Liberal Fun Neighborhood That's Great for Kids

Travis Heights is great.
Its a little pricey but there are some surrounding neighborhoods near the So-Co aria that are in the Travis Heights Elementary district and are a little more affordable. Its a wonderful elementary school. You can check out the school and neighborhood on line. It has a huge park with allot of beautiful trails surrounding called big Stacy park, and the community is very tight knitted and friendly. There are all kinds of different people living in this aria. Families. Some collage students. Being near the South Congress aria is great too. There are lots of awesome family events that go on through out the year.
Check it about and talk to your real estate agent about this. Assuming you have one.
There are some nice neighborhoods down Lamar aria. From Manchaca to Barton Springs. I wouldn't suggest going any further east past 35. The price may look good but the school is terrible and crime seems to be increasing by the day out there. I made the mistake by doing this due to a bargain I thought I couldn't pass up and realized quickly I needed to get my family out of there.
Good luck, I really hope this helps.
T.

M.,

The first thing to do is get qualified by a lender to know your price limits. No need searching in areas that just won't work for you (heart breaking to do!)
Then I highly recommend that you go to the districts websites RRIS,AISD are the two Austin districts to see how they are rated before you begin your search. Next-go visit schools. Sometimes the school ratings are not as high as you would like but when you talk with the staff at the school you will find that it really is a perfect fit and that the scores did not really represent the school properly. ASK them what made their (certain) score low and what are they doing about it.
Then get yourself a great realtor and make sure you like and trust that person. Recommendations from freinds is great but make sure you interview a couple and make sure they have lots of happy clients. This is a large investment and you want someone who cares enough to take the time to listen and verify things with you.

Enjoy the Search.

D.
a 14 yr Realtor and mom of 3 and grandma to 1!

A great family neighborhood that has a lot of liberals (and some conservatives) is Travis Country, close to the intersection of Mopac and Southwest Parkway. We moved there from Central Austin (just east of Riverside and I-35) 6 years ago and have truly loved it, and I was REALLY nervous about moving out to the 'burbs.' The school is Oak Hill and we have great experiences; I would say the downside is it is very big (about 900 students). We came from a smaller school (Pease) but have found there are many benefits to participating in a neighborhood school.

Good luck with your quest! M.

We live in South Austin in a neighborhood called Tanglewood Oaks which is off of Slaughter and Westgate. I think there is a website. My house on Bradner Dr. backs to a beautiful park with two play escapes and a sand volleyball court. There is one other neighborhood called Cherry Creek that also backs to the park but I think the houses are a little more expensive. But the great thing is that even though it's a public park, noone seems to know its there but us. We have a small 1350 square foot, 3 bedroom house, which is the smallest floor plan our neighborhood has to offer. We purchased it for $145,000 4 years ago but now appraises near 170. But as far as housing prices go in Austin, it's hard to beat and the small house works as a starter for us. We've got a 19 month old boy and all of our neighbors have kids and every nice evening we are all outside playing. The elementary school is Cowan Elementary which is supposed to be great and it feeds to Bowie Highschool which is among the top in Austin. Not to sure about the junior high, though. I know there is one two story around the corner from us with a pool on the market. You should check it out. Great neighborhood for those of us who can't afford a house in Circle C. Hope this helps.

prices are so expensive right now. we are in buckingham estates. schools are not the best but you will not have to worry about that for a while....it is a starter neighborhood but it is real close to southpark meadows shopping center which is nice and there is dittmar park and pool within walking distance of the neighborhood. sendera is south but further west, better schools probably, close to mopac...

I live in the Milwood neighborhood off of 183 and McNeil and I run a mother's group for babies born between Oct. 2006-7. We do tons of fun stuff including a lot of outdoorsy stuff like stroller walks, hikes, picture day in the park, swimming in the summer, etc. If you do find a house in NW Austin (which is affordable or else we wouldn't have been able to buy our house) please don't hesitate to join my group on meetups.com (LIFE Mothers). Good luck.
J.

M.;

I would love to help you with this request. I am a realtor working the entire greater Austin area. All my business is by referral allowing me to stay familiar with most areas of town and the real estate values. I am registered with mamasource as a business owner. Please feel free to call or email with your requirements. ###-###-####, ____@____.com.

D.

My neighborhood is very family oriented and close to all that is south austin. You may enjoy it. Check out houses in the Lansing/Manchaca area. There are a few for sale and a few for rent right now.