Tell me why we should move to Austin. :) (Howe, Weir: appointed, credit)

[agfmama]

Hi all! My husband and I are looking at making long-term plans for a move. One of the areas we are considering is the Austin area. I'm doing a bit of research to see if it would be a good fit, and I'd like some real-life answers from some real-life residents. We have some friends who live/have lived in the area, but I would like some outside opinions as well.

This idea of moving out of state has been bounced around for quite a while, but now my husband wants to make a plan to do it. Of course, with him working 11+ hour days plus a 1 1/2 hour commute twice a day leaves all the "legwork" to me...I just don't know where to begin. He saw Austin on the most recent "Best places to live" lists and asked me to check it out. We are also looking at Raleigh, NC and possibly somewhere in Oregon/Washington.

I just want more than what the "Come see us!!" brochures will give. Real info on housing, neighborhoods, prices, commutes, jobs, schools...I'm posting on several city message boards to get some feedback.

The housing market, as far as building/remodeling, is booming here, due to rebuilds from Katrina. We know this won't last, but we want to milk it for all it's worth, ya know, before we pull up roots and settle elsewhere.

I just want a good environment in which to raise our children. One where culture and education is valued over which church you go to. I want a safe neighborhood. I want a happy husband.

Important info:

We will be looking to move in the next 3 years. We want to make sure we have enough savings for a down payment and living expenses. COL is relatively low here, and we expect wherever we move to be a bit higher. We don't have wonderful credit (though we are working on it) so money is tight.

Husband is a contractor, working mostly on remodeling homes, trimwork, etc. He is interested in getting his electrician's license as well. He owns his own business here, but knows he'll probably have to work for someone else when we move.

We have a daughter, so good schools are a must.

We're atheists (so no religious schools/organizations).

I'm a sahm, but will be looking to go back to school for master's in history eventually.

We'll want to buy a home.


We just want a fresh start. Louisiana can be so stifling, family-, culture- and education-wise. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!
sonya

[Raskolnikov]

Given your anti-religious stance, I would recommend someplace on the East Coast or possibly California. In Austin, you have all kinds here, religious and not religious, atheist, etc. but people don't come right out and announce it. Since you did, on a message board on the internet, I have to imagine that you might want to surround yourself with others who reflect your beliefs. Austin is a lot more diverse than that, and there are many Christians here. Although they don't judge and don't decide what city they'll move to based on how few atheists there are.

[mandib]

lol. it can be religious, depending on where you live and who you surround yourself with. However, I know and have hung out with pagans and buddhists, and just a week ago sat next to a table in a coffee shop that had a large group of atheists having a meeting/discussion.

There's all kinds here. You just have to know where to look. Or you can skip looking for the different and just head out to CA, with all the freaks (I can say that, I'm from CA originally and everyone is disappointed when I tell them as they expected that I would also be a freak!!!!)

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by Raskolnikov

Given your anti-religious stance, I would recommend someplace on the East Coast or possibly California. In Austin, you have all kinds here, religious and not religious, atheist, etc. but people don't come right out and announce it. Since you did, on a message board on the internet, I have to imagine that you might want to surround yourself with others who reflect your beliefs. Austin is a lot more diverse than that, and there are many Christians here. Although they don't judge and don't decide what city they'll move to based on how few atheists there are.

We are areligious and we never had a problem in Austin. But then again, it just never came up. Our friends were all young professionals and even though we lived in the suburbs since we didn't have children, we didn't really know our neighbors that well. As we plan our move back and have kids, it may be that it may become an issue.

In terms of what the OP wrote, I don't think she necessarily meant that she had to be surrounded by people just like her, maybe she just wanted to know whether she would be facing the awkward "well, which church do you and your family attend?" every time she meets someone new. We have friends that moved to Seattle because they were so uncomfortable with being asked that question by every single person they met at the park the city where they used to live (they were NOT in Austin)

On a different note, Austin is very affordable compared to Washington State or just about any part of California. It is the most expensive housing market in Texas though so I suppose it is all relative.

People are friendly. Good BBQ and tex mex. Lots of energy in the city, but not the frenetic energy that one would find in NYC or LA.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

We are areligious and we never had a problem in Austin. But then again, it just never came up. Our friends were all young professionals and even though we lived in the suburbs since we didn't have children, we didn't really know our neighbors that well. As we plan our move back and have kids, it may be that it may become an issue.

In terms of what the OP wrote, I don't think she necessarily meant that she had to be surrounded by people just like her, maybe she just wanted to know whether she would be facing the awkward "well, which church do you and your family attend?" every time she meets someone new. We have friends that moved to Seattle because they were so uncomfortable with being asked that question by every single person they met at the park the city where they used to live (they were NOT in Austin)

On a different note, Austin is very affordable compared to Washington State or just about any part of California. It is the most expensive housing market in Texas though so I suppose it is all relative.

People are friendly. Good BBQ and tex mex. Lots of energy in the city, but not the frenetic energy that one would find in NYC or LA.

Austin is live and let live......if you want to live the fundamentalist life, you can find freaky pentacostal churches, and speak toungues for days....even snake handling services are found in Austin...on the other hand, you can find Satanists as well, doing freaky things with animals...so you have the whole spectrum here.....plus, most people in austin believe that the bible is a great work of fiction anyway....

[atlanta hope]

Austin is cool. Don't sweat the religion stuff. We're agnostic (or as JimmyJack says, cowardly atheists -- that still cracks me up).

[TexasHorseLady]

Basically, if you're not out proslytizing for people to become atheist (or anything else), you should be good to go.

[love roses]

I agree with THL and pretty much everyone else. I'll say it again, I've lived in Texas nearly my entire life and NEVER had anyone ask what church I go to (and I do go to Church).

[readymade]

Wow, she just mentioned religion in a list of other stuff (schools, pricing, culture, neighborhoods, etc...). How come everyone is jumping on that one thing?

Weird.

[twange]

Originally Posted by readymade

Wow, she just mentioned religion in a list of other stuff (schools, pricing, culture, neighborhoods, etc...). How come everyone is jumping on that one thing?

Weird.

It's a hot button. Go poke around the "political" sections of this site and you'll see... bring up religion even in the most banal way and "away she goes".................................