North Burnet

This is a reasonable and affordable pocket of living up north, and tends to offer pretty strong value for your dollar. Just like most northern neighborhoods, one of your biggest problems will be with traffic, particularly during peak travel hours, and there aren’t a whole lot of alternative routes if 183 and the Loop get backed up.

Still, this same reason makes it a pretty choice place to live, with access to two major routes giving you quick, easy access to any part of the city with minimal travel time.

Between the Domain, Gateway, and the Arboretum there are more than enough places to shop. The neighborhood itself is a little older, and it lacks a lot of the charm that you might find in other places that have about the same cost associated with them. It's not a bad location, moderately priced, reasonably safe, reasonably peaceful, and reasonably convenient.

Poor schools and limited access to medical care make this a poor choice for family life, but young professionals and students can easily find plenty of value in this neighborhood. Like much of north Austin, this is an ideal place to live if you work nearby, or in Round Rock, and shopping and entertainment are abundant.

While south Austin is the heart of the “Keep Austin Weird” vibe, the far northwest part of town is the polar opposite. This area is the epitome of the higher-end, suburban, white collar trend that characterizes much of Austin’s newer development. The North Burnet neighborhood contains the Domain, Austin’s latest upscale shopping mall, that defines much of this area.

The boundaries for this neighborhood are Walnut Creek on the north, Highway 183 to the south, MoPac Expressway on the west and Metric Boulevard to the east. There are not many single-family homes to be found in this neighborhood, as it is dominated by apartments and condos. All the development here is fairly new, and the rental complexes tend to offer much in the way of attractive amenities, such as pools, tennis courts, fitness centers and some walking trails. Homes tend to be large, and are priced in the range of the mid-$400s. Businesses dominate in this part of Austin, and many of the new tech companies, such as Google and Facebook can be found close to here.

The funky charm that characterizes much of Austin’s vibe is pretty much non-existent in the North Burnet neighborhood. Many refer to this part of town as “south Dallas” and it is usually not meant as a compliment. While attractive and new, it is also rather sterile, having a stereotypical suburban, concrete feel. If you love shopping at the major national chains, particularly those with an upscale bias, then this is the perfect place to settle. If you are looking for an area with more of Austin’s traditional heart, stay away from North Burnet.

This is a really nice place to live if you’re into the condo life. It’s all relatively new construction and every place is packed with amenities. It’s a great place for professional singles or upper-middle class couples who don’t have children and want to get some place fancy that doesn’t totally break their wallet. I imagine it would be hard to decide which place to live in, but I’m more of a quirky old house person myself. My mother lives in a condo, and I always sort of get a hotel vibe from it, like you don’t really own it or have 100% privacy. That’s probably just me. You miss out on pretty much everything that makes Austin lovable, in my opinion, but if that’s not an issue for you, you really couldn’t do worse if this fits into your price range and vision of domestic bliss. You can always go visit the hipper areas anytime you want, anyway. Or else just knock out one of the walls in your new condo and convert it to a loft, then find some starving artist to paint a mural on the ceiling. Then wham, you’ll be the most Austin-y person in your condo community!