If you’re looking for an ideal place to raise the family—both with the simple charm of rural life and the convenient access to big-city life, Pflugerville is your best bet. Just 15 miles from the snaking Colorado River and the center of the Live Music Capital of the World, Pflugerville is the closest you can get to Austin without being in the city proper. Former Austinites with growing families have flocked to Pflugerville in recent years to escape for a slower pace of living. This easygoing suburb has all the trappings of small town life and good ol’ Texas friendliness, as evident in the annual Pfall Pfest Craft Show, Spring Pfling, and summer’s Pfarmer’s Market.
Pfluergville is big on parks—the city is home to more than 15 of them, as well as 30 miles of trails perfect for walking the dogs and running with the kids. At Lake Pflugerville, you can fish, swim, wind surf, kayak, or just picnic—or head to local family favorite Pfluger Park, known for its scenic Creekside trails—it’s also home to the annual Music in the Park, as well as the city’s annual German Festival, Deutschen Pfest. Falcon Pointe Splash Park is the perfect place for little ones to cool off in the summer, and the new Hawaiian Falls Water Park is the ultimate summer retreat for bigger kids (and kids at heart!) with water slides, a lazy river, zip lines, and a rope course. At night, head to Spare Time, the indoor entertainment complex with bowling lanes, laser tag, arcade games, and more. Need an adult date night away from the kids? Channel your inner urban cowboy at Maverick’s Dance Hall, the go-to for live country and rock music.
Families with kids are at an advantage here, since the Pflugerville Independent School District encompasses six municipalities—the district is home to three high schools, six middle schools, twenty elementary schools, and two alternative campuses, with more schools scheduled to open soon. Pflugerville’s unique north-south-east-west highway access also makes for convenient commutes to jobs in Austin, or top local employers like Apple, Dell, National Instruments, IBM and more.
Pflugerville may be more slow-paced-suburban than trendy-Austin-hip, but with a lower cost of living, more space and quiet, and the quickest commute of all the nearby suburbs, that’s certainly a good thing.