Considering Relocation To The Austin Area (Round Rock, Cedar Park: homes, job market, schools)

[riaelise]

I'd also consider Pflugerville if you're considering Round Rock. I really don't see much of a difference between the two cities, and I should know because Round Rock is at my back fence. The older neighborhoods of Pflugerville are very nice and have limited housing stock (Saxony, Katymead, Downtown Pflugerville (which is really an old type of downtown and has that "small town look"). They have treed lots, creek lots, hike-and-bike access. The area where I live is a fast growing section of Pflugerville (Northeast). However, it has a more suburban feel (big box shopping center with amenities, master planned communities) which may or may not be your thing. Pflugerville is very diverse too -- there are different Anglo groups as well as Asians, Hispanics, Black, and everything in between. The schools for the neighborhoods I've named are pretty good as well (the schools for my home are exemplary/recognized/recognized). Property taxes are high, and even though our home is in the mid 200s, we pay 7k per year in property taxes and our housing cost totals 2100/mo. That isn't bad considering where I came from (NYC), but you also have to keep in mind that you may or may not be making the same salary down here. I took a 10K pay cut in base salary when I relocated.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Magpie425

Austin97- Thanks so much for such helpful insights! I really do appreciate it. Everyone is really giving me a little food for thought. I'm sure that the cost of living isn't hugely different, but doing some research on comparable consumer spending, Austin does seem a bit more reasonable than Chicago. Honestly though, it isn't mainly a money thing for us. I have talked with friends who have lived in Texas (Austin area and San Antonio) extensively and I just really like what I hear. Again, the only negative things are the distance from family and the heat. I guess it's something my husband and I always tossed around, and I've always said, "Oh no! I can't survive without my family!" But over the years, siblings and cousins have started to move on as well. Things are changing, as they should naturally. I've become more confident as a wife and mother. And I don't want to have regrets. I love that Austin keeps coming up as one of the top ten places to raise a family. And I begin to think, "Why not? We could do it! Let's strike out and try something totally adventurous and different!" Maybe it's silly, but I love country/western. I picture our kids running around a big, fenced in backyard, with two big goofy dogs, learning to ride horses, learning to appreciate the beautiful natural landscape, and the community feel of a small town. I think, even though it is a lot hotter, the year round temperatures would be healthier for my kids as it affords them way more out door opportunities.
(BTW- how's the allergies down there, specifically the mold count?)
We love U of T too.
We just want to try living a life where we depend on each other, and make our nuclear family the number one priority, instead of my whole extending family (with good but misguided intentions) sort of interfering a lot.
Again, there are a lot of reasons. Sorry for the rambling! English-major. Old habits die hard!

Central Texas is an allergen capitol, for sure. The good part of that is lots of allergy doctors! I lived here for decades with no allergies but in the last 15 years or so have been developing them. I just take antihistamines a lot and carry an epipen with me for the wasp allergy, just in case.

You might want to check out the various communities, but hold off on making a decision until you find out where your husband will be working. North or south of the river would make a difference in commute and might be a determining factor in where you end up wanting to live.

Oh, and I get the old habits thing - I have a tendency to write a book when a paragraph will do that I'm constantly battling!

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by mark311

So you'll be trading up to a larger home, but other "cost of living" expenses will probably be very close to the same as what you're paying there now.

Not according to the city-to-city Cost-of-Living comparators. For instance, Sperling's estimates Austin's overall COL as 12% lower than Chicago's, with a $44K income in Austin equalling a $50K income there. The biggest factor is food, which is 26% more expensive in Chicago. CNN Money shows a similar result.

Of course you can never make direct 1:1 comparisons, because lifestyles vary too, but the COL comparisons look at a much broader range of expenses than the average consumer does.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Not according to the city-to-city Cost-of-Living comparators. For instance, Sperling's estimates Austin's overall COL as 12% lower than Chicago's, with a $44K income in Austin equalling a $50K income there.

That makes sense to me. 12% seems pretty accurate I guess overall. That doesn't seem like a big number to me and I would venture to say that 12% overall fits my personal definition of "pretty close". I definitely wouldn't solely base a move to another state on a 12% discount, but in this case it sounds like there are many other factors involved.

[Trainwreck20]

I kind of depends on what your definition of 'small town' is. That can vary a lot from person to person. One aspect of a small town (to me) is a 'narrow' school system - one high school, maybe one Jr High, and maybe only 2 or 3 elementary schools. Even if the HS and JH are pretty big, everyone is mixed together and I think that keeps a town feeling a bit 'small'.

Listening to your description of what you are looking for, the first places that come to mind are Buda, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, Liberty Hill, Bastrop, and maybe Leander (although I have nto been out that way in a while). Each is a bit of a commute into Austin, but survivable. Georgetown is on the 'edge' of small for me - I grew up there, and it has grown so much that it is hard to think of it as small anymore. Round Rock/Pflugerville are just so dang urban (for the most part) as is Cedar Park.

You might also look at the Dallas area. You can get insane nice houses on land for low prices. Austin is one of the more expensive places in Texas to live, although not really high when you look at cost of living in other state's metro areas.

[supernaut112]

Originally Posted by Magpie425

The same price seems to fetch a beautiful home in Austin. The schools seems nice. Everything we've heard (other than the extremely hot summers- which would be a welcome to us) is absolutely positive about Austin and the surrounding areas.

My guess is that if you wanted to purchase a home in Austin proper, you'd be paying the same amount as you would in Chicago. My S.O. and I looked at a 1,100-square-foot condo for $250K this weekend.

The areas you're looking at are in the Austin area, but they aren't really "Austin." Round Rock, for example, is a different city entirely. It's not anything remotely like Austin. Cedar Park is a ginormous bedroom community that used to be an unincorporated area — essentially, it's in The Sprawl.

The remoteness of these burbs and cities from Austin also accounts for the less costly real estate.

[redvelvet709]

You might like Lakeway!! No catch, we are awesome.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by supernaut112

My guess is that if you wanted to purchase a home in Austin proper, you'd be paying the same amount as you would in Chicago. My S.O. and I looked at a 1,100-square-foot condo for $250K this weekend.

The areas you're looking at are in the Austin area, but they aren't really "Austin." Round Rock, for example, is a different city entirely. It's not anything remotely like Austin. Cedar Park is a ginormous bedroom community that used to be an unincorporated area — essentially, it's in The Sprawl.

The remoteness of these burbs and cities from Austin also accounts for the less costly real estate.

Actually, Cedar Park was an entity unto itself and had its first post office in 1874. Much as Round Rock did, starting in 1854.

It behooves us not to think of these as "bedroom communities" just because people move out there to get out of Austin proper. It's disrespectful, among other things.

[TexasHorseLady]

Lakeway crossed my mind, but it doesn't really seem to fit what the OP says she's looking for.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by jb9152

While the public transportation is not good right now, there are ambitious plans to make a quantum leap forward in coverage and quality:

Project Connect

The plans may seem like a quantum leap, but it will take an eon to implement them and a lot of growing pains during the construction.