Should I relocate from California to Austin? (Houston, Brenham: neighborhoods, movies)

[ImOuttaHere]

Hello, this is a discussion that my husband and I have had for a while. We are in California, which I think is a mess right now and I just don't see it getting better any time soon. I have school age children and a 18 year old that I put through the public school system that didnt work out so well for him, so now I have my younger kids in private which they love and is working great! Without having to name all the obvious reasons why we talk about leaving California. What are your thoughts on it? Am I escaping problems here to other problems there.. I am just looking for some discussion here on California vs Austin, TX. Do You think its a better environment for my children? that is my main goal in looking for a place to live, Whats better for my kids? anyone that can list pros and cons for me would really help me in deciding. Thanks!!

[love roses]

My sister in law left her little corner of California to come to Texas, and she did it for her kids. She says the area they lived in was starting to turn into a drug paradise and she didn't want her kids growing up in it. She didn't move to Austin though. She went to Houston.

[ImOuttaHere]

Is she happy with the choice she made? How long has she been there, what part of Calif was she in

[WillysB]

UrOuttaThere... I think I'd look at this like 'okay, I've been here a while and it's no longer rewarding. Have I exhausted my interest in where I am and should I turn my thoughts to a new adventure?'

There's nothing that says 'cause we live in LA that we gotta stay in LA'. I will say that one of my fav movies is 'To Live and Die in LA'. Tho' I've only driven around the place a few times.

So, how will the kids react to a relocation? Are you prepared to pull up roots and jump into a different garden? Sure, you may be leaving problems behind for new problems somewhere else but what atmosphere do you want while trying to resolve those problems? Where do you want to be when you look up and say 'ah, success?'

The overall influence on the kids will be different in Austin than in Cali. Having lived in California, Austin certainly isn't going to hurt them.

[justanothercalifornian]

We've been here a year and it was the best decision we could have made. I'm so happy that my kids will be growing up in this place. We miss aspects of our life in California but not enough to ever, ever move back.

[SpreadingTruth]

No.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by ImOuttaHere

Is she happy with the choice she made? How long has she been there, what part of Calif was she in

She was somewhere around or in Porterville. She's been very happy with her choice, although her husband wants to move a little closer towards the Hill Country or Brenham. She's been in Houston for maybe 4 years and they moved while their kids were in High School. They ended up adjusting just fine, although the oldest one was kinda mad for a few months. But they made friends quickly and had a social life very quickly too. She's a nurse and works in the med center in Houston and likes the energy there.

[Pontificator]

With all due respect, no.

[ImOuttaHere]

Originally Posted by Pontificator

With all due respect, no.

My kids are excited of the thought of leaving actually. May I ask, why you suggest no? I would like to have pros and cons to discuss with hubby..thanks

[AustinExPat]

Some people really hate Austin; others love it. There's no substitute for making an extended visit to find out where on the spectrum you'll fall. Since you're most interested in it as a place to raise kids, I'll comment on it from a former kid's point of view.

It was a long time ago, but I found it fascinating to be a kid growing up in Austin. My neighborhood was big enough that I could ride my bike all day without crossing a major road or going the same way twice. The landscape itself was interesting. Central Texas used to be at the bottom of an ocean. At the sides of the streams that ran through neighborhoods you could dig around in the ground and find big and small fossils of extinct shellfish. I had a big collection. There were huge gnarly trees around that were fun to climb. (Maybe today it would be a challenge to get kids away from their e-devices, not to mention their busy teams and camps, in favor of just immersing themselves in the landscape without an agenda.) As teenagers we were finally qualified to ride our bikes across major roads, so we ventured miles away to the university and Hyde Park and got a preview of what it would soon be like to be in college. That was a thrilling adventure.

After Austin I lived for a while in major cities on the east and west coasts. If I had not grown up in Austin, I would probably care about the relative merits of restaurant and museum offerings and the way people drive and other such things that seem to weigh on the Austin detractors who post here. Having not grown up in Austin, maybe you would have a strong reaction to those things. But the effect of moving to Austin for your children will be that it becomes the place where they grew up, and it can be a fascinating place to have grown up, a place that will have a permanent appeal to them later in life, restaurants and museums notwithstanding.