Austin may have a long-established tradition of vibrant nightlife, a cutting edge music scene, and enough Longhorns to throw the biggest barbecue in Texas, but in its more residential areas, Austin offers new (and often luxurious) communities built with you and the family in mind.

Santa Rita Ranch

One of the Austin area's newest master-planned communities Santa Rita Ranch combines a neighborhood feel with Hill Country style. Kids walk to school (at either the Georgetown or Liberty Hills ISD) here, and skipping rocks in the San Gabriel River is actually a thing people do. Santa Rita offers a family sports complex and sports fields; pools and splash park; a vibrant town center; and a web of hiking, biking, and nature trails from your own backyard.

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Top 5 Austin Neighborhoods - Communities

Austin residents take great pride in the eccentricities of the city, and celebrate the variety of entertainment available to them. Austin is an ideal place for families, especially the ones who are just building their own. Whether you are looking to rent or buy a new home, the communities in south, north and central Austin are your best choices.

The following are the top 5 Austin neighborhoods/communities you may want to check out when looking to buy or rent a place to stay within the area:

Clarksville

The closest community to the central downtown, Clarksville is perfect for those people who wish to enjoy the convenience of being close to the business district yet similar to the feel of a conventional…

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Sure, Austin may be “weird.” It may be the capital of cool for the college-aged. But don’t overlook the fact that Austin and its surroundings offer some of the finest master-planned communities for families and those looking to live a little better than the dorm life at UT.

Crystal Falls

In 2014, two Austin communities earned spots on the prestigious John Burns Real Estate Consulting list as the best-selling master-planned communities in America. One is Crystal Falls, a 5,000-acre slice of Hill Country bliss that touts itself as “the last untouched landscape of true Hill Country living in Austin's booming northwest corridor.”  Crystal falls also was named Austin’s top master-planned community of the year, and it’s easy to see why ‒‒ 2,000-pound,…

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So you're ready to buy a house. How exciting! Naturally, the first thing you do is throw yourself into a full-scale house hunt. You spend hours browsing listing after listing on all the popular sites, falling in love with one house after another, and rejecting a few along the way. You may even stop by a few open-house events if they're close enough, just to see what a favorite of yours looks like in person.

When you finally find a house you think will work for you, you contact the real estate agent listed on the ad and set up a time to meet to view the house. When you fall in love with it - with pre-approved financing, of course - you decide you're ready to make an offer. But who is going to be your agent?

Contrary to the belief of some, the…

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Of all the landmarks in Georgetown, TX, the Creative Playscape tops the list for children and families. The original, built in 1993 by community volunteers, created 20 years of memories for Georgetown residents. In 2010 more stringent accessibility standards were put in place through an amendment of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that - along with new standards set forth by the Texas Health and Safety code - led the city to push for a redesign of the playscape.

The original playscape was torn down in the fall of 2013, and construction for the new design began in the spring of 2014. Now, the brand new Georgetown Creative Playscape is just days away from its Grand Opening. July 2nd, at 10am, Georgetown Parks and Recreation will…

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Choosing the right school district is a big factor in your decision to move. But if private school is in the budget, Austin offers some of the finest private schools in the state. Before you move specifically for a school district, consider these elite private academies of learning.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal

Generally considered the best private school in the capital area, St. Andrew's Episcopal School, or SAS, serves grades 1-12 in its Lower (grades 1-6), Middle (grades 7-8), and Upper (grades 9-12) schools. Grades 1-8 share a campus in central Austin, while grades 9-12 attend school in the southwestern part of the city. SAS is known for its rigorous and broad academic program, which requires Upper School students to complete a "Junior Experience" ‒‒…

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Admit it, picking a real estate agent makes you nervous. Why wouldn't it? Your home is going to be one of your largest investments throughout your lifetime, and you want to find a quality Realtor who will make the most of your money for you. With all of the hype, marketing, friend referrals, client reviews, Internet searches, etc., it can be a daunting task to sift through the massive amounts of available information to find the agent that fits your needs. Where do you even begin? Here are 5 tips for picking the perfect Realtor:

1. Verify the license.

Each state licenses and disciplines real estate agents via a specific board. In Texas, that board is the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). You can easily determine if a prospective agent or…

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The Best Steakhouse in San Antonio 

Located just north of San Antonio in the tiny town of Bulverde sits one of the best steakhouses in Texas; The Tejas Steakhouse & Saloon. The saloon itself is practically a western art gallery expertly decorated in authentic western pieces, paintings, and memorabilia. Atmosphere aside, if you take one bite into their famous “KC Steak”, a few nibbles of their “Green Pepper Mac & Cheese”, or a sip of just about any drink you could imagine from their bar selection, it’s easy to see how they were named Best Steakhouse in San Antonio by both SA Magazine and USA Today. 

   As if the award-winning steakhouse wasn’t enough to make you want to drop what you’re doing, jam the family in the car, and head off into the…

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We all know the appeal Austin has for college students looking for art and culture in Texas, from the 2014 X-Games to the SXSW Film Festival. But it’s easy to forget that Austin and its surroundings offer some excellent school districts for the kids.

Eanes ISD

The Eanes Independent School District is generally considered the best district in the capital area and is often ranked as one of the best in entire state, despite (or perhaps because of) its relatively small size. Eanes serves about 7,500 students from West Austin, Rollingwood, and West Lake Hills. Seven of its nine schools have been recognized as U.S. Blue Ribbon Schools and all nine have been designated Exemplary by the Texas Education Agency.

 

Lake Travis ISD

If Eanes has any…

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Okay, so you already know that Austin is booming, particularly with young people who are flocking to the millennial generation’s “it” city. But can you guess which end of Austin is growing the most?

If you said East Austin, good for you. According to the Austin Business Journal, fast-rising sale prices and overall home values are driving the economy in Central Texas, and East Austin is getting the biggest share of the boom. The area south of East Cesar Chavez Street between I-35 and Springdale Road, the journal notes, has seen median home values rise 44 percent to $241,400. That’s up from $159,000 and is by far the largest increase in the entire Austin area.

In addition, in the area bound by East Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Airport Boulevard,…

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