Community Information

Austin is a great city to live in but we’re biased! This is a great town to live, raise your family, or just be. It’s pleasant most of the year and filled with a great energy. I don’t know why this is; may be it’s the town’s hippie roots, the fact that it has a long standing art and music scene, maybe just because the Texas hill country is so beautiful, or all these things combined and more. Why is not really important. What I do know is that it’s the only place I’ve lived where the locals sit around and talk about how much they love living here.

Are you an Austin local? Think I’ve missed something on this page that needs to be included to better reflect Austin? Please e-mail me with your suggestion(s), I won’t try and sell you anything just give you my hearty thanks.

 CityComparison. Compare Austin to other cities.
Community Report. A quick and easy way to find useful information about your community, nearby schools and local businesses. Compare zip codes, find out average income, check out the crime rate. See the statistics of a single area of town, or compare two areas together by zip codes. This tool is addictive.

Austin Statistics. Gives you great demographic information on the citie's population, housing, and other statistics.
Neighborhood. Gives you a brief summary of each area in and around Austin. Information is based on the real estate area map.
School Report. Find out if a school meets your family's needs by looking at its ranking, student/teacher ratio, and other characteristics.Find out if a school meets your family's needs by looking at its ranking, student/teacher ratio, and otehr characteristics.
Pet Adoption.  This is something that is close to my heart. Find out all about adoption and how you to can adopt your next best friend!
Volunteering Activities. Interested in building a better community? This link takes you to a page where you can find out more about volunteering activities for the entire family.Interestred in building a better community? This link takes you to a page where you can find out more about voulinteering activities for the entire family.

Things you should know.

  • First and foremost… Relax!! You’re in Austin.
  • If you’re moving here from another state it will be customary to know the state flag, flower, bird (no it’s not a Grackle or Bat), etc. This is Texas after all!
  • It’s customary to wave when someone lets you into, out of, or does something nice for you in heavy traffic.
  • It’s customary to say good morning to total strangers.
  • Y’all is part of the local dialect; use it often.
  • Remember Leslie Cochran is a local icon.
  • This is an allergy town so be prepared, but that’s why they invented antihistamines.
    • Click on this News 8 link for more allergy info.
    • NOTE: When you go to the news 8 site the main display window center of the page may not appear. Just click on the “ALLERGY FORECAST” tab to get the small window to update. You can then go bank to the “POLLEN COUNT” window to see the information displayed.

Area Background.

If you’ve never been to Austin before you might be tempted to think there are tumble weeds everywhere, the land is flat and all-in-all the town’s right out of a western. Well… You would be in for a surprise. Austin is definitely in the warm category but it’s surrounded by multiple creaks, rivers, and lakes. In fact, Lady Bird Lake (formally known as Town Lake), which is not really a lake but part of the lower Colorado River, runs west to east right through the middle downtown. The experts say this is a temperate, humid subtropical environment with mild winters and hot summers. What this translates into is winter, if you call it that, only holds sway here December to about February. So, while your friends and family are buried up to there ears in snow and ice up north you can call them in December and tell them you’re in shorts and a t-shirt. Where as, the June to August months can be grueling with temperatures often in the 90 oF (32.22 oC) to 100+ oF (37.78 oC) range. Don’t worry about the hot months though because there are plenty of places to cool off in and around Austin. When it’s roasting during the summer there is nothing like taking a dip in the spring fed pools of Barton Springs or Deep Eddie, kayaking/canoeing/rowing on Lady Bird Lake, or boating in Lake Travis (no powered boats allowed on Lady Bird Lake).

Topography.

The general contour of Austin is flatter on the east side, becoming increasingly hilly as you move west. East of the city in areas like Elgin and Manor you have fairly flat land with few trees that has been farm country for many years. As you move west past downtown the land grows increasingly hilly and rocky with more trees. This area known as the “Hill Country” can be very scenic but, also tends to come with a larger price tag.

Traffic / Public Transportation.

Traffic in Austin has become an increasing problem over the last few years. Rapid expansion and a less then stellar public transit system (run by Capital Metro) have contributed to increasing congestion. In efforts to combat this, the city is working on a light rail system which would provide transit from downtown to outlying areas like Leander. There have also been a number of toll roads developed including High Way (HW) 45 and HW 183A. As of right now the toll roads provide good rapid transit but the cost of using them should be factored into your home purchase. You should also take commute times into consideration since it can take an hour or more to get from Northwest to Southeast Austin during rush hour. Roush hour is generally around 7:00 to 9:00 AM and about 4:30 to 7:00 PM. The city traffic becomes a lot less congested when the universities are on spring and fall brake, and between spring and fall semesters.

High Ways.

Moving to Austin can be a little confusing since we seem to like to use multiple names for various roads. The main ones you are likely to hear are:

  • Loop 1 = Mopac, MOPAC, MoPac, or Mo-Pac Expressway (is an acronym for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad which are the railroad tracks that run alongside a major portion of this roadway and was there before the highway was built)
  • Hwy 360 = Capital of Texas Highway
  • Hwy 183 = Research Blvd

You may hear Austinites refer to Interstate 35 (I-35) with dread. Because we don’t have the normal loop road (although one is being built) all through traffic on this main North/South artery from Dallas to Mexico goes right through downtown. Which means it is frequently clogged, plagued by accidents, and in general slow moving. Therefore, we’ve tried to note it in our area breakdowns when you are forced to use it to travel.

A Note On Home Owner Associations (HOAs).

Note all HOAs are created equal. Some charge fees and provide little amenities in return while others are funded out of your property taxes and provide much in the way of amenities. Did you know some HOAs:

Have rules on how long you can keep your garage door open.

Have rules preventing you from changing your car’s oil in your driveway.

An HOA that charges fees can file foreclosure proceedings on you if you do not pay your dues.

There are many more rules and regulations that often restrict your home owner’s rights. So, it pays to know what the HOA regulations are in the neighborhood you’re interested in so you don’t get caught unawares. Shameless plug here – that’s why having a licensed and experienced realtor like the AustinHouseHounds can save you a lot of future hart ache. Sorry, we had to do that, it’s our job!

Dining.

Austin is a great place to dine. This town has a culture of dining out; substandard restaurants often don’t last long. We recommend using the Fearless Critics as one resource to finding new and innovative places to dine. You can also use Austin360.com, Austin Chronicle, and some of the other websites listed above to find reviews. Bon appétit!!

Theater.

Like dining, there are many theaters and thespian like entertainment available to suit any pallet. Some of our favorites are:

You can find more theaters and plays by using Austin Chronicle, KUT, and some of the other websites listed above on the “useful website” list.

Out-Door Activities.

For those of you who are into road biking, motor cycling, mountain biking, hiking, caving/spelunking, SCUBA, kayaking, Canoeing, rowing, boating, etc. there are hundreds of back country roads, trails, caves, creaks, rivers, and lakes in and around Austin to satisfy the most adventurous spirit.

This list can’t cover everything because there’s so much to do in this town. You find (if you haven’t already found out) that often the problem is not finding stuff to do but choosing what to do.

 

 

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