This is a vanity post..I just need info.
Austin is a great place to live. It a diverse, mid-sized city with plenty of employment opportunities and restaurants. As indicated previously, the traffic is painful and the politics can be annoying (but entertaining).
To your original question regarding education...
* My son has attended both Bryan and College Station schools and they are comparable.
* Public schools are pretty good, but I've had colleagues from the eastern U. S. say that the course work is easier here.
* I highly recommend St. Thomas Learning Center off of George Bush. They provide a great learning experience. I've heard Allen Academy is also pretty good.
Housing...
* I live in Bryan and I have found that the community is well established (families with several generations in the area).
* College Station has a more affluent population and a bit more snootiness. It's population is more transitory than Bryan's because they are typically affiliated with the university so they do their time here and then leave.
* Avoid Castlegate in College Station: over priced.
* I don't particularly like Pebble Creek even though many of my colleagues live there and they seem to like it.
* Nantucket in College Station has enormous yards (each plot is at least an acre).
* Historic College Station south of campus has some really neat older homes with large yards. We commonly drive by there to see if a home becomes available. Look south of George Bush on Pershing.
* Avoid Edelweiss off Rock Prairie unless you like the roaring sound of the train.
* Avoid neighborhoods in College Station full of college students. These are easy to discern since the streets will be full of parked pick up trucks when school is in session.
* I live in Copperfield in Bryan and I recommend it. See
http://www.miramont.cc.
* Austin's Colony is also a nice little subdivision off W. J. Bryan Pkwy east of Hwy 6.
* Navasota is under thirty minutes away from College Station is remarkably less expensive with some really neat opportunities if you want to build you own home. This might be a little risky for resale but all indications are that College Station is growing towards Navasota so it should grow dramatically in the next five years.
Real estate agents...
* This is a pretty small community so you should be able to find a nice place to live by yourself. Further, the purchasing process is quite easy so you shouldn't need a realtor for closing. We've had three of four realtors without real satisfaction. But, the seller pays the commission so you don't have anything to loose if you use a realtor (well, the house will be more expensive). Most home here are sold through agents so the cost of the house will probably include the commission.
Good luck,
Fred
Hmmmn.
Seems like I never had much choice, they kept throwing me on the third floor though: Dorm 6-3rd stoop, Dorm 4-3rd stoop, Dorm 2-3rd stoop, Dorm 2-2nd stoop.
8<)
No money then, so no car then, so I walked everywhere. But then again, didn't have any parking problems then.
(Seriously, things have chnged so much since then I've got no recommedation on dorms/apt's. )