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To Anonymous interested in Austin: Febuary is an initrsteng time to go to Austin. You'll find many things about Austin you'll like. Normally the weather is temperate, you'll be in Cedar Pollen season so if you have allergies, a good try out to see if you can tolerate the pollen. You'll still have lots of trees (mostly the oaks) with leaves but some brown grass. You'll love the Air Port and it continues to expand service across the country with, I think I read recently, to Boston and NY City. The city has quite a few distinct areas. I-35 divides the city in half with the western half part of the hill country and the eastern half part of the black praire. The river divides the city into North and South. Immediatlly south if very desirable with Barton Springs and Travis heights and priced accordingly. Very bohemian in these parts. Just north is downtown and Tarrytown and around Lamar are really great neighborhoods. To th NE of downtown the hottest area is Frenchman's place and other parts of East (traditionally the hispanic/african american side of Austin) are gentrifying and light rai is headed into that area as well (light rail from leander to East Austin is ready to start construction). Ben White (US 71) further seperates South Austin and this area south of Ben While has some great and affordable 80s homes and immediately south of Ben White between S. Congress and Lamar is really interesting and heating up but you can still find homes for around $90 a sq ft. SW Austin from Circle ranch (very large Master planned community) north to the River offers great older neighborhoods and easy access to town. This area is where a lot of interest has shifted over the past several years and is where a lot fo Silicon business are expanding, especially around the OakHill and SW Parkway areas. Newer homes here are a great buy. I bought off 71 on the way to Bee Cave just inside the Austin City limits so close to Lakeway and Austin in a small, master planned community of around 300 homes that is just about built out. It has been under construction for the last four years and struggled during the .com bust and the sluggish real estate market that Austin has experience the past six years. Lakeway is a great upscale area but is 28 miles from town though it is on the shores of Lake Travis. The NW Hills has always been hot as has the area around Mt Bonnel (NW) but prices are high and homes dated and the area has grown so much the past 10 years that it is becoming extremely congested and you pay for location rather than value. The far north is still struggling and suffering from the uncontrolled growth of the 90s and though many homes are inexpensive they are not in areas that are as nice as the NW Hills or South/SW Austin or Lakeway. Austin does suffer some of the worst congestion for a mid-size city with a few years still to go before some of the current highway improvements provide some relief. If you choose to buy north be prepared to pay for those "values" in long commutes. During rush hour I-35 North is a parking lot for 20 miles to Georgetown.Some of the smaller communites within 28 miles that offer low cost homes are Lockhart, San Marcos, Georgetown, Taylor, Elgin, Bastrop. These are definitely "Texas" towns with the same conservative bent that Texas is famous for. Central Austin, NW Hills, South Austin tend to be the Liberal areas most associated with Austin that distinquishes Austin from the rest of Texas.Taylor has a lot of old historic homes but economically depressed and one must commute to find employment. Lockhart is similar (but to the SE) and has great potential if it every finds a local economy to boost the area out of poverty. Bastrop is growing but very conservative and quiet. San Marcos 40 miles south of Austin adn 50 miles North of San Antonio is a great area, growing (even if the city is fighting growth every step of the way) and home to a Texas University (LBJs alma mater) not economically depressed, has a great spring and historic square and homes but most people have to commute to San Antonio or Autstin for employement.Hope that gives you a point of reference to start your visit to Austin. Oh, and visit South Congress, the 6th street Entertainment district, the warehouse district near Lamar for a sense of culture and a horse drawn carriage ride through downtown to see the Capital and the historic areas is worth the money for a taste of Austin.
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(VISITOR) AUTHOR'S NAME
Hassan
MESSAGE TIMESTAMP
16 december 2014, 09:22:22
AUTHOR'S IP LOGGED
62.210.78.179
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