Meet Taylor and Nick!
When an Army brat and a New Orleans native who both love hiking decide to buy a home in Austin, Easton Park is far and away the best choice. Taylor and Nick moved into their new home in Union Park during the quarantine, but they’ve already been enjoying the neighborhood and the neighbors. We recently got the scoop on how they found Easton, discovering they already knew their next door neighbors, and more.
EP: What section are you in, and when did you guys move to Easton?
Taylor: We’ve been in Union Park for about a month and a half.
EP: Where did y’all live before?
Nick: We lived in an apartment off of William Cannon, so we were already close to here. After living in Austin for 3 or 4 years and looking for houses and pricing things out, Easton popped up pretty prominently in terms of available houses.
Taylor: One weekend, we had gone to McKinney Falls, and we saw the Easton sign. We drove through Bryant Park, and we really liked it. It was like, “I’ve heard of this place!” This was right before signups for the Union Park RSVP list.
EP: What tipped the decision for you to buy here?
Taylor: I think it was the amenities. Right when we started getting interested in Easton Park, we came out for Easton Made and looked around. We loved the idea of so many events and activities so close. Easton was farther from downtown than I was looking for, but it made up for it with food trucks and movies and the strong emphasis on community and activities.
EP: Do y’all have to commute far to work?
Taylor: I actually started a new job during the quarantine, up by 2222.
Nick: I’m working from home for foreseeable future, but it’s nice because we have three pets—a mini Australian Shepherd named Ash and two cats, Ellie and Izzy. It’s nice to be able to stay home with them and take Ash on walks around Union Park pond.
EP: Do the cats get along with Ash?
Nick: They do. Every now and then there’s some tussling, or a chase through the house.
EP: Who was your builder?
Taylor: We chose Brookfield—we liked the idea of having the community front yard and the pocket park right outside the house. We’ve gotten to know our neighbors; they’ve been a big part of how much we’ve been enjoying our quarantine. We have happy hour every Friday! Not everyone on our street is moved in yet, so we’ll all sit on patios and gather to chat.
EP: So you’ve already made friends in the neighborhood?
Taylor: We have! We got lucky—I actually used to work with the people who live next door! We were coming to meet our realtor, and they were here checking out their home. They had to leave right before we got there, but they saw us on our realtor’s Instagram and were like, we know you! We connected before we moved in, so that was a natural transition to get that happy hour started for the whole row.
Nick: Even outside of Union Park, people here are always connecting through Facebook groups. Someone is giving away pieces of a basil plant, or people are always looking for things. Overall it seems like a very community-focused place to live.
EP: Have you guys been using the Union?
Nick: We actually have—before we moved in, we did the program where you can use the facilities. The gym is great, and that open yoga space is lovely. We weren’t able to go swimming yet because it was winter. Ash loved lounging around and enjoying the outside.
EP: What do you guys do for fun?
Nick: We try to go hiking as much as we can. We love the proximity to McKinney Falls. We like checking out local breweries, and there are a lot of them opening in South East Austin. The trail system around here is really nice—about every other day, we’ll take a 3-mile walk around the pond and down by Union Park West. Taylor goes on runs through the neighborhood.
EP: Where are y’all from originally?
Taylor: I’m a military brat—my dad was in the Army, so I’ve lived all over the place.
Nick: I moved to Austin in 2015, but I’m originally from New Orleans. Normally I try to go back once or twice a year.
EP: Oh cool! Do you cook New Orleans food?!
Nick: We have made etouffee a few times, and it comes out pretty good. We’ll do red beans and rice, jambalaya, stuff like that. We’ve got a New Orleans cookbook that we’ve used.
EP: What would you say to someone thinking about moving to Easton Park?
Taylor: If you’re thinking about doing it, what really makes Easton special for us are the people, the sense of community, and the amenities. Just knowing we’ve gotten along so well with our neighbors and we’ve only been here a month. Plus there’s the community center and the trails; everything is awesome, even in this time when we’re really cooped up. Get ready for a sense of community! We’ve found good friends even though we haven’t been here long.
