nbr: Anyone live in Buda and commute to Austin?

2H2L

How do you like Buda?  How about the commute? What is your average commute time each way?  Mapquest estimates 22 minutes, but how long does it really take with traffic?

 

AnitaMargarita1

I live in Kyle and work downtown. It takes me about 30 minutes to get to work but, since I have to be in at 6:30, I miss the worst of rush hour. A few times I went in at 8:00 and traffic was awful! It took over an hour to get to work if I stayed on 35 but if I get off at Slaughter and take Congress into downtown, it only took about 40 minutes. Hope that helps!

sejabernathy

omg I used to live in RR and commute to SM on a daily basis.

 

NEVER believe mapquest lol it takes 22 mins going the speed limit the entire time. i think (like above poster) if you are heading to be in ATX before 6:30-7 you are fine. If not, I would estimate 1 hour PLUS getting in. I cannot tell you how many times I sat just between downtown and south austin for 30-45 +mins

 

GOOD LUCK girly! 

sejabernathy

oh. depending on where you need to go in ATX. I know there is a Tx State bus that stops in kyle/buda area and has numerous stops in austin (i think $6 but since its only 1/2 trip it should be cheaper) it was SO beneficial for me to do that! I had to estimate an earlier time (a little bit) but it gave me more time to relax, study, or put on makeup lol! 

again, it was sooo worth it. It may be worth trying once or twice depending on where you are heading you can maybe hop an austin bus...I promise, you will save on gas! 

Mrs.Froggianna

Before we moved to the sticks we lived at Slaughter & Congress and it took me at least 35 mins to get from there to 6th & Congress, going straight up Congress.  Hitting all those lights and going 30-40 mph was still faster than going N on 35 at 7:45 a.m.

joyco

My sister lives in Buda and works downtown as well. She takes the "back roads" instead of 35 and gets there much quicker.

libbyann

Mapquest lies where there is Austin traffic concerned. This is opposite of where you'd be driving, but still going with the "bad" traffic in the am. I lived in RR and worked off of Manchaca/Slaughter. Mapquest estimated 27 minutes and it took me at least an hour to get there each day. I left my house at 7:00am and usually didn't arrive until 8:00am or later.

mlf625

We're close (between Slaughter & Onion Creek - Southpark Meadows area) and it's REALLY going to depend on what time of day your commute is.  If it's during rush hours, getting downtown takes awhile.  When DH goes to work early (leaving 7:30am-ish) it takes him about 40 minutes to get downtown.  Traffic usually backs up a little to the south of the Slaughter ramp, so I'd add 10+ minutes to that time coming from Buda.  But the days DH goes to work later (leaving 9am or later) or when I go downtown mid day, the drive is a breeze- no more than 10 minutes.

My aunt and her family live in Buda and LOVE it, I've really grown to like that area as well.  When we were house hunting I thought it would be way too rural for us, but now that we have a pediatrician and veterinarian in Buda and I've spent more time at my aunt's, I could actually see us there.  I'm still not positive I'd want to be that far south (at least not as long as DH works far north), but it's definitely a growing area and has some great schools.  My aunt teaches at Elm Grove and two of her kids go there and I'd love to have my kids in that school. 

bobcatsteph

I live in Kyle and you know where I work. I leave the house at 6:40 or so and I drop DD off at daycare (and chat for a few minutes while I'm there) and drive in on 35. I get to work usually around 7:20 or so. Don't you go in pretty early? The earlier you leave, the better. Oh, and traffic is much lighter during the summer..I can leave 15-20 minutes later.

I love the Kyle/Buda area! It's growing a lot and you can get a lot more bang for your buck. It's really not that far from Austin at all.

nanann

I can't comment on the commute b/c I didn't drive during rush hour, but just thought I'd put it out there that I really liked Buda for the year we lived down there.  Just a really nice little town.

And really, it isn't that far despite what Northies think.  I think the distance from Buda to downtown was shorter than Round Rock to downtown.  But everything does back up at 71 much to everyone's annoyance.

joyco

bobcatsteph:

I love the Kyle/Buda area! It's growing a lot and you can get a lot more bang for your buck.

 

that's for sure!  My sister and her husband bought 5 acres of land and a 5/3 house (2 story) in Buda for less than $200k.  I'm pretty sure you could not find that deal anywhere in Austin.   She's on the East side of the highway, where they built the tollroad (she's near Turnersville Rd)

TXAggieBride06

Haven't read all the other responses but we live in Buda.  We completely love it here.  You get the small town feel but are so close to Austin, as well as San Marcos.  I commute to/from downtown Austin for work every day.  I leave my house at 8:30 am and in the afternoon I leave work at 3:00 pm.  Both ways take me 30 mins.  Now if I have to work late and leave work at closer to 4:30/5:00, it takes closer to 45 mins to get home. 

ETA: I used to be afraid of I-35 and would take backroads/S. 1st all the way to downtown.  But my neighbor also works downtown and she convinced me to try I-35.  It's sooooo much better than all the lights on S. 1st.  At the time I leave (8:30 am), it sometimes slows down between Ben White & Cesar Chavez.  But there are days where I don't hit ANY traffic in the mornings.  Since the toll roads opened, I really have noticed a difference in the amount of traffic so I-35 is even better now.

jkinslow

I don't have anything to contribute to the commute b/c I work in South Austin, but I wanted to add that I love living in Buda.  We moved here this summer and I couldn't be happier.  We live near downtown Buda and the small-town feel of the residents here is wonderful and welcoming.

2H2L

Thanks for the feedback!

We really want to buy next year and have been checking out options for a while now, to find neighborhoods we like.  We're torn b/c we would love to raise Ocho and Nove in a smaller town (we grew up in a town of fewer than 4k...had 89 in our graduating class...everyone knows everyone kind of thing). But, we also love Austin and the many more opportunties here - education/culture-wise.  And despite my complaints, I do like my job.  

The thought of more space for our $, but still being close to Austin is really appealing. I do leave super early (I get to the office at 6am), so the morning commute wouldn't be bad. But, I leave at 4-4:30ish so that commute would be worse. I really don't want to spend an hour or more on the road. Hmm. We might cruise around again and check out the area again.

bobcatsteph

2H2L:

 But, I leave at 4-4:30ish so that commute would be worse. I really don't want to spend an hour or more on the road. Hmm. We might cruise around again and check out the area again.

I leave at 4:30 and I'm at DD's daycare between 5 and 5:15. I would take 10-15 minutes off of that time for going to Buda rather than Kyle. I usually drive down to Riverside and get on 35 there because downtown traffic is so bad.

2H2L

Oh, that's a relief, bobcatsteph! I knew mornings are fine, but wondered about the evening commute.  That doesn't sound too bad at all!

Faon

2H2L, I don't know how soon you planned to start looking for a house, but ours is for sale and I would love to send you the listing. My DH will likely be getting his next job far north (he's losing his current one soon), so we will definitely need to move. We'll be lowering the listing price soon. If you're interested, please email me at Lcgemail at gmail. I'm in the same neighborhood as TXAggieBride.