[the Genral]

I moved to Round Rock when I wanted to get into a house I wanted to retire in. I moved from the downtown area and had a 5 bedroom house on a half acre custom built in '97 for $148K. Its now appraised at just over $300K. The taxes are high but not killing me... yet. Excluding insurance and tax, my payments are a little over $900 per month. My son also lives in RR and pays over $1400 for a 2 bedroom apartment. If someone were to buy my house, they would probably have to pay almost 3 times what I pay now. I think the push for somewhat affordable housing is edging towards Jarrell and northward.
Houses don't stay on the market long in my area because there is still an influx of people willing and able to pay at or above market value to stay within 25 miles of downtown. This has kept the value of my house and the taxes I pay on an annual rise. I am now on a fixed income since I retired but got a WHOPPING 1.3% COL on my SS check. The numbers along with our growth are getting a bit out of hand for my savings account making me ponder my future living arrangements. I honestly did not anticipate all of this. I thought I was far enough away, being that my house was built on a cornfield surrounded by pasture land and grazing cows, 2 streets and a 4 way stop sign.
Anyone familiar with Gattis School and Red Bud knows of the dramatic change. Austin's constant growth is affecting everyone from here to Hutto and beyond. I think Taylor will be next. Anyone seen Jarrell lately? It used to be a tiny community small enough to be almost entirely wiped out by not 1, but 2 tornados. Its grown quite a bit since then. I have friends who recently moved to Salado to find a more affordable place to live. They work in north Austin near the Domain. I'm not sure a six figure income will get you too much anymore in the Austin proper. We will have to see what happens to future gas prices to see if that will play a factor on people's ability to even afford longer commutes.