Second interview upcoming and I am not really familiar with the area other than what a friend has told me, which is to look on the W/NW side and get into Belton schools. Other than that, I'm a complete noob. We have three kids (9,6, and 4) and want a nice place with a little bit of room (1/2 to 1 acre plus) with good schools. We are currently in Katy, so not being able to reach out of my kitchen and high-five my neighbor in his living room is an upgrade.

We prefer not to build, but not completely ruling it out. Not familiar with builders in the area at all. Any recommendations on good ones and also who to stay away from?

My brief time spent in Temple (one Friday afternoon thru Saturday morning) didn't give me a lot of time to form much of an opinion on the city or see what traffic was like other than the cluster on 317 headed south from 36 after 5pm. I would most likely be working initially on the south side of town near 190 & 1741.

What about a commute from Georgetown to the south side? Doesn't look terrible on the map, but again, not familiar how it translates into the "real world."

TIA.

If you want space between your neighbors, stay away from the north/northwest. Lots of homes side by side. There are many roomier neighborhoods along 439 and Dunns canyon that would give you easy access to 190 and your kids would go to Sparta most likely and it's a good elementary school. That would also help you avoid daily driving on 317, which is a nightmare. bisd.net has a district boundary map on it's website. Shopping is depressing in this area. But it works in a pinch. Restaurants are about the same. Austin isn't far so that's something I guess. BCYC, Belton Christian Youth Center, has rec sports for your kids. I'm sure others might chime in. Sorry if I sound sour, I'm really not. I grew up here basically and I'm glad my kids have gone thru BISD. Carothers, Stillwater, EDC (or brad dusek homes) build good homes in the area I mentioned. I think the
inventory of homes for sale is plenty so that's good for you.

It all depends on what you can afford

I pretty much concur with mazzag (add Dawson Ranch and RedRock) but I will never live near Adams and 317

That place is destined to be one of the worst traffic nightmares on the planet, and it's gonna get worse every day

Avoid it like the plague in your commute if you can

From the south, there is a new subdivision going up 2484 about 2 miles west of I-35 in Salado. 1/2 acre lots with tiffway 419 grass, houses in the $220-300K range for a 4-3, 2300 ft/sq., HUGE covered back porches with ceiling fans. Couple of finished homes out there worth looking at. It's Salado ISD, which is excellent, but small (3A, soon to be 4A). It would be about 12 miles to work

Also Valley Ranch in Temple (Belton ISD), but I think the 1/2 acre lots are almost all taken, plus it's not curb and gutter, so a portion of that 1/2 acre is taken up by a 20 foot wide, 4 foot deep ditch in your front yard

As far as schools go, Belton is fine. Pretty much any campus

Now this will rub some the wrong way, but proceed with caution and DO YOUR HOMEWORK when you are experiencing the lure of New Tech. Reviews are decidedly mixed. Talk to parents and KIDS that have experienced it

Frankly, expect a second high school by the time your kids get to HS, at least your little ones

The generally accepted threshold for a 2d high school is 10,000 students in a district

Belton is now at 10,300

That doesn't mean Belton won't cling like a zebra mussel to a 1 HS model. ALL of their middle school mascots are The Tigers for gosh sakes

Old Belton won't go easily on that front

Gonna be funny to watch

Salado schools are also very good

From Georgetown, eh.

Probably a 30-40 minute commute

There are Ok neighborhoods but IMO, why commute that far when you don't have to??

I know people who live there because, ooooooo, it's close to Austin and Austin is sooooooo cool

They go to austin about as often as I do, which is about once a month to catch a concert, eat, or buy stuff

Pablo, what do you consider old Belton? I consider it to be folks my grandparents age. And splitting the varsity football team up doesn't seem to be an issue for winning vs losing any more. When they do build a new high school my only hope is that they call it what it is, West Temple High school. Or maybe Leon River high school, since it divides the two city limits. And Hawk, that's the other dilemma. Property taxes in the north part of BISD tend to be higher because you're paying temple city & temple college. And yes all the BISD campuses are fine, Sparta just seems to be the easiest to drive to. Some of the boundaries for the north campuses don't make sense to me as far as driving goes.

