Young Professional Moving from San Diego (Houston, Dallas: rent, how much, job market)
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Somewhat of an indicator of Austin quality of life..
Ricky Williams, who is from San Diego (and that's where his family is), played in a number of NFL cities, and could have continued to make millions for a couple of more years... decided he'd rather move to Austin.
Agreed. Of course, Ricky is loved in Austin and they're actually building him a statue. He is hated by a lot of people in Miami and New Orleans so those aren't good options for him. San Diegans don't really care about him either way, but in Austin he is a huge celebrity because he won the Heisman with UT. Again, Austin is a great place to live, but Ricky has all types of personal reasons to choose Austin as his home aside from it having a good quality of life. Plus, I'm sure we'll see him on the UT sideline coaching or as part of the media around here since he is so well-liked here. He has a guaranteed job in Austin pretty much wherever he wants.
Agreed. Of course, Ricky is loved in Austin and they're actually building him a statue. He is hated by a lot of people in Miami and New Orleans so those aren't good options for him. San Diegans don't really care about him either way, but in Austin he is a huge celebrity because he won the Heisman with UT. Again, Austin is a great place to live, but Ricky has all types of personal reasons to choose Austin as his home aside from it having a good quality of life. Plus, I'm sure we'll see him on the UT sideline coaching or as part of the media around here since he is so well-liked here. He has a guaranteed job in Austin pretty much wherever he wants.
I think if a job was a concern, he'd just stay in the NFL and make a few more million. He could easily make 10x the money he could in Austin by staying a couple of more years in the NFL. So I don't think it's that.
But certainly, he is loved by the city and perhaps the support network he built at UT is more important to him than actual family.
I think if a job was a concern, he'd just stay in the NFL and make a few more million. He could easily make 10x the money he could in Austin by staying a couple of more years in the NFL. So I don't think it's that.
We're starting to get off topic, but Ricky really is an interesting guy who genuinely doesn't seem to care about the money. Actually, they interview him enough on 104.9 and really all he talks about is doing something more creative in his life that doesn't hurt his body. He talks about doing something "bigger" than being a football player. While I think he ultimately will end up involved with UT in some capacity as a coach or something else, he talks about traveling and teaching others more than anything else. If you're interested, his most recent audio interview with the morning guys on 104.9 can be found at the link below. Just scroll down to 3/21.
3/21/12 Longhorns legend & Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams on The Morning Rush
ESPN Austin AudioVault (http://espnaustin.com/audiovault/ - broken link)
But to stay on topic, there are many athletes and other wealthy people that could live anywhere they want, but they do choose to live in Austin.
Sorry, I've skipped the second and third page of post so I might be a little off topic. My two cents, Austin is the city in Texas that is the most similar to San Diego. Its a great place to live once you get settled and get a network of friends. At the same time I guarantee you will miss San Diego! I moved to Austin from San Diego about a year ago because the ratio of cost of living / quality of life. I keep telling myself as soon as I make over $100K, I am going to move back to SD.
Sorry, I've skipped the second and third page of post so I might be a little off topic. My two cents, Austin is the city in Texas that is the most similar to San Diego. Its a great place to live once you get settled and get a network of friends. At the same time I guarantee you will miss San Diego! I moved to Austin from San Diego about a year ago because the ratio of cost of living / quality of life. I keep telling myself as soon as I make over $100K, I am going to move back to SD.
Yep, you pay a premium to live in SD and while I think the best of ATX, it will never have a comparable climate and coastline. I just moved to SD from Austin 6 months ago for a new job and it's 25-30% more for housing, groceries, and gas. Traffic is like Mopaq and I-35 during rush hour. Austin may have more local entertainment, but then folks living in SD have the southern california lifestyle. And instead of 1.5 hours to San Antonio, you got LA, the entertainment capitol. But, yes, you gotta pay the cover charge if you want to live here.
There is a reason why SD is more expensive, because more people want to live in SD and there is only such much space.
Good luck OP living in ATX! You're essentially getting a 30% raise with the COL adjustment. Live downtown or near Zilker Park (78704, a 10-15min cab ride away... it will help haha)
Biggest reason why San Diego is more expensive is income tax and business climate (tax and regulation). Anyone who runs a business there has much, much higher costs than they would in TX, and those costs get passed on to the people who live there. So while I would never accuse San Diego of being undesirable from the POV of "is it a beautiful place with lots to do," it is simply inaccurate to chalk it up to its desirability, particularly compared to a place like Austin that has had much more growth over the last 10-12 years than has San Diego -- though San Diego has certainly had some.
I do not mean to be splitting hairs with you over which city is more 'desirable.' My wife is from Southern CA and I don't think Austin can even compare in terms of climate. But it is not correct to assume that the cost of living is higher in San Diego due solely or even primarily to desirability.
I do not mean to be splitting hairs with you over which city is more 'desirable.' My wife is from Southern CA and I don't think Austin can even compare in terms of climate. But it is not correct to assume that the cost of living is higher in San Diego due solely or even primarily to desirability.
I'm not quibbling also but you know as well as I do that attraction and demand are siblings...
But it is not correct to assume that the cost of living is higher in San Diego due solely or even primarily to desirability.
Exactly. People often make the incorrect assumption that it's less expensive to live in Texas because there are fewer people wanting to do so. In reality, Texas' major cities have grown at a number and rate exceeding most others in recent years, while places like CA and NY are losing population. Texas is gaining residents from those states.
The lower costs have to do with factors like less regulation, easier to establish a business, taxes, and more land available.
But it is not correct to assume that the cost of living is higher in San Diego due solely or even primarily to desirability.
I do think that San Diego is the exception. Yes, San Diego "County" growth has slowed, but it's because it is expanding further and further outward. It's hard to have growth in areas where you don't have any place else to expand. If you look at San Marcos, CA and Carlsbad, CA in the article linked above where there is still space to build, you'll see a lot of growth as there is still room to expand. Chula Vista shows similar statistics.
Also, San Diego is unique in that it has a "suburb" in a different county (Riverside county that includes Temecula and Murrietta) that doesn't count towards the paper statistics, but San Diego is so desirable that people are willing to commute 90 minutes each way in order to live in "San Diego". So while a lot of people are really leaving San Diego, some are leaving San Diego, but staying in "San Diego" by moving to Riverside County. I'm just providing some background information because a lot of the people that I grew up with in San Diego now live in Temecula/Murrietta because it's an affordable way for them to raise their families in "San Diego", but the paper stats will show that they moved away from San Diego.
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