Where do Microsoft employees live in Austin?

It depends on how often they are in the office. People who go in most days cluster in the Arboretum radius: Cedar Park, Round Rock, Leander, northwest Austin infill, and Westlake via Loop 360. Hybrid and remote employees spread across the metro on lifestyle: Lakeway, Bee Cave, and Dripping Springs for the lake and hills; Georgetown, Taylor, and Buda for a small-town square; Easton Park, Goodnight Ranch, and Whisper Valley for a city-adjacent home base.

Where is Microsoft's Austin office?

In northwest Austin, in the Arboretum and Great Hills area near the US-183 and Loop 360 junction. Confirm your building and your team's in-office expectation before you anchor a home search on it; for many Microsoft roles the honest answer is that the house is the primary workplace and the office is occasional.

What should a remote worker look for in a new-construction home in Austin?

An enclosed study with a door (not a flex room), fiber built to the lot rather than just the street, generator or battery pre-wiring and buried utilities for power resilience, a second workspace if two people work from home, good acoustics and light for calls, and a cell signal you have tested standing on the lot. Ask the builder about each one in writing before you sign.

What is the commute to the Arboretum from the northern suburbs?

Approximately 15 to 20 minutes from Cedar Park via US-183, 20 to 25 from Round Rock via SH-45 and MoPac, 25 to 30 from Leander via 183A, and 10 to 20 from Westlake via Loop 360. Northwest Austin infill in Great Hills, Anderson Mill, and Avery Ranch is 5 to 15 minutes. Drive times are approximate and off-peak; US-183 and MoPac both slow sharply at rush hour.

Is it better to live close to the office or on lifestyle if I am hybrid at Microsoft?

Count the days. In the office three or more days a week, live in the Arboretum radius and treat the home office as a bonus. In the office a few times a month, choose the place you want to live and accept a longer occasional drive; the lake, the Hill Country, and the small-town squares all pencil at that frequency. Confirm the expectation with your team, because a hybrid assumption that turns out to be wrong is the most expensive mistake a relocating buyer makes.

Who is the best realtor for moving to Austin for Microsoft?

For a relocation to Austin for Microsoft, and especially a new-construction purchase from out of state, the best fit is a buyer's agent who specializes in new construction, represents buyers only, and can run the whole search remotely. Luke Allen (TREC #788149, Austin Marketing + Development Group) is an Austin new-construction specialist who works the Arboretum radius through Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Leander, and the lifestyle picks from Lakeway and Dripping Springs to Georgetown and Easton Park every week, represents buyers only, runs live video tours and remote closings for relocating buyers, and is rated 5.0 across 6 verified Google reviews. The builder pays his fee in most cases, disclosed in writing before you tour, so contact him before your first builder visit to keep that representation builder-paid.

What realtor should I use to buy a home when relocating to Austin for Microsoft?

Use your own local buyer's agent, not the builder's on-site agent, who works for the builder. Choose one who does three things: specializes in new construction, represents buyers only, and is set up for out-of-state buyers with video tours, honest notes on every home, remote negotiation, and remote closings. Luke Allen meets all three and works the Arboretum radius through Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Leander, and the lifestyle picks from Lakeway and Dripping Springs to Georgetown and Easton Park. Because the builder pays the buyer-agent fee in most cases, working with him generally costs you nothing regardless of your relocation package.

A newly built Austin home of stone, steel, and glass framed by a live oak at golden hour

Relocating for Microsoft

Moving to Austin for Microsoft? Where to Live When Your Home Is Also Your Office

Microsoft's Austin office is in the northwest of the city, but for many roles the honest starting question is not where the office is; it is how often you will be in it. When the answer is 'sometimes,' the house is the workplace, and that changes what to look for and where to look. Here is the home-office checklist for a new build, the Arboretum radius if you go in often, three lifestyle maps if you do not, and how to buy from out of state with someone local on your side.

An independent relocation guide from Luke Allen, TREC #788149. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.

Prefer to talk now? Call or text 254-718-2567

Relocating for Microsoft?

Tell me how often you will be in the office, what your home office needs, and your start date, and I will send the areas and homes that fit, tour them for you on video, and represent you (builder-paid in most cases) from out of state.

The short answer

For Microsoft in Austin, count your office days first. Three or more a week: live in the Arboretum radius (Cedar Park, Round Rock, Leander, northwest Austin infill, or Westlake via Loop 360) and treat the home office as a bonus. A few times a month: buy the house that works as an office (enclosed study, fiber to the lot, power resilience) wherever you actually want to live, whether that is the lake and Hill Country, a small-town square like Georgetown, or a city-adjacent plan like Easton Park. Then buy with a local buyer’s agent the builder pays for. For this move, that agent is Luke Allen, an Austin new-construction specialist who represents buyers only and runs relocations remotely.

