I'm boarding for a new position at Camp Mabry which would have our family relocating to Austin from Houston. We have never lived in Austin and do not know the area very well. In addition to finding somewhere to live, my wife will be looking for a new job. She currently works as a supervisor in a distribution center for a retail company. They only have one DC, so she can't transfer unless she wants to go to one of their retail stores, and that schedule won't work with my new position, which will require a significant amount of travel. We have a 4 year old daughter who will be ready to start kindergarten in the fall.

So, we are looking for a decent area to live. It has to be under 50 miles from Camp Mabry, because that is a requirement for the position I am boarding for due to required response times. Ideally I'd like to keep my commute to 30 minutes or less each way. I'll be commuting early (0700-1600 workdays), so that should help some. I'd like to stay under $200k, and really under $180k, given as how we don't know where my wife is going to be working when we move. Decent schools are important. It doesn't have to be a "forever" home, because I doubt we will stay here forever, although I will be at this assignment at least 3 years.

In addition, my wife will be looking for a new job, so if someone has a good line on that it would help too! A regular M-F schedule is going to be important for her, because I will be TDY 90-100 days out of the year.

Daycare advice would be helpful too. I don't think there is any option for that on Camp Mabry, but I could be wrong.

We do have a little bit of time. I still have to board, be selected, and accept the position, but once that happens I will be required as part of the position to establish my home within 50 miles of Mabry within 2 months. So when it happens, it will be happening fast.

Any help that y'all can provide with any of these questions would be great!

180-200K and within 30 minutes of Camp Mabry....hmmm good luck. Quick online search and anything in reasonable distance to Camp Mabry at that price range is gonna be a condo at < 900 sq ft.

you're gonna have to cut that 50 mile requirement in half to get a 30 minute commute or less in this town

I agree with CapCity, that pricepoint is going be hard to find for a house anywhere near where you work. I live in Lockhart, and a 1500-2000 sq.ft. house is going for around 200k right now. It only gets more expensive as you get closer.

Agree with others your looking for a unicorn with those parameters. I live in Round Rock which 20 miles north of you and starter homes of 1500 sq ft are over 200k. And the commute would about 45 minutes maybe a little less.

Yeah, you are going to have to either go north to Williamson County (Round Rock or Pflugerville) or south to Hays county (Buda or Kyle) to get even close to that price range. But the 30 minute drive part gets tough from those points. At least you are arriving at 7AM, so that will help some. You could make it on a "good" day, but when even a drop of rain hits around here traffic times go nuts.

REnt in pflugerville or west Round Rock for a year until your wife gets on her feet at a new job. No sense going through the brain damage on a house that you are buying on the fly in an unfamiliar place.

Welcome to Austin!

I figured the commute part would be tough. I'm driving about 40 minutes right now, so I can deal with longer than 30 minutes. One area we have looked at is Manor. I've made the drive in from there to Mabry at that time in about 25-30 minutes or so a few times.

I'm always concerned about renting because we have 3 dogs.

also remember that any commute times you have now are gonna get longer over time, no matter what traffic improvements are gonna be made. Fact.

You are in a tough spot. The 50 mile thing is easy. The 30 minute thing is not. To achieve the 30 minute thing, you need to be closer in, which then blows that budget out of the water. You won't do much with a 200K budget limit in this town at all.

If you know you will likely be gone after 3 years I would find a nice small place to rent, get a good rate on a 3 year lease and not try not introduce the headache that is home ownership in this city. your quality of life will suffer if you get a house way far away, IMHO. Traffic and proximity to our work are our two biggest complaints right now to the point where I just want to packup and move to Montana.

I don't know that I will be gone in 3 years. Most likely, I will be here for at least 6, which is when I hit 20 years of Active Duty for retirement. I am locked into this assignment for at least 3 years though. Its one of the conditions of the position.

two things.

I forgot about Manor. They have built up quite an inventory of homes over there. I stopped using 290 in that area about ten years ago due to the growth. Legitimate option.

You might be able to afford more then you think. I am in mortgage and using VA loan, or other types, figure total cost (PITI) at 700 per 100K borrowed. So 200K loan with VA is around 1400 per month. Conventional use 750 per 100K.

SteveBott said:

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two things.

I forgot about Manor. They have built up quite an inventory of homes over there. I stopped using 290 in that area about ten years ago due to the growth. Legitimate option.

You might be able to afford more then you think. I am in mortgage and using VA loan, or other types, figure total cost (PITI) at 700 per 100K borrowed. So 200K loan with VA is around 1400 per month. Conventional use 750 per 100K.

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Really? We bought 6 years ago in Rosenberg on a VA loan, and our payment is more like $1300/month PITI now on a $124K home. I'm assuming I can attribute that to the higher tax rate and MUD taxes? That makes $200k more comfortable. We also should be able to net some decent money on our house here, although I was thinking of using that to pay off our student loans, because I would love to have those payment off our backs.

