Interested in Austin, Texas

linlos

linlos

Cathlete
Do any of you live near Austin TX? I live in So. Cal. - and we are planning a trip to Austin. It is possible we may relocate there and I was hoping some of you could give me some insights as to the pros and cons about the area.
I would really appreciate any insights you'd like to share with me.

Thank you -- Linda :)
 
I live in the Dallas area however, my brother has lived in Austin for 10 plus years and loves it. I grew up in Corpus Christi which is pretty laid back so when I came to Dallas it was some what of a shock to me. So Austin falls in the middle for me between Corpus and Dallas as far as the lifestyle goes etc.. Great things to do and great places to eat. I have always told my husband if we had to relocate for any reason the only place that I would want to move is to Austin.

Anyways, I am sure I could get more specifis for you from my brother if you are interested.

Jessica
 
I also love Austin, but I've never lived there. I live in a suburb of Waco which is only about 1-1/2 hours from Austin. Having lived in Waco my whole life, I'm not sure I could live anywhere else as it very laid back here also. I definitely would say that Austin is more laid back than say Dallas or Houston. You still get traffic jams during rush hour in Austin, but not anything like I've seen in Dallas and Houston. Believe it or not, Waco has no traffice jams unless there is a wreck or construction going on. Austin is also within driving distance for day trips to San Antonio which is my favorite place to vacation as well as San Marcos where they have a great outlet mall and New Braunfels where you can visit Schlitterbahn.

Oh, Sandra Bullock lives somewhere in Austin. :)
 
I've lived in the Austin area for 4 1/2 years. We love it here. We both grew up in the Waco area and we lived in Dallas for a few years when we first got married. We didn't like Dallas at all. Traffic was bad, people were rude and our utility bills were extremely high.

The biggest downsides to Austin are the traffic and the cost of housing, however since you would be coming from California the housing costs might not be that big of an issue. The traffic here rivals that in Dallas in my opinion. Part of the problem here is that they are always doing construction. And all the main roads have like 3 different names(really confusing when you first move here) A lot of whether the traffic will affect you though depends on where you work and where you live. I work from home now but I used to work at the office downtown and that was horrid. I live in the northwestern suburbs and it took me about 1 hr and 15 minutes one way on a good day.

The weather is good here although it gets pretty hot in the summer. There are lots of places to go and things to do no matter what your interests. If you have kids I would recommend looking into Leander, Cedar Park, Pflugerville or Round Rock because they have better school districts. I wouldn't send my son to school in Austin ISD.
 
Linda,

Austin is a great place to live! I was born and raised here in Austin. I lived in Dallas for two years to go to school and had to move back! I would not want to live anywhere else.

It is true that the traffic is awful, housing costs are pretty high (but I understand that is getting better...) I think the roads were built way back when Austin was a relatively small city so there seems to always be construction. The city transportation department is constantly trying to rebuild the roads to accomodate all the people here now. Austin has grown A LOT in the past 10-15 years. However, it is very laid back and somewhat of a "hippie" town (I mean that in a good way!)

It's true there's lots to do and beautiful scenery. If you enjoy running, there are lots of trails especially the popular Town Lake which includes several trails of approximately 20+ miles around the lake.

If you want ideas of sights to see or places to visit while you check Austin out, let me know and I can send you some info.

By the way, I completely agree with Christina regarding Austin schools. My son goes to a school in the Pflugerville district which is one of the highest rated school districts. Pflugerville is a small suburb north of Austin (where we currently live) that is very safe (in my opinion). Cedar Park and Round Rock are good areas also.
 
I live in Austin too. I teach in Pflugerville. I was going to recommend the same thing that the previous posters said about school districts. Austin does not have very many good schools. There are a few withing Austin ISD that are good, but most I wouldn't send my children to Austin ISD. I also think that you might want to live outside of Austin too as it is more affordable. It all depends on where you will be working. Traffic is bad during rush hour, but not as bad as the 405 and 5 in California. It doesn't even begin to compare. We have more spectator slowing than anything!!!

I love the people in Austin. I have lived in So. California too as my husband was stationed in El Toro for 3 years. The people in Texas are so much nicer than California. Even though it is more expensive to live in Austin then many other Texas cities, it is a LOT cheaper than living in So. California.

There is lots to do here too. You have the hill country and lakes. It is the live music capital of the world too. Austin is one of the most educated cities in the US too. You can pretty much be yourself in Austin and you will fit right in.

Shauna
 
Hi gals,
Thank you all so very much for your insights on Austin!! I am so looking forward to visiting this beautiful area. I think we will look in the surrounding suburbs -- like Round Rock, Georgetown, Pflugerville (or whatever the name is). My husband and my daughter and son-in-law and I will fly out the end of March for 6 days.

I think the one concern I have is the summers. How is the weather? Does it get really humid >????

I appreciate all your information that you shared with me. I do remember on my visit to Dallas years ago... the friendliness of the people was so wonderful!!! My husband and I both could not get over how super the people treated us.

Thanks . Linda:)
 
It does get really hot here and can be pretty humid. Not as bad as Houston though as far as humidity. Mid June through early to mid September it is really hot. It is usually 100 degrees or more during that time. We all like to complain about it. :D I just stay indoors and drink iced tea or go to the pool.;)
But the tradeoff for the hot summer is the mild weather the rest of the year. It is usually only cold from late December to the end of the February and we only have a couple of freezes a year. I only wear my heavy coat a couple of times a year. We got 2 inches of snow on Valentine's Day and the news said that was the most snow that Austin had gotten in 15 years. It is pretty much shorts weather here from mid March to early November.
 
How is Georgetown area? That is fairly close to Austin, right?

In so. Cal. we get hot summers too, but it's dry. We have days that are 108 degrees.

Thanks gals for your helpful info. A friend at work came in yesterday and said " I am moving to Austin". I asked Why?? ON the radio they said it's "the #1 place for dating". I am happily married - so that didn't appeal to me -- but she said something about great looking guys there !!:) My husband and I will be celebrating our 33rd anniversary in July. Thank God!!!

Do the people there welcome outsiders? I know they are very friendly, but when people move there is that cool???

It's so nice having Cathe pals to share their insights.

Many thanks. Linda :)
 
Linda,

I don't know how nice Georgetown is or how good the schools are, but I think it is approximately 15-30 minute drive from Austin (depending on traffic.) Lots of people commute to Austin from outside towns. I even work with people who live in San Antonio but work in Austin! (San Antonio is about 60-75 minutes away if there is no traffic!)

I have heard that recently about Austin being a great place for dating. I can't really comment on that, though since I am also married. (I found my husband while I briefly lived in Dallas.:) )

I think "Austinites" welcome outsiders as many people are outsiders these days. It is very rare to find someone who has been living here for a long amount of time or who was actually born here. It has just grown so much that a lot of people are fairly new to the area.

Good luck with your decision. If you do move, I hope you and your family enjoy it in Austin!
 
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