Considering relocating to Austin from San Diego (Amarillo, San Marcos: home, schools)

[jordansgirl]

What about crime??? I'm considering coming from the Silicon Valley and we are worried about moving into another gang infested neighborhood! I know that gangs are pretty much everywhere, but at least here we know where to stay away from. There, we are clueless.

[austin-steve]

I loved San Diego growing up in the 70's. Austin is very much like that now.

I grew up in San Diego in the 70's also - in Clairmont. Left for Texas in 1981 and been in Austin since 1985. I love it here and wouldn't live or raise my kids anywhere else.

Austin is about the only Texas city where Californians feel right at home. Companies have no trouble getting employees from CA to rellocate here.
You'll fit in no matter who you are, what you like to do, your politics, diet, religion, hairstyle, car you drive or whatever. It's a big tent.

I'd visit and spend a few days driving around. People don't realize how big we are geographically. It really take 3 days if you want to explore all the different areas to live and get a feel for the neighborhoods.

Good luck
Steve

[austin-steve]

You don't need to worry about snow.

Uhhh ....this pic's from a few days ago ... Today was short sleeves and in the mid 60's though. Weather changes a lot here in just a few days.

[austin_or_sd]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the posting and I am glad another San Diegan is happy in Austin. Nice picture. Change is exciting if it is not so server. The weather in San Diego is nice but boring.

[cruickies]

Originally Posted by muddaerf

He is a video game designer and I work in Human Resources.

Hi there wel ive in the UK and are considering a move to Austin. I too work in HR (at the moment for JPMorgan Chase in London) and am trying to get a sense of jobs and salaries. Most job postings don't have salaries so I have no way of knowing what I might be worth...I will come clean with my boss once we have been on a "look see" trip to Austin and have finalized out plans...then I am hoping they will "find" a job for me...but only 5 or 6 HR jobs in Austin area!!!

Could you share any info you might gather about HR and I will do the same. thanks.

[austin_or_sd]

Originally Posted by cruickies

Most job postings don't have salaries so I have no way of knowing what I might be worth...

You can get a bulk part information from a few sites. The one that I like is salary.nytimes.com. Of course, the free one is only bulk part inforamtion. If you really want the details, you can purchase the customized report.

Hope this helps.

[Russ_in_Atlanta]

N. Padre Island is very nice but if you're looking for the aqua blue water of TX., you have to visit South Padre Island. I few more hrs away but worth the drive. NOT around spring break though.. lol lol

Originally Posted by iguanas4

We just moved to the Austin area from LA. We were missing the ocean, so last week we drove out to Corpus Christi. We stayed one night at a hotel on North Padre Island. My expectations were pretty low, I'd heard the Texas gulf beaches weren't all that great. But it was nicer than we'd expected. Not in the same league as the Florida gulf coast beaches, but good enough for an ocean fix (lakes just don't do it for me). And it was deserted! Probably because it's December and it's cold, but still... we're used to the always crowded Santa Monica area beaches, so this was a nice change. We will definitely go back at other times of the year to check it out again.

It took about four hours to drive there from Georgetown. There was some traffic in downtown Austin that slowed us down, but otherwise it was a pretty straight shot. Boring drive, though!

[Russ_in_Atlanta]

After a while your body will get use to the temp. It make take a couple of yrs though. lol As those temps go up... in March :-) you'll start to find indoor act. to do. OR you'll be at the lake more times than not. The water life is very good in Austin and Georgetown. You may find that your second or third inv. may be in a SUV and a boat. Lake Austin, Lake Travis are great and both have plenty of drive up bars and rstnts. There's even a few nude beach's as well. For those that REALLY get hot.
One draw back though, You may get a little O.T. at Dell so you may find yourself pretty busy.

