North Lamar

North Lamar is a small section of North Austin, just about 7 blocks wide and bordered by North Lamar Blvd to the west and i-35 to the east. It’s known for being a bit seedy, and it’s not known for any natural beauty or cultural landmarks. Pretty cheap to find a place here, but it’s not a nice place to settle down.

What do I mean by seedy? Think lots of auto repair places, truck rentals, pawn shops, extended stay motel, and lots of fast food options.

On the bright side, in a city where it’s really hard to find good Asian cuisine, North Lamar is a bright spot: Vietnamese noodles, Korean food, Chinese BBQ, vegetarian Indian food, and both a Chinese supermarket and Indian supermarket. This is a destination in itself.

One tiny spot of green in this neighborhood is Brownie Pocket Park. It’s less than half an acre, but there is a playground here, and picnic tables. Almost exclusively used by the residents who live nearby.

If you’ve got a car, living in North Lamar doesn’t put you too far from downtown—about a 15 minute drive. You’ll just have to contend with the perennial problems of traffic and parking (when you get downtown).

The North Lamar neighborhood of Austin, Texas is one of the most affordable places in the city to live, but it has its drawbacks that you should consider before making a move. While some single family homes here go for as little as $70,000, many homes are in a state of disrepair after being foreclosed on. It's bordered to the east by Interstate 35, so it can be noisy at times. The southern border of the neighborhood, East Rundberg Lane, has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the more dangerous places in the city. Crime rates are higher here than in other low-income parts of Austin and schools in general here perform poorly. For the most part, this is not the place you'd want to live or raise a family.

The neighborhood does have some redeeming qualities though. There are several good places to eat on the western border of the neighborhood including Chuys, an Austin Tex-Mex institution. There is also an abundance of big chain fast food joints and a Chinese restaurant. Since it is bordered by Interstate 35, it is easy to get to any other part of the city quickly.

Where South Lamar offers all the best of Austin charm and flavor, North Lamar offers little but seedy apartment complexes and strip malls. It’s an eminently affordable place to live, but what it lacks in charm, it also lacks in amenities, comfort, and safety.

The area has a well-earned and deserved reputation as sketchy bordering on dangerous, and for a city like Austin, with plenty of affordable and still safe places to live, there’s very little reason to invest any money or time in a home here. It’s run down, inconvenient to nightlife, and full of questionable characters and locales.

Schools are sub-par, making this a poor choice for family living, and while students and struggling artists may be drawn to the low rents, they’ll find themselves with little to do or be inspired by in this particular part of Austin. Few areas really have so little to recommend them, but as far as places to live in Austin, you can easily find more interesting digs for similar costs, and as far as places to visit, well… there really aren’t any here. You’d be missing nothing at all about the Austin experience if you never set foot in the area.

The charm and vibe that permeates Austin is found largely in the central part of town, and areas directly north and south of it, with South Austin winning the “Keep Austin Weird” trophy. As one moves farther from the center, much of Austin’s character gets diluted, and this is certainly the case with the North Lamar Neighborhood.

The boundaries for this neighborhood are W. Rundberg Lane to the south, Braker Lane to the north, North Lamar to the west and Interstate 35 to the east. Surrounded by a major highway and thoroughfare, the neighborhood just off these roads is surprisingly quiet and residential. There are modest-sized bungalows and several apartment complexes lining the wide, tree-lined streets. Due to its far north location, housing prices are rather affordable, certainly by Austin standards. It is still possible to find a small home below $100K in this neighborhood, with prices averaging in the low $100s. Area schools include Walnut Creek Elementary, Dobie Middle School and Lanier High School.

Some view the North Lamar neighborhood as somewhat unsafe, most likely due to its proximity to E. Rundberg Lane, one of Austin’s more seedy streets. While much of the retail areas include unattractive strip malls, there are still some local gems to be found. There are some interesting Asian grocery stores and restaurants along Lamar, as well as another location of Chuy’s, one of Austin’s favorite local Tex-Mex establishments. Being close to Lamar Boulevard and I-35 make access to other parts both north and south easy to get to, but a bit far. Those that live here will find everything they need, in an affordable neighborhood, but without much of Austin’s cool vibe.

I’ve only ever known people who live here that were students in their very first year, who found an apartment complex in the area from the Internet and thought it was a good choice. That would probably explain the area’s high turnover rate, and the fact that only 13% of residents stay here longer than five years. Once you’ve been here long enough, you soon come to learn that there are cheaper places with better options for nightlife, or proximity to campus, or whatever it is that you’re looking for when you pick a place like North Lamar. It’s fine for what it is, but the public transportation is even better for some place like Riverdale, or something with more personality like the Metropolis apartments in Pleasant Valley. It’s certainly cheap, but if you’re a family looking to move here, keep in mind that you’re more than likely going to be sharing your space with college kids. And not even the fun hipster kind, most likely. It’s a good little safety net place for new students to the area, perhaps, to weed out the youngins who either think Austin is weirdly awesome from those who would rather transfer somewhere less unique in spirit.

This portion of Lamar does not live up to the name of its southern portions where nightlife and culture are in an absolute abundance. This northern end is actually quite disappointing and depressing, especially where it intersects Rundberg. North Lamar Blvd., after which this neighborhood of North Lamar is named, has the only restaurant and shopping options for this area, which is still pitiful in comparison to the rest of the city.

Of course, because of this geographic and social set up, the real estate here is cheap, cheap, cheap with most of the housing being in apartment complexes that have nothing to brag about. Being next to I-35 and close to 183, traffic often feeds into the area during rush hour and also because N. Lamar is a major street in all parts of the city. There are a few Austin eating favorites like Chuy's, but the rest are generic large national chain fast food places in which can supposedly have you way at Burger King. Near W. Baker Ln. are several Chinese restaurants, which can help add a little variety to this neighborhood. The general set up of North Lamar is having businesses on I-35 and N. Lamar Blvd. with housing sandwiched in and given its long distance from the central Austin neighborhoods, nothing spectacular is found here. If you are moving to Austin because you want to experience Austin, you are better off looking elsewhere as this community tends to lack creativity, drive and spirit.