4.1 out of 10

Heritage Hills

Ranked 47th best neighborhood in Austin
30.3449824560883 -97.6871001788955
Great for
  • Cost of Living
  • Parking
  • Peace & Quiet
  • Internet Access
  • Neighborly Spirit
Not great for
  • Gym & Fitness
  • Lack of Traffic
  • Childcare
  • Pest Free
  • Schools
Who lives here?
  • Singles
  • Professionals
  • Families with kids
  • Students
  • Retirees

Reviews

4/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 4/5
  • Safe & Sound 3/5
  • Clean & Green 4/5
  • Peace & Quiet 5/5
  • Nightlife 1/5
  • Shopping Options 2/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Parking 4/5
  • Cost of Living 3/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 4/5
  • Medical Facilities 2/5
2yrs+

"Beautiful quiet neighborhood close to everything!"

I have lived in this neighborhood for 6 years now. There was a point of time a few years ago that we had a rash of break ins but I haven't heard of any issues for a couple of years now. I work downtown and it takes me 15 minutes to get to work during rush out. Gorgeous trees over hanging wide streets.
Some of the houses are run down and are slowly being bought and redone. Unfortunately not many good places to walk to - the shopping center down the street has horrible businesses (Wal-mart, McDonalds) but hopefully that will change in the next several years.
Pros
  • Low traffic
  • Easy commute
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Families with kids
1/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 2/5
  • Safe & Sound 1/5
  • Clean & Green 1/5
  • Pest Free 2/5
  • Peace & Quiet 2/5
  • Eating Out 2/5
  • Nightlife 2/5
  • Parks & Recreation 2/5
  • Shopping Options 2/5
  • Gym & Fitness 2/5
  • Internet Access 3/5
  • Lack of Traffic 1/5
  • Parking 2/5
  • Cost of Living 4/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 3/5
  • Public Transport 3/5
  • Medical Facilities 3/5
  • Schools 2/5
  • Childcare 3/5
2yrs+

"An Affordable Austin Neighborhood with Serious Drawbacks"

The Heritage Hills neighborhood of Austin, Texas is an affordable option for those looking to make a move to this Texas capitol city, but it does come with some fairly significant drawbacks to be considered. Single family homes here can run as low as $95,000 to $150,000, but there are many homes in this neighborhood that are in foreclosure and could use some work. With Interstate 35 as a western border and State Highway 183 as a southern border, this area can be a traffic nightmare during rush hours. It's definitely not the safest area of Austin as it has a high crime rate and some unsavory elements that come out at night.

It's close to the Capitol Metro bus and rail lines, so it's easy and inexpensive to travel to other parts of the city without a car, in fact, most days it is faster. Residents here are at least working with city officials to improve the area, so there may be some hope for the future of this neighborhood. There are a few good dining options on the borders of the neighborhood and it's served by the Austin Independent School District, but schools in this area has historically performed poorly.
Pros
  • Cheap real estate
  • Organized community
Cons
  • High crime rate
  • High traffic
  • Desolate
Recommended for
  • Singles
  • Students
1/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 3/5
  • Safe & Sound 1/5
  • Clean & Green 1/5
  • Pest Free 3/5
  • Peace & Quiet 2/5
  • Eating Out 3/5
  • Nightlife 2/5
  • Parks & Recreation 2/5
  • Shopping Options 4/5
  • Gym & Fitness 2/5
  • Internet Access 3/5
  • Lack of Traffic 1/5
  • Parking 3/5
  • Cost of Living 5/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 3/5
  • Public Transport 3/5
  • Medical Facilities 2/5
  • Schools 2/5
  • Childcare 2/5
2yrs+

"Affordable, but not recommended"

Heritage Hills has some problems. Traffic is terrible in this northeastern neighborhood, and if you work more than a few miles away, you’re potentially looking at a monster of a commute. Crime is high, and I personally wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time alone outside, particularly at night. It’s also significantly more densely populated than Austin is on average. On the plus side, housing is super-affordable, with both rents and home prices coming in substantially under typical Austin rates.

Word is that a neighborhood plan has been established to begin the revitalization of the area, which, if it pans out, could prove to be a huge boon over time. Gentrification is a long, slow process, though, and there’s no guarantee Heritage Hills will ever be able to really shake its less-than-ideal reputation.

This is the place you go short-term when you’re trying to get back on your feet financially. Keep your head up, make some money, find a new place as soon as you can, and move on, grateful for the experience and the chance to overcome it. Every city will have some less-perfect parts, and this is one of Austin’s, but it does serve a necessary purpose, and it could very well be worth keeping an eye on over the next few years, especially for real estate investments. If the neighborhood does turn itself around, expect housing costs to make big jumps toward catching up with Austin standards.
Pros
  • Cheap real estate
Cons
  • High crime rate
  • High traffic
Recommended for
  • Singles
  • Retirees
  • Students
2/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 4/5
  • Safe & Sound 2/5
  • Clean & Green 3/5
  • Peace & Quiet 4/5
  • Eating Out 2/5
  • Nightlife 2/5
  • Parks & Recreation 3/5
  • Shopping Options 2/5
  • Lack of Traffic 2/5
  • Parking 4/5
  • Cost of Living 4/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 3/5
  • Public Transport 1/5
  • Schools 2/5
2yrs+

"Not so great, but neighborhood is working on it...."

