Austin or San Francisco (Houston, Dallas: how much, neighborhood, calculator)

[lindseyrepp143]

We already know we will not plan to enter the real estate market there -- at least not for a very long time, if all works out.
Sounds like the worst part about living there is not being able to own a home and traffic.
We will keep our place in Steiner (and rent it out) and rent there -- this we are certain.
We had some friends move back to the Bay Area from Steiner, and said that in the end they ended up paying almost the same on a $600k house as their $325k house here when taking into account property taxes. Does California have capped property taxes?

[another_hot-day]

Originally Posted by twange

Hmm. I'm new here so my perspective may be different. I have yet to go to the 6th street area(except for the first time I was here a few years ago) and I've found plenty to do and see. There's about 100 places to check out here in the near south area alone. Food, music, shops etc...I suppose that's not formerly "downtown" but it's so close it doesn't seem to matter. There are definitely different districts besides 6th street(which is sort of like Nashville's Broadway...not really the authentic Nashville), that seem to cater to various age groups. As a musician, that's what I've noticed anyway.

You must either be born and raised here or have lived in Austin for many years, to be so jaded You sound like me before I moved here(from my home town of Cleveland, Ohio). I seemed to be at a loss to find anything positive to say about it anymore, although I still will defend her if need be It was just time to pack up and move on for awhile.

A change of scenery can do wonders

Not a native just burned out on Austin, probably time for a vacation..
What district is like Nashville Broadway? If I haven't been there I would like to check it out.
6th street during the day is tourists and bums. Just about everything is closed. Night life there was cool at first, but it got old.
I haven't found much shopping downtown either. Where do you go?

Maybe you found some secrets spots I over looked.

[twange]

Originally Posted by another_hot-day

What district is like Nashville Broadway? If I haven't been there I would like to check it out.
6th street during the day is tourists and bums. Just about everything is closed. Night life there was cool at first, but it got old.
I haven't found much shopping downtown either. Where do you go?

Maybe you found some secrets spots I over looked.

6th street reminded me of Broadway except without as many gift shops. Mostly tourists and vagrants

We are living on South 1st. There is a bunch of little nooks and crannies here especially North of Oltorf. Retro shops, food, bookstores, junk, plant stores. I'm digging it actually. Obviously the South Congress area is happening, though I could see this becoming annoying after awhile But from my perspective, coming from a depressed, negative former manufacturing/steel town, things seem very vibrant

[Grape]

To answer the tax question, in CA they have Prop. 13. When you buy a house you pay a rate based on what you paid for the house, there are no adjustments, unless the local municipalities tack on extra taxes (usually nominal, only with 2/3 voter approval). In Texas, you are taxed on market value, so you will be assesed higher if values go up, and lower if they go down. We paid about 1.5 percent (fixed) in the bay area, now we pay like 3 percent (variable) in Austin.
So when values doubled in many places in CA between 2000 and 2005 there were no tax implications to property owners who sat on their properties. In TX you would feel some pain. But there is no state income tax. It's a much more regressive system in TX because you can also pay relatively higher sales taxes on the stuff you buy every day.
The reason some Californians are moving here in spite of the higher property taxes is because they realize that if they are paying half the money per square foot of house or less, they are paying the same amount in taxes as they were paying in CA, minus the state income tax.
Regarding comparisons between SF and Austin, I agree with some previous posters that you may just be in the wrong spot in Austin. In the Bay area the place is so diverse (and the diversity is not always obvious) that you can easily end up in a place you hate. Even in Marin, where we used to live, there are some profound differences between adjacent and seemingly homogeneous towns. In the city these differences are measured in blocks. You are where you live. This effect is less important in Austin, to some extent, but it's still important: you will get less kid talk and more political talk in Travis Heights or Hyde Park than in Steiner. In other words, comparing neighborhoods (Mill Valley, CA versus Westlake Hills, TX) is more meaningful than comparing the Bay Area to greater Austin.

[another_hot-day]

Originally Posted by twange

6th street reminded me of Broadway except without as many gift shops. Mostly tourists and vagrants

We are living on South 1st. There is a bunch of little nooks and crannies here especially North of Oltorf. Retro shops, food, bookstores, junk, plant stores. I'm digging it actually. Obviously the South Congress area is happening, though I could see this becoming annoying after awhile But from my perspective, coming from a depressed, negative former manufacturing/steel town, things seem very vibrant

Gotcha, Thanks!

