Objective relocation opinions, please... (Houston, Dallas: real estate, mortgages, refinance)

[cabock]

Howdy folks,

If you had to do it all over again, and knowing what you know today, where in the areas surrounding Austin would you choose to settle in long-term and/or finish out and celebrate life, and why?

1. Liberty Hill > Jonestown > Lago Vista?
2. Lakeway > The Hills > Bee Cave?
3. Dripping Springs > Driftwood?
4. I know this is a couple hours south of the Austin area, but New Braunfels > Canyon Lake?

Thoughts?

Appreciate objective opinions and reasoning in advance!

Thank you!

-Chris

[Trainwreck20]

I don't know about 'do it all over', but we were happy in SW Austin and plan on moving out toward Llano or Burnet perhaps, we will see. Still have a few years to go. If I had to move outside of town, I really like the areas around and/or past Dripping. I grew up in G'town and it is closer then LH, I think, but I am not sure I would want to live there now :/.

[ashbeeigh]

New Braunfels and canyon lake, but I have family in SA, so it’s a better choice. I will note though, that much like lake Travis, depending on whether you’re north canyon lake versus south canyon lake make access to things either very easy or a pain in the butt (not hard, but just a pain). Please please please remember, new Braunfels is in the SA metro, it’s not Austin metro. After that, dripping, Liberty hills, Lakeway.

[austinnerd]

4,1,2,3 - the further away from Austin proper the better (plus a near by body of water never hurts). It's already too late for DS, I'd probably look at Marble Falls instead (if Canyon Lake is a possibility, then Marble Falls could also work distance wise, not as much infrastructure out there though, which may be good or bad depending on personal preferences). I've always liked Driftwood, but the moment they put the stop sign on 150, I knew it was a sign of pending doom. I still have a soft spot for Wimberley as well. NB is growing like crazy right now, also starting to spill over into CL, so something to be aware of.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by cabock

Howdy folks,

If you had to do it all over again, and knowing what you know today, where in the areas surrounding Austin would you choose to settle in long-term and/or finish out and celebrate life, and why?

1. Liberty Hill > Jonestown > Lago Vista?
2. Lakeway > The Hills > Bee Cave?
3. Dripping Springs > Driftwood?
4. I know this is a couple hours south of the Austin area, but New Braunfels > Canyon Lake?

Thoughts?

Appreciate objective opinions and reasoning in advance!

Thank you!

-Chris

What we think probably doesnt matter since everyone has different priorities.

I personally think it is pointless to be near austin and pay austin inflated/influenced prices unless you are as close as possible. So my first priority would be to be as close as possible. I would rather have a tiny run down house in the city over a brand new large house far out. As long as the lot was big enough I would plan to expand over time.

If I couldnt be within 15-20 minutes of downtown, I would rather live outside new york, houston, chicago, or other "real" big cities. Or in mountains, by the ocean or on a lake.

If I had to be near austin while still being 45 minutes from austin, I would want something special about the property - either the capability to hunt/shoot (50 acres) or on a lake.

The actual city probably doesnt matter that much, though I would probably pick a property that is closest to the largest urban type area.

When I look at what we do the most:
work - remotely, but meet with people in town once a week.
daily activities like kids sports/our hobbies
hang out with our friends of many years who live in the city
eat at a variety of nice restaurants
go to shows/austin FC

[riaelise]

They're all nice areas in their own ways so not sure of this post

[karpo1]

I checked many locations before moving to Austin metro 5 years back overseas. Original plan was to try to possibly retire young on inexpensive 350k house with some garden and low property tax. Got 300k house in Round Rock with bit higher property tax as employment search took over 7 months. If done with current knowledge would have got more recent better built house to begin with. Location cannot say too much, do not really go to downtown Austin, necessities are close enough. Schools are ok, charter schools are in general better.
Current house is valued now >600k but nothing to upgrade to in reasonable cost level.

