Seattleite dreaming of happy, sunny Austin (Houston, Dallas: job market, allergies, places to live)

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by Singin'intherain

But, it is hard to get around the weather. I am couped up inside with the children often. It is too rainy to go to the park or play in the backyard. My kids get restless and do better when they can go out to play. I believe that I have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) due to the lack of sunlight.

I am a bit concerned about the heat. Will I wilt or can I take it? I don't want to go from being stuck inside due to rain to being stuck inside due to heat.

This seems to be the great conundrum...I have been in Austin for 10 years and I'm dying to get away from the summer heat. We've been looking at Seattle! If you don't like heat, you might be stuck inside for 6 months in Austin. I pretty much stay inside all summer (about now to beginning of October). I can get sun if I need it to combat SAD, but I'm usually just running from the house to the car to a store...to stay in the A/C.

People seem to have different heat/cold threshholds. Some people say last summer wasn't that bad, but I still couldn't stand it. I turn red and practically get heat stroke trying to do anything in the yard in the summer. You're probably not going to know if you are ok with the heat until you live through a summer...just as I won't know about the grey until I live through a Seattle winter. (I did live in Tacoma as a teenager, but I just don't remember the winter being so bad...maybe I forgot.)

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by NeedMoreSunshine

- tech industry (my husband will have his master of software engineering by this summer and has about 5 years of work experience)

There's plenty of that here. Might be hard to get something right away as Austin is a networking town big time. One of you should have a job in hand before you move.

Originally Posted by NeedMoreSunshine

- sunshine and warm weather!

Did you mean HOT weather?

Yes, it's a nice place for a family. I always push Northwest and West Austin for communities. Both of those will have nice neighborhoods and probably be close to jobs. If you give me some more likes/dislikes, I can give you some names of neighborhoods.

We have bugs...mosquitoes, termites, fire ants, roaches (mostly in older neighborhoods with bigger trees), spiders, etc. New construction in west Austin stirs up scorpions (Steiner Ranch, River Place, etc. - saw two in our house in two years at Steiner). I am a mosquito magnet which I hate - but I try to make sure I don't have stagnant water anywhere which is where they breed. I just can't go outside b/c they all flock to me. I've found a few pencil-sized snakes in my pool in NW Austin - though they were harmless. Roaches, termites, fire ants and spiders can all be held at bay by a good pest control company.

It's humid sometimes...but if you know NYC summer humidity, it's not nearly like that.

[texastrigirl]

Just moved from Austin to Seattle last July 21 after almost 12 years in Austin. I have had a tough time adjusting to the Seattle weather but I am feeling better now that we have had a few of those glorious days that Seattle can have that make it worth living here the rest of the time (or so they tell me!). I actually did do light therapy about March and it helped. I would not have left Austin but DH had had it with the heat. He is from the West Coast and Colorado most of his life and he was just done. That and the allergies were really bad for him. Austin was named the #1 Fall Allergy capital last year by the Allergy Council. So heat and allergies were rough for him. Also, job opportunities started to feel limiting as he moved up in his career in Tech. He got a great job with Amazon.com that he couldn't turn down...much to my dismay. And yeah, there are bugs and snakes in Austin. Saw both all the time but I was always bigger than they were so it was fine. Just get good pest control. I don't miss fire ants and I love having soft grass I walk in in my bare feet. Summer is hard in Austin if you don't like heat. I think it's drier heat though because I grew up in Iowa in 95% humidity. Austin is nothing like that. I loved it but DH was miserable and mean every summer from about late April to mid October. And even then he complained about the lack of public use land and national parks. He is back to being a totally nice guy in Seattle...even in the rainy months. Things that Seattle has that Austin doesn't - skiing, the ocean, incredible hiking, and more cool places to visit in a 4 hour radius than any city in the country. DH would add public transport. Texans are super tied to their cars whereas in Seattle most everyone takes the bus. I personally love that recycling is something that is taken seriously in Seattle...not so much in Austin, at least not in my old neighborhood. Austin is "green" for Texas but not compared to Seattle. Things Austin has that Seattle doesn't - TexMex (oh I miss it!), friendliest people you will ever meet, affordable housing and it's smaller so IMO, it's more livable and easier to raise kids there. I would probably love Seattle if I haven't lived in Austin for so long. But my DH would cancel out my vote! Good luck...if you are going to move somewhere from Seattle, Austin would be my first choice!

