moving from San Antonio to Austin; looking for comparable areas (Houston: 2015, apartments)

[River City Rocky]

Hello I'm currently searching for a job in the Austin area as a pharmacy technician, I haven't found a job yet but I want to get some insight on what areas might be a good fit for me, that way I can have points of reference if and when I get job offers.


For those that are familiar with San Antonio, I currently live in the Culebra and 410 area and I enjoy the affordability of the area. What are areas in Austin that are affordable and where I won't immediately stand out for being Hispanic with Spanish as my first language? Are there areas that are specifically looking for bilingual people?


A little background on me; I'm 23 and have a newborn son but I'm no longer with the baby's mother, not really much of a party guy but I do enjoy music. I pretty much want to tap into better opportunities so I can better provide for my son and offer him better opportunities.

[Austin97]

the east side is the best up and coming area. Lots of walkability and yet affordable houses. Lots of hispanics. The area will be gentrified and housing prices will probably double from 250-300k to 500-600k over 10 years (barring a big recession)

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Austin97

the east side is the best up and coming area. Lots of walkability and yet affordable houses. Lots of hispanics. The area will be gentrified and housing prices will probably double from 250-300k to 500-600k over 10 years (barring a big recession)

That’s good advice if you’re a young tech nerd making $150k a year. Where this person is coming from it’s not a good fit, unless he wants the run down place that is going to be demolished in a year because the land is worth too much.


I moved from the medical center about three years ago. What is your real budget? If you’re living alone you’ll need to be able to pay at least $900 a month. If you can handle roommates then you might be able to get into hip cool Austin for like $700 a month.

Windsor Park and the nicer areas around rundberg will be a good fit. There’s a bit more homeless people then you would run into on day 410 and Ingram, but affordability and across to things I’d go there. Maybe the area around 35/stassney as well. Both areas are heavily Hispanic with the northern areas being heavily 1st generation Americans or recent Central American arrivals.

First though, get a job. Working north of the river and living south would be like driving from Boerne to floreseville daily. Don’t do it. I’m moving south for that reason.

[River City Rocky]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

That’s good advice if you’re a young tech nerd making $150k a year. Where this person is coming from it’s not a good fit, unless he wants the run down place that is going to be demolished in a year because the land is worth too much.


I moved from the medical center about three years ago. What is your real budget? If you’re living alone you’ll need to be able to pay at least $900 a month. If you can handle roommates then you might be able to get into hip cool Austin for like $700 a month.

Windsor Park and the nicer areas around rundberg will be a good fit. There’s a bit more homeless people then you would run into on day 410 and Ingram, but affordability and across to things I’d go there. Maybe the area around 35/stassney as well. Both areas are heavily Hispanic with the northern areas being heavily 1st generation Americans or recent Central American arrivals.

First though, get a job. Working north of the river and living south would be like driving from Boerne to floreseville daily. Don’t do it. I’m moving south for that reason.

I was
really hoping for 700$ a month or less, here in the area I'm in I know of a few places that do 1bedrooms and studios for 600$ or less. I am willing to live with roommates as long as it makes sense financially.


I guess at the end of the day I might have to accept the higher cost of living but I want it to be a reasonable trade-off. The main reason I want to move to Austin is because I hear there are higher salaries there and it seems like a more diverse and booming city with a wider variety of cultures and I would really like to expose my son to that. My other option is Houston but I'm considering Austin first.



Does Austin seem like a right fit?

[DMChicago]

Houston is more diverse with a wider variety of culture.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by River City Rocky

I was
really hoping for 700$ a month or less, here in the area I'm in I know of a few places that do 1bedrooms and studios for 600$ or less. I am willing to live with roommates as long as it makes sense financially.


I guess at the end of the day I might have to accept the higher cost of living but I want it to be a reasonable trade-off. The main reason I want to move to Austin is because I hear there are higher salaries there and it seems like a more diverse and booming city with a wider variety of cultures and I would really like to expose my son to that. My other option is Houston but I'm considering Austin first.



Does Austin seem like a right fit?

