Windsor Hills

A northeastern neighborhood in the city of Austin, Texas, Windsor Hills offers affordable family housing in an area that could be described as rather bland by Austin's standards. Single family homes here run from $120,000 to $200,000 and one and two bedroom apartments run from $700 to $1200 monthly. While it may lack the weirdness and frills of other Austin neighborhoods, it is safe and quiet for the most part and an affordable place to raise a family.

While it may be a bit boring, it's not far from the very best that the city of Austin has to offer, as it is only minutes away from the University of Texas at Austin and the South Congress area, known as SoCo by the locals, with its quirky gift shops and eateries. It's easy to travel to any part of the city with the Capitol Metro bus line and the area is served by the Austin Independent School District, and there are a couple of private schools in the area, Mt. Sinai Christian Academy being one. It has almost all of the usual national chain fast food restaurants on its border, and yes, it does have the Texas icon Dairy Queen on Manor Road on the eastern border of the neighborhood.

Northeast Austin is filled with smaller neighborhoods that weigh in, comparatively, as fully average across the board, and Windsor Hills is one of them. Adjacent to I-35, it could be considered a fairly easy neighborhood to navigate in and out of, though reliance upon I-35 is seen as a bit of a negative by many locals.

The area is quiet and safe, with mid-priced housing, mid-grade shopping and entertainment, and a middling commute to more happening parts of the city. It’s a family friendly neighborhood without a lot of charm to recommend it, but it’s a clean, happy place to raise a family, and opportunities to enjoy the rest of Austin are easily accessible with just a short drive.

Ultimately, while the area fails to be noteworthy or memorable, it succeeds admirably in meeting an average standard that is both acceptable to and well within the reach of the average Austin citizen. For funky vibes and classic Weird Austin, head south, and for upscale quality, seek out higher-end enclaves on either side of the river, but if what you really want is a place to settle down and build your American dream, Windsor Hills is a great place to start.

Windsor Hills (which should not be confused with the similarly named Windsor Road or Windsor Park neighborhoods) is a quiet, mostly residential neighborhood located in far northeast Austin. As many of the areas of this town have experienced in the last ten years, much change and new development has occurred in this area. Previously Windsor Hills felt on the outskirts of the city, but Austin’s feverish growth has come this way as well.
The boundaries for Windsor Hills are E. Rundburg Lane to the south, E. Braker Lane to the north, Interstate 35 to the west and Dessau Road to the east. Located about 20 to 30 minutes from downtown, it is not especially inconvenient, but one does need to rely on I-35, which is frequently congested and quite unpopular with Austin residents. The far north location helps with housing costs, however, and many young families have settled here. A medium to large-sized home can be found in the range of the low to mid-$100s. Area schools include Graham Elementary, Dobie Middle School and Reagan High School.

This largely mixed race neighborhood (Hispanic, African American and white) has a strong and involved community that has worked diligently to maintain and improve the region. Crime has historically been a problem in the southern part of Windsor Hills, particularly along E. Rundberg Avenue. The neighborhood association worked with the city to bring in development that would bring vitality to the area, Pioneer Hills being one such example. Slated to begin construction in 2012, Pioneer Hills is a planned, mixed-use development that will bring new and attractive homes as well as retail stores when it is complete. Currently, residents have access to plenty of shopping, albeit of a suburban nature with lots of big box stores and national chains. So while there is not much of Austin’s unique charm to be found here, Windsor Hills is affordable and convenient.

There’s nothing super spectacularly “Austin” about this area, but if you’re looking for a nice quiet, not-quirky place to live, this may be for you. The neighborhood isn’t very close to the university or downtown, but I35 runs along its west border for fast and easy access to other major areas in the city. Windsor Hills is full of children and adults in the 20-30 year old range, with a diverse range of races and income levels. Most of the houses were built in the 1970s, and are unexceptional when compared to the unique homes in Windsor Park nearby. There are quite a few newer and nicely managed condos and apartment complexes here that may be appealing to young professionals and older college students. There are also plenty of school options for children here, including some private and parochial schools. Overall, it is very safe and family oriented here. As far as proximity to cultural or entertainment sources, there’s not much here. Most students and young people looking for an active nightlife will find this area sort of boring, but again it doesn’t take long to get to more exciting areas. The benefit here is definitely much less noise, traffic, and crowding.