While Austin has a reputation for being a town that is hip, funky and diverse, that is not necessarily the reason why every single person chooses to live here. For those that are attracted Austin’s proud weirdness reputation, there are many central and south Austin neighborhoods to be found. But for those who end up in this town because it is a vibrant and growing city, a nice, affordable place to live may be all they need. That is where neighborhoods like Heritage Hills fit the bill.
Located in northeastern Austin, Heritage Hills (sometimes called Woodbridge) is an affordable, suburban neighborhood without a distinct personality. Its boundaries are Rundburg Lane to the north, Highway 183 to the south, Cameron Road to the east and Interstate 35 to the west. Housing prices remain modest in this area, with home prices averaging in the $150s to low $200s. Area schools include Hart Elementary School, Dobie Middle School and Lanier and Reagan High Schools.

Because of its location near two major highways, residents have convenient access to much of the surrounding area. The drive to downtown is approximately 20 minutes; however, traffic on both I-35 and Hwy 183 can be heavily congested at times. Heritage Hills’ proximity to crime-ridden East Rundberg also give this neighborhood a somewhat unsafe designation. However, area residents are actively working with the city to encourage improvements to the neighborhood, including efforts to beautify the neighborhood park, North Acres Park, and combine Heritage Hills with the adjoining neighborhood of Windsor Hills. A formal neighborhood plan was recently adopted with a vision toward steering the area into a diverse community with plenty of open space and attractive retail shopping centers. For those wanting to settle into what could become a vital, renewed neighborhood in the future, Heritage Hills could be the perfect place for those able to wait for the transformation.
Pros
  • Organized community
  • Cheap real estate
Cons
  • High crime rate
  • High traffic
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
1/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 1/5
  • Safe & Sound 1/5
  • Clean & Green 1/5
  • Pest Free 1/5
  • Peace & Quiet 1/5
  • Eating Out 1/5
  • Nightlife 1/5
  • Parks & Recreation 1/5
  • Shopping Options 1/5
  • Gym & Fitness 1/5
  • Internet Access 2/5
  • Lack of Traffic 1/5
  • Parking 1/5
  • Cost of Living 3/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 1/5
  • Public Transport 3/5
  • Medical Facilities 1/5
  • Schools 1/5
  • Childcare 1/5
2yrs+

"Avoid!"

I had a good friend who by some freak accident found herself living in this area. Her complex wasn’t too bad—it had a pool in the center courtyard that they actually kept pretty clean—but overall she had a miserable experience living here. She did meet a few other people in her situation—who rented an apartment in the complex not knowing much about the neighborhood. But she definitely didn’t feel safe walking at night, and she usually had to wait to catch a bus to work even though she didn’t work too far away from her apartment. She worked at Luby’s on East Anderson, and she’d call me at night to come pick her up because she didn’t want to wait at the bus stop and she was worried about weird people following her home. The food at Luby’s is fine, by the way, and it’s relatively safe to eat there during the day as long as you have a car to go home in afterwards. When her lease was up at the end of the year, she got the heck out of there and found a new job too. I would suggest living anywhere else in Austin besides here, unless you’re moving from somewhere even worse and you really want cheap rent.
Pros
  • Cheap real estate
Cons
  • Desolate
  • High crime rate
  • High traffic
1/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 1/5
  • Safe & Sound 1/5
  • Clean & Green 1/5
  • Pest Free 2/5
  • Peace & Quiet 2/5
  • Eating Out 2/5
  • Nightlife 1/5
  • Parks & Recreation 1/5
  • Shopping Options 1/5
  • Gym & Fitness 1/5
  • Internet Access 2/5
  • Lack of Traffic 1/5
  • Parking 2/5
  • Cost of Living 3/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 1/5
  • Public Transport 2/5
  • Medical Facilities 1/5
  • Schools 1/5
  • Childcare 1/5
2yrs+

"High Traffic and Crime"

Just like Georgian Acres on he other side of the interstate, Heritage Hills offers nothing special and is like the other bland northern Austin suburban neighborhoods with the exception of high crime activity along E. Rundberg Ln. Though Austin has an overall low crime rate, it is considered unwise for anyone to walk out at night along this street. A mix of industrial warehouses and low grade apartments, the physical and social landscape of Heritage Hills is very desolate and makes one wonder how something so depressing can actually exist within the Austin city limits.

Being in direct contact to both 183 and I-35, the traffic in that feeds into the neighborhood can best be described as horrendous. This mixed with the poor and generic choices in dining and the only available shopping at the local Walmart makes this one of the least desirable communities to live in whether or not it was part of Austin. Rent is dirt cheap due to the extremely low demand among individuals to live in this area and one can only guess the quality of the properties that are listed. If a simple piece of advice were to be given, it would be to not even for a second consider living or even visiting this area of town. There are so many more neighborhoods that better celebrate the weird spirit that is Austin and at an affordable price, offering nightlife and spectacular food. You would be hard pressed to do worse in this city than you would Heritage Hills.
Pros
  • Cheap real estate
Cons
  • High crime rate
  • High traffic
  • Desolate

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