Do some deep thinking. Like I said, I was paying $685 for a place at Callaghan and Wurzbach in 2015. I lived with a roommate for about six months and we split a place for $1250 a month. I moved out to one of the areas I suggested and got in for $797. The rent bumped up to $831 and then $851 in the time I have been here. If budget is one of your biggest concerns then you might want to look north or south in Buda/Kyle/San Marcos or Pflugerville/Round Rock/Georgetown. Even those are pricey.

But please, get a job first. Budget. Come up for a day and check out some apartments, drive around the area, see what you think. I'm happy with my move to Austin but it could definitely have gone the other way and I'd be back in SA. I know the area you are coming from is affordable, but also remember that area is filled with people in the military that may keep the prices down a bit. We don't have that here.

You'll lose all that extra salary in cost of living. I was making $34k in SA and bumped up to $42k when I moved here. That wasn't even enough and I had to get a part time job which bought me to $51k. I recently started a new job that's base is $51k and I still have the part time job. I finally feel like I have enough to save a bit and do some fun things with this new salary. Granted, I have extra bills of a car payment, credit card and student loans, but nonetheless.

[River City Rocky]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Do some deep thinking. Like I said, I was paying $685 for a place at Callaghan and Wurzbach in 2015. I lived with a roommate for about six months and we split a place for $1250 a month. I moved out to one of the areas I suggested and got in for $797. The rent bumped up to $831 and then $851 in the time I have been here. If budget is one of your biggest concerns then you might want to look north or south in Buda/Kyle/San Marcos or Pflugerville/Round Rock/Georgetown. Even those are pricey.

But please, get a job first. Budget. Come up for a day and check out some apartments, drive around the area, see what you think. I'm happy with my move to Austin but it could definitely have gone the other way and I'd be back in SA. I know the area you are coming from is affordable, but also remember that area is filled with people in the military that may keep the prices down a bit. We don't have that here.

You'll lose all that extra salary in cost of living. I was making $34k in SA and bumped up to $42k when I moved here. That wasn't even enough and I had to get a part time job which bought me to $51k. I recently started a new job that's base is $51k and I still have the part time job. I finally feel like I have enough to save a bit and do some fun things with this new salary. Granted, I have extra bills of a car payment, credit card and student loans, but nonetheless.

Thanks, I'll go up there and look around; I'll see what job offers I get and then determine if it'll make sense financially. I might look into the suburbs also but in my experience most suburbs are pretty similar anywhere you go so it might no be worth it depending on how far away from the actual city they are.

[Kthnry]

Funny coincidence - I was a pharmacy tech at University Hospital in San Antonio, then moved to Austin and got a pharmacy tech job at Seton Hospital. But this was 30+ years ago and the economics were different then. I think I made about 25 cents an hour more in Austin.

You might make a little more in Austin, but I doubt it would be enough to offset the higher cost of living. Also, San Antonio has a lot more medical facilities. I'd be surprised if there were more medical jobs in Austin.

Have you spent much time in Austin? Austin is a very white city, and also economically and socially segregated in a way that SA isn't. It always has been. I don't think I'd want to live there if I were black or Hispanic. If I were looking for diversity and a range of cultures, I'd head to Houston.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

Have you spent much time in Austin? Austin is a very white city, and also economically and socially segregated in a way that SA isn't. It always has been. I don't think I'd want to live there if I were black or Hispanic. If I were looking for diversity and a range of cultures, I'd head to Houston.

I won't argue with it being segregated, but you can plop down near the 35 and Saint Johns area and speak only Spanish exclusively with many of the residents. At one point the middle school in that neighborhood was something like 75% English language learners. I would not steer someone away from Austin based solely on diversity. I would sway them away due to the cost of living, though.

[River City Rocky]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

I won't argue with it being segregated, but you can plop down near the 35 and Saint Johns area and speak only Spanish exclusively with many of the residents. At one point the middle school in that neighborhood was something like 75% English language learners. I would not steer someone away from Austin based solely on diversity. I would sway them away due to the cost of living, though.

What is the 35 and St John's area comparable to in San Antonio? Is it affordable?