Relocating to Austin....help please!

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

DH got an offer there and it looks like we are taking it. I have been to Texas exactly once and that was Houston. We are moving fairly quickly so I am freaking out a little about finding a good area. Does anyone live in the area and can help me find a good place to live? We are looking for somewhere with a nice family neighborhood and great. Oh and if you can recommend any preschools that would be awesome too! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[misshollygolightly]

Austin is great :thumbsup: My in-laws live in a suburb of Austin, and my mother-in-law (who is really wonderful) is a realtor in the area. I'd be happy to give you her contact info, or just ask her for some general recommendations on your behalf. Feel free to PM me!

[MommyofAmaya]

I would live anywhere in Austin. Lucky you! Traffic is a beast though, so you should find out what part of town your husband will be working in order to get recs on neighborhoods.

[fivi2]

Austin is a great town! I live here and so do some other posters. Feel free to pm me. The city-data forums are pretty good for Austin (minus a couple posters.)

pp is right - you really need to know what area of town job(s) are going to be. Although we may not have traffic like a big city, our roads haven't kept up with growth, so it can be brutal, especially if you have to cross the river. Do you prefer city or suburbs (or semi-rural)? Budget? Austin is fairly expensive for Texas (but not compared to other major cities). I live in town while my sister is the burbs, so I can compare a little once you know where the job is.

Preschools - again it will depend on where you live, what type of school you are looking for. Some have lists, but not all. There is a yahoo group that I used to read that talked about schools - I can pm you.

School districts vary. The Austin Independent School District is okay. There are several elementary schools that I think are fine and a couple of high schools. I don't have a good feeling about any of the middle schools, though. (but we aren't there yet!). Eanes ISD in Westlake is considered a great district (although some people don't love it for various reasons) but it is EXPENSIVE to get a house in that area. Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD, and Lake Travis ISD all have very good reputations (of course individual schools may vary) but they are suburban districts. There are very nice areas in all of these districts and some not as nice areas. Austin also has several master planned communities - some people love them, some hate them.

I am not sure where you are coming from, so not sure how big of an adjustment this will be. Austin is a friendly, casual town. UT and the capitol influence certain areas, while Dell and the tech stuff influence others. It is right on the edge of the hill country, which has some beautiful areas. We have some lakes (some are rivers that we call lakes - never understood that!). It is a child friendly town, imo. We are close (ish) to San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. If you have any specific questions, ask away!

[vonfirmath]

I live in Austin near the airport. No idea on preschools. Let me know what you find because we might be looking next year.

You want to avoid taking I-35 between 290/71 and northwards at any time of the day other than middle of the night. 183 is better than I-35 or Mopac. So knowing where your husband will work will solve a lot of heartaches on the traffic front.

There seems to be a LOT more for little kids to do on the north end of town than south (I have only lived on the south end. Need to stay here because my husband goes to San Marcos to school and I go to Manor to work. But when I go to find things to do/meet up with folk from mommies groups, it seems most of the stuff is happening on the north end of town)

You might look at living in the Arboretum area. I know that area is cheap, albeit you will have to deal with traffic. Both times we have rented -- yes, once as an apartment -- we have used a realtor. The realtors here deal with rentals as well as selling.

[AnnieW625]

My best friend lives in Austin near Univ. of Texas and really likes it. My DCP told me she grew up in an area called Shady Hollow. Both have great things to say about Austin.

[wendmatt]

My BIL and SIL live in Austin, on the South West side, it's gorgeous. You'll love it there, I wish DH had got a job in Austin, we're in San Antonio and it's nice but Austin is pretty special. Good luck with the move.

[BillK]

My old boss retired to Georgetown, TX (North of Austin) and they LOVE the area.

[mom2mack&max]

We lived in Austin for 6 years now and love it! Not a typical Texas town, very hip and unique. We live in Steiner Ranch near Lake Travis, very family oriented but far from downtown. So it depends on where in Austin your husband will be working. I know the preschools around this area pretty well. PM me if you need more info about this area!

[vonfirmath]

My BIL and SIL live in Austin, on the South West side, it's gorgeous. You'll love it there, I wish DH had got a job in Austin, we're in San Antonio and it's nice but Austin is pretty special. Good luck with the move.

Shady Hollow is also on the SW side of Austin. As is Oak Hill (where I lived when we first moved out here)

[Reyadawnbringer]

I would also look into Round Rock which is just a smidge north of Austin. It would be nice depending on where your DH will be working. Round Rock has the big outlet mall and Ikea :D

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions! I am only slightly freaking out about the prospect of moving in two weeks!!!! :dizzy: I am going to check out the areas suggested and see where I can get! I know I will have more questions as I work my way through all this information!!

[Corie]

I am from Dallas, Texas. My brother went to UT-Austin for school. He
absolutely LOVES Austin! He goes down for all the UT football games.

[fivi2]

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions! I am only slightly freaking out about the prospect of moving in two weeks!!!! :dizzy: I am going to check out the areas suggested and see where I can get! I know I will have more questions as I work my way through all this information!!

You may want to rent a year first, especially if your kids won't be in school yet. The areas suggested are all over the map, so it will make a big difference where jobs are located. Good luck with the move!

[spanannie]

DH got an offer there and it looks like we are taking it. I have been to Texas exactly once and that was Houston. We are moving fairly quickly so I am freaking out a little about finding a good area. Does anyone live in the area and can help me find a good place to live? We are looking for somewhere with a nice family neighborhood and great. Oh and if you can recommend any preschools that would be awesome too! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I'm in NWHills. I think it's a fabulous location and the schools are great! I am happy to rec some preschools; just PM me. They are all Christian affiliation, I don't know if that matters to you or not. You certainly don't have to be that denomination to attend. Let me know if you need some help with that. We LOVE our preschool and are starting the 7th year in the fall. There is one more BBBer that I know of that has children at this school, as well.

[army_mom]

We live about an hour north of Austin and I love the area. We would consider settling in the Round Rock/Georgetown aread when we are done with the Army. It is a nice area and just a bit north of the city. So much to do in the area. You will love Texas if you don't mind a little steamy summer days! Good luck with the move.

Be sure to sign up for Austin Groupon to try out a lot of things in the area!

[Seitvonzu]

i finished highschool in austin --round rock ISD-- westwood highschool, we lived in "northwest austin" -- i wouldn't say the arboretum area but we did go there alot for ice cream (closest AMYS!!!!!!) and to see movies, so it was close. i wouldn't say the area was terribly cheap- but this was in the mid nineties. westwood was a good school and apparently has gotten even better. it's consistently (according to my SIL) ranked up with westlake high school (eanes schools were always "premier" when i lived in austin-- this probably has much to do with the cost of housing in westlake)

i went to UT and lovelove the campus area. but that's not everyone's thing. traffic can be crummy-- getting around town as well as the highways.

my brother lives by westgate central market which is "south" now. their neighborhood is being reclaimed by the city and they are looking to move -- they love the area but are looking to get somewhere with better schools as their child reaches school age.

austin is wonderful. i'm a texan from birth and long to be "home"-- i.e., central texas. i'm envious! :)