year. Plus, you get social privileges at The Hills. Also, Live Oak and Yaupon are in great shape this year with all of the rain. Last year, Live Oak was pretty bad during the end of the drought. (Of course, it would be nice to get all 4 courses). - If you are still thinking Westwood area, then check out Twin Creeks. I think it is one of the best tracks around for the money. My sister-in-law and her family belong and really like it. Good pool for the kids. New clubhouse under construction. I think initiation runs around $15K. - The SIL lives in the Spicewood/Canyon Vista/Westwood area and really loves it. Big parent participation in the schools, which makes a difference. Good luck
we'll know what our listing price might be next week for our home in 31 and that will drive our choice, but barring a disaster, it looks like "Lakeway here we come" with a slip and a boat within a few months of that. thanks for the heads-up on the golf club costs and the southwest parkway route (I would have thought that would be longer, but I think I confused it with 71 to the Y in Oak Hill). As for the golf, I'm still happy to play Kizer and Clay, so the two base courses in Lakeway would likely be enough as I'm not that good anyway. While I love playing golf, the membership is as much about making friends in a new community as it is anything else. I'm excited.
Hmmmm fascinating turn of events for the two of us. I am moving out of the LTISD to be closer to town and you are doing the opposite. The strange thing was that we were discussing the pros and cons of this move 3 years ago, but from the other side. Let me answer some of your key questions and give you my thoughts based on my neighbors perspective of LTISD in no particular order. Will I be able to handle the commute? probably not. Driving home from football games and hanging with your friends SUCKS. You will quickly feel isolated and unless you can make friends in the area, you will feel like you are in the sticks. Will we miss the easy access to UT and downtown? I cant speak for you, but I am selling a house I own free and clear to take out a mortgage again, just to be closer to town. We missed it bad. Roccos and Mulligans get old after a while. Will our friends and family be willing to adapt? Your friends will not really want to make that drive and you will feel bad about forcing them to do so. Expect to go to their houses a lot. Also, the intersection at 620 and 71 is about to be a NIGHTMARE. That being said, I think there will be a flyover at the Y in oak hill which should speed downtown access. As for the LTISD people, they are generally good. Compare it to loving in any upper middle class inner suburb. I see a TON of Southlake/Coppell in 1995 in the LTISD. Growth is happeneing toward spicewood and down 71. Lakeway, Hudson Bend and the bee cave area are pretty built out It will be nice to have the mall out there. We spent a surprising amount of time commuting to Barton Creek Mall. LTISD: The best elementary schools are the new one in Lakeway and Lake Pointe. There are several nice neighborhood that feed lake pointe elementary. Check out the Uplands, The Pointe and new sections of Lake Ponte (cool because your kids can walk to school), and for $$ Spanish Oaks. LT middle school is well regarded and my old neighbors loved hte teachers. I hear wose things about Hudson Bend MS. LTISD. I was a jock, and part of the jockocracy at my school. There is a ton of new $$$$$$$$ out in Lakeway. I mean a LOT of it and I would wager the average household income is approaching eanes because of the monster houses on the lake along 620 in bella vista (or whatever it is called). What does this mean? Lots of $$ floating around. The kids are good, in general. The school is about to be a football powerhouse - seriously, you should see what they have done and there is an extremely supportive booster club. I hear the football players run the school, but that is from my dork next door neighbor's dork kid. You should also know that LTISD is looking for land to build a new high school by 2015 or something (along wiht an athletics facility- stadium and basketball arena). I think a new middle school and a few new elementary schools are on tap. Those bonds have been approved You should also know that LCRA is raising water rates 40% in October.
I responded to your PM before reading your response here. If the social situation you listed above is indeed your case, then I think that Lakeway would be a great place for you. As I said, with the completion of the mall the area will become more self sufficient and you will not have to rely on trips to Austin as much. As for us, we did not have a boat and so the area was wasted on us. We did live out there for almost 3 years, though, FYI. Dont get me wrong, I LIKE the LTISD area. My wife and I are social butterflies (she is in like, 5, playgroups) and we felt like we were isolating ourselves from our freinds and their families.
thanks for the insight. my wife and I can be confused for a lot of things, but social butterflies simply isn't one of them. As an example, we belong to zero play groups. As for the boat thing, that's guaranteed. There's no way in hell I can live that close and not have the possibility of daily access to the water and my wife knows this. Heck, it might help us turn into social butterflies.
