What should I expect when moving to Austin from VA (San Antonio: rental, low crime)

[ramamni]

Hi All,

I am interviewing for a job in Austin, TX, and would like to know a few things before deciding to move there or not.

I am married with 2 kids. 4 years old and 18 months.

Where should I live in Austin ? I am looking for a city that has good/excellent schools, low crime rate,etc. I have been doing some research and found out Round Rock, or Georgetown are good areas based on reviews. My family and I are looking to buy a new construction home there. what do you guys prefer, North Austin, or South Austin ??

We heard there are lots of rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, deadly ants in Austin, TX. is this true ?? how often do you guys see snakes, deadly spiders, etc. I have 2 kids, does that I mean I have to worry about them playing in the back yard for example ? Do they enter the house like what I hear in other states ?

Is it boring in Austin, or does it have lots of things to do for family/kids ?
Is the city Diverse ?
Is 120k/year a lot of money in Austin ?
Is it hot and humid, or hot and dry ?
Does Austin have hurricanes, tornadoes ?

Please add anything I missed, I have never been to Austin, so any extra information would help.

Thanks in advance.

[JT-3]

If you're coming from NoVA, you should expect the traffic to be similar. Don't know where you're interviewing, but primary concern would be living near your work...so you really need to visit.

Oh, the deadly ants are huge! I saw one almost a foot long in the hallway.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

We're not out there yet, but my sister in law and her family rent a house in Pflugerville (near Round Rock). It was our visit out there with all there is to do (even in the peak of summer) that made us fall in love and decide to move. There are lakes everywhere and parks for the kids. The area is beautiful and people are hospitable. San Antonio isn't far and there's fun things to do there too. The music scene is supposed to be big. Oh and downtown isn't far either which is nice. My SIL is constantly doing something with the kids. So I'd say there is plenty to do. They're about 4 and 8 I believe.
Also the weather is hot and humid, but not nearly as bad as Florida summers.

[ramamni]

@JT-3, i am coming from NoVA. Traffic is really bad, so its not a deal breaker. I am interviewing with GM which is north of Austin, Georgetown/Round Rock is about 15 miles away from GM. So its close by. About the ant you saw, thats crazy, i think my wife will take the kids and leave the house if she sees an ant that big in the house. She is afraid of anything that has 4 or more legs, and walk on walls. You can add snakes to the list as well.

@wild.Irush.Rose: I heard Pflugerville is not that great. And school rating the same. is this true ?? Lennar homes are building new single family homes there and we are looking at them online.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by JT-3

If you're coming from NoVA, you should expect the traffic to be similar. Don't know where you're interviewing, but primary concern would be living near your work...so you really need to visit.

Come on, the traffic in NoVA is _way_ worse. Rush hour in austin is only a couple hours, not 5 like in NoVA. And it doesn't stretch 3 counties out.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by ramamni

About the ant you saw, thats crazy, i think my wife will take the kids and leave the house if she sees an ant that big in the house.

I'm pretty sure he was kidding. Either that or just flat lying to you (some of the posters on this board do that). There are no "foot long ants" in Texas. Or anywhere in the world. The biggest _in the entire world_ is two inches. Ant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[hoffdano]

I lived in Fairfax a long time ago. Austin is hotter and dryer, though not dry like Phoenix. No gnats.

We have fire ants, which are small, and stay outdoors. They are not difficult to control with easily bought products, though they never go away. Your kids will be safe with just a small effort on your part. Depending on where you live critters are common or not. Rattlesnakes are not common. I have lived here since the mid 1980s and have not seen one. I live in a semi rural area. Scorpions are relatively common (their sting is like a wasp).

Lots to do for families, and it is not hard to find good schools. $120K per year is good pay here. Property taxes are about 2.5% of your home's assessed value per year. No pro sports here but I bet you don't have Redskins tickets.

[Moonlady]

See my answers in Blue below:


Hi All,

I am interviewing for a job in Austin, TX, and would like to know a few things before deciding to move there or not.

I am married with 2 kids. 4 years old and 18 months.

Where should I live in Austin ? I am looking for a city that has good/excellent schools, low crime rate,etc. I have been doing some research and found out Round Rock, or Georgetown are good areas based on reviews. My family and I are looking to buy a new construction home there. what do you guys prefer, North Austin, or South Austin ??

If your job is north, Georgetown, Round Rock and Cedar Park are all good options. Very family friendly and good schools.

We heard there are lots of rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, deadly ants in Austin, TX. is this true ?? how often do you guys see snakes, deadly spiders, etc. I have 2 kids, does that I mean I have to worry about them playing in the back yard for example ? Do they enter the house like what I hear in other states ?

Chances are you'll never see rattlesnakes or black widow spiders. Ants aren't deadly, they're just a nuisance and there are plenty of treatment options to keep them out of your yard.

Is it boring in Austin, or does it have lots of things to do for family/kids ? -Austin and surrounding areas have lots of fun things to do - I wouldn't describe it as boring at all.
Is the city Diverse ? - No sadly, it's somewhat lacking in diversity especially compared to the DC area (I grew up in Alexandria). However, everyone gets along fine and it's not an issue.
Is 120k/year a lot of money in Austin ? You should be able to live decently on that salary, especially if you buy in the suburbs.
Is it hot and humid, or hot and dry ? A little of both, depending on what time of year. May and June are notoriously humid then it dries out and stays hot and dry through September. It's not nearly as bad as NoVa humid heat can get though.
Does Austin have hurricanes, tornadoes ? Hurricanes rarely get this far inland. Worst thing that happens is a lot of rain from a hurricane that hits the Texas coast. Tornadoes happen, but most people are never affected directly by them. There are warnings and you can educate yourself how to stay safe.

Please add anything I missed, I have never been to Austin, so any extra information would help.

Thanks in advance.

[famv5]

I grew up in Florida so I'm all too familiar with that area. The weather here in Texas is hot but more of an "oven hot" type heat. It's not humid like in Florida where you step outside in the morning and sweat just standing in the shade.

We moved to Austin this past summer and actually found the summer to be very pleasant, although, we were told that it wasn't a really "hot" summer.

Our biggest fear before moving here was also the snakes, scorpions, spiders, etc. I have to say that I haven't come across a scorpion yet but many families in our neighborhood have. Someone down the street from us also saw a tarantula on their driveway and got stung by a large millipede in their house. Dear God! (haha)

What didn't help our fears was three weeks after moving into our rental house, we saw a snake curled up in the mulch by our front door. We called out a guy to remove it and it turned out to be a copperhead. Aahh!!! It was lying right where the neighbor kids walk up to our front door and barefoot sometimes. Scary! The guy that removed the snake said it was very unusual to see a snake like that in the area we live and most likely we would not see another one but I'm on high alert.

Other than that, we love it here! I think you'll feel the same way if you move here.

[salmuabe]

Regarding Pflugerville, we lived there for almost 9 years, before selling and moving into Austin. I have heard some people disparage Pflugerville, but we were happy there and I never got why there was so much hate. We moved because our commute was getting too long and we wanted to downsize as our son approached college age.

Pflugerville is essentially a suburb of Austin and a "bedroom community", although that has changed over the years as bigger employers have moved in. Housing was (is?) inexpensive and plentiful there. I can't speak to the schools, though, since we had our son in private school from kindergarten through middle school. I'd recommend keeping Pflugerville on your list, esp. if you have the opportunity to see it for yourself. We lived in a Lennar-built home, as well, and it was fine, nothing to write home about but no major complaints, either.