If you find my guide useful give me a holler so I can find you the right place! Or if my guide was ultra-super-helpful and is enough to make a decision, please list me (Alex Concepcion) as your referral and I’ll shower you with excess praise and funky gifts.
I’m super biased. East Austin is my favorite part of town (it’s why I moved here). It has everything I want. Many people will say it’s the Brooklyn of Austin. Aka the part of town that nobody wanted to live in, now everyone wants to live in kind of place. There’s all sorts of bars from that cool-yet-kinda-grungy one. That sophisticated one with overpriced cocktails that I’ll still pay for. Throw a rock and you hit some new cool brewery. Food trucks galore! So many food trucks! And Franklin Barbecue! Yes, that one. He’s here too.
The high-rise filled swankyness is a few blocks down the road, but not enough to pollute the area with suits and ties and awkward lunch meetings with co-workers who don’t actually like each other.
Oh and there’s a train too. Like a real functioning modern electric train that takes you to actual places. WHY DON’T YOU BUILD MORE OF THESE AUSTIN??!! Ahem. If you’re looking for a well balanced lifestyle with awesome food, night time drinking spots, bicycle routes, and the sweet (or sour) smell of gentrification then this is your spot. (Plus, we can be totally best neighbor friend people)
Studios $1300 – $1600
1 Bedrooms $1600 – $2000
2 Bedrooms $2000-$2600
3 Bedrooms $2600+
The Arnold
The Arnold (or if you’re me, The Aaaahhhhhnooooold) is easily my favorite building in East Austin. The builders here basically went HAM on the design, thinking that maybe people were into well designed buildings with sweet amenities (and they are). It’s got the perfect location, right in the heart of East Austin. You’ve got a stupidly large amount access to all the bars/restaurants you could dream of in walking distance.
You will be the envy of all your friends who live in substantially less cool parts of town. However, since you’re all cool and fancy now, you will be constantly hosting your jealous friends for sweet pool parties and swanky events.
Pros
Cons
Eleven by Windsor
This is the “omg let’s be best friends” special. Why? Because I live here! Seduced by a hot and spicy deal, I left my old apartment with my roommate and his stupidly cute puppy so we can be all swanky East-siders now. So far I’m quite happy with it. A few days in I’ve already barged into cool dinner parties in the main amenity space. The location is pretty great, since you’re right next to both Downtown & East Austin at the same time.
Pros
Cons
Corazon
Corazon has one of the best locations in town. It straddles Downtown & East Austin, and gives you very quick access to Rainey Street, so if you like to go out and be a social butterfly, this is one of your best bets. You’ve got some good retail spaces downstairs, and you can walk to a ton of food spots down on 6th.
Unfortunately, lots of big fancy developers with lots of money have also figured out the awesomeness of this location. This means there’s a ton of construction going on nearby which could be annoying.
Pros
Cons
East Side Station
East Side Station is a great property that suffers from “My neighbor is cooler than me” syndrome with The Arnold next door. While it’s true that The Arnold has better style overall, the floorplans are somewhat identical (which is good, because they have great floor plans). Because of this slightly-less-cool thing, ESS often offers awesome deals like 6 weeks free, free parking, big gift cards, etc) to entice people into picking it over it’s neighbor.
They’ve recently included a new (small) dog park which is an improvement. Aside from all that, you’re still getting an awesome East Austin location where you can walk to everything your heart desires. Plus, you’re right next to the train station.
Pros
Cons
Platform
Platform is awesome. However, it’s not in the middle of East Austin like the others on this list, so it’s a bit of a dark-horse option out of left field. However, since it’s right next to the train stop, it can take you straight to Downtown/East Austin quite easily without having to drive/uber. The pool here may be the best pool in Austin. It’s actually 3 big pools in one which is ridiculous. If you don’t mind being slightly further away from Downtown/East Austin, this is one of the best options in town.
Pros
Cons
Alexan E. 6th
The New Kid on the Block! As of writing this post (Jan 2018) this place is brand spanking new. So new, they’re letting people finally move in this week (after a casual 3 month delay). As a building it’s looking great so far. It’s got most of the nice fancy amenities you’d expect in all the other buildings on this list. While their base price is high, they have been offering up to 2 months free which is awesome.
The units don’t come with a washer/dryer (except for studios) but you can rent them for a reasonable price. There’s no Google Fiber, they charge extra for parking, and there’s no dog park. Right now since there are many floorplans available you will have many options to choose from. As for feel, it’s more laid back than some of the other buildings in East Austin since it’s fairly new.
Pros
Cons
Other Apartments Worth Mentioning
Here are a few other apartments in East Austin that didn’t quite make the cut, but are still worth mentioning.
Indie – A brand new building right across from The Arnold. The location is amazing, right along E. 6th. They’re experimental style micro units with studios under 400sqft, and 1 bedrooms under 500sqft. So it’s very utilitarian. However parking is expensive here, which pretty much cancels out the monetary savings you’d get from having little space.
AMLI Eastside – Right next to Eleven (my building!), but Eleven is pretty much a better building in every way. Sometimes there’s very good pricing and floorplans here however.
7East – Good building overall, but for the price/style/location, I tend to learn towards the others on this list. Not much about here out-competed other spots in the area.
Elan East – Also very nice and stylish, but it’s right next to Platform which I think is a better overall building. Great option to get a studio close to campus though.
Guthrie – Opening Up October 2018. Just past pleasent valley which is less walk able, and no big garage. Looking like it’s going to be nice.
Working with Me
Hello there! I’m Alex Concepcion. Cool Apartment Locator Guy Extraordinaire.
Like pretty much everyone here, I’m a transplant from another city. I arrived from the wild and exotic country of Miami, Florida where I traded groovy salsa music and the beach for breakfast tacos and brisket. Now I call East Austin home where I host funky dinner parties, buy overpriced cocktails, and climb rocks at the Austin Bouldering Project.
Having gone through the chaotic transition of moving to a new city, I know what it’s like to be all freaked out and worried about picking the right place to live (and eat). I’ve fortunately found myself in the position where I can help people like you make the best possible transition.
Working with me means basically having a super useful personal research assistant guy do all the heavy lifting. If you’re not familiar with the neighborhoods, I can also put on my knock-off-Anthony-Bourdain-hat and be your personal food-obsessed tour guide (which is my favorite part of what I do).
Even cooler, I’m totally free to work with. I get paid directly by the apartment complex only when you move in.(which doesn’t affect your rent amount). I’m free like that HBO subscription your friend doesn’t know you use when Game of Thrones is on. I would be flattered to help you find the perfect place to live.
-Alex
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