[texastrigirl]

MJinAustin - you sound like my husband. He was miserable in TX anywhere above 78 degrees. He LOVES Seattle weather. It all depends on whether you are a hot or cold person. He says you can always add layers but once you are naked and still hot, you are in trouble! I on the other hand have been wearing flannel PJ's since last July. We have found you just have to get out of the house even if it's raining. Costs you a bit of $ at REI to outfit yourself but you can do it. Economy is a bit more recession proof in Seattle too...lots of major employers so things are humming right along up here still. Glad my first year is behind me. Enough Longhorns up here to understand our deep and undying love for Chuys too! Only 28 days until I hit Chuys on a my first visit to Austin since moving!! I can taste it already.

[texastrigirl]

I have to add that I have met many, many people in Seattle (some from Austin, Texas) who love living here and say they will never leave. IMO, it all comes down to the weather. They are very different cities in that regard.

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by texastrigirl

He says you can always add layers but once you are naked and still hot, you are in trouble!

That is SO FUNNY as I ALWAYS say that to my hubby!! I say that he can always keep putting clothes ON, but I can only take so many off...then it's to the cold shower and under a fan or whatever other inconvenient and time-consuming thing I have to do to keep me cooled off. I keep the house at 72 and tell him to go put clothes on.

[jread]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

Perhaps I am odd - but I didn't mind the summer a bit last year, and we didn't spend it all inside either. July and August were HOT but bearable in my opinion... surely NOT the pitts of hell.

Last summer was a fluke and was not even close to representative of a "normal" summer in Austin. It wasn't even that hot and the constant rain kept everything green (and took us out of a 10-year drought). You will get a dose of the real deal this year.

Originally Posted by MJinAustin

This seems to be the great conundrum...I have been in Austin for 10 years and I'm dying to get away from the summer heat. We've been looking at Seattle! If you don't like heat, you might be stuck inside for 6 months in Austin. I pretty much stay inside all summer (about now to beginning of October). I can get sun if I need it to combat SAD, but I'm usually just running from the house to the car to a store...to stay in the A/C.

People seem to have different heat/cold threshholds. Some people say last summer wasn't that bad, but I still couldn't stand it. I turn red and practically get heat stroke trying to do anything in the yard in the summer. You're probably not going to know if you are ok with the heat until you live through a summer...just as I won't know about the grey until I live through a Seattle winter. (I did live in Tacoma as a teenager, but I just don't remember the winter being so bad...maybe I forgot.)

I am EXACTLY like you with the heat intolerance. I've lived in Texas my entire life but the summers are just killing me. I love being cool and absolutely hate being hot. I just climbed on my desk at work the other day and opened up the A/C vents to where the air is blasting right on top of me. Most people hate my office now and say it's "freezing cold".... HA!!!

My wife and I would like to relocate to the Pacific Northwest one of these days (either Portland or Seattle) as we love cool, overcast weather and rain. I can't think of a more perfect climate to be in honestly. I have no problem walking around in drizzle, but you can be damn sure I won't be outside in Austin's heat. I have already started planning out my days to where I have to be outside as little as possible.

[jwb123]

You will get a dose of the real deal this year.

I have been here visiting when it's been hot hot, pretty much every summer for the last 12 years... I still love it. We have had some hot days already, and like I said in another thread - I spent those days out in my garden all day. It's gorgeous outside today at 93 degrees at noon... think I will go get in the pool.

I grew up on the east coast, and those are brutal, so hot you can't breathe, humid summers... this is really nice heat. I love it.