You. You're old belton, mazzag

I kid, I kid

I predict the new high school will be called "Belton High School". Or maybe "Other Belton High School". The colors will be red and white, and the mascot will be "The Tigers"

Everyone will just have to know which of the two you're referring to

The new subdivision in Salado is La Paloma

I'm not an old. But I will vote against it. I pay enough in property taxes and this new high school doesn't help my side of town at all. I guess it helps with over crowding. Which could affect my daughter's high school experience but I'll worry about that then.

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Now this will rub some the wrong way, but proceed with caution and DO YOUR HOMEWORK when you are experiencing the lure of New Tech. Reviews are decidedly mixed. Talk to parents and KIDS that have experienced it

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consider me rubbed the wrong way.

i know very very few kids that have not had a great experience there. in fact, the only ones i've known to leave it were kids who were having issues at the HS as well. that's my anecdotal experience, but i just don't hear a lot of people who don't like it.

i've been gone from the district for over a year now and have plenty of gripes on the Admin at BISD, but New Tech is definitely a bright spot. We currently live in TISD and pay a transfer to BISD because my kids started there and we're planning on moving to the lake area.

that being said, i'd send my kids to Temple schools in a heartbeat. not over Belton, but if transfers weren't an option i wouldn't have any issues. Battershell is doing a good job getting the district headed in the right direction.

Salado and Academy schools are good if you prefer smaller District.
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as far as living, i agree, avoid buying in any situation that has you going down 317 or 2305 from 7AM to 9 AM an 4 PM to 6 PM. until they do something to bypass the lights, it's going to be a nightmare as walmart and more businesses open in that area.

Sorry man. I've heard mixed. From very good kids and very good students. Some like it, some don't. Nothing personal. Some just don't care for the environment, and prefer the conventional academic route. There's plenty of AP/Pre-AP coursework at BHS to challenge the students

And it can be a pain in the ass for kids involved in fine arts and other activities. Shuttles to and from downtown, late for class, etc..

But I'm glad you like it...

i don't have any kids in there or anything.

i've just seen a lot of kids go through there, that would have blended in and not stood out at BHS that did over there. I agree that the extracurriculars make some of it a pain, but the goal was to be its own HS, not a subset of BHS. i wouldn't have been upset if they had made a rule of no Band, Athletics, etc. when they go.

i think in the past i said, "i'd never advocate my kids to go there... but i wouldn't try to dissuade them if they wanted to."

New tech is what it is. A school of nerds. Some love it some don't, but they do some cool stuff there. My friends daughter is a sophomore and loves it. It's a great alternative for some kiddos. Project based.

That's a fair assessment

The ones I know who did NOT like it are high achieving, pre-AP students -- not slackers

They just didn't like the environment. The most frequent complaints I heard are that the place is elbow to elbow crowded as hell, and they kept getting stuck in groups where a lot of the members didn't pull their weight

It's not a "selective" school for brainiacs or anything like that. It's first come, first serve. Some if the kids are brilliant, others aren't.. It's a mix like anywhere else

I'm not saying it's bad. Or good. I'm just saying some like it and some don't.

It is definitely NOT something I would have like if I was 15 again, nor would my kids.

AND that's why I suggested doing your homework. Talk to people. You'll get positive and negative feedback, especially if you talk to fish and sophs

By the time they are juniors and seniors, they want to be there, and the malcontents are over at the normal high school

Young father with younger kids (2 and 6mo). We bought a house in Canyon Creek (south Temple) and love it. Good neighbors, big trees, and big creek lot. If we stick around Fort Hood long enough I plan on having the kids do the IB program in Temple.

If you're thinking of taking this job and living in Georgetown, you're dumber than you look!

Just listen to your friend, he sounds like a genius (prob handsome too), besides he doesn't snore.

seriously, coming from Katy, we don't have traffic that will bother you. At least not enough to pass on a good fit otherwise.

