Question about apartments around Austin

[W_HAMILTON]

I will be attending graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin this fall, and I am finding it tricky to find a place to stay. I applied for graduate housing, but I think I am too far down on the waiting list.

Does anyone have any suggestions on any good apartments to stay at while in Austin? I only need something for myself, preferably no more than $700-$800 dollars. I will have my car, but I'm not sure how long it takes to travel in Austin, so I'm not sure how far away I can live while still being within ~20-30 minutes from school.

Do any of you have any suggestions? I don't live anywhere near Austin, so I can't just go and look for myself, unfortunately. Maybe over the summer when I have more time...

[sui generis]

1. there are tons of apartments in that range

you can eyeball around if you go to zillow, put in Central Austin, Austin, TX as the locale and then use the checkboxes to look at rent ranges and amenities for condo/apt rentals.

It's pretty cool and a lot even have pics.

[sonias]

2. East Austin is a close by area that is affordable

UT is central to Austin. Northwest Austin is the most expensive and Southeast the least expensive. East Austin has primarily been the Hispanic and African American section of town, so it has a very nice mixed culture. There is a lot of gentrification going on, so lots of new lofts in the area. Lots of hip coffee houses and restaurants everywhere in East Austin now.

South Austin - just south of the river is very nice too, but getting very expensive.

You might want to check out the UT newspaper too - The Daily Texan
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/ Check the classified ads section

Also the local alternative newspaper The Austin Chronicle
http://www.austinchronicle.com/

Good luck and welcome to Austin and Texas too!

Sonia

[christx30]

3. You may want to

expand your search to Pflugerville/Round Rock area. I have a 2 bedroom 1 bath in Pflugerville and I pay $725. Takes me about 30 minutes to drive into South Austin. Just take I-35 and you're there.
South Austin is good too. Just find a place near one of the highways like Ben White, I-35 or Mopac. I don't know what kind of amenities you want, but I got on an apartments website (don't want to give the address because I don't want it to look like I'm advertising it), but there is a place on Wells Branch about 200 feet from I-35 called Wyndhaven. It's $650 to $665 for 1 bed one bath. 769 square feet
So yeah... look around South Austin or Pflugerville. Stay away from out west. That's going to be too high in rent. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else.
Apartment hunting is actually one of my favorite things. :)

[ParkieDem]

4. Where do you live now?

I don't know what you're accustomed to, but if you're not used to traffic, you're in for a surprise in Austin. It's a great place, with tons to do and very progressive-friendly, but you can spend hours in traffic if you're not careful. I'd recommend finding a place close to a UT Shuttle stop (http://www.capmetro.org/gismaps/utshuttles.html) and maybe taking the free service to campus -- but that can be a pain sometimes, especially if you're school is in a remote place on campus.

The Far West area in the northwest part of town (north of 2222, west of Loop 1/MoPac) is pretty nice and relatively affordable. Definitely not as hip and trendy as South or East Austin, but a nice area. The only thing I would caution about living in South Austin is that traffic on I-35, Congress or MoPac can really back up trying to cross the river.

CapMetro also just launched its light rail system, but its service is limited -- only goes a few places, and basically just operates during rush hour in the morning and evening.