Shopping for Austin Real Estate

Our real estate agent brought Al and I to different subdivisions yesterday, Friday, for an overview. We managed to cover the master-planned communities near the Dripping Springs (HD) area. Today, we continued to look around the Circle C (SW) area and went back to the HD area as well.

Some observations:
1. The smallest house in these Austin communities are bigger than our Boise house.
2. For the same amount, the Austin houses are bigger than the Boise houses!
3. The property tax in Austin is the real shocker! Boise is at ~1% while Austin is at 2-3%!!!
4. The house elevations (stone, bricks) in Austin make the brand new houses look older :(

Some Pros and Cons
HD Area
+ nice hill country views
+ nice amenities
+ feels more wide open
- high property tax
- 290 has no island (partially with middle lane)
- long commute to AMD
= no information re flood zone (is it safe to assume it is not in a flood zone since it is in the hill country?)

SW Area
+ nearer to AMD, downtown
+ established community, nice amenities too
+ near to establishments!
+ lower property tax
- feels "creepy" because of the dense, mature trees
= out of the flood zone but still near it

What is important?
- Location wrt workplace, school, worship
- Amenities
- Resale value - Location, Amenities, ISD quality