<p>Anyone here from Austin? H’s job is in Austin but he works remotely from home, here in the Boston area. We are thinking about buying a condo/apartment in Austin.</p>
<p>No school going kids - so schools are not a concern. Need a decent neighborhood. H would like a community or a complex with a pool/clubhouse. We don’t need this to be in downtown - I think I would actually prefer the suburbs. While looking online, I came across retirement communities in Georgetown - about 45 minutes away from Austin. Not quite sure we should be looking at retirement communities (we don’t qualify just yet, but will soon!).</p>
<p>Austin can be a driving nightmare. I strongly suggest that you (or your H) visit Austin before you make any decision. Where in Austin is the job located since I assume that he will have to physically go there on occasion?</p>
<p>Agree that traffic should be the main consideration here. The commute in from Georgetown would be a nightmare unless the office is very close to Georgetown. Austin, while a really desirable city, has a serious traffic problem that is very difficult to solve due to the river and how things have already built up. I would think there are some nice complexes in the general vicinity of the office. The Westlake area is nice.</p>
<p>You might look at the Mueller neighborhood that is developing. It is in the center of Austin but not downtown which makes for easier getting around. It is becoming a very nice walkable community. This area used to be the airport. What area is your H’s office in?</p>
<p>Looking out my window at work at the UT football stadium and I-35. Tons of condos being built in downtown Austin, but they are big bucks. Traffic is awful. I live in a suburb 15 miles from work and it can take 45-60 minutes to get to work in the mornings. On the other hand, if he can work from home in Boston, surely he could work from home in Austin too. Maybe go into the office once a week?</p>
<p>It’s definitely worth a visit. There are some beautiful scenic areas southwest and west of Austin, but they are pricey. Northwest and in other directions, there’s less “scenery” but prices are usually more affordable.</p>
<p>Agree that avoiding traffic should be your priority, especially if schools are not a concern. We just moved to Austin for DH’s job last January and ended up picking a neighborhood 3 miles from his office. Best decision ever. He bikes to work on pretty days. Most of his coworkers plan on a minimum of 45 minutes one way, DH’s is 8 minutes. Of course Friday afternoons and rainy days are much worse for coworkers; DH’s commute time never really changes.</p>
<p>If your husband will be working downtown, I would look at condos downtown.</p>
<p>H’s job is slightly north of UT Austin, off of I35. We are not looking to move - looking to buy a second home/vacation home/potential retirement home. We had been looking at Austin earlier and then a few months ago, he switched jobs and ended up with a company in Austin. Seemed like a sign to me :)</p>
<p>We’d like to get a condo in a complex with good facilities. Would like access to biking/walking trails nearby. And of course, we want this all reasonably priced I was looking around yesterday and see several interesting properties in the Westlake/Lakeway areas. We have friends that live around there as well. Are there other neighborhoods you’d recommend that would be a shorter drive for H (assuming he stays in this job) ?</p>
<p>Westlake Hills is VERY pricey. My parents are in a small subdivision called Westwood - their back property line is the start of Westlake Hills, so prices are a little lower there. The other advantage to Westwood is that it is technically not in ANY city, so they don’t pay Austin or Westlake taxes. There is a back road that goes right to MoPac, so commuting is not too bad. Lakeway would be a long drive, I think.</p>
<p>Ah, North of campus and West of I-35. I lived in the back half of a one story duplex at 41st and Speedway in 1972 after I graduated due to uncertainty over my draft status. It was built in the 1920s and I just went on google maps and it is still there!!!</p>
<p>Austin is still a lot of interesting fun. Music, people, food. Joe’s Bakery and Martin’s (Dirty’s) Kum Bak are still there. My father ate at Dirty’s in the early 1930s while in law school. I ate there in 1970-73. I’ve first took my son there to eat in 2002.</p>
<p>Knowing he’s just north of UT, I’d highly recommend Mueller for convenient and reasonably priced condos. Mueller is a newish development as mentioned earlier. Most of the landscaping isn’t mature, so that’s a downside, but it’s got the trails you’re looking for plus a community pool, nearby retail and other amenities. </p>
