Moving to Austin, Tx- young, black, family of 5 (Dallas, San Antonio: transplants, homes)

[Ice_Major]

I'm a AA male that moved here from Dallas about 3 1/2 years ago. Having moved from Dallas I'm use to heat, though you never truly get use to the heat, you learn to adjust (like traffic). If I hear one more person tell me "I like the heat." No you like going from A/C to A/C. Spend any meaningful time outdoors during the summer and tell me "if you like it". Back to my point. If the OP is set on Austin, then the diversity issue can be managed. The biggest issue you are going to find with Austin is the black population is very concentrated. Seems like there are large parts of the city I do not see any black people outside of workers. Also the number of upper middle class seems low. This was difficult to get use to at first, but from what Austin lacks in a "black culture" it makes up for in job climate (not all industries), activities, and nature (for Texas cities). I know Atlanta has been a favorite for black migration in recent years, but I would love to see our people think outside the box a little. It's a growing and thriving city that can present many opportunities. If more black people started moving hear from other parts of the country and state it could lead to a strong "black culture." Your kids will be fine. There are AA churches, organizations, and meet ups, so they will have exposure.

[happy-robot]

Doubt if Austin is a good fit. There are some good things in Austin but it's not this awesome be-all-end-all place. First off your housing price is way off - the folks here that are saying you can find something in Pflugerville forgot that you've got three kids - meaning you'll need at least a four bedroom home. While there are houses to be had in P'ville, you also said you did not want to be the only black fam in the neighborhood. While you can see houses fitting your size and price criteria in realtor.com, you probably won't like the school district or the neighborhood.

I *wish* Austin had more diversity but it doesn't.

And I browsed thru the postings here and no one mentioned the traffic. Your first consideration should be the location of your work, then radiate out from there. If you worked in, say, the Heart Hospital (zip is 78756) there are zero (0) houses under $350K in that zip code (not even a little one bed fixer). I visit a pottery class near the hospital once a week and I've seen maybe two black people in the last six months. The closest grocery store (Central Market) is so packed on a Saturday that you can't find a parking spot in the acre of parking (I'm not kidding). BTW this is a desirable area and one of those places that people think of when they imagine moving to Austin.

The 'burbs like folks suggest? Frankly the suburbs here are just like suburbs in any big growing city. They are spread out, no communication with neighbors, monster ill-designed houses, and you must commute an hour minimum each way to get to work. If you chose P'ville and worked in the medical district (78756), you would commute about 1 hr 40 minutes. So why choose Austin if where you're living is just like some other suburb?

And high cost of living? Even tho' Texas doesn't have state income tax wait until you get a load of the real estate prices. And count on your appraisal going up 10% each year, the maximum the state allows.

Lots of folks have commented on the heat. Believe them. It gets hot in the summer and some summers are brutal. You may have experienced 100 deg heat in NJ and think, yup we can handle that. What's different in Texas is that the nights do not cool down. So Austin will have a 100 deg day and an 80 deg night. For 45 days in a row. The foundation of your house will radiate heat and no air conditioner will fix that.

I wish I could make suggestions on where else to look but it will be tough. Some nice diversity exists in Portland, OR and it's cuter than heck but the housing is pricey. Los Angeles has awesome diversity but again, price. Houston is considered the most diverse city in the US but then you've got the heat. Houston is farther south than Austin and while tempered by the humidity it still gets hot, hot, hot.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by lindrix

Doubt if Austin is a good fit. There are some good things in Austin but it's not this awesome be-all-end-all place. First off your housing price is way off - the folks here that are saying you can find something in Pflugerville forgot that you've got three kids - meaning you'll need at least a four bedroom home. While there are houses to be had in P'ville, you also said you did not want to be the only black fam in the neighborhood. While you can see houses fitting your size and price criteria in realtor.com, you probably won't like the school district or the neighborhood.

I *wish* Austin had more diversity but it doesn't.

And I browsed thru the postings here and no one mentioned the traffic. Your first consideration should be the location of your work, then radiate out from there. If you worked in, say, the Heart Hospital (zip is 78756) there are zero (0) houses under $350K in that zip code (not even a little one bed fixer). I visit a pottery class near the hospital once a week and I've seen maybe two black people in the last six months. The closest grocery store (Central Market) is so packed on a Saturday that you can't find a parking spot in the acre of parking (I'm not kidding). BTW this is a desirable area and one of those places that people think of when they imagine moving to Austin.

The 'burbs like folks suggest? Frankly the suburbs here are just like suburbs in any big growing city. They are spread out, no communication with neighbors, monster ill-designed houses, and you must commute an hour minimum each way to get to work. If you chose P'ville and worked in the medical district (78756), you would commute about 1 hr 40 minutes. So why choose Austin if where you're living is just like some other suburb?

