Austin vs San Diego (Round Rock, Mission: property taxes, gated, condo)

[photohml]

Besides the obvious (weather and cost of housing), my family and I are moving from Central Florida and have narrowed it down to either Austin or San Diego. Can anyone or everyone, give me the breakdown… I’m looking for any information on the following and of course anything that might be helpful in my decision making process.

Schools (kids 3rd grade & 10th grade) both public and private
Jobs I’m a senior financial analyst and my husband is a program manager
Housing rental market & purchasing (best areas to live)
Rowing my oldest is on the high school crew team, and wants to continue to row through high school and beyond
Also, if anyone knows of executive recruiters that would also be helpful

Thank you for all the information

[Trainwreck20]

Rowing my oldest is on the high school crew team, and wants to continue to row through high school and beyond

Rowing is very big here, at least relative to most other cities. Not sure about SD at all, but check out Town Lake (officially known as 'Lady Bird Lake' now) for rowing info.

[achtungpv]

UT has a women's rowing team. My friend had zero rowing experience, tried out on a whim and got a scholarship for it.

info on it is found here:
www.TexasSports.com

[Legallyblondemel]

As someone who is originally from SD but now lives in Austin, I say congratulations on narrowing it down to two incredible cities!

I find the two very similar in terms of the emphasis on outdoor living, educated workforce/ good public and private schools (although like anywhere, it really depends on what part of town you live in), and professional opportunities. Regarding the latter, I don't know about your particular fields, but in my field of experience Austin pays close to or as well as San Diego, and of course your dollar goes much farther here - what San Diegans refer to as the "sunshine tax". Others may chime in, and rightly so, that Austin is expensive for Texas, but it's still a deal by a long shot compared to SD just as far as $$.

As far as differences, I generally find Austin people to be much friendlier, but both towns do share a very laid-back feel. Scenery wise, it's like comparing apples and oranges - pretty tough to beat the sunny beaches of SD, but there's a totally different beauty in Austin's hills and mature trees. You'll see more older houses & roads in Austin as compared to SD.

And it looks like you've investigated the weather differences between the two, but be sure to actually visit Austin during the scorching summer months; I happen to like it, but the heat & related weather stuff truly isn't for everyone and is tough to appreciate until you experience it.

About the rowing, my perception is that it's more prevalent in Austin, although there are some facilities in SD (particularly around the Mission Bay area). I don't know of any SD high schools that had an actual rowing team, although other water sports are very prevalent.

Have you visited both cities? Are there any particular neighborhoods you have questions about?

[bianca0]

I moved form northern kentucky to SD a little over 1 year ago..... now I am moving to Autin There are some things you need to keep in mind; SD is beautiful.... I personaly feel that there is no place in th US that can compare, but you do pay out the a** for it The salaries in SD are horrible, I made the same in KY as I did in SD and the cost of living is 5x higher (i am in office management, 8 years experience). You will most likely never and I mean never own a home. I found that very hard to live with. Even if you could afford a home... do you really want to pay $600,000 for an average house in an average neighborhood. ALso the property value sucks here. I think SD is wonderful if you are very wealthy or you do not have to support a family and you do not mind living in a condo for the rest of your life. With all that said... it was still a very hard decision for me to leave due to the beauty of the place and the huge amount of awesome resturants

[jread]

Well, look at it this way: anywhere is better than Central Florida

[photohml]

Thank you for the great responses. I agree SD is beautiful, but at what cost is beauty.

It looks like there is plenty of rowing for my daughter, which is great.

Can anyone help with neighborhoods and schools, best places to live??

[Legallyblondemel]

Originally Posted by photohml

Thank you for the great responses. I agree SD is beautiful, but at what cost is beauty.

It looks like there is plenty of rowing for my daughter, which is great.

Can anyone help with neighborhoods and schools, best places to live??

Are you looking for Austin neighborhoods, San Diego neighborhoods, or both? What are your "dealbreaker" points (ie, commute, traffic, school district)? Are you a suburb or city-center type?

Also, what price range are you looking at? At the risk of greatly oversimplifying, it takes approx. $200-500k (yes, even factoring in high Austin property taxes) above Austin prices to get the equivalent neighborhood / school district in SD . . .

[LHudson]

After much talking, we have it narrowed down to the same two cities. The only difference is that we've lived in Austin and know it very well. Town Lake in Austin has some rowing clubs, including the UT rowing team. It's beautiful to walk the lake and watch the rowers move gracefully along the water.

SW Austin is a hot and thriving area. It is close to downtown (15 minutes MAX), the Veloway, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, SOCO, Town Lake, Whole Foods Flagship (the roof has a playground), the Capital, soccer fields, and two really great parks (Dick Nichols and Circle C Metropolitian).

SW Austin also has good public schools (Patton and Mills Elementary). You might consider the neighborhoods of Western Oaks, Legend Oaks, and Circle C.

You might get more house for your money in places like Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Georgetown, but those are too far from the city of Austin and way too congested for my taste. Round Rock schools are good, though. I taught there and was impressed. Living out at Lake Travis is beautiful too but, again, too far from all the things I enjoy about Austin.

I could go on and on about Austin. If you have any specific questions, e-mail me directly. Best of luck to you with your move!

[photohml]

jread
Senior Member



Well, look at it this way: anywhere is better than Central Florida



Some days I agree with you and lately it's becoming worse. The housing boom started here late and now the bust is in full swing. Not like Miami - though which is really bad.