Austin, TX

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moneywise3
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Austin, TX

Post by moneywise3 »

I will be looking for a job in tech field next year. Trying to decide where to relocate - Austin pops up often as a good place for technology jobs. What are the plus and minuses of Austin? I know very little about the place. Assume being Texas the cost of living should be low. How is housing, commute times, quality of schools etc? Any comments are appreciated.
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OldOne
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by OldOne »

You might want to visit this web site, read and register to ask your questions. Probably, you can find answers here already. If not, ask.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/austin/
janelane
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by janelane »

Hi!

I currently live in Austin (just relocated in July), and I also work in tech (UX Design). The tech industry is great here; after all, they don't call Austin Silicon Hills for nothing. I've only been here a short time, but here's my rundown:

~Culture - Austin's a very laid back, youth-oriented city. If you're into health, fitness, organic & local eating, biking, hiking, camping you'll fit in great. It's not the most diverse city, but the people are generally very friendly. The live music scene is pretty great as well: Austin City Limits was in October, and now everyone is anxiously awaiting SXSW (SXSW Interactive for us techies).

~Cost of living - In my experience as a young single, the cost of living is comparable to Houston: you can live well on a little and live very well on a lot. I can't really offer any advice on real estate, but I hear that if you're looking for investment property, East Austin is where it's at. The first-time home buyers I work seem to like the area around the old airport.

~Commutes - Austin's one of the fastest growing cities in America (if not the fastest). Traffic gets exponentially worse every year because the freeway system was not built to service such a population increase. Nevertheless, my commute isn't terrible. As long as you don't live way down south or way up north in Round Rock it will take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to get to and from downtown in the middle of rush hour. Some people I work with take the train (our office is downtown). Austin is very bike friendly; so if you live close to your work, you could travel cheaply and quickly that way. :happy (plus some companies have installed showers in their offices so their biking workers can freshen after they arrive)

~Don't have kids, so I can't comment on the schools

~Climate: This is a plus for me because I prefer warm weather. The winter has been very temperate so far. We had a cold front come through on Sunday, but the high will be 70 again on Saturday.

~Food: Austin has great all-American food: burgers, pizza, barbeque, etc. I kinda miss being able to readily get great Lebanese or Malaysian food.


Hope that helps!
Some resources:
http://www.statesman.com/
http://move-to-austin.com/
http://austin.culturemap.com/
CymToLearn
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by CymToLearn »

I live outside of Austin, in Pflugerville but lived in and around Austin my entire life. Personally I love Austin and have been to several other cities before to have an idea that I really am happy staying here.

It's not as great as say New York but it has it's own culture.

Great thing about Austin is plenty of parks, hike and bike trails, live music (somewhat), a growing industry and jobs are pretty easy to find here. Bad thing IMO is the traffic. Homes are expensive IMO inside of Austin but very affordable in areas around Austin such as Cedar Park, Round Rock and Pflugerville.

I don't have kids so I don't keep up with the quality of schools in Austin but I know that last year or the year before several schools were closed due to poor performance (Peace Park Elementary was one) but I am familiar with Pflugerville ISD, and Dripping Springs ISD and they are rank high.
brainstem
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by brainstem »

www.auschron.com

Remember ..... Keep Austin weird
Topic Author
moneywise3
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by moneywise3 »

Thank you all
Austintatious
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by Austintatious »

moneywise,

I've read the other comments posted here and I'm in agreement with just about everything said. Sorry, but my experiences in Austin are a bit dated. I lived, worked and attended UT from '72 to '82. In my view, it was a great place to live. My two daughters, ages 33, nurse, and 31, chef, live and work there now, and they're plenty happy to be there. I still visit there often and I enjoy doing so.

Expect mild winters, hot and often humid summers, and relatively short springs and falls. If you or a significant other is a gardner, one can grow just about anything. Austin's on the east side of what's known as the Texas Hill Country, a unique part of the state offering lots of outside activities, and day tripping and overnight destinations for some just plain fun. The people (Texans, in general) are open and friendly. Be prepared to be greeted by total strangers, and often. Austin's an especially fun place for younger adults and the young at heart, with many live music and other entertainment venues, a gazillion restaurants, including an expanding diversity of cuisines, a fair number of parks and recreational opportunities in town. Lots of good shopping venues. It's the state capital, with all the good and the bad that goes with the political scene. It's a place with lot's of energy, lot's of money changing hands and, I think, lot's of opportunity. It's easily the most tolerant of the state's larger cities, with lifestyles of just about every kind . It's maybe an hour's drive south to San Antonio, a great place to have fun. It's a three to four hour drive to the DFW metroplex by car, and all it has to offer. My impression is that living expenses in Austin are some of the highest for the state, but not as high as some of the other cities across the country. I'm not sufficiently informed re the state of the tech industry in Austin to offer any insight there. Yes, getting around town in the traffic can be a real problem, but that's just a fact of life with any city of substantial size, especially one growing as is Austin.

You would do well to visit and check things out for yourself. Good luck!!
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Rick Ferri
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by Rick Ferri »

Don't overlook San Antonio, home of the Air Force Cyber Command (Lackland, AFB). It's another low-cost, lay back tech savvy city with lots to offer and explosive growth.

