Finally taking the trip to Austin (Round Rock, Georgetown: rental, house, tech jobs)

[Independentthinking]

Well, my wife and I are finally going to visit Austin in a couple of weeks. We are heeding the advice to visit during the hot summer months to get a real taste of how hot and muggy it can get.

Since we are not going to have jobs when we arrive, it's going to be hard to pinpoint an area on the basis that it would be close to employment. We're financially secure and won't need to rush into anything (although I'm thinking we would both like to be working within 6 months of getting there). One of the areas we were considering was Round Rock. But a client of mine told me not to buy in Round Rock as he thinks the area will have little appreciation going forward. He said the biggest investor in housing in the area is Michael Dell and Dell employees, and that the company is stagnant with no plans for future growth (which would translate to this area experiencing the same). From there, I'm kinda up in the air. One of our friends daughter lives in Georgetown so we'll take a look out there. I was curious what Pflugerville looks like so we'll probably swing by there. I'm not sure where else to visit.

We will be renting for a year or two to make sure it's right for us and then looking to buy. Depending on what we plan on doing with our other two properties, the range on a home purchase could be anywhere from $300k to $800k. We're a couple in our mid-50s looking to retire in Austin.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, I'm curious if anyone works for one of the large corporations out there and if they have a managed corporate gym (I work in personal training at a large corporation in the SF Bay Area and plan on doing the same in Austin).

[ashbeeigh]

Round Rock consistently is ranked as one of the best places to live in the country, not sure why someone would say not to live there; just like people continue to stay away from any area East of 35 "because someone told me so."

What do you like to do? What types of people do you want to be around? What type of employment areas are you in? For me, in social services, most of my job opportunities are in central and Austin proper whereas tech things are more suburban...just for an example. Are schools important? If you rent what is your budget? You have a purchase budget but not rental budget.

[ScoPro]

ashbeeigh is correct.

The OP's client doesn't seem to realize that Round Rock has continued its rapid growth in spite of Dell Computer's drastic downsizing over the past decade. there are plenty of other tech jobs available, with more being created.

Round Rock is a very retirement-friendly place to settle (I've been retired here in Brushy Creek for over 20 years). Georgetown is a great option too, with a stronger presence of retirees because of the Del Webb Sun City community. west of that charming little town.

Your plan to visit in the hot summer months & rent for a while is a good one, as it has been pretty warm this year with an unusual rainy respite last week. The next two weeks are predicted to be in the low 100s every day with no precipitation. But realize that everyplace is air conditioned, including almost all the housing. Outdoor physical recreational activity should be limited to morning & evening hours in such times unless you are at the lakes or poolside.

As far as managed corporate gyms, I'm like Sgt. Schulz (I know nothing) - except to say Apple also has a very strong presence here, IBM is fading, Google & Homeaway are expanding. Samsung has a large facility in NE Austin too. Then there are the large chain fitness centers around the area that aren't aafiliated with the tech corporations. One example is this large Lifetime Fitness facility located on 620 in far North Austin between Round Rock & Cedar Park (I am in no way connected to that place - have never set foot inside) - it has been in business at that location for about 10 years:

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.4737...7i13312!8i6656

[Independentthinking]

Thanks for the comments. I was only quoting what my client said and the reasoning regarding Round Rock. Good to hear a different viewpoint on that as it was definitely a place we were interested in (putting it back on the list). We were looking at a $1500 to $2000 range for a 2 bedroom house (our grown son will be joining us).

Schools aren't directly important to us as our children are full grown (admittedly it could matter if that correlates to a nicer neighborhood).

We tend to get along with most people regardless of age, etc. The Bay Area is pretty varied on employment so not sure what to say to that question. I work at a corporate fitness center for a technology company and she is from a corporate setting in retail doing planning and distribution (with probably very good transferable skills...so not necessarily limited to retail).

[ClaraC]

Round Rock is nice, Georgetown is nice, and I think you'll find housing you'd like in your price range. Both towns are quite conservative-minded, if that matters to you one way or the other.

[Independentthinking]

Originally Posted by ClaraC

Round Rock is nice, Georgetown is nice, and I think you'll find housing you'd like in your price range. Both towns are quite conservative-minded, if that matters to you one way or the other.

Thanks Clara,

Politics don't much bother us in social settings and we tend to cancel each other out when we do vote (which we actually laugh about).

[jread]

Originally Posted by Independentthinking

Well, my wife and I are finally going to visit Austin in a couple of weeks. We are heeding the advice to visit during the hot summer months to get a real taste of how hot and muggy it can get.

This is smart, and I wish more people looking to move here would do this.

If you're visiting during the next couple of weeks, then you will be experiencing the heat at its absolute worst, so if you can handle that then you will be fine here. An interesting thing about the feeling of "mugginess" is that it depends on how you look at it. The Bay Area generally has higher relative humidity than Austin most of the time, but the cooler temperatures and dew points of coastal California make it feel comfortable. Austin's afternoon humidity in the summer is pretty low, but the dew points are higher on average, so it can feel muggy in the mornings and then very dry in the afternoons when the sun is blazing. That transitional period around 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. is the worst in my opinion.

Outside of summer, our weather is similar to California's, and I'd put our fall and spring weather up against anywhere in the country. Winter is a crap shoot... sometimes it's pleasant and beautiful, other times it's dreary and freezing. Completely unpredictable year to year (even week to week).