Austin economy moving forward versus other TX cities (Houston, Dallas: sales, 2015)

[robertobaggio]

Hi everyone. Planning to move from out of state to Houston in July as my spouse, a physician, has secured job. The job is actually with a Dallas based corporation so they would likely have space in a medical practice in Austin area as well although no guarantee.

We used to live in Houston prior to 2017 when we had to move away for her residency. Before moving, I was working in corporate finance in an O&G company. While I kept a good relationship with them, the company is no longer an option for me since they are likely heading for bankruptcy unfortunately along with many other O&G companies. I am ideally looking to do finance for companies not in O&G.

My spouse signed the offer in February before the whole Coronavirus deal and especially before the crush in oil price which no doubt will impact the job market in Texas severely. So my question is whether there are real reasons to believe that Austin will be significantly less impacted than Houston from the recession and would be worth the try? I have more contacts in Houston and I have almost none in Austin.

Whenever I looked for corporate finance jobs in Austin I always saw very little posted on websites. Looks like the big tech companies tend to keep those positions in California.

As I have been out of the market for over a year for family commitments, I am quite worried about the beginning of a major energy downturn (or extension of the 2015 downturn which really never ended) and how it will affect my chances in TX. I have an MBA from a top 20 school and 8-9 years of experience in finance.

[Austin97]

This is a pretty specialized question. I doubt there are any supporting statistics to help you make the decision. In the 2001 recession austin was hit pretty hard. In the 2008 recession, austin escaped reasonably well.

Austin is basically tech, UT, and the state. 2001 was mainly a tech recession. This recession is not as much tech. In fact some tech, as it enables online sales, is thriving.

The big companies are probably all having hiring freezes. One company that I know of that is more of a startup is consero. They have a model where they have offshore accountants, but onshore leads. You might want to look into them.

[ashbeeigh]

So your spouse has a job in Houston and you want to add Austin to your list as a place to possibly work? I'm confused as to how that would work unless you're going to work from home.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

So your spouse has a job in Houston and you want to add Austin to your list as a place to possibly work? I'm confused as to how that would work unless you're going to work from home.

From the OP: so they would likely have space in a medical practice in Austin area as well although no guarantee

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

From the OP: so they would likely have space in a medical practice in Austin area as well although no guarantee

Still a bit confused about the effort to look for a job here if it's uncertain. But anyway. It's not my life decision to make.

[Need4Camaro]

Overall I would say Austin will probably be less impacted as the OG industry is going to tank during this pandemic. Everything is going to take a hit, just tech probably less so than most other industries. Also anything involving the state or city should be pretty secure.

[robertobaggio]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Still a bit confused about the effort to look for a job here if it's uncertain. But anyway. It's not my life decision to make.

Regardless we have to relocate to Texas from out of state as my spouse's residency is coming to an end in June. We live in the North East, and it just doesn't make sense to stay here with high cost of living and we don't like long winters. I also don't have a job here.

We also looked at Florida which we like but the economy there is worse than Texas.

Houston used to be the city in the country where money went the furthest and with the strongest job market but we are wondering if Austin will be SIGNIFICANTLY better off moving forward and worth the change of plan.

[DPatel304]

I'm optismitic about Austin's outlook coming out of this pandemic. I do think the start-up industry will get hit pretty hard and a lot of them simply won't recover from this.

[cBach]

I can't forecast what Austin will be like but I can forecast that you will not want to be in Houston, with after effects of COVID-19 and also the low oil prices. It's a double whammy.

I imagine Austin will be better off than DFW as well, but maybe not much.

[texan2yankee]

If home sales are any indication of austin's future economy, anecdotally i've observed single family homes are usually selling above list price and in a few days of being listed in my area of austin. people seem to still be buying homes with aplomb.