Westgate

Close to Downtown Austin, Westgate is one of the more affordable neighborhoods in the city. The average price on a single family home here is around $200,000 and it is a clean and safe place to raise a family with its tree-lined streets and nearby schools. It's also convenient as you can do most of your shopping at nearby Westgate Shopping Center. It's easy to get to any part of the city with nearby bus and rail lines of Capitol Metro, though some of the major intersections can be congested during rush hour.

Westgate is also close to everything cool in the city of Austin. It's only minutes to downtown by car or Capitol Metro bus or rail lines. If you want to eat out, you have a wealth of dining options to choose from. Seafood, Tex-Mex, burgers, pizza, and much more is only a stone's throw from the Westgate neighborhood. It's a friendly neighborhood with an eclectic mix of ethnic groups that make up a Westgate Neighborhood Association that strives to keep the area looking great and to help maintain property values.

Westgate is a friendly, accessible neighborhood that strikes a great balance among affordability, amenities, and pure Austin charm. Maybe most notably, Westgate is pretty firmly easy to travel both by car and by public transit, somehow escaping the typical traffic snarls that characterize our funky little city. Westgate does offer convenient and easy access to all the major roads in the South end of town.

The neighborhood itself has housing available from upscale suburban to slightly below average, with plenty of variety in between. On the whole it's clean, quiet, and very family friendly, with plenty to do nearby and plenty more easily reached with just a quick trip to another part of town. The Westgate Shopping Center is the neighborhood’s best bet for most shopping needs, and it also features its own movie theater, an ice cream parlor, and South Austin's very own Central Market for all your high-end grocery needs. The shopping center is pretty equally convenient as a useful errand-running spot or even a whole afternoon or evening out having fun.

Offering tree-lined streets with an abundance of shade, easy traffic patterns, and most all of the features you would expect to find in more affluent and trendy neighborhoods, but in an affordable setting, Westgate has plenty to offer everyone. Excellent parks, nearby schools, and superior mass transportation options are all part of the mix that makes living here worthwhile.

Located just south of the awesome Barton Creek Wilderness Park, Westgate is a welcoming place for families and young professionals. There are a lot of children and young couples here, and the median household income is around $46K. Rent averages around $750, with most of the residences being single-family dwellings. Home values range mostly between $150K-$300K. As far as schools go, Joslin Elementary is highly rated for excellence, and the Austin Montessori School is also located in the neighborhood. There are numerous bus stops along Manchaca (which for some reason I’ve never understood is pronounced “man-shack” by the locals), but you’ll probably want to have a car if you live here. Three major highways intersect to the north, which makes for easy access to the rest of the city. There’s an 11-screen movie theater in the Westgate Mall, and South Congress’s quirky shopping district is nearby. Strange Brew Coffee offers food and live local music. They also display the work of local artists for free, which is really cool. Conan’s Pizza is also great, and it’s of course designed with copious paintings of Conan the Barbarian. Check out the original location on Guadalupe for the full-on barbarian experience, by the way.