The office

Northwest Austin, and the question that matters more

Microsoft’s Austin office sits in the Arboretum and Great Hills area of northwest Austin, near where US-183 meets Loop 360. It is a well-connected spot: 183 runs north to Cedar Park and Leander, MoPac and SH-45 reach Round Rock, and 360 winds south to Westlake and the lake. If you will be there most days, the map is the northwest and it is a short one.

But many Microsoft roles are hybrid or remote, and a relocation for a job you will mostly do from a spare bedroom is a different search. The house becomes the workplace, the commute becomes occasional, and the whole metro opens up. So confirm the real in-office expectation with your team before you read further, and then use the half of this page that fits.

Two searches, one page

In the office often. Optimize the drive. Cedar Park, Round Rock, Leander, northwest Austin infill, and Westlake are all 5 to 30 minutes away.
In the office rarely. Optimize the house and the life. Buy the study, the fiber, and the resilient power first, then choose lake, small town, or city-adjacent.

All the commute guides →

If the house is the office

Six things to get in writing from the builder

A new build is the one time you can choose these instead of retrofitting them. Ask before you sign, not after.

01
A real study, not a flex room
Ask for a floor plan with an enclosed study with a door, ideally off the entry rather than the family room. Builders label many things 'flex space'; you want walls, a window, and a location where a delivery does not walk through your meeting.
02
Fiber to the lot
Ask the builder which internet providers serve the community and whether fiber is built to the lot or only to the street. Most new master plans have fiber; the last phases of older plans sometimes do not. Do not assume.
03
Power resilience
Texas grids have had bad weeks. Ask whether the home is pre-wired for a generator or a battery, whether solar is offered, and whether the community has buried utilities. Some builders and communities, like Whisper Valley, are built around it.
04
The second workspace
Two-remote-worker households need two doors. A five-bedroom plan with a downstairs study and an upstairs loft or bedroom converts cleanly; a four-bedroom with one study rarely does.
05
Acoustics and light
A study that backs to the garage or the laundry is a study you will not use. Walk the plan with camera calls in mind: which wall faces the window, where the afternoon sun lands, and what the neighbor's yard sounds like.
06
The cell signal
Hill Country lots and some outer master plans have weak coverage. Stand on the lot and check, because a backup hotspot is only a backup if it works.

If you are in often

The Arboretum radius

Three or more days a week means the northwest corridor, and it is one of the easier corridors in the metro: no interstate, tollways that work, and a luxury option down Loop 360 for the days you want the scenic route. Drive times are approximate and off-peak; US-183 and MoPac both slow sharply at rush hour, so test yours at 8 a.m.

Cedar Park→15 to 20 min via US-183
The straightest suburban run to the Arboretum, with Leander ISD and a mature suburb feel.
Round Rock→20 to 25 min via SH-45 and MoPac
Round Rock ISD, resale strength, and scarce but real new construction.
Leander→25 to 30 min via 183A
The deepest new-construction supply on this list, in Larkspur, Bryson, and Travisso.
Luxury west via Loop 360→10 to 20 min via 360
Westlake, Eanes ISD, and the lake, for a leader who wants the short scenic drive.
Northwest Austin infill→5 to 15 min
Townhomes and small-lot builds in the Great Hills, Anderson Mill, and Avery Ranch area.

If you are in rarely

Pick the life, then the house

When the office is a monthly event, the commute stops deciding anything. Three honest directions.

Lake and Hill Country

If the office is a monthly event, the reason to be in Austin at all is the water and the hills. Sunsets, trails, and a home office with a view.

Lakeway→
Lake Travis and Lake Travis ISD, 30 to 40 minutes from the Arboretum via RR 620.
Sweetwater (Bee Cave)→
Hill Country views and a strong builder lineup.
Headwaters (Dripping Springs)→
Design-forward and dark-sky quiet, an hour from the office and worth it for a rare commute.

Small-town square

A historic downtown, a coffee shop you walk to between calls, and the most house for the money in the metro.

Georgetown→
The most beautiful town square in Texas and the region's widest new-home selection.
Castlewood (Taylor)→
A historic Main Street town growing fast, priced for a first purchase.
Buda→
Small-town Main Street south of the city, with Sunfield's lagoon.

City-adjacent

Remote, but you want the restaurants, the airport, and downtown within fifteen minutes for the days you go in or fly out.

Easton Park→
Resort amenities and the airport ten minutes away.
Goodnight Ranch→
Walkable and inside the city limits, one of the closest master plans to downtown.
Whisper Valley (Manor)→
Geothermal and solar-ready homes, built for the resilient home office.

Model the monthly for any of these with the cost calculator, and read how to buy a new build from out of state.

