East Oak Hill

The East Oak Hill neighborhood of Austin is one of the more exclusive areas of the city. Located to the southwest of Downtown Austin, this neighborhood boasts winding tree-lined streets and lots of peace and quiet. It's just south of the Barton Creek Wilderness Park, so there is green space in abundance. Single family homes here are for the most part spacious and new with several having a $1,000,000 plus price tag, though some older homes can be had for as little $250,000, a reasonable price to pay for entrance into this coveted neighborhood. This is a safe neighborhood with a low crime rate and one of the very best in the entire city for raising a family if you can afford the price tag.

Some of the Austin Independent School District's highest performing schools serve this area. If you desire a private school option St. Andrews Episcopal School is located within the neighborhood. It's close to all of the amenities of Barton Creek Wilderness Park and a a shopping mall is close by. There's just very little not to love about this neighborhood outside of the fact it lacks the cool Austin vibe and has no nightlife.

Wealthy residents in this hilly South Austin neighborhood live in opulent houses on winding tree-lined streets. And they are surrounded by green spaces. East Oak Hill’s beautiful, 37-acre Gaines Creek Park is located in the southern part of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, the entire neighborhood is nestled in the hills just below Austin’s own thousand-acre wood: Barton Creek Wilderness Park. It’s a massive piece of land that anyone can explore on foot.

East Oak residents are well-equipped with private schools, private health clubs, extensive shopping, businesses that cater to children and families, a shooting range, and beautiful cemeteries. East Oak is a great place to live or die!

This neighborhood is situated in an ideal location. Close to swimming and hiking at Barton Springs, and a quick drive away from all the great restaurants and shopping on South Congress. And it’s close to the highway that will bring you right into the heart of downtown.

A lot of wealthy people like living in lush, luxurious spaces, with ample shopping, large, well-appointed homes, superior schools, and an overall high quality of life, and plenty of wealthy people in Austin like those things, too. For them, East Oak Hill was born and developed.

Even rents in this upscale neighborhood are not for the faint of heart, and house prices can easily reach the million-dollar mark. In exchange for a rampantly elegant lifestyle in a beautiful community, though, you are trading practically everything that makes Austin… well, Austin.

Students, artists, and hippies can’t begin to afford the cost of entry, so the funky Austin vibe they lend to the rest of the city is conspicuously absent here. Shopping is dominated by high-end stores rather than small, local treasures.

This is a great place to raise a family, as it’s safe, quiet, and secure, with top schools. The mini-mansion décor of the neighborhood in general makes it feel more like an affluent suburb of any city in America, but it’s true that the Real Austin is always just a drive away, and for those who value opulence and quiet over charm and funk, it certainly can seem like an idyllic place to live. And if you can afford it, well, more power to you!

This neighborhood in far southwest Austin is made up of some newer suburban housing developments. The result is an attractive area with several lovely large homes, large trees and manicured lawns. Many families chose to live in East Oak Hill as well as young couples and professionals, and there is a friendly community vibe found here.

The neighborhood boundaries are roughly the Barton Creek Wilderness Park to the north, William Cannon Drive to the south, Escarpment Boulevard to the west and MoPac Expressway to the east. For a suburb, it is one of the more conveniently located ones, particularly due to its convenient access to MoPac and Highway 71. There is a range of home prices to be found here, as low as the $200s and all the way up to the $800s. Schools in the area include Oak Hill and Patton Elementary schools, Small Middle School and Austin High School.

This is a good neighborhood for those looking for a nice-sized home and lot, new construction and modern neighborhood amenities. For those who find such suburban neighborhoods somewhat sterile, East Oak Hill would not be a good fit. But for those who don’t mind having to do some driving to get to work or the nearby shopping areas, and who find newer developments appealing, this is a great neighborhood. Austin’s mid-to-upscale shopping mall, Barton Creek Mall, is a few minutes away, there are several familiar popular chain restaurants in the shopping areas off the main highways, and the Barton Creek greenbelt is easily accessed from here. In many ways, East Oak Hill offers an idyllic scene in which to settle.

If you’re lucky enough to afford living here, then I’m jealous and I’m not going to give you my opinion of this neighborhood. Just kidding. But yes, Austin can be residentially kind to the rich and successful. I’m successful in other ways, so boo. But I love coming here anyway to rubberneck on the richies. I love taking out of town friends to Ruby’s Country Store and Bar-B-Q, and I don’t even care much for Bar-B-Q. It’s fun to pull into the place—which is also a gas station by the way—and ask if they’re ready for the best brisket in Austin. (I wouldn’t really know personally, but that’s the general consensus.) Barton Creek is amazing to wander around in, as is Barton Creek Mall, for different reasons. It’s sort of odd seeing such a high-class mall, but it’s fun to people watch while hanging out on the leather couches in the middle of it all. You can also visit Chuy’s which not only has amazing Tex-Mex and Mexican margaritas (which just really means they're super concentrated margaritas served in a martini glass), but also happens to be the place where the Bush twins were pinched for having fake IDs back when their Daddy was governor. Ah, good times!

Below the Greenbelt and amongst the hills in southwestern Austin, East Oak Hill is filled with upscale homes surrounded by the greenest landscape with towering views to match. To live here, however, requires a hefty paycheck and a taste for luxury as homes go for a minimum of $240,000 with the cheapest rent over $1,200. While other Austin neighborhoods have streets jam packed with small house after small house, these sparsely place winding avenues are filled with large than life mansions with generous amounts of yard as well.

This west end neighborhood was indeed built for the well to do family since outside of the abundant green areas are numerous childcare facilities and fitness studios. Off the path of any city nightlife, residents enjoy the most peaceful of days and nights, isolated by hills, dense brush and curving streets. While the nearby shopping options fit the basic needs, they lack the original style and weirdness that characterizes Austin since the only nearby shopping options include large chains like Target and Walmart, both at the nearby Hwy 71 and S. Mopac Expressway intersection. Suited for only the financially blessed families and executive professionals who like their does of the outdoors, younger professionals and students will find no place in East Oak Hill. The majestic hills are best left to the wealthy in the Lone Star capital city.