And that even includes 2305 West Temple. My Metroplex kids laugh at me when I complain of the traffic on 2305. I bet the same coming from Houston area.


And for those who don't like 317--I am the patient type so it does not bother me, I would rather drive it than have to make a left turn on 2305, I am almost phobic about left turns without lights anywhere--it is really fast to Belton on the old highway, the one that goes by riverside. Just hop on Kegley to Midway, then the road past Riverside, then take the left most branch when it sort of y's and follow the traffic. You will come in on 317 just north of the overpass at UMHB and it is quick and easy to the Belton HEB, the BEST GROCERY IN THE AREA, and the Belton Walmart, THE LEAST EVIL OF THE EVIL ONE, from that point.

I would recommend Holland. You're going to have a more country setting as far as living goes and the schools are the best in the area. It's only a 30-40 minute commute into Temple and it avoids I35 which is a PLUS!!

Need some more Ags in valley ranch. Ditches are fun for the kids after it rains! Plus it's seven minutes to Schoepfs, backs up to the local ranchitas, good mix of young families and retired, and is relatively quiet. They should be opening the next phase later this year.
Agree with the other comments for the most part. Good options all around. We just need a freebirds.

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I predict the new high school will be called "Belton High School". Or maybe "Other Belton High School". The colors will be red and white, and the mascot will be "The Tigers"

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POTY!

No they will be original. It will be lake belton high school and the colors will be white and red. They will be the tigercats.

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No they will be original. It will be lake belton high school and the colors will be white and red. They will be the tigercats.

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Hahahaha.....greatness!

With they still play that God awful texas fight after they score. I have to hear it from the stadium enough as it is

I suspect they will make the eyes of Texas their fight song,. Have to be original.

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What about a commute from Georgetown to the south side? Doesn't look terrible on the map, but again, not familiar how it translates into the "real world."

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I made this commute for 4 years before changing jobs. The commute isn't bad in regards to traffic as you are going against the flow most of the time. One temporary down side is that there is a ton of construction right now on that route and it does make for some interesting situations with all of the truck traffic.

Having lived in both areas, I'd certainly consider the commute as I prefer Georgetown over the Temple/Belton area and it has NOTHING to do with Austin. The one downside to Georgetown is that it is going to be significantly more expensive.

Just my opinion though.

I didn't mean to imply that being near Austin is a universal motivation for Georgetown commuters...

Just the motivation for a few of the folks I know

Funny this came up -- I just talked to a friend who took a job in Bell county about a year ago, and decided to live in Round Rock because it is so much closer to Austin. And Austin is sooooo, well, you know...

Anyway, she just signed a new lease in...... Belton.

shorter commute and she didn't go to Austin all that much anyway

As for Georgetown, yeah it's fine. Nice place to live, in fact.

We even considered it, but in the end, it would have been 60 miles per day, per car, so roughly 30,000 additional miles per year, that was unnecessary.

And with plenty of nice places to live in Belton, Temple, and Salado, it was a no-brainer. For us, anyway

Went to Belton schools for 13 years. Graduated last year. Only complaint would be how overcrowded and outdated the high school is. But im sure they will have a new one built by the time your kiddos get there

Family has been in Belton since before Belton was an established city. Graduated high school there, graduated from A&M and worked in Houston for a year. Wife got a job in Austin, and we moved in a heartbeat (because Houston is terrible), except we lived in Cedar Park/Leander for ~3 years because the rental properties were much more affordable.

When we lived up north, we rarely drove all the way into Austin to do things. We eventually bought a house in Austin and now do tons of fun Austin things you would expect to do if you lived in a reasonable proximity.

Long story short, if you aren't living in Austin, there's no reason to live closer to Austin than to where you work. Belton/Temple (basically all of Bell County) is a terribly lame place to live if you're under 35 with no kids.

Stay away from living within city limits in Salado - they are voting on a $10M sewage bond. If passed, the city tax will go up around 300% to match Belton and Morgan's Point.

Except homes will not have a sewage system (sewage system is only for the businesses along Main Street) and no other city services either.

Talk about a stupid bond!