Austin has a lot of things going for it that help their downtown out. I think the California in-migration and people wanting to reduce their commute times are both pluses for downtown development. I think the fact that Austin's downtown is very economically diverse and draws in a lot of people helps. I think the fact that 6th Street and the surrounding areas are such a gigantic social/leisure draw is a very big driver. And I think the fact that folks in Austin care about things like being "weird," about green-certifications, sustainability, and all of that helps as well. There are many world-class musicians, artists, and so on that now call Austin their home (or their second home), and I think this aspect of artistry has really had a dramatic impact on how the city has developed. Bottom line is there are just a lot of forward-thinking, creative people there. Many of them are in charge of development, and others just live there and are demanding certain types of development with their pocketbooks.

Austin has a lot of things going for it that help their downtown out. I think the California in-migration and people wanting to reduce their commute times are both pluses for downtown development. I think the fact that Austin's downtown is very economically diverse and draws in a lot of people helps. I think the fact that 6th Street and the surrounding areas are such a gigantic social/leisure draw is a very big driver. And I think the fact that folks in Austin care about things like being "weird," about green-certifications, sustainability, and all of that helps as well. There are many world-class musicians, artists, and so on that now call Austin their home (or their second home), and I think this aspect of artistry has really had a dramatic impact on how the city has developed. Bottom line is there are just a lot of forward-thinking, creative people there. Many of them are in charge of development, and others just live there and are demanding certain types of development with their pocketbooks.

Very true. I mentioned 'magnet' cities in another thread. Well Austin is the definition of such a place. It attracts forward-thinking people from all over the country and then also retains many of the 50,000+ students that go to UT in the heart of the city. There is definitely an energy there and I sense it everytime I visit. There are lots of things we can learn from Austin but unfortunately we don't have the same dynamics they do.

I'm still puzzled as to how you've convinced yourself of this idea that Austin traffic isn't "that bad." As I've pointed out to you before, I-35 through Austin--particularly through central Austin, with 240,000 vehicles per day on six lanes and its heavy truck traffic--is almost certainly among the most congested freeways in the country. Mopac certainly isn't as bad but it's still stop-and-go through central Austin for several hours of the day. It's not just the freeways, either--ever driven down Guadalupe at 5:30 pm? Granted, I don't know what Dallas was like 17 years ago, but do I know what it's like today and it's not at all a stretch to say Austin has it just as bad.
I avoid I-35 like the plague, I take Mopac to/from work. I live inbetween the two of them, my commute is 18 miles from South Austin to The Domain in North Austin. Today it took 20 minutes, weekday mornings it takes me 25-35 minutes, going home takes 45-60 minutes. That was about the same time that it took me for 11 miles in Dallas from Downtown in 91-93. Judging I-35 through Austin as the standard is ridiculous, when I was commuting between Austin and Dallas six years ago I-35 near Downtown Dallas was worse.

I will add more thoughts later, iPhone typing sucks.

Dallas traffic is a breeze, as I have never known any other major city that has as overdeveloped of a freeway system as DFW. Houston traffic, on the other hand...you're going to have nightmares. ATL traffic also sucks. Austin is well beneath both Houston and ATL. But it's enough in my opinion to make anything with proximity to DT Austin have skyrocketing land values as a short commute becomes an amenity at that point (a short commute is not a desired amenity in OKC, yet).

Whoa Nellie....I have to disagree with the Dallas part 1000%. Every time I go to Dallas the traffic is a nightmare. They keep building more/wider interstate style roads and they are packed. Add into the mix that Texas drivers seem to be crazier than Okie drivers.

I agree, if I was bringing in the $46K it wouldn't be a concern either (but that $46K is for a family of 4) which goes back to the "other obligations" part.

I dunno... I'm debt free. If you save what you REALLY should be saving it's not affordable. No one seems to save enough... living out of their means driving SUVs and shopping at Whole Foods on $12 dollars an hour... I guess I live in a parallel universe.

** Just had to add the expense of the unexpected in this state when it comes to natural disaster... recent hail storm and floods.

I dunno... I'm debt free. If you save what you REALLY should be saving it's not affordable. No one seems to save enough... living out of their means driving SUVs and shopping at Whole Foods on $12 dollars an hour... I guess I live in a parallel universe.

** Just had to add the expense of the unexpected in this state when it comes to natural disaster... recent hail storm and floods.

Well if you want to throw in savings (or the lack thereof) it would keep most of us out of it:LolLolLol

My salary isn't far from that and $700 a month in mortgage/rent is not affordable

Don't confuse rent and mortgage. If you buy right, your house will be an investment, sometimes better than what you get with typical "savings" and, bonus, you get to live in it.

If you buy in an appreciating neighborhood (not saying this is one), you will be netting more money even with a higher payment as your net worth grows with your equity and the home's value. That is to say paying $500 in rent is not always better than paying $700 on a mortgage for an appreciating property. Buying a cheap house in a flat neighborhood with a long term mortgage is not better than spending more in an appreciating area. Rent has no risk, but it will never have a return either. Rent only if you can net more with the cash elsewhere (more people should probably do this than you would think, but most still should not.)

Well, I just went by there and actually got out of the car and walked around. Much worse than the pictures. I retract anything good I previously wrote.

I went by there as well and checked these out - these aren't attractive, imho, at all.

and, what bothers me much more, is the gov't assistance to make these affordable with the subsidy ... which is coming from other tax payers. I wouldn't be - and am not - proud of the 3 that are up now ... what will these look like in 30-50 years?

originally, I thought the drawings were interesting ... but seeing them up, I'm disappointed. Are these LEED too? If so, I wonder how much of the subsidy went to pay to get these home LEED certified??

Jeez, 3 of us drove by today. I did not turn on 18th for a closer look but I got a pretty decent look heading north on McKinley. Here is my bet. The trim and cabinets will be made of fiber board and the fixtures will be made of plastic but they will be charged out as though they were maple and chrome coated brass. And I have a whole dollar to bet that they will all look like hammered sh!t in 5 years and they will be abandoned in 10. If the slabs are done really well, they can just bulldose them and rebuild every ten years. Pure magic. :LolLolLol

Whoa that bad? I have not made it to look at them yet. Any pics?

In the renderings especially and to some extent in the photos it looks like the roof is inverted with a valley above the entry. In reality it is 2 shed roofs that do not meet. Basically the garage is separate.

The first thing you notice is that on the west there are already 3 or 4 small ranch houses and then suddenly there are the two houses that look like they have inverted roofs. Then just east is another one under construction where the roof is the opposite sloped. Then a foundation only.

Hard to believe without seeing it.

Another thing hard for me to believe is that these things are going to be energy efficient in any way. Not sure what LEED Gold is but if this is it you can count me out.