Possibly Moving To Austin (leander) From O.c. (Round Rock, Mission: for sale, house)

[o-state]

hey mvnandshkn, yeah i know eric and susanna.

our house in on the market here. when are you moving?

[jennyb315]

opps--- I meant to say Nordstrom at the Domain won't be open until 2011

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by jennyb315

opps--- I meant to say Nordstrom at the Domain won't be open until 2011

Aw, shucks. I thought you were just being a fan of Conan O'Brien, who continues to provide updated predictions about the year 2000.

[jennyb315]

I could never stay up that late to catch Conan! Not with kiddos to get off to school in the morning. I do love that you get TV here on Eastern Time---- I can actually catch some of my faves without being too tired in the morning.

[Christopher_Watters]

lol, typed in the wrong box.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by jennyb315

opps--- I meant to say Nordstrom at the Domain won't be open until 2011

yes you are right! I was thinking 2009 because one article I read about it said the domain was going to try to move the date to 2009.

[cwitt]

We've got our home on the market in RSM, also! We are looking at Crystal Falls because of all of the previously stated reasons ... along with my family lives in the New Braunfels area ... so we'll be close enough.

Just wanted ya'll to know that I lived in Texas for 25 years and am looking forward to getting back there. It is much less expensive, easy to fit in, family friendly and full of southern hospitality! Once you get there, you'll know what that means! I love it and can't wait to get back!

Good luck everyone!
Blessings ... huge!

[mvnandshkn]

Sorry about the delay, lot size is 22,000 ft.

[jondelia]

We moved to Leander from Southern California about a year ago and like it a lot.

We would definitely do it again. The toll road just opened and connect us to Austin. Close by Cedar Park is building a target, movies theaters, etc. The place is exploding! A new hospital is being built close by as well. Leander is at the foot of "hill country" Much of leander is rolling hills.

I suggest buying along Lakeline Blvd. Or near parmer in Cedar Park. Developments such as Deer Creek, Buttercup Creek, Brushy creek and Lakeline Ranch are very nice. Steiner Ranch is beautiful rolling hills near the lake, but a little secluded... and a little more expensive. Stay away from Round Rock -- flat and not great schools.

Be prepared for high property tax -- around 3%. It evens out with the fact that there's no state income tax. If you buy in Williamson County, it is less expensive than in Travis County.

Leander ISD is a wonderful school district (I teach in it). Round Rock and Austin ISD not as good.

Summers are hot and humid. The difference between here and So Cal is that in So Cal it cools off at night (60's), and the humidity is high. Here, the low can be in the 70s in the summer. I love the precipitation throughout the year here in Central Texas. California, as you know is dry from April to December.

We feel like there was some culture shock, but now that we've made some friends and found a church, we feel more at home. It was very weird with no mountains or oceans. Not as diverse in landscape as Southern Cal. You can't beat so cal's weather, but nothing's perfect. People are great! Feel free to email me if you have further questions. jonathanamydelia@yahoo.com

Happy Moving!

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by jondelia

...I love the precipitation throughout the year here in Central Texas. California, as you know is dry from April to December.

...It was very weird with no mountains or oceans. Not as diverse in landscape as Southern Cal.

Amen to both of those comments. And as you concluded, no place is perfect.

The dry dusty summers of California really bother me now. I spent the last 2 summers on the west coast and it was annoying to go hiking, come home and my boots and lower half of my pants would be caked in a very fine dust. Of course this year it's extremely exaggerated, we're having an unusually wet year in Austin and So Cal is experiencing record-breaking drought.

And as for no ocean or mountains, that's REALLY disorienting! I always used to know north and south by simply orienting myself to the mountains and/or the ocean. Here, it's just a jumble of very low hills and shallow canyons. I constantly get confused, if it's overcast I have no idea which way is north or south unless I'm on a road I know well.

A word of warning: I don't know where you are in Leander, but if you're near lots of cedar and other shrubs, prepare for fire. It hasn't happened here yet but it's only a matter of time before this city burns like crazy. The Weather Channel did a sensationalized story about the possibilities, but they didn't exaggerate the threat. I've cleared land before and burned green cedar in a light rain on a cold day and the stuff exploded into high flames as if it were doused in gasoline. The hills here are covered in that stuff and someday it's going to burn. We get very dry years, like last year, and all it would take is a west or north wind plus a spark to ignite the fire, then it would be chaos in west Austin. It's virtually inevitable that this will happen someday.