Relocating to Austin and Are Looking for a Family Friendly Neighborhood

I was in the same situation about 2 months ago! You might search for the responses I got. I think the title was Austin neighborhoods or something like that.

Brentwood/Crestview is about 5 or 6 miles from downtown, with a park/pool (Brentwood Park).

Allendale is 6 or 7 miles from downtown, with a park/pool (Northwest Park).

Travis Heights is super-close to downtown, 2 or 3 miles (Big/Little Stacy Pool).

That's all I can think of right now. If you don't get any other responses, PM me and I can tell you more. Welcome in advance!

H.

We live in Avery Ranch in NW Austin (78717) and LOVE it!! On my block alone there are 12 children, 9 under the age of 4. We have a two elementary schools in the neighborhood, 2 or 3 pools and 2 or 3 parks/playgrounds. It is a friendly active neighborhood. My realtor found the neighborhood for us and said it would be a great fit after looking around quite a bit. Email me or call her for help! Lynn, Amelia Bullock Realtors, ###-###-####.

Wells Branch is an excellent neighborhood. It has multiple pools and a nice community center. Hike and bike trails wind their way through the neighborhood. The community is very active -- often hosting events. Some events are for family, some for kids and even some adult nights. The location is great too. It is in North Austin with easy access to the main arteries here, I-35 and Mopac. Wells Branch has a website, you might google it to get a better feel for the neighborhood. House prices for that area run from about the 140's to the 300's. If you want to do an MLS search the zip code is 78728. Good Luck!

We live in Travis Country which is considered southwest Austin. It is a very short commute to downtown and a wonderful neighborhood. 2 ammenity centers- pools, park, tennis and basketball courts. We have 4 girls and there are tons of kids and great families. The neighborhood has several get togethers throughout the year. There are older homes (some redone some not) and some newer homes. We are surrounded by the Barton Creek Greenbelt and have easy access to hike or bike down to Barton Creek. We have lived here for over 7 years and instead of moving to accomodate our growing family we added on. Our neighborhood has a great mix of stay at home moms (always a playgroup going on) and working parents. We feed into Oak HIll Elem., O'Henry Middle School and Austin High.
Good luck.

When we relocated to Austin, we ended up in Round Rock, just north of Austin. It's a great place to raise a family. We live in RR and really enjoy it. There are lots of great neighborhoods in Round Rock and the schools are really good.

We moved to Austin 3 years ago... We live in Southwest Austin... My husband commuted to downtown, with rush hour traffic it is about a 25 minute commute.. We LOVE it. There are many great neighborhoods in Southwest Austin, I would stay west of Mopac.... Great schools, mostly ALL young families... We have a 7 and 3 year old... There are several MOMS Club chapters you can join to help meet new friends.. Good luck..

Are you looking to buy or rent?
Are you looking for a reduced commute for your husband?
Do you want to be within a short drive to the lake?

Barton Creek West is one of the most affordable neighborhoods in the Eanes Independant School District, has lots of family amenities, and is somewhat more than your budget. However, with the downturn, you might find something. We moved from there to Castlewood Forest in South Austin, which fits your price range but is not in Eanes. It is beautiful and friendly.

I recommend the Mueller neighborhood. It's affordable and there's an awesome pool and playground.
http://www.muelleraustin.com/
It is probably one of the last neighborhoods centrally located that is remotely affordable.

Before I can even begin, what price range are you thinking and how long is your husband willing to commute? Huge factors here in Austin!

I've been a nanny in Austin for about 20 years. The most family friendly neighborhood I've found close to downtown is Tarrytown....particularly in the area near the First Methodist Church off Greenlee. The neighborhoods there have regular block parties for the children sometimes to celebrate holidays, sometimes to just get together and keep the kids in contact with one another. One of the neighbors there just built a nice basketball/sports area that is open for the neighbors to use and another in the neighborhood has a big pool party for the neighbor kids and families. There are at least 2 parks, one with a pool, and a public library, all within 5 minutes of the Methodist Church. To make things easier on the adults, there's also a post office, toy store, cleaners and grocery store within 5 nminutes too. Bus line is close too.

I love Tarrytown!

I am a realtor here in the austin area - give me a call so I can get more details from you, and I'd be happy to find you a great home!!
A. Thibert - ###-###-####
There are several neighborhoods I think would be great for you and your family!

I thought my neighborhood was the best!! LOL. I love it that so many people are so happy with their neighborhood. I live in Anderson Mill, walking distance to Purple Sage Elementary. Our kids will eventually go to Grisham Middle School and then on the Westwood High School. We have an awsome network of parents. The corner house is for sale!! Quarter Horse Trail is the street name. We have an overabundance of boys (11) and two girls from age 3 to 9. We have three stay at home moms on the street, 4 nurses, one respiratory thereapist, an in-home daycare (british), an owner of a lawn service, and lots and lots of friends. We are always looking for active parents to join our street. Our kids play together daily and almost every weekend during good weather we have neighborhood cookouts. There is a great park system and two neighborhood pools that I hear are great. One of the people on the street has a pool, so we don't use the pools. We all walk to and from school together, taking turns. Good luck!

We live in the Knolls of Slaughter Creek. South Austin right off of FM 1626 and South First. We have a community pool, lots of kids and next to good schools.
I really like it here because even in rush hour traffic, you can take South First street all the way into downtown and never have to hit the freeway!
We have direct access to downtown via MOPAC, IH-35, Manchaca/Lamar, South First and Congress Ave so there are a lot of options. Also, because of the relatively new South Park Meadows shopping center and it's recent expansion, there is plenty of great shopping down here and I really have NO MORE REASONS to leave South Austin!

Well by all the responses you've received I'd say you and your family made a good choice to move to Austin, no matter what direction you choose!

If you'd like someone to help you find an actual HOME, please feel free to call my husband @ ###-###-####, no matter what location, price range etc., he'll help you find the right one for you and your family.

We have lived in Austin going on 4 years now and it has taken us 3 years to find the wonderful neighborhood we live in now. We live in Shady Hollow in South West Austin (78748) and couldn't be happier. It has all that you said you were looking for great parks, a pool, very friendly people and excellent schools if you are looking for that too. We got our house for around $200,000 and it is such an established neighborhood with tons of trees and close to shopping. My husband works off of Congress avenue and he can get there in about 15 to 20 minutes. Where are you moving from? If you want more information about the neighborhood or moving to Austin send me an email. I would love to help out any way I can.I have a 5 year too!