University Hills

An up and coming neighborhood north of Downtown Austin, and east of Interstate 35, University Hills is an ethically diverse neighborhood that works together well to maintain their homes. A strong neighborhood association that has a web page and a Facebook page helps to keep streets clean and lawns manicured. Single family homes in this little corner of Austin run from $100,000 to $250,000 and monthly apartment rents tend to run from $700 and up.

Here neighbors look out for each other making this a safe place to raise a family and also helps to keep the crime rate low. There is some green space in the area with the Dottie Jordan Park and Pool, which is also an ideal place to cool off the kids during the sweltering Texas summer. Little Walnut Creek is a picturesque waterway in the neighborhood that residents do a good job of maintaining. It does have drawbacks in that public transportation is a bit out of the way, but it is close to major thoroughfares making it easy to get to any part of the city of Austin. This is for the most part a safe and racially diverse neighborhood that is friendly and a good place to raise a family for those needing more affordable housing options.

University Hills is an interesting little neighborhood with a strong track record for flourishing even while neighboring areas struggle. This is due primarily to the strong and dedicated neighborhood association, which makes ongoing, consistent efforts toward maintaining and improving their little corner of Austin.

It’s an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and steeped in quite a bit of culture. Some of the best Mexican food around can be found in teeny shops in this vicinity—it’s hard to argue with authenticity!

Public transit is mostly unavailable here, making it a challenging location for those who opt for car-less lifestyles. The relative distance from downtown and quirkier parts of the city also encourages people to overlook it as an option. Still, housing is affordable, and despite some sketchier spots, it tends to be a safe and clean place to live, with a strong sense of community that’s incredibly appealing to small families, retirees, and anyone who wants to pitch in and get involved with making their neighborhood a better place to live.

Not great for medical care, and schools aren’t the most fantastic, but as far as diverse, welcoming, cozy communities go, you could do much worse. The ceaseless work toward improvement keeps the atmosphere on par with pricier quiet areas closer to the heart of town, at a much lower cost.

This far northeast/central Austin neighborhood originated as a planned community in the 1960s. It is a mixed-race community, made up of Hispanics, African Americans and whites. There are strong and varied cultural flavors found in this neighborhood, which makes it a unique and appealing area for many. The community has a reputation for its strong and committed neighborhood association, which has worked very hard over the years to maintain the area’s amenities and also bring in additional improvements.

The borders for University Hills (which really has neither hills nor a university) are Northeast Drive to the west, Highway 183 to the east, and Highway 290 to the north. Because it is a bit far from downtown, and does contain some spotty areas, housing prices are quite affordable. Homes range from the low $100s to the high $200s. The ranch-style homes are older, but many are well-kept and retain much of their charm this way. Lots tend to be quite large and shady trees are common throughout the quiet streets. Area schools include Winn and Andrews Elementary schools, Pearce Middle School and LBJ High School.

The pride and joy of this neighborhood is the Dottie Jordan Park and Recreation Center. This facility was slated to be demolished to make way for condominiums back in the 1970s, and the neighborhood successfully fought the city to prevent this from happening. Residents also work to protect Little Walnut Creek and improve the safety of the sketchier parts of the neighborhood. Nearby are also Northeast District Park and Walter E. Long Lake. This is a great neighborhood for those who cherish having space to live in and natural areas nearby, and are willing to put up with the commute into the city to have these benefits.

I’ve never lived here, and I don’t know anyone else who has, but my friends and I come here often to eat at Tres Amigos Cantina on Loop 360 (or South Capital of Texas Highway, depending on the direction you’re coming from and what you feel like calling it that day. Why do so many roads in Austin have, like, three names? That was so confusing to me when I just moved here!) I always get quail poppers and the stuffed avocado. Yum! The staff is always extremely friendly, and though the restaurant isn’t super extravagant, it’s always very clean. The neighborhood itself seems to be very safe, and people outside their homes always smile and wave when we drive past. The Dottie-Jordan Park is very nice—lots of green open spaces for people to enjoy. There seems to be a lot of community spirit, with a diverse spectrum of friendly, welcoming faces. And even though this is known primarily as a Mexican-American neighborhood, over half of the residents are actually African American. House values average about $150K, and rent averages around $600 a month. There are a large number of young families here, and the median income and educational level for adults is on the rise. This is definitely an area to consider when you’re looking for a reasonable place to live in Austin.

For a neighborhood that is close to so many less than desirable and crime stricken communities, this one has gone through every effort to keep itself afoot and the residents have a high level of pride that is hard to match. This is their community and no one is going to ruin that for them. Though it is called University Hills, there is no university around, or hills for that matter. The immediate access to 290 and 183 is convenient, especially considering how far from Downtown this is located. The public transportation is sort of pitiful in this enclave, so residents require a car to get around.

This neighborhood is often described as a Little Mexico and with good reason with the most of the residents being Mexican- American and the area having an abundance of tacos shops, not to mention the flat houses that have plenty of yard space and often have some chickens living in them. The houses are rather cheap in price, but not cheap in quality. For the most part, they are well built and well kept and sit under dense rows of trees. The Dottie- Jordan Park is also well maintained and is something for the surrounding community to brag about. University Hills is not the typical trendy Austin neighborhood, but it is a nice and simple suburban area that is high with neighborly spirit and is a good place to raise a family.