What are the best Austin zip codes?

April 12, 2007 9:28 AM

Austin Filter: While I've found quite a few postings here and on "the google" regarding the best neighborhoods in Austin, none seem to mention the zip codes of said neighborhoods.

My wife and I are planning on a move from Los Angeles to Austin within the next six months and we would really like to find an area in Austin where we'd love to hang our hats. What are the best zip codes in Austin?

A little background about us, I'm a web developer and she's a family therapist. We love older 1920's-1940's homes and the ideal place would be a bit of a fixer upper. We enjoy a great bike ride around the neighborhood on our beach cruisers. I have a full sleeve tattoo and am restoring a old VW bug. She knits, makes jewelry and can be found in pigtails quite often. We're both of the liberal sort, enjoy a good beer and live music, but we also enjoy working around the house and having dinner with friends. Ideally, we'd really like to find a neighborhood with a great community, one we can bond with and enjoy.

Any zip code suggestions?

Much thanks!

posted by captaindistracto to society & culture (31 comments total)

To correlate your existing recommendations to zip codes: the USPS has a Zip code Look-up. It takes partial addresses, too, so you can include any street name in the neighborhoods you've learned about. You have just learned to fish.
posted by whatzit at 9:33 AM on April 12, 2007

Ya'll sound like you might like South Austin (78704).
posted by mattbucher at 9:34 AM on April 12, 2007

Well, the good news for you is that everybody in Austin is just like you. So, anything in the 7870x will pretty much be good for you.
posted by The Giant Squid at 9:37 AM on April 12, 2007

There are many neighborhoods in Austin that fit your requirements. What's your price range and what part of town to do you want to be in? Will you be working north, south, or downtown?

Or just post the names of the neighborhoods that you've been hearing about and I can tell you the zips.
posted by donajo at 9:38 AM on April 12, 2007

(IANARealtor)
posted by donajo at 9:39 AM on April 12, 2007

Seconding 78704, particularly MLS regions 6 and 7. Region 10 which includes 78704 may be a bit too far south for what you're looking for.
posted by sanko at 9:40 AM on April 12, 2007

I would also recommend East Austin (east of I-35), 78702. The neighborhoods there have some older homes and an eclectic vibe.
posted by mattbucher at 9:47 AM on April 12, 2007

maybe hyde park area 78751
older houses, central north of campus.
posted by clanger at 10:00 AM on April 12, 2007

Some of these folks (especially Erwin House) give pretty detailed descriptions of their Austin neighborhoods. It might give you a little more insight.
posted by jeanmari at 10:08 AM on April 12, 2007

I wish we had jobs lined up, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms. I hear it's next to impossible to find a job while in another city, so I'm not planning on having a gig until we're there.

We'll probably be looking at $250k as our range for the home. I've never actually been to Austin, but for some strange reason, the place is calling me. I've heard nothing but amazing things and I'm quite sick of Los Angeles. Having never been there, I don't really know what area we'll want to be in. I've heard about Hyde Park and we have friends in South Austin (78704 I believe) and they love that area.

Since Los Angeles has a complete lack of walking/biking neighborhoods, it would be nice to be able to walk to dinner or show instead of driving everywhere.

I've used the zip code look up many times before, but unfortunately, most everything I've found online refers to neighborhood names, not streets, so it's been a challenge.
posted by captaindistracto at 10:16 AM on April 12, 2007

If you wanna walk, stay up in central. South &78704) will require lots of driving.

Hyde park, East Central (where all the current gentrification is going on), or South Congress area would all be good for that sort of thing... Mostly hyde park though.

