Austin just keeps growing more and more north.

Real estate prices are more reasonable the further north of central Austin you go, but some trendier areas like Crestview can garner impressive price per sq foot prices.

The challenge to living north is the traffic. Obviously the further north you go, the more of a bear it becomes to commute into Central Austin. Light Rail will help with some of these areas. See http://www.capmetro.org/ for planned commuter lines.

For the purposes of this North Austin guide, I am only including the campus, midtown, Hyde Park, Crestview, Allandale and Shoal Creek areas. North Austin is a large area with a lot worth seeing and doing and Rare Austin Magazine is a good source for where to start. I will also add a few of my favorites.

Midtown and Campus Area

Retail:  Atomic Cherry - Owner Sarah Timming says it's a swanky boutique for Texas girls who like to look pretty and play rough. Just go. 5535 Burnet. Ethnic Loft for unique home furnishings; Gardens for upscale home and garden gifts and furnishings; Blue Elephant for women's clothing

Restaurants: 34th Str. Cafe; Blue Star Cafeteria on Burnet is more upscale than it is cafeteria yet still casual; Phil's Ice House and Amy's Ice Cream on Burnet - hamburgers, ice cream and a playscape for the kids to run off the sugar.

Other:  Farmer's Markets at the Triangle, austinfarmersmarket.com;  Shoal Creek Greenbelt - 2600 Lamar. A good portion of the park is leash free.

Services:  Birds Barberhop at 6800 Burnet. Great prices, loud music, cool staff, very affordable haircuts. For curly hair, no one is better than Bianca at JR Salon - 4800 Burnet Road.

Hyde Park

Restaurants: Asti -  good date place with fine Italian cuisine; Mothers - Vegetarian dishes serving Austin for years. Quack's Bakery - they don't seem happy to see me but I still go back because I love neighborhood bakeries. Hyde Park Bar and Grill - the original location featuring Hyde Park's famous batter-dipped, french fries

Other:  37th Street Xmas lights.

Crestview

This area has become one of the hottest neighborhoods in Austin over the past few years. Peppered with creative types, unique Austin restaurants and retail and old bungalow homes in cool neighborhoods that buyers love to remodel.

Capital Metro is also set to open a new Light Rail Station in Crestview located west of Lamar between Justin and St. John's.

Anderson Lane

Restaurants:  Genuine Joe Coffeehouse; Satay, Zen

Retail:  Terra Toys - unique toys; Zinger Hardware - cool hardware store with great gifts and home furnishings; Grapevine Market - everything you need for entertaining and to become a wine connoisseur.