Rick Ferri
The Education of an Index Investor: born in darkness, finds indexing enlightenment, overcomplicates everything, embraces simplicity.
texasdiver
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by texasdiver »

The techies here are pretty accurate about the job climate and quality of life.

As a teacher I can comment on the schools. Austin pretty much follows the pattern of most cities. The central area and east side is mainly Hispanic and poor and the schools suffer due to the crushing issues of poverty, migration, and all that. Not saying many of the schools in Austin aren't great, just that their test scores and rankings suffer due to demographics.

Generally speaking upscale middle class folk with kids will move to the western and northern suburbs to put their kids in the wealthier and more upscale school districts. Eanes ISD which covers the wealthy west hills just west of central Austin is probably the wealthiest and most elite school district in the Austin area. Further west into the suburbs is Lake Travis ISD, another upscale area popular with upscale school-obsessed parents. The Round Rock area north of the city has many good schools but the demographics of that area are evolving as it becomes more urban.
CarlZ993
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by CarlZ993 »

I've lived in Austin since 1980. I worked for the PD here until my retirement a few years back. So, I've seen the worst Austin has to offer. That being said, I think Austin is a pretty neat place. Lots of outdoor activities available (if you can tolerate the heat) - running, biking, swimming, boating, rowing, etc. The only other place I'd consider living in Texas would be San Antonio (Go Spurs!).

Sports enthusiast? UT has all your college sports. Round Rock (suburb) was AAA baseball. Cedar Park (suburb) has hockey. San Antonio (75 miles south) has an NBA team. Lots of places to run and bike. Lots of well organized running races almost year round (gets pretty lean in the summer). Swimming in Zilker Park (spring-fed pool) has a cult-like following among some people. Is motorcycling a sport? Don't know. Lots of great riding in the hill country, though.

Dining? You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Tex-Mex restaurant. They're everywhere. Anything that fits your fancy, Austin will have as far as other restaurants are concerned. You won't starve if you don't like to cook.

Crime? The violent crime is really pretty low for its size. But crime runs in cycles. We had more homicides in the mid 90s (when I worked homicide) than we do now. And we have a bunch more people living here (13th largest city in the US). Property crime isn't so good. Without looking at the recent data, I'd say it was average or slightly worse than average compared to the rest of the nation.

Down side? Summer heat can be pretty rough. If you're a runner, you get your miles in before the sun comes up or suffer the consequences. Traffic is atrocious. There are two main N/S hwys (IH-35 and Loop 1, aka Mopac). During rush hour, Mopac is bad, IH-35 is horrible. No other way to describe it. There is no decent traffic loop round the town. There is a toll road that will bypass Austin if you're willing to pay the toll. A few years back, Austin was rated as the worst city for traffic congestion for a city its size. If you buy a house, the costs here are above average for Texas. Some people will make a big profit selling their house someplace else and buy a much bigger house here. Then, they get sticker shock when the property tax bill comes in. Apartment/condo rent can be pretty pricey if you want to live in a desirable location (Downtown or near downtown).

Hope some of this helps.
Carl Z
Austintatious
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by Austintatious »

Rick Ferri wrote:Don't overlook San Antonio, home of the Air Force Cyber Command (Lackland, AFB). It's another low-cost, lay back tech savvy city with lots to offer and explosive growth.

Rick Ferri
And then there's Medina, out there in the "real" Texas hill country. Lucky you, Rick.
CarlZ993
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by CarlZ993 »

Austintatious wrote:
Rick Ferri wrote:Don't overlook San Antonio, home of the Air Force Cyber Command (Lackland, AFB). It's another low-cost, lay back tech savvy city with lots to offer and explosive growth.

Rick Ferri
And then there's Medina, out there in the "real" Texas hill country. Lucky you, Rick.
And the famous Apple Store! Yum! Never pass thru Medina w/o stopping there.
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Rick Ferri
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by Rick Ferri »

And the famous Apple Store! Yum! Never pass thru Medina w/o stopping there.
Best burgers in the Hill Country! We go there often.

Rick Ferri
The Education of an Index Investor: born in darkness, finds indexing enlightenment, overcomplicates everything, embraces simplicity.
Rubiosa
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by Rubiosa »

Life's too short to live anywhere but Austin.
Topic Author
moneywise3
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by moneywise3 »

Rubiosa wrote:Life's too short to live anywhere but Austin.
and the reasons are...
ourbrooks
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by ourbrooks »

Don't move here. Too many people have moved here in the past twenty years. There are now traffic jams where there never used to be and housing prices have risen disproportionately. Central Texas is in the middle of an extended drought and there are water usage restrictions. It's one of the worst places for allergies; there's rag weed in the late summer, cedar pollen in the winter and mold the rest of the year around. Cockroaches are the giant variety; I've seen two inch long ones. If you move here, you'll add to the crowding and you won't enjoy it.
SPG8
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by SPG8 »

CarlZ993 wrote:Swimming in Zilker Park (spring-fed pool) has a cult-like following among some people.
I want to quit my job and go back to Barton Springs.