And high cost of living? Even tho' Texas doesn't have state income tax wait until you get a load of the real estate prices. And count on your appraisal going up 10% each year, the maximum the state allows.

Lots of folks have commented on the heat. Believe them. It gets hot in the summer and some summers are brutal. You may have experienced 100 deg heat in NJ and think, yup we can handle that. What's different in Texas is that the nights do not cool down. So Austin will have a 100 deg day and an 80 deg night. For 45 days in a row. The foundation of your house will radiate heat and no air conditioner will fix that.

I wish I could make suggestions on where else to look but it will be tough. Some nice diversity exists in Portland, OR and it's cuter than heck but the housing is pricey. Los Angeles has awesome diversity but again, price. Houston is considered the most diverse city in the US but then you've got the heat. Houston is farther south than Austin and while tempered by the humidity it still gets hot, hot, hot.

What you smokin? It does not take an hour forty to get from pflugerville to 78756. Additionally, the op could find a home accommodating their family with good schools and not be the only black family on the block. Pflugerville is highly diverse and has a solidly middle classed black (Latino and Vietnamese) population. It’s obvious that you haven’t lived in pflugerville or if you have it was years ago because it took me 45 minutes door to door to get downtown from my north pflugerville neighborhood. Also the op never specified that they had to have the Austin experience 24/7. Ever heard of transportation? You know when you feel like the city you experience it and when you don’t want to you can choose not to? Maybe the suburbs don’t have an eeyore festival but they do have some pretty cool things to do for families. And it’s only getting better. As for the large house thing yeah you have new construction neighborhoods that may be like that but they’re not the only show in town. There’s lots of smaller older neighborhoods where neighbors still talk to each other. Ours gave us cookies when we moved in imagine that. The suburbs have hospitals, in fact round rock has several, not counting other medical facilities. The op doesn’t have to work in Austin.

That being said I can understand where the op is coming from. No one wants to feel like a token. But we have to remember that people are individuals. Texas isn’t for you if your heat limit is 92 though.

[eirenecat]

Originally Posted by Kthnry

So the secret to surrounding yourself with people of good character is being able to afford to send your kids to private school? Or is there some other way to accomplish this?

Ummm no, those were two separate statements. I was just agreeing with Austin97 that character was really more important than anything else.

The private school my daughter attends costs roughly $6-7000/year. They give out lots of scholarships. It won't break the bank for most middle class families and draws kids from all over Austin, Georgetown, Elgin, Manor, and Bastrop. Did I mention they also give out lots of scholarships and need-based assistance?

We went to private school because my daughter is extremely shy and has a lot of anxiety and she was getting bullied and becoming withdrawn at public school. There were so many kids that the teachers couldn't police them all and recess was sort of like Lord of the Flies. As a second grader, she was telling me she hated school, hated reading, and didn't even like going to lunch, because she was forced to sit next to a student who told her daily that she was ugly and her food was "weird." (They had assigned seats at lunch, so there was no way for her to get away.) My mother and my mother-in-law are retired public school teachers and we really struggled with leaving public education for that reason.

This year she is blossoming and can't wait to get to school. I will say that it does seem like the other kids in her class are kinder to each other and better behaved than her public school peers were. (I've gone on every school field trip this year, so I've had a fair amount of time to observe the class.) I believe that has to do with the focus on social-emotional learning and the level of parental involvement at this school. The parents aren't necessarily wealthy, but they're invested in their kids and the school, because everyone is contributing something to get their kids there, whether it's tuition money and/or gas and time out of their lives to commute there.

[Pretzeltwist]

Austin will not meet your needs. It is much hotter than 92 degrees for most of the summer, and housing costs within the city limits are much higher than what you want to pay.

[Snowpacked]

The State hires many blacks. The only time I see any is at work. Definitely not diverse here.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by Snowpacked

The State hires many blacks. The only time I see any is at work. Definitely not diverse here.

Uh, I see Black people all of the time. North, South, East. Hell East Austin still has Black people.

Maybe not as many Blacks in the more vanilla parts of town, but if you don't see any, then you need to really explore your city.

[Snowpacked]

Originally Posted by riaelise

Uh, I see Black people all of the time. North, South, East. Hell East Austin still has Black people.

Maybe not as many Blacks in the more vanilla parts of town, but if you don't see any, then you need to really explore your city.

Come to think, I see blacks outside of work at Pappadeaux and 7th street.
There are too many people here now to really enjoy this town, but that is what I see when I am out.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Snowpacked

Come to think, I see blacks outside of work at Pappadeaux and 7th street.
There are too many people here now to really enjoy this town, but that is what I see when I am out.

Yup papadeaux on 183 is where I see black people in nw austin.

[siaopao]

If you have time and budget, I really suggest your whole family made a week/weekend trip to austin and see how you like/dislike it.

All these comments are noise. Everyone have different opinions and preference. The most important thing is will your family like it? and the only way to know is to try it out.