[onegoodmom]

I was born and raised in the SF Bay Area. The cost of living here is outrageous. The headlines today show that we have the second worst traffic in the country. I have three kids, all of which are living in a culture of designer clothes, new cars, all the best because the majority of the town around us are all very wealthy. The crime rates are climbing, the housing prices are untouchable. I live in a gorgeous bedroom community in the Bay Area, and I don't even want to go visit SF anymore. It is dirty, it is busy. It costs a fortune to park. Our drivers are very rude. I have sen the way SF used to be, and the way it is now. It has become everything that I don't like in a big, dirty, busy, traffic-ridden city. My daughter considered going to UCSF and a small condo in SF was $1,000,000. We live in a 4800 square ft house that cost us $2 miliion dollars. At this rate, my own children will not be able to live near their family once they are married, unless they want to live in a slummy area of Oakland or an area like that.

We have visited Austin many times and have family there. We have made the decision that this is a good time to make a move for us. With No state Income Tax in Texas, much lower housing (same size house will cost us about $600k), There is beautiful scenery in hill country, the city is so much cleaner, the people are friendlier, the culture is more relaxed, and less materialistic, the atmosphere is more condusive to fitness and health. Our kids can raise a family there, without both of the parents working two jobs to do it. Heck, even gas and electric are cheaper there.

Best of luck in your decision.

[lindseyrepp143]

Thank you, onegoodmom. A very informative post, it's much appreciated.

The other day I was hanging out by the pool with our son, and I asked my friend (who is visiting us for a few months from L.A.) if she thought we'd be able to get something even remotely similar for the kids in the Bay Area. The house, the amenities, the atmosphere, the overall relaxing pace - caused her to pause a bit and think about it before answering. (her answer, the short version, was yes, but it would be more difficult)

Someone mentioned to try it and see how we like it, and see if it works or doesn't. That sounds like a good plan. We will keep our house and will be able to come back if need be.

I wish I knew for sure FOR SURE without a doubt what will be best for us in the long run It can be so hard to tell, and sometimes the more information I gather, the worse it gets.

We're both 29, so maybe we're just still figuring out...anyone go through something similar?

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by twange

I beg to differ. The only things these two cities have in common is:

1.) both have a large college campus
2.) both are state capitals
3.) similar populations

I don't think it has nearly the vibe or energy that Austin does. It has fairly crummy weather and a stale economy. That's why I just left Ohio. I think the better comparison might be Portland, Oregon, which has been covered extensively on this forum.

I lived in Austin and Portland. What exactly would you find are the same?

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by rogramjet

I've lived in both places - currently in Austin. If you are a city person, and money and homeownership are not an issue - in my book, San Francisco wins hands down, no contest. I don't mean to rag on Austin, but it's not even remotely in the league of San Francisco, which is generally regarded as one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the United States. Plus, your kids will be exposed to much greater cultural diversity there. And the weather is superb most of the year. Why aren't you packed yet...!

I agree with you....Oh I wish I could hit those lotto numbers. I would move there from ANYwhere in the country. Well, at least I can vistit.

[twange]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

I lived in Austin and Portland. What exactly would you find are the same?

-Smaller city footprint. The sizes of the city blocks seem to be half the size of East Coast cities. I think that must be a characteristic of newer 21st century cities, supposedly to encourage pedestrian activity. Portland has obviously done a superior job in this aspect.
-Perceived political views, community action/involvement. Both towns citizens are very aggressive in influencing local politics.
-Newer city, not a lot of older, Deco architecture since the cities have grown only recently.
-Lots of younger people.
-Mostly white, with a low black population(too low IMHO). Of course Austin has a very high Latino culture, something Portland does not. There was a joke I heard when I was up there that Hispanics don't cross the California border as they weren't welcome
-Focus on outdoors activities
-Great music scenes
-Lack of pro sports(with the exception of the TrailBlazers, Portland doesn't have any)

There was a pretty big discussion on this forum about these two cities, so it seems these two cities share some DNA somewhere along the city evolutionary path.

My point was that Columbus and Austin are not very compatible.