The weather of Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest sound enticing, I know. It's very novel and different, and cozy... till you live there. It's not even bad the first few years... it's maybe after the 5 year mark.... at least for me. You aren't supposed to still have the furnace on, and wearing sweatshirts in June... it's just not right! I too was one of those people that said the 3 weeks of true summer make the rest of the year worth it.... honestly, I think I was trying to convince myself too.

[jread]

Originally Posted by Jenbar

I have been here visiting when it's been hot hot, pretty much every summer for the last 12 years... I still love it. We have had some hot days already, and like I said in another thread - I spent those days out in my garden all day. It's gorgeous outside today at 93 degrees at noon... think I will go get in the pool.

I was going to call you crazy....

I grew up on the east coast, and those are brutal, so hot you can't breathe, humid summers... this is really nice heat. I love it.

... until I saw this, which makes it more understandable

The weather of Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest sound enticing, I know. It's very novel and different, and cozy... till you live there. It's not even bad the first few years... it's maybe after the 5 year mark.... at least for me. You aren't supposed to still have the furnace on, and wearing sweatshirts in June... it's just not right! I too was one of those people that said the 3 weeks of true summer make the rest of the year worth it.... honestly, I think I was trying to convince myself too.

See, this still sounds nice to me. I don't actually start feeling cold until it's 40-degrees or lower. In the winter time we usually set the furnace to 60-degrees and, given that the house is well-insulated, it hardly ever comes on. At the same time, I crank the A/C down to 65-67 (with the ceiling fan on high) during the hot months because I can't sleep in any temp warmer than that.

Also, my favorite things are surfing the internet, reading, going out for coffee, seeing movies, spending all evening in a bookstore, shopping at Asian markets, etc. I love rain, I love cool weather, and am actually happier on overcast days. I think I am just one of those odd people who is tailor-made for the Pacific Northwest.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by Singin'intherain

Hello,
My family is also considering a move to Austin this year after living in the Seattle area for seven years. There is a lot about Seattle I love: the seafood, coffee, local wine and breweries, the wildlife (orcas, eagles, salmon), the arts scene, the world class ballet, the mountains and the skiing. There is a lot to like.

But, it is hard to get around the weather. I am couped up inside with the children often. It is too rainy to go to the park or play in the backyard. My kids get restless and do better when they can go out to play. I believe that I have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) due to the lack of sunlight.

I am sorry to leave but look forward to new opportunities and a chance to feel better. Does any one have any feelings about this? I am a bit concerned about the heat. Will I wilt or can I take it? I don't want to go from being stuck inside due to rain to being stuck inside due to heat. I do like it somewhat hot and have never felt it is warm enough here for me so maybe I would tolerate it well. I am also worried about fitting in and whether everyone there is very religious. I don't like to be preached to unless it is by my choosing.

I flew there for a visit and thought Austin was BEAUTIFUL! People were friendly and the twisty live oaks were enchanting.

We lived in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade and we recently moved to the Houston area (for my husband's job). I went to grad school in Austin and all my friends live in Austin, so I know Austin well, too.

We are LOVING the sun. I can't wait to make it through a Texas summer so people will stop thinking we have no credibility because we haven't survived July and August. But for now, we are enjoying it so much, we are wondering why we waited so long to leave the Northwest. Like you, we thought there was a lot to like in Seattle. But the gray weather trumps all the other variables as a reason to leave. It was kind of romantic and fun when it was just my husband and myself, but once we had children, the drizzly climate was a huge problem. Seattleites insist that it doesn't cramp their style but wet soggy parks are not that much fun.

There is a lot of religious diversity in Austin, believers and non-believers alike. I don't think it will be a problem for you. Some of my friends in Austin do live in more conservative suburbs and they do get asked where they go to church (which is funny since they attend services at a temple), but Austin is pretty much a "live and let live" type of place.

If you can make a living in Austin or are retired, it is an awesome place to be. Underemployment can be an issue depending on your career specialty but if you've got that part covered, Austin is an excellent place to live.