Economy looks not good, Redfin just today announced layoffs, Wells Fargo earlier same as mortgages and refinance obviously slowing down. Real estate likely will stay high valuation as so many moving in out of state, just checked new north Round Rock development last weekend and around two dozen under construction houses sold already.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Austin97

What we think probably doesnt matter since everyone has different priorities.

I personally think it is pointless to be near austin and pay austin inflated/influenced prices unless you are as close as possible. So my first priority would be to be as close as possible. I would rather have a tiny run down house in the city over a brand new large house far out. As long as the lot was big enough I would plan to expand over time.

If I couldnt be within 15-20 minutes of downtown, I would rather live outside new york, houston, chicago, or other ”real” big cities. Or in mountains, by the ocean or on a lake.

If I had to be near austin while still being 45 minutes from austin, I would want something special about the property - either the capability to hunt/shoot (50 acres) or on a lake.

The actual city probably doesnt matter that much, though I would probably pick a property that is closest to the largest urban type area.

When I look at what we do the most:
work - remotely, but meet with people in town once a week.
daily activities like kids sports/our hobbies
hang out with our friends of many years who live in the city
eat at a variety of nice restaurants
go to shows/austin FC

The burbs of Austin are not inflated though when compared to most major cities in the U.S. … even in Texas. Meaning when comparing similar amenities (better / good schools, larger home, locality toward high paying jobs) you’re not going to pay significantly less anywhere in the U.S. .. especially compared to the coastal cities. You can easily pay $500k + for a home in the N.DFW suburbs like W.Plano, Frisco, Westlake / Southlake, The Colony, Grapevine, Lewisville, Flower Mound, ect. The issue with Austin is that it doesn’t have many areas like the S.DFW burbs which are catered more toward logistics, industrial, blue collar jobs which help equalize the avg home prices, but scaling suburbs amenity for amenity there isn’t much difference right now between a place like Cedar Park, Round Rock vs the more affluent burbs of DFW and Houston or even places in N.Atlanta … Alpharetta and Cummings (which is further away from Downtown ATL than Liberty Hill and Georgetown are from Austin) is averaging $500 - $600k for a home right now and the place is absolutely booming.

Now I can see a case that you want to live closer to the things you like to do which is fair if you’re willing to compromise on house or willing to pay more (and I’m not willing to do either as I don’t find Austin proper to be extraordinarily different enough than most U.S. cities in terms of amenities to make that kind of adjustment … personally I feel the opposite, I feel for what Austin offers, it’s very expensive as it has no world class amenities, no transit and is generically catered to one particular life style and I’m not throwing away $800k for a home just to say I live near a food truck, music hall, trail or bar… these amenities do not appeal to me enough to pay to live in Austin proper) but painting it as pointless is misleading. I need to live close enough to work to be accessible in the event I need to come into the office, but I don’t really care about the rest of Austin’s amenities enough to pay extra or sacrifice house for it…

Now if you ask me if I’m willing to invest in Austin real estate. I would be more than happy to siphon up all those yuppie dollars of those folks who think living in Austin is everything… …with a big giddy smile… they’ll be in their 30’s living pay check to paycheck complaining on CD thinking Austin owes them affordable housing after inflation catches up with them… I’ll be off to the next gig while keeping my home in Leander … pretty sure that’s what most investors are doing today in Austin.

[riaelise]

I only go into austin to work a couple of days a week. Many people in my neighborhood don’t even do that especially with the pandemic.

All of what makes me happy is found within minutes of my house.

Not into sports but there’s the express literally minutes away. Water parks, movies, restaurants (many austin spots have suburban locations)

Music - I believe nutty brown relocated and snoop dog played at dell diamond i think.

It’s for those reasons, coupled with nice home on nice lot that make me say it’s worth it to me. The cherry on top is that when we purchased the price wasn’t inflated at all

[WellTraveled1988]

So here is my OBJECTIVE opinion and I will give some background.

