Planning on moving to Austin (Round Rock, San Marcos: crime, house prices, job market)

[amiable2k]

I and my wife are currently located in Atlanta and working for IT firms.We do not have any kids as of now. I have got an offer from utility company in Austin. We are thinking about pros and cons of moving to Austin. Could some one please help with the following questions?

1) How is the job market for IT professionals (Database/ETL and java) in Austin?

2) I heard that property taxes are very high in austin compared to Atlanta and even the house prices in Austin are not low either, Is that true?

3) I am looking for 3-4 bedroom single family homes in good school district, what would be relevant areas and their price range?

4) Is Austin safer than Atlanta with respect to crime and all?

5) How is the traffic in Austin and is there any public transportation available?

6) How is the weather in Austin compared to Atlanta?

7) I think there is only one good school for pursuing part time MBA in Austin (UTA) and it is expensive, are there any other options?

I really appreciate your input.

[MsMichele83]

1) How is the job market for IT professionals (Database/ETL and java) in Austin?
It looks pretty good. I have had several friends come to Austin from the Northeast for work.

2) I heard that property taxes are very high in austin compared to Atlanta and even the house prices in Austin are not low either, Is that true?

I don't know the comparison to Atlanta but if you choose to buy a home in Travis County be prepared to pay. Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties have lower property taxed than Travis county; which is where Austin is.

3) I am looking for 3-4 bedroom single family homes in good school district, what would be relevant areas and their price range?

I think that the Pflugerville ISD (from personal experience with my children) is great and there are very nice homes in North Pflugerville: Black Hawk and Avalon subdivisions.
Also Leander and Cedar Park are nice areas with good schools. and homes in the upper 100s-300k.

4) Is Austin safer than Atlanta with respect to crime and all?

It is a smaller city but there is still plenty of crime. Pflugerville seems very well taken care of. Boy those cops look for stuff to do! Seriously.

5) How is the traffic in Austin and is there any public transportation available?

Traffic is horrible in Austin! But so is the traffic in Atlanta, I really hated the 400 and 75. We don't have as intricate of a public transportation system as ATL does with the MARTA but we are getting there. Soon the light rail line will be opening up for those coming from Leander and Cedar Park. In Austin the buses are ok: sorry CapMetro.

6) How is the weather in Austin compared to Atlanta?

Comparable. Hot and sticky. But they don't call it Hotlanta for nothing do they! Although it does stay warm for the most part of the year.

7) I think there is only one good school for pursuing part time MBA in Austin (UTA) and it is expensive, are there any other options?

Texas State University in San Marcos; it also has satellite schools in the area such as in Round Rock there is also St. Edwards University in S. Austin.

[amiable2k]

Thank you MS Michele83 for your detail answers. They were really helpful. Can any one provide more information on IT jobs in Austin and what are various IT companies in Austin?

[amiable2k]

Can anyone please answer if the IT Jobs (database and Java) are decent in Austin? What are various companies located in austin

[watchoverme]

Wanted to add that Atlanta crime is ranked at 9 out of 10 and Austin is ranked at 6 out of 10, so that should help you some.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Also, I am moving to Austin and during my visit found the traffic to be nothing compared to most cities out there. There was some traffic, but it didn't even compare to Atlanta to me.

[amiable2k]

Thank you very much for the wonderful site. It is really very informative. I was able to verify many things in the website. But it will be great if any one can coment on IT companies and prospect for IT professionals (I am a permanent resident).