janj

We may well be moving there this summer. I'm visiting for a couple of days next month, but would appreciate the scoop on Austin as a place to live The good, the bad and the ugly.....
Cheers.

TimFountain

Lived here 8 years, and been visiting since 1988.

Good:-Mild winters

• Hill Country
• Cost of living
• Cheaper housing, esp. outside of central Austin/close-in to downtown
• No state income tax (but see below)
• Friendly people (esp. if you are aligned religiously or politically)
• Top rated schools (esp outside of AISD i.e. Round Rock, Georgetown)
• Relatively low crime (but see below)
• Still has small-town feel

Bad:-

• Hotter than hell in the summer (summer is Feb-Nov). 68 days over 100 and 100 days over 90 last year, and it doesn’t even begin to cool off at night
• Not a whole lot to do, esp. for kids, the summer is too hot for them to play outside
• Not that I care but apparently not much pro sports
• Utilities (esp. electricity for A/C) are mind-bending expensive (I average $500 in electricity from June-Sept and $200 for water)
• Pay is deemed to be lower due to lots of graduates at UT
• Not as much hi-tech as you might expect
• Some bad parts of town are east of I35 downtown and around Rundberg
• No basements - Get ready to rent a lockup for all your 'stuff'
• Oasis in a sea of mediocrity (20 miles in any direction is the boonies, complete with rednecks, guns and trucks)
• Sales tax of 8.25%
• Property tax is very high. My 3,800 sq.ft house is over $9K
• Allergy capitol of the US. Cedar is really bad
• Going anywhere is a long drive or a connecting flight through DFW/IAH
• A little bit over-hyped IMHO.
• Getting crowded. Lots of CA, AZ and FL transplants.
• Traffic. Lots of. I35 runs straight through the middle and is always gridlocked
• Weather can be unpredictable – you can pretty much have 4 seasons in 1 day – I’ve had 2 new roofs in 7 years due to hail damage.

janj

Thanks for taking the time to reply, Tim. You haven't put me off so far!

* A bigger garage will compensate for the damp basements around here!
* We average 100 days below freezing as a trade for 100 days above 90!
* We're not moving with kids.
* Not job hunting, so not worried about lower wages (for now!).
* We'd noticed the high property taxes, but I guess no state income tax is the trade off.
* We pay $500 a month for heating oil in the winter.

Looking forward to visiting

scrubbedexpat097

Janj


Sending you a PM.........

janj

Cheers Sugarmooma - I just replied!

TimFountain

Well, what's the big secret?

scrubbedexpat097

Busted


I was trying to convince her to move to Houston instead.......

ChocolateBabz

Vote 2 for Houston Looks like I'm staying for the foreseeable

Haven't been through to Austin janj - sorry can't help with that one.

scrubbedexpat097

Get ye to them there hills lady The scenery is alot prettier than around here mate!

ChocolateBabz

Will do when the out-laws come to visit in June - last time had to go to San An to see the Alamo!

lisa67

I've only spent a very rowdy weekend with 2 girlfriends in Austin....bats, music, students, bats, good fish n chips at an Irish pub, bats, 6th street..that's all I remember!

meauxna

Bats?

Burn1911

I was just thinking the same thing maybe us up here on the West coast are missing out on something!!

scrubbedexpat097

This might help.........


http://www.io.com/house/bats.html

another bloody yank

Damn.

I thought it was going to be something kinky.