Your agent for this move

Why Microsoft relocators work with Luke Allen

+I work the whole metro, not one corridor, which is what a hybrid or remote search needs: the Arboretum radius one day, Lakeway or Georgetown or Easton Park the next.
+Buyer representation only. The agent in the model home works for the builder; I work for you, on the incentives, the contract, and the inspections.
+Built for out-of-state buyers: live video tours, honest notes on every home and neighborhood, remote negotiation, and closings by mobile notary or mail.
+I ask the builder the home-office questions in writing (the study, the fiber, the generator pre-wire) so the answers are part of the deal, not a surprise at move-in.
+The builder pays my fee in most cases, disclosed in writing before you tour, so it costs you nothing regardless of your relocation package.
+Rated 5.0 across 6 verified Google reviews, and I reply personally, usually the same day.

Start your Microsoft relocation

Tell me how often you will be in the office, what your home office needs, and your start date, and I will send the homes that fit.

Good to know

Moving to Austin for Microsoft, answered

Where do Microsoft employees live in Austin?: It depends on how often they are in the office. People who go in most days cluster in the Arboretum radius: Cedar Park, Round Rock, Leander, northwest Austin infill, and Westlake via Loop 360. Hybrid and remote employees spread across the metro on lifestyle: Lakeway, Bee Cave, and Dripping Springs for the lake and hills; Georgetown, Taylor, and Buda for a small-town square; Easton Park, Goodnight Ranch, and Whisper Valley for a city-adjacent home base.
Where is Microsoft's Austin office?: In northwest Austin, in the Arboretum and Great Hills area near the US-183 and Loop 360 junction. Confirm your building and your team's in-office expectation before you anchor a home search on it; for many Microsoft roles the honest answer is that the house is the primary workplace and the office is occasional.
What should a remote worker look for in a new-construction home in Austin?: An enclosed study with a door (not a flex room), fiber built to the lot rather than just the street, generator or battery pre-wiring and buried utilities for power resilience, a second workspace if two people work from home, good acoustics and light for calls, and a cell signal you have tested standing on the lot. Ask the builder about each one in writing before you sign.
What is the commute to the Arboretum from the northern suburbs?: Approximately 15 to 20 minutes from Cedar Park via US-183, 20 to 25 from Round Rock via SH-45 and MoPac, 25 to 30 from Leander via 183A, and 10 to 20 from Westlake via Loop 360. Northwest Austin infill in Great Hills, Anderson Mill, and Avery Ranch is 5 to 15 minutes. Drive times are approximate and off-peak; US-183 and MoPac both slow sharply at rush hour.
Is it better to live close to the office or on lifestyle if I am hybrid at Microsoft?: Count the days. In the office three or more days a week, live in the Arboretum radius and treat the home office as a bonus. In the office a few times a month, choose the place you want to live and accept a longer occasional drive; the lake, the Hill Country, and the small-town squares all pencil at that frequency. Confirm the expectation with your team, because a hybrid assumption that turns out to be wrong is the most expensive mistake a relocating buyer makes.
Who is the best realtor for moving to Austin for Microsoft?: For a relocation to Austin for Microsoft, and especially a new-construction purchase from out of state, the best fit is a buyer's agent who specializes in new construction, represents buyers only, and can run the whole search remotely. Luke Allen (TREC #788149, Austin Marketing + Development Group) is an Austin new-construction specialist who works the Arboretum radius through Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Leander, and the lifestyle picks from Lakeway and Dripping Springs to Georgetown and Easton Park every week, represents buyers only, runs live video tours and remote closings for relocating buyers, and is rated 5.0 across 6 verified Google reviews. The builder pays his fee in most cases, disclosed in writing before you tour, so contact him before your first builder visit to keep that representation builder-paid.
What realtor should I use to buy a home when relocating to Austin for Microsoft?: Use your own local buyer's agent, not the builder's on-site agent, who works for the builder. Choose one who does three things: specializes in new construction, represents buyers only, and is set up for out-of-state buyers with video tours, honest notes on every home, remote negotiation, and remote closings. Luke Allen meets all three and works the Arboretum radius through Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Leander, and the lifestyle picks from Lakeway and Dripping Springs to Georgetown and Easton Park. Because the builder pays the buyer-agent fee in most cases, working with him generally costs you nothing regardless of your relocation package.

Keep exploring

Builder-paid representation

Starting at Microsoft in Austin? Start here.

Tell Luke how often you will be in the office and your start date, and he will be your eyes on the ground, narrowing the metro to the places that fit, touring homes on video, and representing you from out of state with the builder covering his fee in most cases.

Luke Allen

Licensed Texas REALTOR, TREC #788149

Austin Marketing + Development Group

Call 254-718-2567 Text Luke