Are you looking for small town living but also want to be close to a city? Maybe you can't decide between San Antonio and Austin? If so, La Cima Master Planned Community in San Marcos Texas might just be the perfect community for you. La Cima San Marcos - Location La Cima is located at the start of the Texas Hill Country, in the small small town of San Marcos, and lies just about midway between Austin and San Antonio. Stroll the River Walk one weekend... Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheSanAntonioRiverwalk   And go kayaking on Lady Bird Lake the next! Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/RowingDock/   Living in San Marcos, you get the best of both worlds, as a drive into either city is under an hour. La Cima Community Builders & Amenities La Cima's home builders include Coventry Homes, Highland Homes, Perry Homes and Taylor Morrison. Currently, all home builders have model homes open for tours (contact us if you'd like to schedule a tour!). This community is 2400 acres, 800 acres of that is for open space and Parkland. There are 10 miles of trails and a 45 acre central park area in the center of the community. It's perfect for gathering with neighbors and friends. It's also going to serve as a hub of the community, with a planned elementary school on one side and the recreation center at the other side. The recreation center will offer an activity room, workout room, meeting room and family and adult swimming pools. The unique playscapes are great for younger family members. Bring them out to play, climb and slide on the latest playground equipment. La Cima San Marcos - Schools The La Cima community is served by the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District, and also has several private schools nearby, along with Texas State University just 5 minutes away. It currently feeds into Hernandez Elementary School, but the community has dedicated a 15-acre school site to San Marcos CISD for a brand new elementary school to be located right in the middle of La Cima. Praise for San Marcos Texas And if location and national recognition is important to you, you'll want to know that San Marcos is nationally recognized as: "Best place to retire." "One of America's best small cities to move to." "One of the 25 coolest cities in all of America." "One of the ten most relaxed cities in all of America." The San Marcos region is building more infrastructure and continually investing in their communities, and Forbes even named San Marcos and the I35 corridor as "The Next Great Metropolis in America". The Texas Hill Country is just a few minutes west of La Cima, which will have you floating down the San Marcos river or taking a scenic drive to nearby Wimberley or Canyon Lake. As mentioned earlier, Austin and San Antonio are an easy 30 to 45 minutes away, which is awesome when you're craving that nightlife that a big city offers you. So if you're looking for a small town feel, but you still want that fun, active lifestyle, the La Cima community in San Marcos Texas might be just the one for you. Let us know if you'd like to learn more about this community, get alerted when new home become available here, or would like help in your home search :)   Karla & Victor's Austin Local's Guide We were new once too - here's our guide to what to DO, EAT and SEE once you move to Austin!       Download Your Free Guide We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Built with ConvertKit

Are you thinking about moving to Austin Texas? You must be one smart cookie ;) Austin Texas is such an incredible city, with friendly people, endless entertainment and outdoor activities, and the BEST food! It's no wonder that it tops most lists of the best places to live in the country, has increasing home values, and has seen the highest number of people relocating here from other states. Here's our top 10 reasons why you should move to Austin! 1. Austin has a Small Town Feel photo credit: @universitycoop The first reason why we love Austin and we feel you will too, is it has a great small town feel. Even though Austin is a pretty big sized city with close to 3 million people in the surrounding area, it still feels like a small town. There's a few reasons for that. One of the biggest reasons is I think people here in Austin try to keep most things local. A lot of the local things prosper here in Austin. I think another reason why it feels like a small town is because there's really no professional sports teams here. So everybody cheers on the University of Texas Longhorns. Another reason it still feels like a small town is because wherever you live, you know, you're pretty much about 30 or 45 minutes away from everything in Austin. I love that the city does not feel overwhelming. 2. Austin Has Great Jobs  A lot of people are calling Austin "Silicon Valley 2.0"... a lot of jobs are coming here, many of them in the technology niche. There's companies like Dell, eBay, Facebook, Amazon Tesla, IBM, Google national instruments, Oracle, PayPal, just to name a few. Now what's even more amazing is that there's more companies coming into town all the time. We have made some good friends that have come here to Austin because of the job, with the most recent being of the Hollywood variety (Netflix and HBO). 