Relocating from MD to TX? (Austin, Bastrop: real estate, apartment complexes, rental)

[Rapp5]

My husband and I are considering relocating our young family from MD to TX. I've heard awesome things about the Austin area and would be open to hearing input from locals. Where are the "nice" neighborhoods for the middle class? How do you feel about local public schools? Is Private school necessary? Just general input would be greatly appreciated!

[Trainwreck20]

If you have free reign to chose where to live, you will easily find (imho) public schools that should be plenty good; however, you may have your own criteria, so that is up to you . There are nice neighborhoods in every direction and downtown, so I have to ask the recurring question - what is your price range? And, make sure you have considered taxes, which can add 1/3 to your mortgage (or more or less). Finally, where will you all need to commute to (if at all)?

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

If you have free reign to chose where to live, you will easily find (imho) public schools that should be plenty good; however, you may have your own criteria, so that is up to you . There are nice neighborhoods in every direction and downtown, so I have to ask the recurring question - what is your price range? And, make sure you have considered taxes, which can add 1/3 to your mortgage (or more or less). Finally, where will you all need to commute to (if at all)?

And he forgot to ask "where will you work"? It is highly desirable to minimize your commute, especially north and south across town.

[Trainwreck20]

Hey! That is what I meant by my last sentence

[dbsteel]

It's amazing to me how many people want to move to Austin based on what they hear......

[Aquitaine]

as opposed to what? People hear things and then take five minutes to post on the Internet to ask. Marginal effort: nil. welcome to the universe.

[capitolhilltohillcountry]

Well as far as it comes to questions regarding kids im not much help on that end since I don't have any. Where in MD are you from I moved here from AA county a little over a year ago. Were in Oak Hill and love this part of town but have friends elsewhere. Let me know where in MD your from I can help you out. Feel free to PM if you want. Austin is a good place just not for everyone.

[Rapp5]

I have family in SA and spent summers there growing up. Going back to visit SA tends to be a little depressing. It just seems run down now? I have a few friends that lived in Austin and now extended family that have kids there. However, they are on the "wealthier" end so not sure they would be the best contact point for me as far as "life in Austin."

We were looking at $250,000 as far as houses. But not sure how far that'll get us in TX. I worry about the drought and extreme heat situations moving to TX. It's just a hard decision to move your family in general....

Where we are now is in Charles Co. in MD. DC residents are flocking to PG county, and the trash from PG is quickly running to Charles Co. It's just going down hill fast and I'd like to get out!

[capitolhilltohillcountry]

I would say if you live in Charles co. I think Bastrop or Buda/Kyle could be a good fit that's the closest to laPlata here. It's commutable to Austin. It's not a bad town from what I can tell i've visited a few times. I don't think east austin would be your style it's akin to Bowie. The heat isn't that bad it's less humid have water with you.

[red222red]

I came across your post by chance and figured why not reach out. Austin is the only place in Texas 99% of people from the Northeast can immediately feel comfortable as a resident. I don't know what your finances are but be prepared for much higher cost of housing then anticipated. Prime location Austin Real Estate on a par with nice Baltimore suburbs is more expensive per square foot, and not far behind many DC suburbs as well; most people come here thinking I'm going to buy a mansion for 200k, this is not the case. Great areas to look for housing if you have school age children are the north central neighborhoods of Brentwood, Allandale, Crestview, and Shoalcreek; all close to downtown, good schools (public and private), activities, shopping and restaurants, and access to metro rail (traffic is major issue here). I listed these areas because nice homes for purchase and rental are available, and it's the closest area to downtown where a 2000 square foot 3/2 home on .2 acres can be purchased for $375 & up and the same home can be rented for around $2100. Austin is a great place to be a home owner & a fantastic place to be a landlord; rents are high and demand is growing daily.(many people buy homes with guest houses which they use to offset mortgage and take advantage of the tax break available if you rent to some categories of working lower middle class families); regardless of what you do, buy or rent, stay clear of large apartment complexes (takes away many of the factors that bring people to Austin in the first place!). One more thing June thru aSeptember can be incredibly hot, since humidity is low it's not that bad, but it did get to 107 last summer!(107 in Austin feels like 101 in MD high summer humidity). Most of the year the weather is awesome, winters average from 60 to,75 day time temps & cooler at night.

Moderator cut: Post edited.


Good luck,
Cornell