I am a native Texan who has lived in 3 other states, AZ, MN, and CT. I did my undergrad in the Dallas area and grew up there. EVERY place has it's pros and cons to be 100% honest. I am a mid 30s, very successful millenial and I am 100% WFH/remote, so it is nice that I can basically work anywhere I want. Also male and Republican if that matters

The way I view living ANYwhere is I answer one VERY IMPORTANT question:
"What kind of lifestyle do I want?"

For a TX metro, the only metro I would EVER consider living in is ATX. However, I could see the draw to a Dallas or Houston subrub if I just wanted to raise a family and kids and "eat and drink" myself to death LOL

Back to ATX....

Firstly, Texas has a BIG, BIG "eating culture". It wasn't until I left and came back that I really noticed this. Further, living in SUPER fit states like AZ, MN and CT didn't really help LOL. So if you want to live a healthy and active lifestyle, the only metro that really allows for this type of lifestyle is Austin. There is ZERO comparison in Texas. Look at all the statistics and surveys, the only "not obese" metro is ATX.

I don't even consider myself like a fitness freak or enthusiast. I just moderately eat healthy, do about 45 min to 1 hour of cardio daily and don't overindulge. Since coming home to TX, I have been shocked how "fat" everyone is and the comments on how I "look really great/fit/young" have been flattering but that lifestyle is the norm outside of TX. On the flip side, it has been nice, as my dating game has SKYROCKETED due to just comparison and also the convenience of dating apps; I literally have hundreds of maches. So there are 2 sides to it.

Anyways, for a "Texas metro", Austin fits this lifestyle and it's VERY NOTICEABLE if you go to any other metro. ATX will provide lakes, rivers, hills, trails, parks, and (for a TX metro) a litany of sports leagues to stay active and meet other people. If you like to play league sports to stay moderately fit/active and to meet other people, ATX will be the ONLY one that really accomodates this for adults. (obviously there are leagues for teens everywhere)

The COL has risen due to the influx of people moving to ATX, but I see it more as a good thing. I see it as, ANY metro really worth 2 sh!ts in the country will be fairly expensive. You don't see low COL in Chicago, NYC, LA, Palo Alto, Boston, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Miami, Denver, NOVA/DC, Scottsdale/Phoenix, etc. The BIG "nice to have" is that Austin is in Texas so there is ZERO state income tax; depending on your income you could be saving THOUSANDs monthly.

It's not perfect. I see the CONS as:
- you live in TX, so you are surrounded by a lot of areas where "eating and drinking" is a big part of the culture (trust me, go to ANY other metro outside of TX that isn't a college town...and you WILL notice this)
- very landlocked, no access to beaches or mountains... but this si true for all of TX really and there aren't good beaches in TX
- incredibly hot
- bad pollen, I had bad allergies TWICE in 4 months since moving back to TX
- traffic. ATX's infrastructure wasn't meant to support the population today

PROS:
- no income tax, so actually the COL "evens out" IMO.
- plenty of outdoors activities; for a TX city
- a decent amount of sports leagues for adults
- decent lake and waterfront scene for anywhere
- no "super harsh" weather extremes. You won't get like a Houston/Dallas summer and you won't get a winter like say in Boston or Minneapolis
- a solid nightlife. But this is for any metro worth a damn in the country to be 100% honest.

Ultimately, it just comes down to the type of lifestyle you're looking for. If I were to live in a "Texas metro" it would only be Austin, unless I was married with kids; which, in that scenario, DFW (Southlake, Highland Village, Preston Hollow, Mckinney, etc) and Houston (The Woodlands, Spring, Katy, etc) are also great options. But as they say, if you take care of yourself, "30 is the new 20". I enjoy an active lifestyle that does NOT center around "eating and drinking" and ATX is the only metro that really supports that lifestyle lol.

So it really comes down to what kind of life you want honestly.