Good Neighborhoods & Schools in Austin

August 31, 2005 5:54 AM

My wife and I will likely be moving to Austin soon with our children (7.5 and 3.5). We live in the Virginia suburbs of DC now, and really do not enjoy it. We want to live in the city, but school quality is also a huge priority for us now. Can we have both of these things in central Austin?

Does anyone have any experiences with raising kids (or growing up for that matter) in Austin? What are some great neighborhoods for families? Are magnate or charter schools a viable option? We are hoping to get our options narrowed down to a few places (parts of town, neighborhoods, etc.) that we can visit before taking the plunge. Any help from those knowledgeable would be really appreciated.

posted by Irontom to education (15 comments total)

Yes, but you'll pay for it in home prices. If you live in Hyde Park (near UT), you'll get good schools, but it's very expensive.

Please email me for more info. I lived near UT for many years, but now live in the burbs with kids. I can fill you in. Also, I'd be glad to show you around when you come to town.

If you want to know more about me, see my web site.

My gmail.com nick is stantaylor (put it together)

Good luck! Stan
posted by tippiedog at 6:12 AM on August 31, 2005

South Central Austin is very family friendly. Check out near the Zilker Park area.
posted by letterneversent at 7:07 AM on August 31, 2005

As a kid I moved here from Virginia, and we ended up in Barton Hills, (South Austin). That was a great neighborhood for a kid who loved the woods, being adjacent to the Barton Creek greenbelt, (and it has a great elementary school,) but it doesn't have much of a downtown feel.

Travis Heights also has an excellent elementary school (I've substitute taught at both of the above schools) and is closer to the South Congress "dowtown" area.

In North Austin, I've rented in Hyde Park (3 years) and I'd avoid it now, mainly for the high cost but also because the neighborhood has lost a lot of it's charm. I'm living a little ways away in Rosedale now, and I like it better. Allandale is another neighborhood that would keep you in this area, but in all these cases, buying a home is going to be a real expense.

We have two magnet middle schools that I'm aware of, Kealing and Fullmore. One is arts and the other is sciences --I think. The regular schools are very much hit and miss, and it might be worth your while to visit the schools your kids would be going to before you buy into a house or neighborhood.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll check back in and do what I can to help answer.
posted by zueod at 8:40 AM on August 31, 2005

I lived for several years in Austin, on the NW side, and was extremely unimpressed with the public schools. Moving to Oregon was literally a night/day experience for my child. In my experience, the school district simply could not be bothered to help diagnose why my child was not doing well in class. Requests for help were met with disinterest and lack of effort or follow-through. Contrast that with Portland, which has made all the difference for my son.

Differences between (my) Austin and (my) Portland schools, in my experience:

More experienced teachers in Portland, by far.
Smaller classes
Smaller schools
Parents who participate/volunteer in school, instead of both working full-time, hoping the school is good. (This seems like the biggest single positive force)

If I were to move to Austin again (never happen, too flippin' hot), I would be extremely careful about interviewing the neighbors about the school, and carefully checking out my options. I am certain that there are good schools, most likely in the previously mentioned Hyde Park neighborhood.
posted by Invoke at 8:48 AM on August 31, 2005

As always, private schools are an option, but many people don't want to go that route.

I live in the Clarksville area, which I think is completely awesome, and the schools are good, but again there is price issue. Same with Tarrytown. Hyde Park can be more affordable, depending on what you find. There are some older (think 1920's & 30's) houses that can be had for reasonable prices, and remodeled and turn into a good investment.

South Austin (or the 78704) has great neighborhoods, good schools, and friendly neighbors, however it's not for everybody. It has its own unique trendy feel.

As you move away from the city center, there are still good schools and neighborhoods.
posted by stovenator at 9:03 AM on August 31, 2005

Also, if price isn't an option, Westlake has a very good reputation for their schools. You could look at both Westlake and the Lost Creek areas, if you can afford it.
posted by stovenator at 9:13 AM on August 31, 2005

What would be considered an expensive price in austin when you guys are talking about the pricey neighborhoods? I'm curious what the ballpark range is for buying a decent home there.
posted by mathowie at 11:18 AM on August 31, 2005

$175-250K would get you a very decent home in a cool Austin neighborhood. By my standards at least, for $250K+ you live like royalty. You can still get new homes in outlying areas and decent fixer-uppers in transitioning neighborhoods in the low $100s (or even less). Check Austin Home Search.
posted by kmel at 12:10 PM on August 31, 2005

(responding to Matt): I recently sold a house in Hyde Park, which is very central and considered one of the more desirable neighborhoods (I'd call it middle-upper, with lots of Volvos and Saabs. If you want upper-upper, with lots of Lincoln Navigators and Benzes, the figures are much higher). I got $335K for a ~1800 sqft house. A roughly comparable house in a more "transitional" central neighborhood might sell for $260K (although anything central is now considered "hot," and transitional or no, the prices already reflect expected future increases to some extent). I've seen unlivable, tumbledown shoeboxes on postage-stamp lots in marginal neighborhoods selling for about $80K.

Once you get outside what can reasonably be considered central, lot values can drop off precipitously.

Suburban developments obey their own pricing logic that seemingly has little to do with proximity to the city center.

I'm looking for a new house myself right now, so this is very much on my mind.
posted by adamrice at 12:20 PM on August 31, 2005

(I must have low standards!)
posted by kmel at 12:24 PM on August 31, 2005

Adamrice hits it about right for Hyde Park. The figure I came up with for HP was $150-200/sq ft. When my wife and I were looking at trading up three years ago, we concluded that if we had $250K to spend, we could buy something we *liked* pretty much anywhere we wanted to live (excluding high end which we never considered): a really nice, large home in a farther-out area or a decent smaller, older home closer in.

