Barton Hills

One of the very best neighborhoods in the southern part of the city of Austin, Barton Hills has something for everyone. It's bordered by Barton Springs Pool, a spring-fed public pool and Zilker Park, home to the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, which brings world-class musicians and bands right to your backyard. It's a clean and safe neighborhood ideal for families and has a low crime rate. It is also one of the most picturesque and beautiful neighborhoods in all of Austin with lots of towering mature trees and green space.

It's a quick trip by car or Capitol Metro line bus or rail to all of the action on South Congress and 6th Street, so it's ideal for a young urban professional. There are homes here that sell for as little as $160,000, but most of the homes sell for $500,000 plus. There is great selection of quaint coffee shops and wine bars, and plenty of dining options including Tex-Mex and Chinese. One of the few drawbacks to this classy neighborhood is that lots, especially ones in the southern part of the neighborhood, tend to be rather small so you'll get to know your neighbors fast.

Approximately one-third of the land in this neighborhood is parkland. And we’re not talking manicured lawns and ball fields. To the south is the Barton Creek Greenbelt East, the continuation of an even-larger park dedicated to preserving the complexity and harmony of a wilderness setting in the confines of a city park. There are miles of trails for hiking and biking. There are caves and waterfalls, swimming holes and rock climbing walls. And because ecosystems have been preserved, there are all kinds of wildlife thriving here.

To the north is Zilker Park—home to Barton Springs, one of Austin’s most famous attractions. There is a spring-fed swimming pool that charges just a couple of dollars for admission, complete with bathroom facilities and lockers. If you don’t want to pay to swim, you can just walk downstream and swim in the creek! I came here on an afternoon when the pool was closed and the banks of the creek were full of people relaxing, drinking beer and splashing in the water with their dogs. One man stood waistdeep in the water, playing a reed flute, and another man was piling up the white stones found in the creekbed to build strange towers that looked like the skyline of an alien city.

Austin Nature and Science Center is located inside Zilker Park hosting programming that raises awareness of the natural world, through programming and kid-friendly hands-on activities.

And in addition to the hiking and biking at Zilker Park, you can rent canoes and kayaks by the hour and take them out onto the Colorado River. I recently went kayaking here, and I got completely soaked, but it was really fun—and amazing that the weather in January can be so beautiful you can go kayaking and be completely soaked and not be cold!

This is the neighborhood for anyone who loves being outdoors. You don’t even have to sacrifice great shops and restaurants or proximity to downtown.

Barton Hills has everything you could possibly want in a place to live, and it’s a hot destination for tourists and Austinites alike as well. Safe, clean, green, and fun, with great schools, lots to do, and easy access to the rest of Austin either by car or by public transit.

Barton Springs Pool, a public space fed by natural springs, and Zilker Park are both right on the boundary of this neighborhood, and excellent reasons to visit all on their own. Zilker is, of course, home to the annual Austin City Limits festival, and those lucky enough to live in Barton Hills can often make some substantial extra money renting their couches or spare rooms to out-of-towners during the music fest.

It’s a quick trip to downtown and to great shopping and nightlife in south Austin. House prices in the area are a little higher than the city average, and rents tend to be higher as well, but the area is by no means out of most people’s reach. You’re simply paying a premium to live in a fantastic neighborhood.

In large part because of the number of public spaces and events happening in and around Barton Hills, it tends to be well-policed and quite safe. This is an excellent place for pretty much anyone to live, from students to young professionals to families.

Located just south of Downtown Austin, the Barton Hills neighborhood is one of the most established neighborhoods in the entire city. Homes here are priced in the $300,000 - $800,000 range and it is considered one of the safest neighborhoods in Austin. Some of the homes here were constructed in the 1930's and have been lovingly maintained though there are some new homes going up where older homes have been torn down.

It's also one of the most popular places to live in Austin as homes here are seldom on the market for more than a couple of months. The reason? It's close to downtown and a number of great amenities such as Barton Springs, Lady Bird Lake, and the Hike and Bike Trail that winds through the city is nearby as well. It's also close to bus and rail lines for the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CMTA). It's an ideal neighborhood for families with a number of great private and public schools nearby. It's also a good choice for the young urban professional who is looking for a comfortable and relatively spacious home that can double as a sound investment.

For those who want to take full advantage of Austin’s reputation as an outdoor-lover’s paradise, the Barton Hills neighborhood is the ideal location. With its northern border abutting spacious Zilker Park, which embodies Austin’s heart and soul, and home to the famous spring-fed Barton Springs Pool, residents have easy access to much of what makes Austin unique. Bordered on the south by Highway 360 and on the east and west by Barton Creek and Mopac respectively, this centrally located neighborhood has access to all that Austin has to offer.

The area schools of Barton Hills and Zilker Elementary, O. Henry Middle School and Austin High School make this neighborhood a popular one with families. The hilly streets feature ranch-style homes with apartments and condos mostly found on the western edge along MoPac. The neighborhood is primarily a residential one, with few commercial establishments within its borders. But just a few minutes away along Barton Springs Road are many popular Austin restaurants such as Chuy’s and Shady Grove. Downtown is a quick 10 minute drive away, and thoroughfares such as Bee Caves Road to the west and Lamar to the east provide access to several extensive shopping centers where both national chains and locally owned stores can be found.

All this convenience and local personality comes at a price, however. Home prices average a steep $400,000 to $500,000 for a single family home, and when one comes on the market, it usually doesn’t take long for someone to snap it up.