Whip in.
rustymutt
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by rustymutt »

We drove up through Austin TX. on our way home last spring, and hit Austin I-35 at morning rush hour, and decided we'd not like it. Worst traffic I've ever been in. Both headed north into downtown, and north out of downtown. Texas needs to do some road work in that area. That is really all I know about Austin.
Even educators need education. And some can be hard headed to the point of needing time out.
Austintatious
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by Austintatious »

ourbrooks wrote:Don't move here. Too many people have moved here in the past twenty years. There are now traffic jams where there never used to be and housing prices have risen disproportionately. Central Texas is in the middle of an extended drought and there are water usage restrictions. It's one of the worst places for allergies; there's rag weed in the late summer, cedar pollen in the winter and mold the rest of the year around. Cockroaches are the giant variety; I've seen two inch long ones. If you move here, you'll add to the crowding and you won't enjoy it.
moneywise, everything ourbrooks has said here is true. The increase in popularity and in population have been working many changes on the ambience of Austin, some of which have clearly been negative -the traffic, the expanding "development" and the strain it has on the environment. And, yes, there would be times when you wouldn't "enjoy it", like during rag weed season and on the occasions where you forget the time of day and manage to get yourself stuck in traffic. But Austin still has many features that make it a desirable and fun place to live. Perhaps you could locate right next door to ourbrooks, so that the two of you could work together in making Austin an even better place in which to live.
ourbrooks
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by ourbrooks »

Actually, they've got the I-35 congestion problem solved. You just take the brand new TX-130 toll road and avoid Austin entirely!!

Oh, and I forgot to mention the summer heat. For roughly four months of the year you need to run the air conditioning and pay very high electric rates and very high water rates if you don't like desert plants. No one goes outside then. It's particularly miserable if you've got kids on summer vacation, because you can't send them outside to play.

No, please don't move next door to me. Although it's highly unlikely, I'd be perfectly happy if our nice neighbors moved out and abandoned their house.

Let me second Rick Ferri's suggestion about Medina. It hasn't been spoiled yet.
MDfive21
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by MDfive21 »

if you're into motorsport, the circuit of the americas just opened this year and you can expect Formula1 and MotoGP yearly for at least a few years to come. http://circuitoftheamericas.com/
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brisni
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by brisni »

I've lived in Austin 20 years and can't imagine living anywhere else. NW Austin is a great area for tech jobs and raising a family.
Yes, it is hot in summer, but not too bad in mornings and evenings. Winters are wonderful. Yes, traffic is stop-and-go on all highways during rush hour.
Fortunately, I live close to work so am able to avoid it for the most part. My kids are in Round Rock school district and the schools are excellent.
(Canyon Vista Middle and Westwood High). We don't have any problem with bugs, other than fire ant mounds. If you stick to native plants
and grass, the water bill is not a problem.

- Brian
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interplanetjanet
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by interplanetjanet »

ourbrooks wrote:Oh, and I forgot to mention the summer heat. For roughly four months of the year you need to run the air conditioning and pay very high electric rates and very high water rates if you don't like desert plants.
A good friend of mine lives in Austin. From what I can tell, electricity rates there are "crazy low" (as my 14yo would say) compared to what I'm used to in California. Be glad for small favors. :)
ourbrooks
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by ourbrooks »

There's lot of debate going on currently about how "reasonable" electric rates are in Texas in general. Texas has a scheme that is nominally an open market for electricity but which, practically, doesn't reward generators for investments in base load plants; the end result is the worst of both worlds, extremely high rates during periods of high demand as very expensive, peak load plants come on line and the threat and occasional reality of shortages and outages.

The winter before last summer's record breaking heat, they actually shut down power in many neighborhoods for a day because of grid failure!
http://www.statesman.com/news/business/ ... l-1/nRXGZ/ They were talking abou the possiblity of more blackouts early this summer so the problem hasn't gone away.

Reasonable rates or not, the problem with Austin summers is that you need a LOT of electricity. If you're from any where in the Midwest or Northeast, be prepared to marvel at how much Austin summer electric bills are like winter heating bills.

You might think that because of the heat having a pool would be nice. Maybe, if you like spending money. We spent over $300 last summer just on replacing the water that evaporated and we have a Boglehead appropriate sized pool.

Ah, yes, fire ants. Forgot about those. Most new comers to the Austin area are astonished at how painful the bites are.

...and the wonderful Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 race that drove the average hotel bill bill to $397 per night. We did enjoy watching the traffic congestion maps on Google Maps. If I wanted to make Austin a better place, I'd turn the track back into grazing land.

May I also suggest looking at San Marcos? It's getting to be the kind of college town Austin was until too many people moved here.
John Bonzo
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Re: Austin, TX

Post by John Bonzo »

My impression of Austin after countless visits (never lived there myself):
  • Quirky/fun
    Everyone who lives there seems to love it (which is a great quality in a city -- though I personally don't see the appeal)
    An increasing dislike of outsiders
    Dirty
    Crowded - bad traffic
    Lots of activity and things to do
    Lots of nature/parks in the area
    Housing seems expensive compared to other parts of the state
    Has a lot of the typical big city problems (though it is not that big of a city)
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