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Northwest Austin

Photo Credit: Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau

This area is growing, but not too fast. Northwest Austin offers neighborhoods for people who don’t want to live in the “big city” of Austin. It’s suburbia at its finest. You can take advantage of all the beauty nature has to offer outside the city, but you’re not so far away that you feel totally isolated. Some neighborhoods even offer public transportation into downtown. You might say that Northwest Austin is the best of both worlds.

Northwest Austin neighborhoods include:

Balcones Village/Spicewood Springs | Barrington Oaks | Buttercup Creek | Canyon Creek | Cedar Park | Great Hills | Jester Estates | Leander | Northwest Hills | Steiner Ranch | Volente

Balcones Village/Spicewood Springs
Homebuyers who want an Austin metro home in a beautiful setting that expresses their individualism and provides easy access to excellent schools, recreation, shopping, and employers should look no further than the Balcones Village/Spicewood Springs area.

It may sound like an idyllic paradise featuring the best Austin has to offer, but in a way it is. There's not any place in town that takes more than 20 minutes travel time, even in the worst traffic, if you know the area and know the streets to take. You're also close to some of the best shopping centers in Austin, too-the Arboretum and Gateway.

Just a few of the qualities that set the area apart from other neighboring areas are "the custom homes, excellent schools, large lot sizes, golf course setting, wide roads with lanes for running, walking, and driving golf carts," says Tony Cassandra, president of the Balcones Village/Spicewood Homeowners Association.

To many the areas of Balcones Village/ Spicewood Springs may sound just too good to be true…where else can you get the beauty of big sweeping older trees, canyon views…and still be within the 620 Loop?

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Barrington Oaks
Why do people choose to live in Barrington Oaks? It’s got to be the perks — tree-lined running trails, excellent schools close to major Austin employers and shopping centers.

Residents say that the neighborhood is friendly and there is a small, but strong neighborhood association that know how to get things done. Plus, great care has been taken with the area to maintain its natural charm and beauty. But one of the biggest drawing points of the area is the fact that they are included in the renowned Round Rock School District.

Local real estate agent Theresa Cue explains, “A lot of families new to Austin step right off the plane, and say they want to live in Westlake or Round Rock based on the educational opportunities those areas offer. I find that if these families want to be close in to Austin, Barrington Oaks offers some affordable, livable options.”

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Buttercup Creek
Westside at Buttercup Creek is a 4-year-old subdivision in Cedar Park, a Southwest Williamson County city about 20 miles northwest of Austin. It is the largest subdivision in the area and it’s still growing.

When the division was first started many potential homebuyers thought Buttercup Creek seemed too remote to consider. Now with Lakeline Mall and the addition of popular retail stores and services in Cedar Park, life in Buttercup Creek affords residents convenience, accessibility and a lot of house for their money.

Buttercup Creek is becoming a melting pot of people from all different areas of Texas. And it’s not just families moving in…it’s single people, couples, retirees. Everyone is welcome, and everyone loves it here.

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Canyon Creek
Canyon Creek, nestled in the rolling hills of the Hill Country, has many homes with views of the preserve land surrounding the neighborhood. A creek runs through the woods next to the nature trail. “When it rains you can hear the water,” said Phillis Podlipny with ReMax Heart of Texas, Realtors. “We like to say it's always green in Canyon Creek.”

The Hill Country setting and the relatively young population brings most people outdoors, which makes it easier to get to know neighbors. When you drive home in the evenings you’ll see kids bike riding, rollerblading, playing basketball and just enjoying being outside.

Although Canyon Creek offers a sense of getting-away-from-it-all, amenities such as shopping are minutes away. Major malls and major grocery chains, restaurants, dry cleaners and convenience stores have followed the growth in the western part of Travis County and southwest Williamson County.

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Cedar Park
This town is booming, and there's still room to grow in this Williamson County planned community. People consider living in Cedar Park because it isn't Austin. Compared to its big neighbor to the southeast, housing's more affordable, crime is minimal, and environmental preservation isn't quite as picky.

Cedar Park is a bedroom community of Austin and the proof is in the heavy commuter traffic. Unlike neighboring Round Rock, which aggressively courted and won Dell Computers and Power Computing (to name two), Cedar Park hasn't brought in the big businesses to keep its folks closer to home during the workday.

Families enjoy the new showcase Milburn Park and eleven other small community parks. The Leander Independent School District rates well. Twenty-nine churches represent eleven religious denominations.

“A lot of first-time homebuyers move into Cedar Park,” says Eldon McGill, a Realtor with ReMax Capital City North. “They like the small-town atmosphere and values, the friendly community in a friendly part of the country. Even much of the turnover in housing is people moving within the city.” What they don't like is increased traffic, the lack of a unifying downtown or city entertainment center.

But with Cedar Creeks continued growth, none of these flaws are permanent and all you can do is make things better.