3. Austin ia a Dog Lover's Paradise photo credit: Austin Eastciders This is definitely one of the things we love about Austin! Especially since we have two puppies in our household right now, one of them is our Havanese, Hero. And the other one is our daughter's Shitzu, Ripley. A lot of the restaurants in Austin have outdoor patios where they allow dogs. A lot of times they'll even have water bowls and treats for puppies. There's a lot of parks and trails where you can take your dogs. I definitely see more flexibility here in Austin and surrounding areas for dogs as compared to other cities that we've lived in or visited. 4. Austin Has Great Weather We love Austin's weather! I know there's people that say they hate the heat, but I actually love it. Yes, there have been some years where the heat in the summer for maybe a month or two got to a hundred degrees, but it wasn't unbearable. We've lived in Utah where the heat - being up in the mountains - you're up there and it feels like the sun is just hitting, burning your skin. Even when it's just 85-90. And here you don't feel that. I don't know. I love the warm weather. I love that we have so many sunny days where it allows us to be outside a lot more throughout the year! And with the exception of "Snovid" in February 2021, there's almost never snow. I love that I don't have to drive in the snow here for sure.  5. Austin Has the Friendliest People photo credit: Austin Beerworks That's been one of the BEST things about living here in Austin. We made some very good friends and there are a lot of amazing people here. It's not uncommon that you go to a bar and make a one or two new friends by the time you leave. I don't know what it is about Austin. Maybe it's that small town feel or the lovely weather we spoke about, or maybe that you have your companion on your side and your little puppy. I don't know what it is, but people are just friendly.  And it's not only our opinions. We've heard this from a lot of people, and Austin is often ranked as one of the friendliest cities in the nation. 6. Austin is Great for Outdoor Living You can go to downtown Austin and get a paddle board on Lady Bird Lake (that's what the locals call the part of the Colorado river that runs through the city). If you're a boat lover, we have lake Travis as well as tons of smaller lakes like lake Georgetown. And there's just so many things around here, not just here in Austin, but so near to Austin that you can go use your boat. There are tons of parks around town that you could go on hikes, running or biking. There's a lot of people that like to do dirt bikes, go ziplining, horseback riding, and so much more! There's an infinite amount of activities to do here in Austin. You just have to get out and do them! 7. Austin Has an Awesome Food Scene photo credit: Vaquero Taquero If you're a foodie, then you will love Austin. There are so many wonderful places to dine here. Austin food trucks have some of the best food you'll ever taste, not to mention a community vibe like no other. And if you have special dietary restrictions, you're still going to love Austin because there's always gluten-free options or vegan options. And they go out of the way to make sure that they can prepare a dish just for you. Austin is definitely a big melting pot. So there's a lot of different tastes that you can get here in Austin. If you are a foodie, check out our Tasty Tuesday playlist on YouTube where we showcase all of the best places to eat and drink in Austin Texas! 8. Austin is a Healthy City photo credit: samantharunskindafast We love Austin for this one reason alone, because we've been to other cities where all there is to do is go out to the movies. Lol. Austin really goes above and beyond to make sure that people are active. Like we said before, because of the weather, there's a lot of things to do outside and people really take pride in staying healthy. The healthy food options are plentiful, and the communities are built around being able to walk outside. All of that plays a big role in Austin being healthy and it is consistently ranked as one of the healthiest cities in the U.S.  9. Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World Austin is known as the "live music capital of the world". There are so many great places to go to here and catch some live music... There is live music playing on almost every corner, day and night. It's a vibe, for sure. You can find top 10 musicians playing here every day of the week. We have a lot of music festivals here in Austin, like Austin City Limits, South by Southwest and Pachanga Fest. Just to name a few! We've visited other cities and we asked ourselves, "where's the music?". We've gotten so used to it and it's definitely something that's not in most other cities.  10. Austin Has a Central Location in Texas  You've probably heard the phrase "location, location, location" when it comes to real estate, but Austin really exemplifies that we're in the heart of Texas. We're only about an hour and a half away from San Antonio, about two and a half from Houston and almost three to Dallas and Fort worth. We're really close to the beach and the hill country, so you get the best of all worlds. Austin is definitely an Oasis in the middle of Texas. Reach Out! Did our Top 10 miss any of YOUR favorite things about Austin? Drop us a line and let us know (or leave a comment on YouTube). Thinking of moving to Austin and have questions or need help? Get in touch with us! We're happy to help, and are glad to be your first friends in Texas :)

