I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard the word "SoCo". It was the summer of 2003, 
and I was working with some clients who were relocating from Minnesota and looking in the downtown Austin area. We were in the driveway of a home that we had just seen and eliminated.
"So, what can you tell us about SoCo, Jason?", he asked.
"Excuse me?", I replied.
"SoCo. Someone mentioned it to us at the hotel."
It took me a few beats to realize what they were even asking about.
"Ohhhhh...you mean South Congress. I hadn't heard that before." And so it began. That was the year that prices began to really take off in this area nestled on the southern edge of downtown.
SoCo is an area of much renovation and revitalization since around 2000 or so. You can find a good number of quaint, remodeled cottages that were originally built in 1920's through the early 1950's, interspersed with a handful of newer places that were built to feed the extreme demand for housing over the past decade or so.
If you are looking for a hip, artsy, eclectic area which is super-convenient to downtown Austin, look no further. Residents also enjoy the ability to walk or bike to the many local shops and cool restaurants which line Congress itself.
"First Thursday" of each month is a regular event held on South Congress, wherein stores stay open until 10 PM and there are various activities through the evening, along with live music. After all, Austin is "The Live Music Capital of the World". For more about the Austin music scene, check out this post that I wrote a few months ago:
Austin Texas Live Music - Look No Further!
The SoCo shopping area would probably best be described as "funky" or "retro", and the cuisine includes Guero's Taco Bar, Zen, Vespaio and Enoteca, along with the legendary Magnolia Cafe. You can easily walk to the Lady Bird Lake Hike-and-Bike Trail, which is very popular throughout the year and provides a scenic place for exercise along the shores of the lake itself.
Because of its proximity to downtown (you could bike or possibly even walk to work), you can expect to pay between $325K and $600K for a home here.
If you have any questions about real estate in the Austin area, please give me a call on my cell phone anytime at 512-796-7653 or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com. If you are looking to relocate here, you might be interested in checking out my online relocation package:
Austin Texas Relocation Package
You can search for Austin homes on my other website at http://www.austintexashomes.com/. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
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Jason...
I had never heard of Soco before so thanks for shing this community information!
Richard - It's a cool area of town, and super-close to a lot of the "action".
Looks like a GREAT place for a get-together.... although some may be a little shocked. ;-)