We are looking to move north of Austin, possibly as far as Georgetown/Jarrell/Salado. I am looking for information on the area north of Georgetown, and Jarrell. We are thinking about moving to the "country". Any info on what the area looks like (hills?trees?). School system in Georgetown and Jarrell. Friendly people?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Jarrell is pretty plain-like, at least viewing from interstate. There was a devastating tornado a few years back. Georgetown is more Hill Country in terrain. There is alot of rush hour traffic coming into and out of Austin from that area so be forewarned. Then again, there is traffic everywhere near Austin.

Jarrell is a tornado magnet. It's been hit twice in the past fifteen years.

Thanks for the responses.

Anybody have info on Jarrell ISD and Georgetown ISD. Trying to figure out whether to put my kids into a smaller country school district or into the large city school district.

I can tell you that Salado ISD is a very good school system. They do really well in all areas of education, both academia and athletics. They are usually one of the top two teams in the UIL Academics state championship, have won a state baseball title in the last couple of years, played in the state basketball tournament in the last few years, and have played in the state football semifinals in the last couple of years.....

eh, Salado seems nice enough, but there just aren't many choices of places to live outside of mill creek, which I hear is not being kept up very well (the golf course). Couple of hundred year floods will do that to a place, i guess. But yes, the schools are supposed to be good - new facilities, good programs. Will likely be headed to 3A next year though. State semis in athletics will be tougher to come by.

Oh, and houses are pricey

Is there actually residential real estate in Jarrell?

And no, that isn't a sick joke. I'm actually curious if the Austin sprawl has made it that far north and if they have built subdivisions there.

Have you considered Liberty Hill? I think it might be more like what you're looking for. Between Jarrell, Salado, and Georgetown, I think I would go with Georgetown for school, with Salado as a close 2nd. You're going to get more a of a small town/country feel in Salado though. Both are nice areas, and I think I would avoid Jarrell. Liberty Hill is still a place you should check out.

I was Salado educated before my college days. It is a great place to grow up, but be wary of the small town atmosphere (i.e. everyone will know your business).

Liberty Hill is a good school district, but when I was in high school it was experiencing massive growing pains.

Stay as far away from Jarrell as possible. That place is just full of white trash. I really can't say anything nice about it.

Also, if you haven't already, I would post or link this thread to the Central Texas board. They will be able to provide more current information about the areas you are interested in.

I grew up in Belton and now live in Cedar Park, and I %100 percent agree with the poster above me, I just didn't want to be so blunt about Jarrell.

There are several nice houses available in the Walburg-Wier area for both sale or lease. All of which is out in the country and in the Georgetown school district.

HB..

My dad currently lives in Jarrell, just south of the main town intersection. Been there since 97'.

His place is 10 acres, and is on a county road with residents on both sides. Nice place to live with nice neighbors. Three kids in the house. One went to Jarrell High, and the other two went to Georgetown schools because of the lack of quality from the Jarell ISD. Most residents I have seen are either lower or middle income, with a small mix of upper income residents on the SW side.

If you want a realtor assistance, I can recommend someone with local experience for that specific area also.

If you want a good school district but smaller class sizes (3A) you might want to consider Liberty Hill. You can get acreage lots for a little more than what you would pay for a standard lot in Cedar Park. There are also some nice 12-acre lots that just opened up in Oatmeal, Tx. in Burnet county just West of Liberty Hill. I know that since I own some land in Oatmeal.

What about Georgetown Village?

How much longer is Liberty Hill going to be "small". From what I understand, it is growing fast. How far outside of LH is Oatmeal, TX.

25 minutes

http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Liberty+Hill,+TX&daddr=Oatmeal,+TX&hl=en&geocode=FdDo0wEdLNIp-ik3iq0_M95EhjGkJTQqX-Tr2Q%3BFZVl1AEdfzIn-inLktbDVt5ahjE-eWTH21nVxg&mra=ls&sll=30.696853,-98.094465&sspn=0.529026,1.347198&g=Oatmeal,+TX&ie=UTF8&ll=30.672172,-98.028946&spn=0.132291,0.3368&z=12

Oatmeal looks closer to Burnet than Liberty Hill.

What is the new sub-division that is in the Georgetown city limits, but zoned for Jarrell ISD?

Oatmeal is approximately halfway between LH and Burnet.

Have not clue about the subdivision...maybe some else does?

I work in the Jarrell school district and I would say it is similar to many small schools. This means the student body consists mostly of farmers' children, blue collared workers, etc. We do have a new high school and will open a new elementary next year. We also have a bond approved to build a new middle school.

It is true that everyone will know your business but is the case in any small town. The community does support its students. The high school was exemplary and the elementry and middle school were recognized this last year.

Sonterra is the new big housing community in the area. (I would stay away from here because it is a MUD which equals high taxes). It is planned to house 4000 units once complete; however, I don't see that happening for many years. There was a scandel with one of the builders that stopped new builds for awhile but DR Horton is out there now. The school grows by about 8% each year.

The crap about tornados is just exacerbated by the fact the 97 tornado was an F5. There have not been any tornados there since.

There are some nice houses in the area on a few acres if that is what you are looking for. We looked to build out there but I already owned two acres in San Gabriel River Estates in G-town (East just off of 29; G-town address, Hutto school district)so we just decided to build there. There is currently a nice home (2600 sq. ft.) for sale in San Gabriel with 2.3 acres and a pool. The asking is 360K.

My wife teaches in G-town and loves it. Our children also attend G-town because my wife's schedule is more flexible.

Thanks Marooned', great info. I'm collecting all I can get so I can make the right decision.

Marooned',

What is the administration like in Jarrell. Do they have good discipline in the classroom? The more I hear about Jarrell, the more I like the long term potential. But, Salado or Georgetown wouldn't be a bad choice either.

I love Georgetown and Georgetown schools.

My commute isn't bad because I have a different schedule and don't have to be on 35 during rush hour.

If you have specific questions, you can email me. It's in my profile.

We had a pretty big overall in administration this last year. New superintendent, special ed director, elementary principal, and high school principal. Don't let that scare you though. The previous SPED director and high school principal retired and the elementary principal took a promotion in the district. The new super seems to have good ideas and is consistent. Discipline is not an issue at any of the schools. You have the few repeat offenders all schools have but for the most part the students are pretty good.