<p>Condos are springing up all over town, but the closer you get to Town Lake and downtown (sorry, I’m never going by the new name) the more expensive they get. I toured the W condos a year or two ago, and they are indeed beautiful and in the middle of everything, but the model we saw also was $1 million, plus fees. There are lots of smaller condo communities in near East Austin so that your dh would just have to drive two or three miles north. I don’t know what kind of amenities they offer (pool, etc). It’s a gentrifying area. Because you’re not worried about schools I’d totally look there (though some of these are located within walking distance of the highly desirable Kealing magnet program, in case there are people reading this who are thinking about the schools). I think this is a nice roundup of lesser-known condos in that area: [East</a> Austin Condos for Sale - East Austin Real Estate Listings](<a href=“http://www.eastaustinishome.com/condominiums/]East”>http://www.eastaustinishome.com/condominiums/)</p>
<p>Wherever you buy, make sure you have big closets 'cuz you will never be able to put away the winter or summer clothes . . . yesterday it was 83 and humid; cold front came through overnight and it’s 40 degrees and falling. A potential 50-degree drop in temps in 24 hours. Yesterday, youngest DS wore t-shirt and shorts to school; today it’s long-sleeved shirt, pants, and a coat!</p>
<p>I am in love with this community. Lakeway used to have a median age well over high 50’s but as elderly people are selling, younger families are moving in but the community is still a great blend of old and new. We moved here after our daughter graduated from high school in another part of Texas but we still have school aged children but are “older” parents. There are very reasonably priced country clubs here with amazing facilities and wonderful city services like, swimming pool complex, AMAZING biking and walking trails (and groups that maintain them), wonderful church families of every kind and we still have good ole’ community parades. It is very old time that way. Very close community that pulls together for everything from football to fundraising for kids with illnesses. Great shopping near by, nice hospital (new) and specialists that surround them. If he is into Tennis at all there is the World of Tennis here too, which is a world class complex. There are great condos at the World of Tennis and at Lakeway Marina. I am sure there are others that I am not aware of. Of course we have the lake too…which is why this community is so laid back and chill. Just a bunch of overgrown lake bums who like a slower pace of life but the frills of the city resources.</p>
<p>We are headed to Austin this weekend and will at the very least try to drive by some neighborhoods to get a feel for this. cpgm - according to H, the temperature was 75+ when he landed a few days ago. By the time I get there this weekend, it is supposed to be freezing (36 or so). Ugh…wouldn’t you know it ??</p>
<p>I did find a couple of interesting condos in the West Oak Hills area - any input on this area?</p>
<p>YDS - Mueller does seem interesting and reasonably priced. What exactly do you mean by “gentrifying”?</p>
<p>Be aware that Austinites tend to flip out when there’s any “wintry mix” on the roads, although the ground has been very warm for several days and I think all the “freezing roads” forecasts are a little hysterical . . . in any event, if it does turn out that there is some icing on bridges or overpasses, be prepared for zero fun driving around town.</p>
<p>Did you mean West Lake Hills? That’s the pricey side of town. </p>
<p>The “gentrifying” comment – the Mueller community is actually where the Austin airport used to be (Robert Mueller Airport). After the airport was moved southeast of town to the old Bergstrom Air Force Base, the old airport area has been built up with stores, restaurants, and some single and multi-family housing, all sort of built on the idea that you can walk to stores, etc. Also, the other old existing neighborhoods around the old airport and down the east side of I-35 (the major north-south interstate that goes through Austin) were some of the – shall we say, “less wealthy” parts of town, but there are many spots where old houses are being torn down and new ones put up. So, that’s the gentrifying that’s going on.</p>
<p>If OP does not care so much about how close to the downtown the neighborhood is, I think the area between Anderson Mill Road and Spicewood Spring Road, to the west (more like southwest) of 183 would be nice. It is definitely not as close to the downtown as Rollingwood/Westlake area, but the real estate is not as expensive.</p>
<p>I think Georgetown is a little bit too far away from the Austin downtown.</p>
<p>We no longer live there so our info may be a little bit out-dated (but still own a rental property there.)</p>
<p>I would second the recommendation of the Mueller area. It is gentrifying in that a number of old houses in the neighborhood previously owned by people with low-income are being replaced with new construction of much higher price and quality.</p>
<p>The West Oak Hills area is quite moderately priced and not too far from downtown or too terrible of a commute – a reasonable trade-off.</p>
<p>Lakeway, like Georgetown, is quite the commute from downtown.</p>
I was looking around yesterday and see several interesting properties in the Westlake/Lakeway areas. We have friends that live around there as well. Are there other neighborhoods you’d recommend that would be a shorter drive for H (assuming he stays in this job) ?</p>