I lived just off of I-35, east side, in view of the capitol, and you sound exactly like my neighbors.
posted by Espoo2 at 10:31 AM on April 12, 2007

Nthing 78704. Their motto is "We're here because we're not all there." It's gotten pretty chic lately, so I don't know about your price range. You might also look at an up and coming neighborhood just east of IH35 (78702, like mattbucher suggested).
posted by Addlepated at 10:36 AM on April 12, 2007

78705: University area.
78751: Hyde Park. Just north of 05. Out of your price range.
78722: Cherrywood/French Place. Across I-35 from Hyde Park. Rapidly gentrifying, on the edge of your price range. Plenty of fixer-uppers.
78702: Swede Hill/East Central. South of Cherrywood. Rapidy gentrifying, but very spotty. Some houses as expensive as Hyde Park, but this area is also home to what I call "crackhead corner."
78704: South Austin. This is actually a huge zip code, and is home to some very expensive properties, and some very funky ones. People with this zip code are funny about it the way Manhattanites with 213 area codes are funny about their area code.
78756: Rosedale. West of Hyde Park and a lot like it. Probably out of your price range, but very nice.

I've lived in 05, 22, and 51 and now live in 22 again. They're all good parts of town.
posted by adamrice at 10:44 AM on April 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Manhattanites with 213

212!
posted by mattbucher at 10:46 AM on April 12, 2007

what I call "crackhead corner."

Comal & 11th?
posted by mattbucher at 10:47 AM on April 12, 2007

Another nth to 78704, specifically the Travis Heights neighborhood (in MLS area 4). It is really exactly what you described in terms of 1920s era houses and strong community. My (former) dissertation advisor lives in Travis Heights, and he used to talk a lot about the various community events, block parties, etc. Also, if you live in that area, driving is not necessarily required (though I must say that driving is the predominant activity in most of Texas)--said dissertation advisor often bikes from his house to the UT campus which he claims takes him about 20 minutes. The Hyde Park area (78751, UT MLS area in the new designations) is also nice for walking and being in the central area near where everything happens. Also, if you live along the main north/south corridors, there is fairly decent bus transportation available as an alternative to driving. Capital Metro does a very poor job of covering east-west, though.

I can also tell you you will probably *not* be interested in north Austin (MLS area 1N, zips 78727, 78759). I lived there and it's fairly boring standard strip-mall suburbia, nothing really to walk to, and you pretty much have to drive to go anywhere, or park your car at a park-and-ride to take the bus into central Austin. Prices in north Austin range from $100K 1980s starter homes (where we lived) to larger $200-300K+ 1960 era ranch homes. Good luck!
posted by DiscourseMarker at 11:00 AM on April 12, 2007

212!
Oops. See what I mean about funny?

Comal & 11th?
Comal & 12th, where the needle-exchange place is, is what I call crackhead corner.
posted by adamrice at 11:05 AM on April 12, 2007

Manhattanites with 213
I was gonna say...213's in Los Angeles, so the best I could think of was Manhattan Beach, CA = Manhattanities. :)

Thanks for all the info everyone. It's been a real big help. Though I've chosen a couple "best" answers, all of the responses have been great.

Now I know where to get my crack too!! What service! Thanks AskMetaFilter! Hahaha.
posted by captaindistracto at 11:27 AM on April 12, 2007

The '04 is so over. Now that they're calling it "SoCo" and it's full of hipster douches, it's too expensive and full of dicks.

If you do get motivated to buy in the '04 (which frankly, unless you want a tiny little house, is going to be out of your price range), I would recommend buying in the Barton Hills area more than I would in Travis Heights. I lived in Travis Heights, and while the neighborhood was god, talk about your all-time douchebag neighbors. Hipster rich cocks and old people.

I live out in the boonies because I am going to make dime on this shitbox I am living in now, but when I move back to town, it's totally Allandale or the East Side, baby. In fact, I am reluctant to even wax about what an undiscovered gem Allandale is for fear that all the cocknockers who are polluting Gueros on the weekends are going to move up there and ruin my 6-year plan.
posted by mckenney at 11:39 AM on April 12, 2007

Well, FWIW what most people consider the "nice neighborhoods" are pretty much overpriced cookie-cutter homes devoid of any culture which exist only to get near the "good schools". Austin is steeped deeply in that kind of culture, and from what I've seen of the TEA ratings Austin seems to have institutionalized the bad school / good school dichotomy.