However, our upper limit was only $200K. We ALMOST bought a home in Allandale/Rosewood/Crestview: 1950s construction, 1800 Sq ft, had had some updating, needed more

But we decied to think outside the box...

Austin straddles a geographical boundary. To the west is the beautiful Texas Hill Country. To the east, the less beautiful and flat high plains. More expensive real estate in Austin is to the west. We moved to Pflugerville, a suburb that is northeast of town. It's cheaper for two reasons: the formentioned geography, and it's the suburb of choice for minority (primarily black, not hispanic) families (which we consider a plus, but generally leads to lower real estate prices). But Pflugerville has VERY good schools, and we have a VERY nice house for the money: we paid $65/sq ft for a 10-year-old, big, well built home near a golf course.

The only disadvantage is driving. Typical suburbia: we have to drive to big-box retailers. And then there's the distance from my prospective employers. I'm also a techie, and right now I work on the southwest side of town, so I have a hellacious commute. But we were aware of that possibility when we moved there (but it's still a decent drive to tech employers that are north and northwest).

One positive factor for Pflugerville: we are right around the corner from Dell HQ, so there are lots of professional, techie families in our area (every second family has a parent who works for Dell!), and it's ethnically diverse becuase of Dell (not just the forementioned blacks, but lots of foreigners and ethnic food available).
posted by tippiedog at 1:10 PM on August 31, 2005

Ha! Irontom, I remember your previous post about visiting Austin. You must have liked it, despite the Satan's-buttcrack August heat. What sold you? (and sorry for the slight derailment -- I don't know anything about AISD but I could tell you about some districts out west in the Hill Country if you're remotely interested)
posted by kmel at 2:23 PM on August 31, 2005

Hyde Park all the way. As a renter; I consider it one of the few areas of Austin worth renting in. Purchasing also gets you fewer square feet, but the post office is a walk away as are two chain and several indie groceries. Neighborhood theatre and also a video rental store, and also an outdoor hang out and be you type of coffee shop, cocktail lounge, greaseburger, gelato assortment of stores is close by.
Hyde Park is also graciously flat, which is a boon if you like to bike or walk. Lots of trees, alleys, the streets are wide; and Boston type turning circles highlight many of the streets also.
Cheesing my way through life (and all of Austin's schools) as a substitute teacher (until I certify for HS Math) I can say that Hyde Park is one of the areas that I would actually feel ok with kids in. Austin is a rathole in 50-60% of the city. Yes. Ignore the propaganda, much of this city is any other megalopolis.
Quarter million dollar home = 8-9k a year property tax.
I love Hyde Park. It is the oasis in the middle of the city. Two miles to any other direction and it is a typical sprawling Texas banality of civilization.
posted by buzzman at 4:50 PM on August 31, 2005

kmel -

We did like it. We fell in love with the city in a very short period of time. We like the funky people and attitude in the central and southern portions of the city. We like the fact that the traffic they complain so bitterly about is pretty laughable by our standards. We like that the people have a culture of sincere public courtesy and pleasantness. We love the parks and the water recreation opportunities.

As far as the heat goes, it reminds us in many ways of the things we liked about Tucson when we were going to school there. It's warmer in Austin than here, but the humidity is far lower during the day, making it pleasant for moving around during the day. Okay, maybe not exactly pleasant, but tolerable when compared to the humidity we live with now. Also, there's Barton Springs. I cannot imagine anyone ever moving away from that oasis.

I also find the handwringing over the whole "megalopolis" issue both funny and heart-warming all at the same time. The DC metro area had a total population of 5,139,549 in 2004 (scroll down). If you include the Baltimore area it jumps to 7,986,615. This includes communities in 3 states, and covers an enormous land area. Austin, on the other hand, has a metro population of 1,412,271 and covers a far smaller land area. It is, to my mind, nowhere near deserving the epithet of "megalopolis" but I understand why people fear Austin turning into one. I also happen to agree with them. Which explains why my wife and I will be buying a far smaller home in central or south-central austin, as opposed to some palace out in the far north or south burbs (no offense intended towards tippiedog, his wife or the decisions they made).

We want to opt as far out of the suburban car-culture big-box retailing experience as we can. However, we have to balance those desires against the educational opportunities for our kids.
posted by Irontom at 10:59 AM on September 1, 2005

"Transitioning neighborhoods" = need burglar alarm, good insurance, might not want to walk around much day or night, neighbors pit bull may consume elderly, infirm, or youths, and locals will stare at you like you just dropped into central Bagdad. Anything outdoors not secured will be stolen. Fence will be tagged if present. 'Hood will have accompaning debris to match typical surrounding demographic.

Greatschools.net might have the demographics that will let you know that your child may be a singular (yes, singular) in the local school... I have never seen any problems in the schools regarding this; but I have seen some very guarded (hmmm... kinda a little like afraid all the time?) behaviors from such kids as they walk down the halls.

Just words. I'm here for a commitiment; I plan to leave when it is up. Fire ants on the ground, mosquitoes in the air, ozone days (Austin is bordered by I-35 N-S and MoPac N-S) which = a whole lotta car fumes. I may be biased; I tend to like the outdoors. Never walk around barefoot. Barton Springs has all the runoff from the surrounding roads (and usually at least a few people that can be described as kinda frightening), and has been closed due to levels of petroleum byproducts before. Eh, getting bleak. Sorry. Oh, say goodbye to a nice layer of snow every now and then.
posted by buzzman at 9:45 PM on September 1, 2005