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First time poster here, very glad to have found this website!
I'm really sorry if this comes off as way too long and detailed - just trying to paint an accurate picture!
My husband and I are both 28, born and raised in a suburb about 20 minutes outside of Cleveland, OH. (A.k.a. one of the parts of Ohio that is NOT farmland, in case you're not familiar. People always think farms when they hear Ohio...)
Let's just say we're pretty much at the point in our lives where we've been saying "We've got to get out of Ohio!" for way too many years, and frankly, it's time to either dance or get off the floor. We've rented apartments since 2008, and have never opted to house search here in Ohio because we know this isn't where we want to live out our lives. Even though this is "home", it's not HOME. I swear, this winter was my last here in OH. No more. Anyways, both of us are in jobs that we absolutely hate, the job market here in Cleveland is not that great, and we're at a point where we feel we literally have nothing to lose. Our lease is up in July, and we're thinking it's finally time to pull the trigger.
A few weeks ago, we visited some friends who live in Austin (near 2222 and 620), and we really enjoyed our time there. We got a pretty nice intro to Austin, though the weather wasn't too cooperative (though still worlds better than what was going on at home!). We had a rental car so we were able to get a feel for driving around Austin and Round Rock, and got to see Downtown Austin one of the nights we were there. Such a difference from Downtown Cleveland. Our city admittedly is in a rebuilding phase, but you still feel very unsafe except for in a few places. Austin felt very different! (On that note, I've read that the crime rates are quite low in Austin.)
I've done quite a bit of research on Austin so far, and I've loved just about everything I've read. Live music capital? Check. Dog-friendly city? Check. Outdoor activities aplenty? Check. Liberal? Check.We're music people, dog people, and happy to be doing anything outdoors. And quite honestly, I don't really know if we'd fit well elsewhere in Texas since it seems like the vast majority of cities are very conservative.
I guess where I'm going with this post is that I'd really love any input or advice anyone would like to share. Natives, recent transplants, anyone - I'd love to hear what you have to say.
A lot of people mention traffic as a real problem in Austin, which, yes, we did notice, but despite being heavy, it really moves. If you saw how senselessly the highways are designed here in Ohio, you'd be shocked. We were unbelievably impressed with how logical and smart everything is set up in Austin. But definitely still a concern.
My single biggest concern is the heat. I actually downloaded the day-by-day weather data for 2014 for Austin (data doesn't lie!) and I can observe that June, July, and August appear to consistently stay in the 90s, but it seems like the nights cool into the 70s? If so, that must be very nice! On summer days in Cle, a hot day equals usually a pretty hot and muggy night too.
In terms of economy, I was speaking with a San Antonio native who had moved to Austin 2 years ago, and she said Austin was a way higher cost of living than S.A. My husband and I did some grocery shopping at HEB while in Austin, and the prices were either equal to or cheaper than home, so we felt pretty good about that! Gas prices were cheaper in Austin than home during our stay. My friend mentioned that because so many people are moving to Austin, rent is going up. I saw she pays $840/month for a 1-bedroom (but very nice and very spacious) while we currently pay $779/mo here in Cle for a 2 bedroom. Though what we pay is definitely on the lower end of what we *could* be paying if we lived in some of the really ritzy suburbs of Cle, but for what we have it's a very fair price. So really, right around $800/mo is what we'd be expecting to pay for rent. We are lucky though that we don't pay any utilities except electric at this particular spot (though in the past we've lived elsewhere and had to pay electric, gas, and water/sewer).
In terms of careers, my husband would ideally be looking to get into the video game industry, which I hear is huge in Austin, so that would be a major plus for us choosing Austin. I have a background in art, but my formal degree is actually English (which is why I'm the one on here writing this - ha!). However, my career path has actually taken me into Project Management, so I'd be looking for something more along those lines. Ideally, if we decide to make this leap, we both would start looking as we prepare to move, but in the event we have to move cold turkey with no jobs, we're financially stable enough to do so and exist for a while. Not like we want to have it play out that way, but well what are our options? Keep rotting away in a place we're miserable? The data I've looked at seems to indicate that the median salaries in Austin are way better than Cle, so that is encouraging. However, hearing that so many people move to Austin daily, I feel like part of herd. That's a lot of competition. Kind of scary. It also worries me that the city is going to change for the worse if too many people (myself included) keep flocking in. I want to live somewhere awesome, but don't want to feel packed in like sardines. Guess it's hard to have your cake and eat it too...
My husband and I are definitely nature, outdoorsy-type people, actually very water-driven since I'm a Cancer and he's Pisces, so we've definitely considered the obvious like Florida and California so we could be coastal, but for plenty of reasons these seem like way more illogical choices than Austin. Also, I've never heard someone say "I hate living in Austin". You hear natives bad-mouthing Ohio constantly. Most people who are here would love to move out if it were easier. I don't want to not do it because it's hard. I'm ready for change. I'm ready for a new chapter. We want a young, happy city with great weather. What's more, I want to LOVE my city. I want to be proud of my city. Texas pride (and Austin pride) is undeniable. I would love to be part of that.