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Great Hills
As this area’s name entails the views of the hills are…well…GREAT! But that’s not all it has going for it, it’s also close to everything.

While the neighborhood is nestled in the scenic hills, major shopping is only minutes away. The Arboretum and U.S. 183/Loop 360 areas are two of the fastest growing retail areas in the city and include an array of restaurants, specialty shops, book stores, movie theaters and major chains. Three large supermarkets are also in the area.

Realtor Irene Havener with Coldwell Banker Richard Smith Realtors said, “Great Hills is sought after by technical and professional people who want good schools and a good location to high-tech employers such as IBM, Texas Instruments and Dell Computers. Abbott Laboratories also is nearby.”

Havener explains that Great Hills attracts professionals because of high-tech industries, and it attracts families because of schools, and retired people because of the golf course.

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Jester Estates
Long time residents of Jester Estates have seen a lot of changes to the area. Many felt as though they were building way out in the country, and were trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of Austin as much as they could, but still be close enough to enjoy the city. As it is, the city spread out to meet them here. Now it feel as though they are in the middle of Austin.

Jester just has a different feel than other places. It’s a family oriented community. You’ll see people of all ages walking, socializing. It’s not a deserted-by-day suburban community by any means, says local real estate agent Pat Van Hoy.

Van Hoy cites the Jester’s community’s involvement in events and special projects as being the glue that binds them all together. The people here love to participate in community events.

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Leander
Leander might be the closest you’ll get to an old west town in Austin. To fully appreciate the area you really need a history lesson, like this one:

In 1881, the town fathers of Bagdad, Texas, steadfastly refused invasion by the newfangled railroad line going in between Burnet and Austin -- not even for the $1000 the railroad offered -- so the tracks were laid about a mile to the east. Before long, the potential boon to local commerce became apparent, so most businesses relocated along the tracks and named their new community after one of the railroad officials, Leander "Catfish" Brown. By the turn of the century, most of Bagdad had gone to Leander. Nowadays, the old cemetery and the oldest house in town, just down Bagdad Road and across from the park, comprise most of Bagdad's memories.

Like Cedar Park, its neighbor to the southeast, Leander's population has increased dramatically during this decade. And as Austin continues to grow and spill up the U.S. 183 corridor through Cedar Park, Leander's destined to be a part. You might say Leander is the edge of greater Austin ... but you probably shouldn't say it out loud while you're in town, or you just might be banished to Bagdad.

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Northwest Hills
Northwest Hills has become the neighborhood of choice for many families. You can go anywhere in 20 or 30 minutes.

Shopping is only a few minutes away in the Arboretum or the new shopping centers springing up in The Triangle bound by MOPAC, U.S. 183 and Loop 360. Major employers such as IBM, Dell Computers and Samsung are easily reached. Restaurants, dry cleaners and grocery stores line a portion of Mesa Drive. And probably most importantly, some of the top district schools are in the neighborhood.

The neighborhood is beautiful with great views and lovely trees. It’s an excellent location. Period.

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Steiner Ranch
When you buy a home at Steiner Ranch, you're getting much more than just a house — you're getting a lifestyle. People who choose to live here know it's not about the prestige of the homes, it's about the family and the community. Yes, it borders on “Leaver it to Beaverish” but that atmosphere can prove to be quite refreshing.

You have a natural setting with over 12 miles of hike and bike trails, and five neighborhood parks with playscapes, picnic areas, and outdoor grills. There's approximately 800,018 acres of nature preserve around Steiner Ranch, and it’s surrounded by 250,000 acres of the Balcones Canyonland Conservation Preserve. Plus Steiner Ranch is located between two lakes, Lake Austin and Lake Travis.

“You can look at other neighborhoods in Austin,” says Charles Stovall, a local real estate agent, “but you won't find anything like Steiner that offers as much as we do. Situated between two of the most popular recreational lakes in the area, the way we are, we're basically selling a lifestyle. It's all about the rolling hills, the lakes, the water — this is what Austin is all about.”

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Volente
“Volente is a wonderful lake neighborhood, Lake Travis is beautiful, and the big boats create waves on the Volente Beach Sand that reminds me of the California coastline,” says Tim Davis of Volente Realty.

The area may be growing, but it’s still very much country. It’s a small lakeside community, and that’s the way residents want it to stay. There’s a whole lot of old-fashioned stuff you just don’t see anymore. They have Janice, their postal worker, who everyone knows out here. They have their Community Center and Fire Hall, with VJ’s Grocery right across the way. Bob and Diana Freeman own VJ’s, which has been there since the Thirties, before Lake Travis was dammed and filled up, and it’s where all the locals go for the latest news.

Volente is a big mix of people coming from different income levels and life experiences, but they all moved out here for a common purpose, to situate themselves in a great area with hill-country and lake views.

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