Reply #1: Depends on the neighborhood (duh!)...but you can get a nice place here.

[GOPisEvil]

Here being the Greater Austin area.

In the hip, cool neighborhoods, $300k will get you a small home from the '20s-'50s that needs some work. If you head outward from the city a bit, you can get quite a lot of house for $300k. I have 1100 sq. ft., 2BR, 2 full baths, 1 car garage, small lot in an ok area, and my house appraises right at $100k. I'm still in Austin's city limits, but maybe 10-15 miles from downtown.

Edit - our airport is fairly small, but there are non-stops to New York, Boston, DC and LA. Plus, it's just a short hop to DFW and Houston's two airports.