We've known some ex-college types who have staked their claim on the east side lately, but there definitely are some rough neighborhoods here and there and it may not be a good place to raise a kid because of what I mentioned in paragraph #1. The alternate approach is to buy in a small town northwest or northeast of Georgetown, as you get some decent schools but incur a commute. So either way, it's a crap deal for living in a city with a questionable job market.

I'm an expatriate of Austin, having left in 2005. It had its perks but the traffic is horrendous and is complicated by the metropolitan area seeming to spread up and down the I-35 corridor. I do miss Alamo Drafthouse, Taco Cabana, and some of the activities at UT though.
posted by rolypolyman at 12:10 PM on April 12, 2007

I stayed in my friends' house on the East Side when I visited Austin last month for SXSW. Nice neighborhood... the houses were small-ish but not tiny, on nice, tree-filled lots. The ones in their neighborhood probably date from the 1940s.

But I got e-mail from my friend today saying that they just had to replace their entire roof due to massive leaks. So, old and quaint is not necessarily good.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 12:26 PM on April 12, 2007

P.S. They live in 78722.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 12:33 PM on April 12, 2007

traffic is horrendous
Considering I'm coming from LA, I'm sure the traffic will be a dream comparatively. A lot of people mention the bad traffic, but out here, it's a daily ritual to be parked on an 8 lane freeway.

FWIW what most people consider the "nice neighborhoods" are pretty much overpriced cookie-cutter homes devoid of any culture which exist only to get near the "good schools"
I'll be avoiding any sense of cookie cutter, that's for sure.

As far as the job market goes, I'm lucky enough to have a career which is highly sought in the area, so I'm not too concerned. Is it correct the techie companies are mostly in the north section of the city?
posted by captaindistracto at 1:10 PM on April 12, 2007

Is it correct the techie companies are mostly in the north section of the city?

That's pretty much true although there are a few places around downtown. I would also submit that there are some decent places in the area north of UT, south of 183 (around Wooten Park, Brentwood Park, and Northcross Mall). It's not all cookie cutter until much farther north than that.
posted by mattbucher at 1:17 PM on April 12, 2007

Please stop moving to the East Side. Hyde Park or 78704 will do just fine.
posted by soviet sleepover at 2:08 PM on April 12, 2007

Please just stay away. Ya'll are driving our prices up.


Just kidding.
posted by melt away at 3:49 PM on April 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Or am I....
posted by melt away at 3:49 PM on April 12, 2007

78704, Barton Hills area. Traffic is bad in Austin during rush hour, but other than that it's not horrendous, especially compared to big cities like LA. There are plenty of greenbelt entrances in this area also if you enjoy that kind of thing. If you live in central Austin, near Zilker park everything you need is within 15 min drive or less. 78704 is expensive though. There are also bumper stickers here that say "78704... more than a zip code, a way of life," or something to that effect.
posted by koshka at 4:09 PM on April 12, 2007

There are also bumper stickers here that say "78704... more than a zip code, a way of life," or something to that effect.

That's reason enough to look at different zip codes.
posted by captaindistracto at 4:29 PM on April 12, 2007

That's reason enough to look at different zip codes.

Why so? I don't think there's anything wrong with taking pride in that you don't live in a neighborhood of cookie cutter houses or with uppity pompous neighbors. People in that area are friendly and happy to live there. The majority living there are also liberal. But like The Giant Squid said, anything in the 7870x area I think fits what you said in your post.
posted by koshka at 4:53 PM on April 12, 2007

I can 2nd (3rd?) '04 Barton Hills / Zilker park area. The location you can't beat, and for the amenities that Austin has to offer, it is a prime area. You'll be near Barton Springs, the new Alamo, not to mention navigating the traffic.

As an alternative, you might also want to check out the East 11th area (78702).
posted by jazzkat11 at 11:26 PM on April 12, 2007