My numbers are for a 30 year loan and will hold up in modest range of home price. Say 150-350K. If you want to increase my numbers from 750 to 800 I am not going to argue about it. Really depends on taxes and insurance for that local market. A MUD in west Houston will throw those off quite a bit

I not questioning your numbers at all. In fact, I will probably be contacting you and some of the other posters here regarding our mortgage options if this move works out.

my contact info is in my profile

Ummm, 3 dogs

Ahh. Never mind.

If your wife is looking for work at a DC, I'd consider the area between Manchaca and Kyle south of Austin. Would center you between Mabry (30-40 mins in light traffic) and the DCs along 35 going south.

You could buy a town home in round rock with plenty of space for amount. Great schools in western round rock. I live there and commute to about half a mile from mabry. Commute will be fast in the morning. Maybe 40 mins in the afternoon.

aTm papi said:

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You don't want your daughter going to Manor ISD.

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Not to be overlooked. Manor schools don't have a good rep from what I recall.

There is some bad juju in the Manor H20.

KT 90 said:

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aTm papi said:

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You don't want your daughter going to Manor ISD.

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Not to be overlooked. Manor schools don't have a good rep from what I recall.

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Not good.

Valedictorian right out of the gate?

There is a poster below with a 3-2-2 for rent / possible sale below in Elgin which is 35 miles from Mabry. However the CL post is deletes so he may have rented it already.

I'm SW, so I don't know anything about Elgin schools. It is growing out there.

If you like it maybe you can work out a deal where part if the rent can be applied to the purchase price.

It's a little soon just yet. I submitted my packet for the position Thursday. The announcement is still open for another week. Then the packets all are checked to make sure applicants meet all the requirements and forwarded to the unit, who has to schedule the selection board. Then the board is conducted, an applicant is selected, and it goes back to HR, who verifies everything was done correctly and sends out a selection letter, which the applicant has to accept. Then orders have to be cut, PCS money has to be allocated, etc.

Even if I am selected for the position, I doubt I'd be moving before February or March at the earliest.

What can y'all tell me about Leander or Cedar Park areas?

Yeah. Something in south or in Hays co is what you want.

maverick2076 said:

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What can y'all tell me about Leander or Cedar Park areas?

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. Two peas in a pod. Sisters so to speak. CP is the older girl with more retail and closer to work. LE is the younger and more suburban and not as big. Both with lots of homes and very good schools. Probably 60-75k populations but just guessing.

The problem is your price point. Home price sweet spot is more like 250-350k

Wife teaches at Elgin. You don't want your daughter going there either. Also, my wife and I were looking for a house to rent earlier this year and we couldn't find any that accepted our two large dogs. It was a PITA. We are now in an overpriced apartment in CP paying more or equal to a mortgage payment.

maverick2076 said:

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I'm boarding for a new position at Camp Mabry which would have our family relocating to Austin from Houston. We have never lived in Austin and do not know the area very well. In addition to finding somewhere to live, my wife will be looking for a new job. She currently works as a supervisor in a distribution center for a retail company. They only have one DC, so she can't transfer unless she wants to go to one of their retail stores, and that schedule won't work with my new position, which will require a significant amount of travel. We have a 4 year old daughter who will be ready to start kindergarten in the fall.

So, we are looking for a decent area to live. It has to be under 50 miles from Camp Mabry, because that is a requirement for the position I am boarding for due to required response times. Ideally I'd like to keep my commute to 30 minutes or less each way. I'll be commuting early (0700-1600 workdays), so that should help some. I'd like to stay under $200k, and really under $180k, given as how we don't know where my wife is going to be working when we move. Decent schools are important. It doesn't have to be a "forever" home, because I doubt we will stay here forever, although I will be at this assignment at least 3 years.

In addition, my wife will be looking for a new job, so if someone has a good line on that it would help too! A regular M-F schedule is going to be important for her, because I will be TDY 90-100 days out of the year.

Daycare advice would be helpful too. I don't think there is any option for that on Camp Mabry, but I could be wrong.

We do have a little bit of time. I still have to board, be selected, and accept the position, but once that happens I will be required as part of the position to establish my home within 50 miles of Mabry within 2 months. So when it happens, it will be happening fast.

Any help that y'all can provide with any of these questions would be great!

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we just moved our daughter to Austin for grad school and boy is it expensive, beautiful area but very expensive. If you are looking to buy right off the bat all you'll probably be able to get in a decent area is a 2 bedroom town home for around $200K. I would suggest looking at an apartment, not a great option but reasonable, a 2 or 3 bedroom is still $1500/month plus. Our daughter lives in the arboretum area which is nice (Jollyville rd). I would say if you consider renting for a year, it will give your wife a chance to find something reasonable. remember traffic is tough in Austin too, it's like a smaller Houston. Apartments always run specials, now is a good time to rent, shop around and don't hesitate to ask for a deal. There are lots of apt locator services, I mean a lot. However the upside to buying is the Austin housing market is always appreciating, in 2 years you could make 10% or more on your investment

3 dogs......

Hey that was my response to the last apartment reply

I'll never live in an apartment again. I'd turn down the job if that was my only option.