pinkee

What is the best area in Austin to live and why? We are relocating to Austin and have looked at many areas. Just want to hear other opinions on you favorite areas..

Thanks

AustinTraveler

There are tons of great areas in Austin but so much depends on your housing budget. Also, I would strongly suggest you try to live close to work to reduce commuting times.

But, to answer your question, my favorite places in Austin are the neighborhoods just north of downtown including Pemberton, Brykerwood, Rosedale and Allendale. The homes are older and smaller than the McMansions out in the burbs, but the neighborhoods have character and everything is close so you don't have to spend so much time in your car every day.

Welcome to Austin!!

P_M

I agree with AustinTraveler, it all depends on where you work. If you would like to share that info, maybe we can make more suggestions.

AustinTraveler

Also, you might enjoy reading about Austin on this relocation forum:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/texas/

pinkee

Thanks for your answers. Both my husband and I work from home but we don't want to be too far from downtown. 15 min max. We would like a nice quiet, safe area when we are at home. Our budget is 300k-450k. We were looking in the SW area. Is that a nice area?

pinkee

I wanted to add to my previous post. I do not have children so schools are not that important for us but for resale it might be.

AustinTraveler

What areas have you been looking at in SW Austin? Personally, I prefer NW Austin myself. Have you looked in Areas 1B, 1A, and 1N? There are some really nice neighborhoods in those areas close to downtown. Of course, you probably won't find any brand new houses if that's what you're after.

mikemo

No guru, but SO's son and DIL live on Jester in NW Austin.
Nice area with hills, trees and some decent freeways.
M

pinkee

Hi Mikemo, Sorry i am not familiar with "SO's son and DIL live on Jester" I am not sure what that means.
Thanks AustinTraveler. I have looked in 1A 1B. What area is 1N? We have looked in Sunset Valley, Shady Hollow at new houses.

AustinTraveler

I will decipher mikemo's post for you: My significant other's son and daughter-in-law live on Jester Blvd in NW Austin. This is a very nice area in MLS location 1N.

Here is a website that describes some of the MLS areas:

http://www.escapesomewhere.com/realestate_areas.html

I'm sorry I can't help you with the two areas you mention but I don't know much about the communities with new houses. I do know that both are in South Austin. I prefer the more established areas closer to Central Austin but there aren't any new construction subdivisions there.

Good luck in your search!!

pinkee

Thanks again....Is the Great hills area and other areas in NW desirable and good for resale? I saw some pretty homes with views in our price range. How far is the NW area from downtown?

AustinTraveler

Great Hills is a really nice area. It is about 15 minutes to downtown. I really like this part of town. It's hilly and, like you said, a lot of the homes have great views. I can't comment on resale value but Austin real estate is really hot right now. Who knows what will happen in the future though!

Besides being pretty, the NW area is close to everything you need, including shopping, theaters, etc. It's just way more liveable than South Austin, in my opinion.

pinkee

thank you for your opinion. 15 min isn't far from downtown and it sounds and looks pretty. Besides Great Hills do you know any other areas that are in that price range worth looking at? We have only been to Austin once and we are taking the plunge and moving. Any help is great...

AustinTraveler

A little closer to downtown is an area known as NW Hills. There's also Balcones, Cat Mountain and Mount Bonnell. All of these areas are great and highly desirable. I'm not a real estate agent but I know of a very good one here in Austin if you're interested. She is a native Austinite and a really nice person. She'll show you what you're looking for, not what she thinks you should buy. Here is her website in case you want to contact her:

http://www.jbgoodwin.com/cgi-bin/agent.cgi?agentid=671

trippinkpj

My daughter is in Southwest Austin and likes it (off of 290 in a nice residential area). She is just renting there, and it was the right price for a student and her hard working hubby. She did say she'd want to be in the Nortwest of downtown area if she could afford it.

P_M

I think Great Hills and NW Austin are the best. My fellow Austinites are correct about the distance to downtown, barring rush hour traffic.

I hope you will enjoy living in Austin.

AustinTraveler

Yeah, they work from home P_M so I didn't scare them with any rush hour traffic stats!