What do you think? Comments? Things I should be concerned about but am missing? Am I right to worry about the things I'm worrying about?
Thank you SO much - I really appreciate any and all comments!
Right now Austin is in its best possible weather and will be beautiful for a couple more months. If you want to see Austin weather at its worst, come down in August. The first mid summer for new people here in Town is always the worse. You get used to it, eventually.
...I don't really know if we'd fit well elsewhere in Texas since it seems like the vast majority of cities are very conservative.
You mean like our largest city who elected an openly lesbian mayor in 2010? Or our second biggest city, whose last elected mayor was the keynote speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, resigned last year to become the Secretary, HUD, and is openly discussed as a leading possibility for VP?
Obama carried five of our six largest counties. So much for the stereotypes.
If you have not read through the sticky at the top of the page you should. There's an abundance of info on the weather and summer heat (5 months of it) there. Wish I could say the 70s at night thing is true but it isn't, or maybe it is for a couple of hours right before sunrise. Usually the high temp here hits at 5:30pm or so. Those from Ohio may not be prepared for how opressessive the heat is regardless of being fed up with winters. And I know this winter has been awful. I felt the same way about my winters in a snow state before moving here but it has nothing to do with summers here.
Having lived in Chagrin Falls for 5 years I can assure the the road engineering here is substantially worse than OH's and traffic doesn't "move" when there's a lot of it. Lucky for you you apparently hit it right when you were here and it was a fluke. Good luck to you.
The game industry is very cyclical. Maybe a little less so than 5 years ago, but I know quite a few folks in it and one of them was moved out here by his employer and he bought a house. Six months later he was laid off. Took him a year to get another job - and this was one of the bigger, more reliable employers.
The hours are rough and the pay is not fantastic. People still love it when they aren't hating it.
It is cooler at night but if you're looking for 70s in July you're unlikely to find it until after 10pm if at all!
In July and August it can easily be in the 90s at 9 and 10 pm. We hit our low temps in summer in the hours just before dawn and a typical low temp is 77 degrees. Heat can be a real problem for some people and our summers are long! But most adjust, you will see people out and exercising in the heat all summer. Hydrate, wear sunscreen every day, and tint the windows of your car.
Gaming can be a tough industry, he will need to network like crazy.
I know two native Austinites who have left Austin this year and sadly many more preparing to go. Property taxes can be punishing. Honestly, I have thought that we would live in Austin forever, 25 years here, but I'm starting to think maybe not. The quality of life calculus is starting to change for us.
A few thoughts from a Midwestern transplant:
Heat here lingers late into the night. Those low temps happen just before dawn. Do not plan on cool walks in the evening with pooch.
Frontage roads and traffic engineering here are bizarre. Traffic is NOT as bad as many locals will make it out to be, but this is a ~2Million population center so plan accordingly.
Cost of living here is reasonable, but not as inexpensive as suburbs of Cleveland. Rent here will cost you more the closer you want to be to the "cool" areas.
Music Capital = couple festivals and downtown on 6th street. Otherwise no better than most cities once you get into the burbs.
Dog friendly = yes.
Outdoor activities = you stayed indoors in the winter in OH and will stay indoors in the summer here. Heat is oppressive at times.
Liberal = depends on your definition. I'd say tolerant. This place has nothing on Madison WI for liberal.
There are jobs here and there is a strong enough economy that most places can afford to pay the payroll for the foreseeable future. I can tell you from the viewpoint of someone that looked for 2.5 years to get my career back on track, OH was not hit as hard as much of the Midwest and before you make a leap, be sure you are prepared. Jobs here are heavily contested due to the heavy influx of people coming in and the grads from UT staying in town.
Honestly, I have thought that we would live in Austin forever, 25 years here, but I'm starting to think maybe not. The quality of life calculus is starting to change for us.
good luck
I feel ya. I never in 40 years ever thought I would want to move away from Austin. But lately it just doesnt feel like Austin any more. Feels more like Houston or some other big city.
Jobs here are heavily contested due to the heavy influx of people coming in and the grads from UT staying in town..
This. A 1000 times over. For those who want to move to Austin who are ~28+ you have to realize that you are jumping into a lower salary pool for a higher cost of living because of the LARGE supply of <28 year olds. There are 1000s of very smart and very qualified UT grads who want to stay in town and continue their "college" ways regardless of low pay. Plus you have large schools like Tech and A&M plus smaller schools like Texas State that churn out even more students who want to get to Austin because it's cool and hip (they ain't going to stay in Lubbock or College Station). Employers love them because they can be worked very hard for 1/2 to 1/3 of what someone with 5+ years of experience would expect. So, what you'll find at a lot of companies in Austin is a very broad-based salary pyramid - lots of lower paid people, a layer of underpaid middle managers and a handful of well-paid executives.
In addition, you have people who made big money in California ($150k+) who are willing to take the Texas pay cut because they can pay less for housing and skip state income tax while buying into the "quality of life" concept.
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