Holly

Holly is the most conveniently located neighborhood in Austin. I live right in the middle of the neighborhood, and am very pleased. I am walking distance to all the restaurants and bars along E. 5th, 6th, and 7th streets, as well as Cesar Chavez. Going downtown is also possible to walk, very quick on bike, and about a 5 minute drive. Not to mention less than 15 minutes from the airport (without any airplane noise!).

Most streets are tree-lined, and I have never had any trouble finding parking on the residential streets. As the commercial streets become increasing popular for nightlife and shopping, it can be a bit difficult to park directly on main streets during peak hours.

If you enjoy an active lifestyle, Holly is bordered by the hike & bike trail along the river. Many people actively jog and walk their dogs along the water. Also, in recent years, there have been a few gyms that have opened, such as Fortitude Fitness and Atomic Fitness.

Many old-timers have a misconception that the neighborhood is dangerous. In my experience, this simply isn't the case. I don't doubt that it used to be this way, but not any more. The neighborhood is gentrifying to the extent that it is safe to walk the streets at night. I have never felt threatened, never heard gunshots, and have never seen any criminal activity take place (in the past 6 months since moving to Holly).

Lastly, the affordability of Holly is what brought me here initially. The homes can be a bit small, but this is in line with my lifestyle at the moment. Not accumulating 'stuff' that needs space, I can afford an attractive home with a nice yard that can't be found anywhere else so close to all the areas of Austin I value being close to (downtown, Zilker park, South Austin, University, East Austin, airport). This goes for both renting and owning.

Holly has been one of the neighborhoods targeted with the east side renovation. While the efforts here haven't been as far reaching as you can find elsewhere, the presence of the occasional new, high end condos have brought a face lift to a faded neighborhood.

Most of the value that can be found here is with its proximity to downtown. Being able to walk into the nightlife of 6th Street, as well as all the business and dining and shopping opportunities that can only be found in downtown Austin, can't be understated as a selling point. The neighborhood's appeal tends to be rather hit or miss from street to street, though. Unless you are very serious about living as close to the downtown area as possible without having to spend what you would expect to do so, you might do better to look someplace else.

Traffic can be a real problem during peak hours, and as far as shopping or finding a bite to eat without leaving the neighborhood, you are in for a bit of a challenge. It might be just what you are looking for, if you are searching for nothing but location and price.

Holly is one of those wonderfully bizarre neighborhoods that it may take a while for newcomers to stumble across. But once you do, you’ll be excited to share your discovery with everyone else you know. One of my favorite restaurants, Mr. Natural is here. It’s a mom and pop vegan and vegetarian TexMex place. Yep, pretty much only in Austin. It also has one of the strangest things I’ve ever heard of, being from the Midwest—a drive-thru beer store. And this isn’t just to pick up kegs for the frat party, either. I’m talking hundreds of specialty and craft brew beers as well. And you just drive up and order it, and the clerk just goes and gets it for you. So weird. I’ve only heard stories about people going there, because I can’t bring myself to try it. The great alternative theater, Rude Mechanicals is also in Holly. I discovered this pretty much by accident when I bumped into a friend on her way there, and she invited me along. The show was pretty much just a guy wearing a robot suit and talking gibberish, like, so sincerely, with such feeling, and about three feet away from us making eye contact with individual members of the audience. Not for everyone, but definitely a new experience. There’s always some new weird experimental show going on here.