Round Rock, Tx

Time to start planning for my retirement as I come near the end of my 30 year USMC career and the wife and I are looking in the vicinity of Round Rock, Tx.

Anyone from around there that can share any info about the good and bad of that area I would be grateful to.

Thank you!

 

Orvis, Panther and Sheik are all in Texas, I'm sure they can give you the info you need. Thanks for your service and enjoy your retirement

 

+1
thank you sir:up:

 

Present!

PM me anything you want to know. Heavy traffic (for here), mostly straight roads and hot in the summer are the down side. The up side is good food, lots of live music and a laid back attitude. You want to look west of I35 and north of Toll 45 for houses.

 

Can't speak of the specifics of that town, but a couple of questions that might help others help you better...

Obviously the lack of a state income tax is a plus. Is a second career in the plan? Round Rock, actually the whole Austin area... and the state in general have VERY low unemployment.

30 years in the Corps means you're 50 or close to it. (THANKS! BTW!! ) What did you do, and did you earn any degrees during your service?

Which leads to what line of work are you hoping to get into?



Or, on the other hand... perhaps you've saved well & this is Miller Time... in which case the Austin Metro ... central Texas in general ... area is a good spot to play.

 

Congratulations on your retirement and thanks for being there for all the rest of us. We really do appreciate it.

Round Rock, as you probably already know, is located on I35 just North of Austin. (Beware the liberals in the Austin area. They can bite ya know.)

Topography is so-so. It's not a bad area and is close to the hill country (about 50 to 100 miles West of you) Round Rock area is kind of rolling countryside with a considerable amount of agricultural land so there are not many motorcycle inspiring roads although the previously mentioned hill country is road rich. I think you'll like the area.

My nephew and his wife live West of Austin 10 or 15 miles (toward Marble Falls) and love it out there. Neat country.

 

I live in Hutto, just east of Round Rock. I think it depends on what your really looking for in the area.

For me the good:

Nice weather most of the year round if you can deal with heat and like the sun
Very close to Austin for events/entertainment
Easy driving distance to many TX cities
Easy driving distance to the coast
Still growing area, still on the upswing
Easy driving distance to the hill country for nice roads
Decent price property, no state tax, cost of living is generally pretty decent especially compare to CA
ITS TEXAS!!!!!!!!!

The bad:

Liberals and t-sips
Traffic .... and toll roads
Does get hot obviously
Generally not too much to complain about for me

Definitely the best place I have lived in the last 10 years and that includes (Bham, AL; Augusta, GA; Longview, TX; T Haute, IN)

 

not much of a great list to compare to

 

lol hence why I included it - give some perspective lol

Didn't want anyone thinking it was paradise lol

I was born and as a child lived up near the Twin Cities but spent most of my childhood in DFW until I left for college. Since graduating in '05 I lived in those cities and recently (Jan this year) moved to Hutto outside of Austin. I actually lived in Hoover, AL outside BHam and it wasn't too bad out of that list.

 

I can put you in contact with my brother he the dirctor of parks and rec of Round Rock..PM

 

Why Round Rock?

 

I love the toll roads. I hate spending the money but if they became free they would be almost as crowded as all of the other roads. The toll roads are about the only way to get anywhere fast.

 

Because awesome people live there!

 

We looked in Round Rock when I moved here, all we could find for houses was in HOAs, we ended up in Pflugerville, the next town over. The traffic is pretty brutal during peak times, but its easy to get downtown, but far enough away you dont have to deal with things.
There's no income tax, but property taxes are BRUTAL and only getting worse. Bear that in mind.

 

without getting too deep in dungeon material...isn't this more of a case of the haves and the have nots

 

I do not believe so. Its all about priorities and where a person is comfortable spending their money. I spend about $40/month in toll charges and to me the time I save is well worth the money. YMMV.

 

Maybe in Austin, but not in DFW. Surface streets to the left of the main traffic flow are the way to go during rush hour here. The only thing that pisses me off more than paying to drive on a road is paying to sit still on a road. :down:

 

North Austin resident here. Before you move, make sure you spend a week or two here in July or August to experience the heat. It is absolutely miserable. The biggest adjustments coming from San Clemente will likely be the traffic, the brutally hot summers and cold winters (relatively speaking). I commute by motorcycle year round, rain, shine, sleet, (occasional) snow and ice storms and it ain't fun. Below freezing temps are fairly common in December and January.

The other adjustment will be the bible thumping, utra conservative climate that exists just outside of Austin. While Austin is considered liberal compared to the rest of Texas, it's far less liberal than SoCal. Really, only the downtown trendy areas and campus area could be considered liberal. I don't know if that's a positive or negative for you, but just something to be aware of.

Round Rock is a bit of a soulless suburb in my opinion. Somewhat devoid of any culture or identifying characteristics. Quiet and safe, but pretty boring. Check out the City Data website for tons of info.

 

Round Rock?

Best motherf****g "puffy" tacos in the world.
Horrible traffic.
Nice people.
No income tax.
High property tax.
Patchouli stink coming from the south.
Nice place provided you dont need to much room to breathe.

edit: although they say Austin is liberal, it has to be judged on a scale. Its about a liberal as 29 Palms, which is very liberal for Texas, but not so much for other places.

 

Tio Dan? I drive by it all the time and want to try them one day but never have.