Did you know that 25 percent of America’s newest golf courses were built near Austin in the past decade or so? It should be no surprise, then, that Austin offers some of the best golf in Texas. Check out these course next time you’re looking to play a round.

1.Avery Ranch Golf Club

Seated in northwest Austin, Avery Ranch Golf Club was designed by former Jack Nicklaus designer Andy Raugust and is a spectacular blend of up-scale golf and natural splendor. Awesome limestone caverns, rolling hills, and lazy streams and lakes make for a unique and utterly enrapturing golf experience. Avid Golfer magazine has even ranked Avery Ranch  No. 1 for best course conditions, clubhouse, dining area, and design.


2. Barton Creek Resort

Barton Creek’s golf…

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One of the great things about Austin is that there’s little need to stay indoors for too long. With the Hill Country right there and an abundance of trails and parks nearby, it’s easy to get out and about. And a good hike can do wonders for your spirits. Check out these great hikes.

 

Blunn Creek

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You don’t have to leave downtown to go on a hike. Blunn Creek is a wonderful nature preserve trail just off South Congress. Yes, it’s small ‒‒ a mere mile walk, actually ‒‒ but you know what they say about good things in small packages. There’s plenty to explore at Blunn Creek and it’s the perfect size and location to step out of the city for a few minutes when you can’t actually get away for too long.

Wild Basin Wildlife Preserve

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We all know Austin is the hottest place to live in Texas. And to accommodate the flow of new residents moving in, developers are ever building new places to live. Here’s a look at three of the best new subdivisions in the capital area.

1. Solavera

Solavera is coming to south Austin this fall from Meritage Homes. This  new community will bring beautiful, energy-efficient homes to the heart of Austin, near Del Curto Road. Solavera will offer one-of-a-kind homesites, that combines new construction with serene, mature trees, a nearby park, and an incredibly convenient location to the hottest downtown in central Texas.  All homes will include 2-car garages and prices average around the $400,000 mark.

2. Gabriels Grove

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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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Buying the right home for you takes more than knowing your price range and what area you’d like to live in. It also takes the right agent to help you find a place to make you happy.

Your best bet is to work with a VIP Realty agent. VIP agents have vast expertise in markets, market conditions, trends, and more. Our agents know that more homes are available than are actively advertised. When you work with a VIP agent and tell us what you’re looking for, and where you want to call home, we can help you find homes that are available, but not listed on public sites. This gives you the advantage of access to a deeply knowledgeable resource and improves your odds of getting the home you want most, without worrying about too much competition.

Our agents are…

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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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When it comes to financing your new home, one of the most important (and often sleep-ruining) decisions you will have to make is whether you should go with a 15-year or a 30-year mortgage. What makes the decision so agonizing is knowing that both forms of mortgage come with significant pros and significant cons. And while only you can make the ultimate decision that makes you comfortable, it pays to know these pros and cons well before you decide. And, hopefully, get some good sleep.

Advantages of a 15-year Mortgage

The most obvious advantage to a 15-year mortgage is that you will pay it off in half the time. And there’s nothing like outright owning the place you live. Another distinct advantage, if you qualify for a 15-year plan, is that interest…

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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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College Station, home of the Aggies, and part of the booming Houston region, is a quietly conservative college town that likes to be the opposite of Austin. But the two cities share a few things in common, and one of those things is some of the finest new residential communities in Texas. College Station’s newest communities offer the increasingly attractive mix of urban lifestyle and suburban quiet in neighborhoods such as:

Village at Creek Meadows

The Village is the newest part of the Creek Meadows planned community and some of the finest in family and student living in College Station. This is a one-of-a-kind duplex community that pairs the huge living spaces with apartment complex amenities in a rural setting close to town. The two- and…

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Just because the dog likes sticking his head out the car window on the highway, don’t assume that moving is going to be as easy or fun for him. The truth is, pets can sense moving stress and can become confused quickly by a move. In fact, as many as a third of all moved pets get lost at least once because they become confused or disoriented. More than that, the physical transportation of pets can be hard on them, or even dangerous if you’re not prepared. Take a few tips from the American Humane Society to protect your pets during a move.

Get New Tags Before You Move

Remember what we just said about a third of pets getting lost? Well, many of those end up at animal shelters, unidentified and anonymous, and never find their families again. Dogs,…

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