We initially focused our search on the 78704 South Congress (SoCo) area because we heard it was the up and coming social area. And since we were going to rent for the first year while we became familiar with the city and decided where to buy, we wanted to be within walking distance to plenty of fun places to eat, drink, and be merry. We jumped in a car and drove around SoCo and its surrounding areas, including Travis Heights and Bouldin Creek, and found plenty of houses that would do the trick. We refreshed Craigslist pages every 5 minutes waiting for new places to pop up. But it wasn't until we had a real estate agent drive us around Clarksville did we find the area that was right for us. It provided quiet neighborhoods with spacious housing and a decent back yard, along with great restaurants, a grocery store (that has an amazing beer selection, btw), cafes and even a soda shop/drug store that was ripped right out of 1955 and serves the damn best burger and shake I've had in a long time.
So we chose Clarksville, but it may not be the right choice for you, so below is a quick recap of some neighborhoods that might tickle your fancy:
- SoCo (South Congress) - Sount of the river on Congress, you'll have the trendiest of neighborhoods on the block. You'll be able to stumble to/from popular restaurants like Guerro's and trendy spots like the Hotel San Jose's pool.
- Downtown - Grab one of the trendy lofts while you can so you can stumble to and from the trendy bars downtown and on West 6th
- Hyde Park - Join the UT kids and get a decently sized house in a decently located neighborhood and enjoy a decently convenient commute to anything in the city
- Clarksville - Just a short drive/long walk to downtown, it's a quiet option that still has an old-school town feel with quaint options for shopping and eating
- Barton Creek - Apparently the new, fancy spot, it's a reach from any night life, but filled with beautiful homes and terrain.
- Travis Heights - Just east of SoCo, this is a quiet woodsy neighborhood with only parks to walk to. You do have easy access to the 35 and SoCo, and the houses are beautiful, so get in here if you can.
- South Lamar - The area most symbolizes what old Austin is like. The north is known as yuppieville while the south is keeping it real. There is plenty to do, eat and drink down here.
- The East Side - If you're looking for cheap land/housing and strong Hispanic influence, then hop over the 35 and get the prices low while you can. There are pockets of social life, but more or less, it's the cheap housing that brings people over here.