When Elon Musk announced that he was building his new Tesla Gigafactory that would employ 10,000 people NOT in California, but instead, near Austin, it turned a lot of heads and increased an already growing buzz about Austin becoming the next Silicon Valley. When Musk later announced that he himself was moving to Austin, that buzz started to grow even louder. And when he started tweeting about Austin, the buzz grew to a deafening roar from media outlets, social media influencers and bloggers speculating what would happen next with Austin (which is no surprise, considering Elon Musk’s tweets have the tendency to move markets and spur millions to take action).     But what Elon Musk said about Austin on the Joe Rogan podcast was particularly interesting to us, because it directly affects our business and our clients, whether they are buying a home in Austin or selling their Austin property. Here’s the quote: “Austin is going to be the biggest boomtown that America has seen in 50 years at least – megaboom.” – Elon Musk, Joe Rogan Podcast, Feb. 2021 If a business forecaster, TV reporter, or real estate mogul had said something like this, it would be interesting for people who were thinking of moving to Austin or already living in the area. But when Elon Musk says something like this, people across the country take notice… and start reacting accordingly. Some start talking, and others start moving. Important Note: Austin has been the #1 fastest growing metro area for more than a decade and tops every current list when it comes to the real estate boom, so it’s not as if Elon Musk created this momentum. In fact, Austin has long been attracting celebrities and families and tech moguls alike, with a recent report even showing that an average of 168 people move to the area per day. That was all before Musk came into the picture. But having such a high-profile billionaire, business influencer and market-mover take a definitive stance on the future of the city, catapulted Austin into a more mainstream discussion and growth trajectory than ever before. What This Means If You Want To Move To Austin Because of the extremely high and increasing demand for housing in the Austin area, it has caused a significant shortage in inventory. Put simply, this means that there are not enough homes available to satisfy the amount of people that want to live here. If you are planning to move to Austin, it is absolutely crucial that you have a local area real estate expert in your corner to help you navigate the ins-and-outs of the Austin market, local neighborhoods, and what motivates sellers to choose that winning buyer (hint: it’s not always about price!). For starters, I’d recommend that you browse here on our site to see the most recent local listings (spoiler: Zillow does NOT have the most current or accurate info) and set up a no-obligation E-elert to be instantly emailed when new properties that fit your criteria become available. In this intense Austin housing market, it’s important to act lightning fast to avoid missing out (we’ve seen homes on the market for mere hours before getting snatched up), so the E-alerts will give you an edge. To set up an E-alerts, simply click the “Save This Search” button beneath any search that you are currently browsing. BROWSE LISTINGS AND SET UP E-ALERTS HERE >>> Or, if you’re serious and need to move quickly (in the next 60-90 days), I highly recommend that you get in touch with us immediately to chat and get your personalized home search underway. You can text or call us at 512-909-1532, or send us a message on our contact page, and we’ll just start by listening. Why are you moving to Austin? What are you looking for in a home? What is your budget? Do you have an Austin area already in mind, or do you need recommendations? When would you like to be in your new home? We love the real estate business because we love people. We will listen to your needs and would love to help you find the perfect home. CONTACT US HERE TO CHAT >>>   What This Means If You Currently Live in Austin If you currently own a home in Austin or surrounding areas, you have an unprecedented opportunity – right now – to earn a significant profit from selling your home. (If you live here but do not yet own a home, please reach out to discuss your options. We love our first-time homebuyers!) Real estate is cyclical. It goes through cycles of “Buyers’ Markets” (where buyers have the upper hand and can negotiate for the best price) and “Sellers’ Markets” (where sellers have the advantage and can get more from the sale of their home). But what we are experiencing right now in the Austin housing market is an Extreme Seller’s Market, and one like we have never seen before. With the right representation, homeowners are getting top dollar for their homes, and in record closing time. Even if you’ve never thought of selling your home before, it’s worth it for you to at least consider what it might look like for your bank account if you were to sell your home in this market. This Sellers’ Market won’t last forever – they never do – and I would hate for you to miss out on an amazing opportunity to do something very exciting for your financial situation. Another quick note, speaking with us about your home’s value and what it might sell for is NOT an obligation to sell. It’s simply having a conversation and allowing you to choose your own path forward. If you would like to have that conversation – or if you already know you want to sell and take advantage of the hottest market Austin has ever seen – please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would be happy to chat with you! CONTACT US HERE TO GET IN TOUCH >>> What Will Elon Musk say about Austin next? Leave a comment below or share on social and tag us to share what you think!