Originally Posted by austin_or_sd

I am a single professional working in San Diego with a good paying job (in the lower $100). Currently I am renting. With the consideration of starting a family and the future wife staying home, for the pay that I have, it is also a stretch to buy a decent house in a good school district in San Diego. Then, Dell called for an unsolicited interview. I got the offer. Now I am struggling to make the move for a few reasons:

1. I had to take about 10% pay cut. With the pay cut and single income for a family, will I afford better living in Austin than in San Diego?
2. I lived in Michigan for a long time. I definitely hate the cold winter. That's why I moved to San Diego. But I have never lived in a place with temperature over 95 and high humidity for an extended period of time. I just wonder what you do in Austin during summer time? Are you basically confined in your A/C house for a few months? With the A/C on constantly, how much do you have to pay for the utility bill for a house of, say, 3000 sqft?
3. I also heard the mosquitoes and fire ants are pretty bad in summer. Even if you can tolerate the summer heat to play outdoor, will these bugs eat you alive?

Any opionion is welcome!

[newinkyle]

It brings a smile to my face to read the names of some familiar spots from back home: Fallbrook, Lemon Grove, Clairmont. I was born and raised in East County SD (Spring Valley) and my husband pretty much grew up in SD as well. We made the decision to move away from the hustle and bustle of SoCal and we are SOOO glad we did!! We moved to a small town outside of Austin (although there is talk in this forum about the rapid growth in our area), Kyle to be exact, in July of '06. I can say just as a previous poster has said before me, that 6 months later we as a family love it here, and we feel right at home! Kyle is a VERY big change from the SD north county coastal area we moved from, but it took us no time to adjust, accept our new surroundings, and to feel like we belong.

There's been much discussion on this thread about the job market and housing issues of Austin, but I thought I'd touch base on some of the big and little things that took us a while to get used to...
*The most obvious-- NO BEACH. And beaches along the gulf do not compare to home, so just consider lovely spots like La Jolla Cove, Torrey Pines, Windansea, etc. a thing of the past if you leave. There are no substitutes for that over here.
*The weather. When its cold, it's fuurrreezing (HELLO 2 1/2 foot icicles dangling from our patio just last week!! ) . When it's hot, you'll rarely want to leave your home. We've adjusted to the weather. We just need to actually shop for REAL winter coats, gloves, etc.
*All the UT maniacs!!! Holy Hook 'em Horns Batman. WOW. Okay, you know how the Chargers made it to the Superbowl back in the mid 90's, and EVERYONE back home was supporting our boys by wearing their colors, flying flags, painting bolts on their faces, etc.?? Just imagine that kind of support at that level, every single year, for eternity. It's all about the burnt orange.
*Baja style mexican food is nonexistent here (this was a big thing for us back home). YES there's Tex Mex, but that's so not the same. No more Roberto's or even Rubio's for rolled tacos, fish tacos, carne asada burritos, carne asada chips, etc.
*People are CHILL, it's so great. Its rare to find superficial, shallow minded, "keeping up with the Jones'" kind of people out in our neck of the woods. And THAT is a breath of fresh air!!
*Someone mentioned the politeness of children out here... it's true! They say things like "Sir" and "Mam" and "Can I help you out with your groceries?"... its pretty wild.
*Crocs are perfectly acceptable for grown men to wear.
*Fireworks are legal. New Year's Eve was like a Barrio Logan shoot out without the guns.
*Pronunciation of some towns/streets around here are not as you would think them to be. For example, Buda is NOT pronounced like "Boo-duh", it's "Byew-duh". Del Valle is NOT pronounced as "Del Vye-yeh" (like Via De la VALLE off the I-5 back home), it's "Del VAL". Like Shallow HAL. And it isn't Manchaca. It's Man CHACK. San Marcos is San Marc "US".

Which reminds me... I better check with the locals to see if I've been pronouncing Pfluegerville right.

Anyways, Austin is a lovely place to be. Its obviously worked out well for many former SoCal residents, and that's a good sign.

[jread]

I get seriously burnt out on the whole UT thing as well. I would never go there just out of principle