“The Nest at its Best” is a weekly column by our area expert & Realtor, Amanda Rickman. This column features helpful home tips, some DIY tutorials, and interesting info about the area! So whether you are looking to sell your home, moving, or just trying to make your home a home, this is surely a column you’ll want to follow!
Austin is pretty self explanatory on its appeal with being the music capital of the world and having fun festivals. It’s a melting pot of people that are open to so many varieties of cultures and beliefs. Also, unlike most parts of the Nation, it’s got a booming job market. People are moving from everywhere because of the jobs becoming available and large companies moving this way. I just hope our roads can keep up! Many of you can agree that Austin traffic is a total nightmare. Soon enough there isn’t going to be room in Austin, so what do the surrounding areas have to offer?
Austin is one on its own, but there are so many other great hidden gems surrounding it and still close enough to hop into the city if need be. On one end, you have Round Rock, Pflugerville, and Georgetown. On the other sides you have smaller towns like Dripping Springs, Driftwood, Wimberley, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and Gruene. I’ll share a bit of what each place has to offer and hope to do a blog post on each area when the weather warms up!
Round Rock is home of Round Rock Donuts (yum), the Dell Diamond, and a great town for those who like the perks of a large city with a small town feel. Pflugerville and Georgetown have charming historical districts with fun shopping and eateries.
Dripping Springs, Driftwood, and Wimberley are small towns that I call the California of Texas with all it’s rolling hills and beautiful wineries. Wimberley differs a little from the others with it’s vast variety of shopping it provides and small town night life. A few places to definitely check out is Driftwood Estate Winery and Saltlick in Driftwood, The Wooden Spoon and Ino’z in Wimberley, and Hill Country Olive in Dripping Springs for great organic olive oil.
When it comes to Buda and Kyle, these two towns are tucked right in the middle of all the fun! They have quaint historical districts/Main Streets with awesome food and other things. In Buda there is a variety of food such as Cleveland’s (cajun), Nonna Gina’s (authentic Italian), Garcias (amazing Mexican), and Casa Alde (ridiculous breakfast tacos). Need something sweet? Check out Sweet Cakes 4 U down by the Old Mill for a slice of cake. Now that you are full, you might as well head to Salon One 12 to get your mane tamed or an awesome pedicure or check out the cute shops like Buda’s Red Door and Little Blue Bird. If you are looking for something interesting in the spring, check out the Wiener Dog Races (yes this does make National News). In Kyle there is also a variety of food to try such as Centerfield Sports Bar (great bar food), Piscis Mexican Food (best margaritas), and don’t forget to grab some Tapas at Dark Horse Lodge. Not in the mood for cake? Check out Texas Pie Company right on Center Street, it’s amazing.
Now let’s go play in the River! That’s right! On to San Marcos, Gruene, and New Braunfels! San Marcos is a great College town right on the river with great night life on the square along with shopping and good food. Definitely try The Root Cellar Café and Brewery as well as the guacamole queso burger at The Tap Room (delicious!). Summertime is around the corner and soon enough it will be 110 degrees…. If you want a calm relaxing day, floating the river in Gruene is perfect and then topping the day off with an Italian Margarita at Gruene River Grill, strolling the fun shops, and a night at Gruene Hall. Up for something a little more active? New Braunfels is the home of the famous waterpark, Schlitterbahn.
These things are FAR from all the things that you can do in the surrounding areas of Austin. These are just a few ideas to get your toes wet. The season is changing and it’s almost time to get out and about and I hope you enjoy all these recommendations! These are just a smidge of what is so great about the greater Austin area 🙂 Until next time!