Looking to move here? (Austin, Spring: appointed, real estate market, apartment)

[sxrckr]

What has the Austin marketing campaign been putting out lately (or having others put out)? Like within the last few weeks?

Is it just me or are the "thinking of moving to Austin" threads getting extremely repetitive as of recent? And a lot of these people don't seem to have much familiarity with Austin, so just going on.... what exactly?

We need a sticky DON'T MOVE HERE WITHOUT A JOB FIRST and IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE SHANGRI-LA YOU HEARD IT WAS. And there are other great cities in Texas, even in the South. The one-sided PR Austin is known for is getting a little out of control perhaps? I think so.

[atxcio]

Doing something like that would come across as incredibly rude, and poorly reflective of the folks in the forum and city. If you feel it's your job to inform everyone who dreams of moving here that jobs are tough to come by and Austin isn't as great as everyone thinks, that's fine... it can be your job. Just keep responding to their posts. Or keep the sour grapes to yourself, and just extol the virtues of the other cities you like as alternatives.

There are always lots of these "moving to Austin" posts... just like there are on any of the city forums. This is a relocation board, after all.

But if there *was* an uptick in moving-here posts, I'd say it's probably because of the weather more than anything else. It will drop off in the summertime.

[feconi]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

The one-sided PR Austin is known for is getting a little out of control perhaps? I think so.

Yeah, shame on Austin for its "one sided" PR campaign--especially since no other cities in the country would even dream of doing such a thing.

[ScoPro]

But sxrckr's advice to have a job in place before moving here is correct.

Otherwise, a Master's degree in liberal arts might get you a position waiting tables at Chuy's.

[kiacook]

I don't think it's rude at all to make those comments front and center. We do see many people come here saying "I want to move to Austin, what's it like?" basically. And I always wonder if you don't know, WHY DO YOU WANT TO MOVE HERE? The answer generally is that they've heard Austin is primed to do well coming out of the recession. I don't think that idea is only or even primarly coming from some kind of Austin PR campaign. There are data and economic indicators about job loss, real estate market and industry that keep Austin on the lists of cities with potential. But people thinking about moving here should do a little more research first - and I don't consider asking a bunch of people on a message board "what's it like?" to be research.

[Dr.Mom]

There is a sticky at the top of the Philly board that I've found to be very helpful. It has potential residents answer the basic questions about what they're looking for so that we can make more focused recommendations for them. It eliminates a lot of the same old back and forth that I see here about well, how much can you spend? Where will you/SO be working, etc. Maybe if we ask nicely we can borrow it or come up with one for the Austin forum?

Questions For Future and Potential Residents
To help the members of the Philly forum guide you more quickly towards a compatible neighborhood and lifestyle, here are "just a few" starter questions to choose from.


When are you moving?
Where are you coming from?
Why are you moving?
Where will you be working?
Have you been here yet?

Will you buy or rent?
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?


Are you married or single? Do you have children?
Do you prefer public or private schools?
Do you have pets?
Do you want or need a yard?
Are you keeping a car?
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?

What do you want to be closest to?
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?

[muti6000]

Originally Posted by kiacook

I don't think it's rude at all to make those comments front and center. We do see many people come here saying "I want to move to Austin, what's it like?" basically. And I always wonder if you don't know, WHY DO YOU WANT TO MOVE HERE? The answer generally is that they've heard Austin is primed to do well coming out of the recession. I don't think that idea is only or even primarly coming from some kind of Austin PR campaign. There are data and economic indicators about job loss, real estate market and industry that keep Austin on the lists of cities with potential. But people thinking about moving here should do a little more research first - and I don't consider asking a bunch of people on a message board "what's it like?" to be research.

Well, considering Austin is on the Top Ten list of practically every magazine/blog/newsspaper on the planet, can you blame them? They want the "poop" from the actual citizens (and I'm sure they research on other sites too...or I would certinly hope so). Same with Portland, Seattle, LA, NYC, etc. It's one of the "it" cities, and I really think it has very little, if at all, to do with anything economy-related from what I've seen (it certainly wasn't a factor for me, it was all quality of life...of course I own a decades-old business that's pretty much recession-proof, soooo I'm a lil' biased.). Of course it's research. Maybe it ain't hardcore, let's visit, look at graphs, job prospects, etc., type research, but it's research regardless, and where better to go than the source?

[kiacook]

You could easily google Austin neighborhoods and start learning about different areas. You could search "austin" and "transit" to find out if we have an El or any other mass transit system. There are plenty of ways to find out the basics before coming here and saying "so?" That's all I'm asking - do a little bit of research first, take Austin out of the mix if it doesn't even have the basic requirements you're looking for in a city (is it like SF? no) and come here with some educated questions. Obviously it's not a requirement, but for me personally it would make me more likely to want to help.

[AustinTraveler]

This is nothing new to the Austin forum or any other warm weather state forum. Every winter people decide they've had enough and they start checking out warmer places to move. I would guess about 99% of them don't actually move cause Winter ends and Spring is delightful.

[eepstein]

The Austin marketing campaign has more or less been the same since I moved here nearly 8 years ago. It spreads lies throughout the country about the city of Austin and claims numerous things that simply aren't true. Thousands of people have come here with hopes of what they hear, and are sadly disappointed.

The city is completely biast towards all middle and lower income people and therefore puts little if any effort into the parts of the city that aren't downtown or central. Most people moving here end up moving to the faceless suburbs because of Austin's very high cost of living, skyhigh property taxes, and generally miserable treatment of anyone accept the whealthy (all convienently left out during the marketing campaigns)

The marketing campaigns are completely out of control but it just gives you a good idea of how truly corrupt the city of Austin is.

Originally Posted by sxrckr

What has the Austin marketing campaign been putting out lately (or having others put out)? Like within the last few weeks?

Is it just me or are the "thinking of moving to Austin" threads getting extremely repetitive as of recent? And a lot of these people don't seem to have much familiarity with Austin, so just going on.... what exactly?

We need a sticky DON'T MOVE HERE WITHOUT A JOB FIRST and IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE SHANGRI-LA YOU HEARD IT WAS. And there are other great cities in Texas, even in the South. The one-sided PR Austin is known for is getting a little out of control perhaps? I think so.